Evelyn Hoey

Evelyn Hoey began her stage career at age 10 in Minneapolis, MN. Her breakthrough came in 1928 when she appeared with Leon Errol in 'Yours Truly.' She then traveled to London for 'Good News' and by 1929 was singing Cole Porter's songs in a Paris nightclub. It was there that E. Ray Goetz heard her and signed her as the torch singer for 'Fifty-Million Frenchmen' that same year. She also appeared in the 'Vanderbuilt Revue,' 'Walk a Little Faster,' and the film The 20th Amendment (1930).

A diminutive, blue-eyed actress with honey-colored hair, she was known for her musical comedy singing and a drawling lyrical 'blues' voice that captivated audiences in New York, Paris, and London. She was found dead on September 12, 1935, with a .45-cal. bullet wound through her head, at the home of Henry H. Rogers III, grandson of the co-founder of Standard Oil Co. Also present was cinematographer William J. Kelly. Rogers had co-produced with explorer Henry McCracken the film 'An Old Fashioned Garden,' a prim comedy about life among the nudists. That film passed the censors but might never have been released.