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Abbe Lane, 1932 – 2026

missevegolden
Aug 6
1 min read

Singer and actress Abbe Lane, 93, died on April 25, it was just announced. Lane was a 15-year-old chorus girl when noted chicken-hawk bandleader Xavier Cugat, 48, married her in 1952 (they split in 1964, and she later married producer Perry Leff). Lane went on to became a popular singer, dubbed “the swingingest sexpot in show business.” Besides recording and touring, Lane performed in numerous Italian films and TV shows, and turned up in the US on both the small and big screens: Wings of the Hawk, Chicago Syndicate, Naked City, Burke’s Law, F Troop, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Laugh-In, The Flying Nun, Vega$, Hart to Hart. Cugat, she recalled, “was looking for a new vocalist when he saw me doing a calypso number in the stage show one night. He liked my style and voice and asked me to audition the next day. I did and he hired me.” She added that “he told me when to eat, when to sleep, when things had to be done. I never argued with him. There was no point. His will prevailed in all cases.” (Cugat went on to marry Charo, whose age is anyone’s guess).

 


 
 
 

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