Dick Haymes

Acting

Dick Haymes

Born 1918-09-13 · Buenos Aires, Argentina

Arguably one of the best singers of the twentieth century, Dick Haymes was born in Argentina to a Scots/Irish father and Irish mother, but brought to the U.S. as an infant. Dick inherited his vocal gift from his mother who made ends meet during the Depression as a singer and voice teacher. A music gig in 1931 caught the eye of a local band leader and soon Dick was moving up, but it was slow-going. In 1939, while Dick was trying to pitch his songwriting talents to band leader Harry James, he ended up his featured vocalist, instead. During the war years Dick hooked up with the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before deciding to go solo. Nabbing his own radio program in addition to a Decca recording contract, Twentieth Century Fox soon expressed interest in his musical talents. Among his many film leads were State Fair (1945) opposite Jeanne Crain and Vivian Blaine, Diamond Horseshoe (1945) and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) both paired with Betty Grable, One Touch of Venus (1948) with Ava Gardner, and All Ashore (1953), a second string version of On the Town (1949), with Mickey Rooney and Ray McDonald as his shore-leave buddies. For such a pleasant and unassuming man, Dick's personal life certainly was a shambles aggravated by alcoholism and financial debt. Five marriages came and went (including actresses Joanne Dru, Nora Eddington, Rita Hayworth, and Fran Jeffries) before his sixth one finally stuck. By the 1960s, his life was all but ruined. He managed to travel to Europe and picked up the remnants of his career. His reputation had not tarnished there, and he enjoyed some renewed popularity; he never regained, however, the foothold in the business that he once had. Dick died of lung cancer in 1980. Though not as well remembered as other crooners of his time (Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Vic Damone), and not a particularly charismatic performer on film, this rich baritone's legacy IS his music. Some of Dick's more popular recordings include "The More I See You," "How Blue the Night," "For You, For Me, Forever More," "Speak Low," and "Another Night Like This."

Acting credits

Mutiny on the Bounty poster
7.4

Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.

Mutiny on the Bounty

1935

Let's Do It Again poster
4.2

Composer Gary Stuart and his wife, Connie, have an argument over her alleged affair. The Stuarts agree to get divorced, and each tries to move on to a new love: Gary with socialite Deborah Randolph and Connie with businessman Frank McGraw. However, they begin to realize that they still have strong feelings for each other, and the Stuarts must make a decision before their divorce is final.

Let's Do It Again

1953

Fallen Angel poster
6.5

An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.

Fallen Angel

1945

Four Jills in a Jeep poster
6.8

Reenactments of actual USO experiences of its female stars entertaining troops overseas.

Four Jills in a Jeep

1944

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood poster
4.4

A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

1976

One Touch of Venus poster
6.7

A window dresser's kiss brings a statue of the Roman goddess of love to life.

One Touch of Venus

1948

State Fair poster
6.6

During their annual visit to the Iowa State Fair, the Frake family enjoy many adventures. Proud patriarch Abel has high hopes for his champion swine Blueboy; and his wife Melissa enters the mincemeat and pickles contest...with hilarious results.

State Fair

1945

Du Barry Was a Lady poster
6.5

Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.

Du Barry Was a Lady

1943

Words and Music poster
5.8

Encomium to Larry Hart (1895-1943), seen through the fictive eyes of his song-writing partner, Richard Rodgers (1902-1979): from their first meeting, through lean years and their breakthrough, to their successes on Broadway, London, and Hollywood. We see the fruits of Hart and Rodgers' collaboration - elaborately staged numbers from their plays, characters' visits to night clubs, and impromptu performances at parties. We also see Larry's scattered approach to life, his failed love with Peggy McNeil, his unhappiness, and Richard's successful wooing of Dorothy Feiner.

Words and Music

1948

All Ashore poster
7.3

Three sailors finally get some shore leave, and go in search of fun and girls.

All Ashore

1953

St. Benny the Dip poster
5.7

A gang of con artists disguise themselves as clerics in order to pull off a job, but soon find that even pretending to be religious people is having an effect on them.

St. Benny the Dip

1951

Irish Eyes Are Smiling poster
5.8

Climbing to fame, Irish-American composer Ernest R. Ball romances a showgirl, who catches the eye of an underworld character.

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

1944

Dramatic School poster
6.5

Aspiring actress Louise Muban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at night. She daydreams and "acts" her way through life, and her fellow students at school begin to suspect her stories are just that - fabrications. After Louise begins to weave an actual meeting with a debonair playboy into a fantasy of club dates and romance, her classmate Nana discovers the lie when she too meets the playboy. Nana sets a trap for Louise, and the result is an end to one fantasy and the realization of another.

Dramatic School

1938

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim poster
8.8

In the late 1800s, Miss Pilgrim, a young stenographer, or typewriter, becomes the first female employee at a Boston shipping office. Although the men object to her at first, she soon charms them all, especially the handsome young head of the company. Their romance gets sidetracked when she becomes involved in the Women's Suffrage movement.

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

1947

Do You Love Me poster
4.7

Katharine Hilliard, mousy dean of a stuffy music school, meets and is insulted by swing band leader Barry Clayton on a train. To "show" him she takes a friend's advice, removes her glasses, and puts on a designer gown. Naturally, she becomes gorgeous. Soon, both Barry and crooner Jimmy Hale are after her, and she finds herself in the midst of triangles and misunderstandings.

Do You Love Me

1946

No artwork available
6.4

The history of a Polish family and its contributions to the war effort throughout American history.

I Am an American

1944

Betrayal poster
5.9

Wealthy widow Helen Mercer hires a young woman, Gretchen Addison, to act as her personal assistant and companion. Unfortunately, Helen is a poor judge of character, as Gretchen is part of a murderous extortionist duo with her boyfriend, Jay. However, Gretchen has second thoughts when she develops genuine affection for Helen. When Gretchen informs Jay that she wants to call off their plot, he refuses and carries on with the plan. Now both Helen and Gretchen may be in grave danger.

Betrayal

1974

Cruisin' Down the River poster
8.0

A New Yorker inherits an old river boat and decides to turn it into a night club while falling in love with Sally Jane, the granddaughter of his worse enemy.

Cruisin' Down the River

1953

Up in Central Park poster
6.4

A newspaper reporter and the daughter of an immigrant maintenance man help expose political corruption in New York City.

Up in Central Park

1948

Carnival in Costa Rica poster
7.0

Two pairs of lovers try to thwart an arranged marriage at Costa Rican fiesta time.

Carnival in Costa Rica

1947

Diamond Horseshoe poster
7.0

Joe Davis Sr., headliner at a big nightclub, is visited by medical student son Joe Jr., who to Dad's chagrin wants to be a crooner, and soon comes between Dad and his girlfriend Claire. So glamorous dancer Bonnie is enlisted to distract Junior. Which does Bonnie want more, the fur coat or true love? Plot is a framework for numerous Ziegfeld style stage productions.

Diamond Horseshoe

1945