Date of Birth
3 February 1928,
Liverpool, England, UK
17 September 1999, Buckinghamshire,
England,
UK (
heart ailment)
Frank Abelson
Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)
Mini Biography
British pop singing star with Top 10, hits including "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" and "Green Door". Studied at Leeds College of Art, but switched to show business after his audition succeeded and led to week's work in music hall. Went on to stardom as "Mr. Moonlight" in English variety-show world, based on his hit tune, "Give me the Moonlight". Famous for his formal tails/top hat outfit, starred in cabaret shows in New York and Las Vegas, too. Also starred in British stage production of musical "42nd Street". Awarded O.B.E. in 1965 and C.B.E. in 1997. Most Famous film moment: performing musical number with Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love (1960).
Spouse
| Stella Shock |
(1950 - 17 September 1999) (his Death) 3 children |
Trivia
Singer and dancer who performed in cabarets and legitimate theater.
In 1965, he was awarded an O.B.E. and in 1997 a C.B.E.
He was closely associated with the song "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl," an old song which he discovered in a Glasgow music shop in 1954. He first sang it on stage wearing a top hat hired from an undertaker, and it became his signature tune.
The story goes that his change of Name from Frank Abelson to Frankie Vaughan came about when he announced to his Russian grandmother that he intended to be a singer, and she told him, "Vell," she said, "then you vill be the best von there ever vas."
Initially trained for a career in commercial art, he won a scholarship to the Lancaster College of Art, then studied at Leeds College of Art where he gained his Art Teacher's Diploma in 1950.
A married man with two sons and a daughter, he supposedly resisted the amorous attentions of an interested 'Marilyn Monroe' (I) while filming Let's Make Love (1960).
The son of a Russian-Jewish upholsterer who lived in a poor area of Liverpool.
Devoted to his wife and children, he decided not to pursue a Hollywood career after his experiences on Let's Make Love (1960). He said subsequently that he never regretted his decision for a second.
Appointed Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire in 1993.
