Frankie Laine on AllMovie

From the late '40s through the '50s Frankie Laine was an extremely popular singer. Though he subsequently appeared in several dramas, westerns and musicals during the '50s, his appeal never translated well to the screen. He was born Frank Paul Lo Veccho in Chicago, the son of a Sicilian barber. Though he tried for years to become famous, he had little success until he was discovered by Hoagy Carmichael in 1947. During his career, he earned over 16 gold records. Though he was not a particularly successful actor, Laine did sing title songs on a number of feature films. He also sang the famous title song for the television series Rawhide. In 1932, Laine was a champion marathon dancer who in five months set a record of dancing 3, 501 hours, an accomplishment that earned him a $500 prize.