Singer Frankie Laine

Celebrities, Celebrity Q&A, People
on February 27, 2005
frankie laine
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I would like to know about Frankie Laine.
—Ron H., Minnesota

Singer Frankie Laine would like to perform, even at age 91, but he was diagnosed with cancer on his left vocal cord in 2001. "My speaking voice came back very quickly," says Laine, who hasn't performed in four years. "We don't know what is going to happen with the singing voice. I tried it in December and I didn't like what I heard, so I'm waiting to try again." Laine, who had a string of Top 10 hits in the 1940s and 1950s—including That's My Desire, I Believe and Mule Train—and his own CBS variety show, was a recipient of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. He also remains known for singing the theme songs to the TV show Rawhide and the Mel Brooks' movie Blazing Saddles. A CD featuring previous material from Laine and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri will be released this year. The Chicago native resides in the San Diego area with his second wife, Marcia, whom he married five years ago. His first marriage, to actress Nan Grey, ended after 43 years when she died in 1993. Laine does not have children, although he helped raise Grey's two children from a previous marriage. "I hope to perform again, although I don't know how it will be, since, slowly, age is creeping up on me," he says. "My wife calls it Ageheimers."