Tex Ritter sang the title song from High Noon (1952) but Laine's recording of it topped the charts.
A businessman as well as a singer, Laine owned the Frankie Laine Rambler auto dealership in the Los Angeles Area in the 1960s. Rambler was a model manufactured by Nash Motors, which eventually changed its name to American Motors Corporation, now defunct.
Brother of Phil Lo Vecchio.
Earned a living as a marathon dancer before his big break.
Earned more than 20 gold records, and sold over 100 million records.
He had 2 stepchildren from Nan Grey's first marriage.
He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6385 Hollywood Boulevard and for Television at 1645 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
His big breakthrough came when Hoagy Carmichael heard him sing in a Los Angeles nightclub.
His musical influences included Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday.
One of his dance partners during the Depression marathons was jazz vocalist Anita O'Day. Red Skelton was an M.C.
Sang the theme song for the TV series, "Rawhide" (1959), which ran on CBS-TV from 1959 to 1965.
Son of Sicilian immigrants.
Stepfather of Jan Steiger and Pam Donner.
Was first and primarily a popular singer. With songs on the charts as late as the 1970s he was most popular during the late 1940s and early 1950s when he had several top 20 hits.
When Mel Brooks advertised in the show business trade papers for a "Frankie Laine-type" voice to sing the title song for Blazing Saddles (1974), he expected a good imitation of the real Laine. Instead, Laine himself showed at Brooks' office two days later, ready to do the job. He got the job and sang the Oscar-nominated title song again at the Academy Awards the following year.
When performing his signature hit "Mule Train" at the 1950 Academy Awards, he caused the unintentional comic highlight of the evening when his whip wouldn't crack properly. After a series of false starts ("Oops, that's no good. Can we try it again?") that got him, the audience, and music director Alfred Newman laughing uproariously, he was finally able to sing the song through to completion, earning a thunderous standing ovation at the end.