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Rudy Vallee
Acting
Biography
Rudy Vallee started his career as a saxophone player and singer and later became a band leader. In the 1920s and early 30s he had a hit radio program, The Fleishmann's Yeast Hour (where he was hated by his cast and crew due to his explosive ego-driven personality). In the early 1930's he was ranked with the likes of Bing Crosby and the tragic Russ Columbo in the Hit Parade. A huge hit on radio in 1933 with his program, initially known as 'The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour,' Vallee was considered a slave driver by his staff. He was known to instigate fist fights with virtually anyone who got on his nerves. During the run of his show he slugged photographers, threw sheet music in the faces…
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Rudy Vallee started his career as a saxophone player and singer and later became a band leader. In the 1920s and early 30s he had a hit radio program, The Fleishmann's Yeast Hour (where he was hated by his cast and crew due to his explosive ego-driven personality). In the early 1930's he was ranked with the likes of Bing Crosby and the tragic Russ Columbo in the Hit Parade. A huge hit on radio in 1933 with his program, initially known as 'The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour,' Vallee was considered a slave driver by his staff. He was known to instigate fist fights with virtually anyone who got on his nerves. During the run of his show he slugged photographers, threw sheet music in the faces of pianists' heads and if provoked, would sock hecklers in the nose. While audiences loved him, he was hated by most of his staff. As a very popular star in night clubs and on records, as well as in movies, he helped other singers like Alice Faye - who was for a while his band singer - and Frances Langford to start their careers. In his early movies he often played the romantic lead, but he switched later to stuffy and comic parts. He also appeared on Broadway. The mid-60's Broadway hit "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" was filmed in 1967 with him in his original Broadway role.
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Rudy Vallee's Filmography
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Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
as Self (archive footage)
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons
as Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
The Perfect Woman
as Tock
Men Who Rate a 10
as Self
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Autograph Hound
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
Slashed Dreams
as Proprietor
The Phynx
as Rudy Vallee
The Night They Raided Minsky's
as Opening Narrator (voice)
Live a Little, Love a Little
as Louis Penlow
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
as J. B. Biggley
No Poster
Hansel and Gretel
as Father
The Helen Morgan Story
as Self
Jazz Ball
as Self (archive footage)
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
as Rudy Vallee
Ricochet Romance
as Worthington Higgenmacher
The Admiral Was a Lady
as Peter Pedigrew
The Golden Twenties
as Self (archive footage)
Father Was a Fullback
as Mr. Jessup
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
as Charles Hingleman
Mother Is a Freshman
as John Heaslip
My Dear Secretary
as Charles Harris
Unfaithfully Yours
as August Henshler
So This Is New York
as Herbert Daley
I Remember Mama
as Dr. Johnson
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
as Tommy
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
as Lynn Sargent
The Fabulous Suzanne
as Hendrick Courtney Jr.
People Are Funny
as Ormsby Jamison
Man Alive
as Gordon Tolliver
It's in the Bag!
as Rudy Vallee
11th. Naval District "United States Coast Guard Band"
as Himself - Bandleader
Screen Snapshots (Series 23, No. 1): Hollywood in Uniform
as Himself
Happy Go Lucky
as Alfred Monroe
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
The Palm Beach Story
as John D. Hackensacker III
No Poster
Too Many Blondes
as Dick Kerrigan
Time Out for Rhythm
as Daniel 'Danny' Collins
Rodeo Dough
as Rudy Vallee
Second Fiddle
as Roger Maxwell
Breakdowns of 1938
as Rudy (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gold Diggers in Paris
as Terry Moore
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
Sweet Music
as Skip Houston
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
as Himself (uncredited)
Hollywood on Parade No. B-9
as Self
George White's Scandals
as Jimmy Martin
International House
as Himself
No Poster
The Musical Doctor
as Dr. Vallee
Rudy Vallee Melodies
as Self
Kitty from Kansas City
as Singer with Handlebar Moustache
Betty Co-ed
as Himself
No Poster
Campus Sweethearts
Glorifying the American Girl
as Self
The Vagabond Lover
as Rudy Bronson
No Poster
Radio Rhythm
as Rudy Vallee
Lydia
as Barker