A singer, Langford’s rich contralto voice was “discovered” in 1931 by bandleader Rudy Vallee, and he invited her to appear on his radio show. He helped her land a role in a New York play, which led her to Hollywood and movies.
In 1941 she was a guest on another popular radio show: Bob Hope’s, and joined Hope’s USO troupe that traveled to war zones to entertain American troops. Hope called her one of his “gypsies” — the few entertainers willing to drop everything, anytime, to go on a tour to entertain troops. And Langford did, from World War II to Korea and Vietnam, where she was dubbed the “Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts.” She was well known to soldiers for her rendition of “I’m in the Mood for Love”, and they wouldn’t let her off the stage without singing it.
When she wasn’t in war zones she was making movies — more than 30, including “Broadway Melody” (1935), “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942), and “The Hit Parade” (1940). But her first love was singing for the soldiers. “The greatest thing in my life was entertaining the troops,” she said years later. She remembered that in one military hospital, “As I sang, I felt a surging response from these men like I’ve never before received from an audience. I could hardly hit the high notes, there was such a lump in my throat.” Langford died at her Florida home on July 11 from congestive heart failure. She was 92.