Vallee, Rudy
(1901–1986)> SINGER
Rudy Vallee Singer Herbert Pryor Vallee, Island Pond, Vermont, July 28, 1901; Los Angeles, California, July 3, 1986. After graduation from Yale, Vallee worked at the Heigh-Ho Club in New York City in 1928, leading the Connecticut Yankees, whose name he took from the Richard Rodgers–Lorenz Hart show of the previous season. His pianist, Cliff Burwell, and lyricist Mitchell Parish wrote “Sweet Lorraine,” which Vallee plugged to success. Vallee was famous in the pre-electric microphone days for…