Rudy Vallee

Birth Name:

Hubert Prior Vallée

Birth Place:

Island Pond, Vermont, United States

Profession

Soundtrack, Actor

Joined the U․S․ Coast Guard during World War II and served as the bandmaster of the 11th Naval District Coast Guard band
Attended the University of Maine and Yale University, from which he graduated in 1927
Began playing the drums, piano, and clarinet during his childhood
During his college years, he performed as a band singer using a megaphone, which would become his trademark, singing songs like "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover" and the "Whiffenpoof Song," a Yale drinking song
Started out as an usher and projection machine operator at a movie theater in 1917 before joining a local orchestra as a saxophonist in 1920
Quote: "The popular songs that were written in the 1920s and '30s, '40s and early '50s were written by veterans - mostly men who'd had experience in life․ How can you write a lyric if you haven't really lived life?"
Quote: "(On his long and very public career): "I'll be front page news until the day I die․""
Best known as a singer and bandleader who was one of the first modern pop stars
Formed a talent agency and two music publishing companies during the 1930s, producing a number of hit songs like "Good Night Sweetheart" and "Springtime in the Rockies․"
Started his first band, an eight-piece that later became known as the Connecticut Yankees, in 1928 and began performing at the Heigh-Ho Club in New York

Fast Facts