Doraine and Ellis
| Doraine and Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Musical Theatre, Operetta |
| Years active | 1930s–1990s |
| Labels | Onstage Records |
| Associated acts |
Morey Amsterdam, Bob Hope, Earl Wentz |
Doraine and Ellis (Doraine Renard: 1913–2003 and Ellis Lucas: 1916–2006) were an American husband and wife vaudeville and variety singing team of the twentieth century, who often billed themselves as "The Singing Sweethearts" or "America's Foremost Singing Team".
Touring with the USO for hundreds of performances during World War II at the behest of Bob Hope, whom the couple knew from their days of performing at nightclubs around the United States, Doraine and Ellis entertained Allied troops on bills with such performers as Morey Amsterdam and Martha Raye before being forced to return stateside following minor injuries received in London during the Blitz.
Following a show at the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, where the duo was playing an extended engagement shortly after the outbreak of World War II, General James Mollison, who was in the audience, asked the couple to perform for his troops. Shuttling from Atlanta to Mobile, Alabama for Sunday shows on their days off, Doraine and Ellis gave several performances for Mollison's troops who were stationed there. Bob Hope then requested that they sign up to go overseas with their show and had a tour of U.S. military installations arranged for them by the Hollywood Victory Committee. Their initial tour was to include only installations in the southwest U.S.; however, while playing an engagement in Indio, California, the couple received instructions to leave for New York the following day for a show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. From there, they were sent to Miami for a show but were quickly diverted to play for British troops in the Bahamas and Bermuda.
By 1944, Doraine and Ellis's overseas work in World War II had taken them on a 13-month tour of fighting fronts in 23 countries, placing them in the ranks of the most seasoned veterans of U.S.O. camp shows. The couple's U.S.O. shows took them to Iceland, England, and British, French, and Dutch Guiana in addition to many tropical island locations that they were prevented from disclosing to others at the time for security reasons. "A lot of times we were flown to a ship or an island and never did know just where we were," Ellis said in a contemporary newspaper article about their work.
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