Pat Friday

Pat Friday (born Helen Patricia Freiday; August 4, 1921 – June 21, 2016)[1] was an American singer who worked with Glenn Miller on his films in the early 1940s.

This article is about the singer Pat Friday. For the Kansas City Athletics general manager, see Pat Friday (baseball executive).
Pat Friday
Born
Helen Patricia Freiday

August 4, 1921
Jefferson County, Idaho
DiedJune 21, 2016 (age 94)
Fredericksburg, Texas
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSinger
SpouseDavid Berwick Vinson Jr.
Children1 son
1 daughter

Early years

Friday was born in Jefferson County, Idaho, the daughter of France Everett Freiday and Helen Katherine Abbott.[2]

She was discovered by Bing Crosby when he heard her sing during an amateur night at the Victor Hugo cafe in Hollywood. She was performing there at the urging of her sorority sisters at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was studying home economics.[3] Bing was so impressed that he arranged to have her on his Kraft Music Hall show on May 25, 1939, where she sang “Begin the Beguine” and “Sing a Song of Sunbeams”.[4] She continued on the show through the summer of 1939 with Variety commenting "As for the vocal department the program is well set for Bing Crosby's 13-week absence. The interim should do much to build Pat Friday, a schoolgirl, into major favor with the fans. Her voice is clear, lyrical and likeable, while the Music Maids, rhythm trio, contribute the right amount of salt and pepper to the show's vocal casserole".[5] After that summer season, Friday then returned to college.

Film

Friday was a "ghost singer" who dubbed songs for Lynn Bari and was never credited. She sang "I Know Why (And So Do You)", the original vocal version of "At Last", and "Serenade in Blue" in the Glenn Miller movies Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives.[6] She also was heard as a singer on the radio in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945).[7]

Radio

While still a student at UCLA, Friday was a singer on The Old Gold Don Ameche Show on the NBC Red radio network in 1940. A contemporary magazine article noted, "In order to attend rehearsals she has to cut Friday afternoon classes ... but she makes up by spending all the time she can in a corner of the studio, carefully doing her homework."[8][9]

Later, after a short retirement following her marriage, Friday was a singer on The Roy Rogers Show,[10] in the 1944–45 season although she did not care for that style of music.[11]

She also sang on the Armed Forces Radio Service programs G.I. Journal[12] and Personal Album.[13]

Recording

Friday was a recording artist with Decca Records[14] and Enterprise Records.[15]

Personal life

On December 28, 1940, Friday married David Berwick Vinson Jr.[16] in Beverly Wilshire Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California. They had a son and a daughter.[2]

Death

Friday died June 21, 2016, at her home in Fredericksburg, Texas. She was survived by her daughter and two grandsons.[2]

References
  1. Wagner, Laura (January 2017). "Pat Friday". Classic Images. No. 499. p. 40.
  2. "Mrs. Helen Patricia Freiday Vinson". Schaetter Funeral Home. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. Baskette, Kirtley (October 1939). "Bing's Girl Friday" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. Vol. 12, no. 6. pp. 21, 66–67. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. Pairpoint, Lionel. "And Here's Bing". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  5. "(untitled brief)". Variety. June 28, 1939. p. 38.
  6. Hagen, Ray; Wagner, Laura (2004). Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames. McFarland. p. 24. ISBN 9780786480739. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. Eagan, Daniel (2011). America's Film Legacy, 2009-2010: A Viewer's Guide to the 50 Landmark Movies Added To The National Film Registry in 2009-10. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441120021. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  8. "Friday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (3): 52. July 1940. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  9. "Ameche Has Fine Cast For New Variety Program". The Fresno Bee The Republican. California, Fresno. March 24, 1940. p. 20. Retrieved December 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 292.
  11. Big Band Buddies interview
  12. Bakish, David (1995). Jimmy Durante: His Show Business Career, with an Annotated Filmography and Discography. McFarland. p. 215. ISBN 9780899509686. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  13. Mackenzie, Harry (1999). The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780313308123. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  14. Orodenker, M.H. (April 27, 1940). "Review of Records" (PDF). Billboard. p. 13. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  15. "Music--as Written". Billboard. November 23, 1946. p. 20. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  16. "(untitled brief)". The Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska, Lincoln. December 15, 1940. p. 43.
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