Frank De Vol
| Frank De Vol | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 20, 1911 Moundsville, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | October 27, 1999 (aged 88) Lafayette, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | composer, actor and arranger |
| Known for | Movie and TV theme songs |
| Spouse(s) | Grayce Agnes McGinty (1935–1989) Helen O'Connell (1991–1993) |
| Children | Linda Morehouse Donna Copeland |
Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999), also known simply as De Vol, was an American arranger, composer and actor.
De Vol was born in Moundsville in Marshall County in northern West Virginia, and was reared in Canton, Ohio. His father, Herman Frank De Vol, was band-leader of the Grand Opera House in Canton, Ohio, and his mother, Minnie Emma Humphreys De Vol, had worked in a sewing shop. He attended Miami University.
De Vol began composing music when he was 12. When he was 14, he became a member of the Musicians' Union. After playing violin in his father's orchestra and appearances in a Chinese restaurant, he joined the Horace Heidt Orchestra in the 1930s, being responsible for the arrangements. Later, he toured with the Alvino Rey Orchestra, before embarking on his recording career.
By the time DeVol was 16, "he was doing arrangements with professional skill." From the 1940s, De Vol wrote arrangements for the studio recordings of many top singers, including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Dinah Shore, Doris Day, Vic Damone and Jaye P. Morgan. His single most famous arrangement is probably the haunting string and piano accompaniment to Cole's "Nature Boy", which was a United States Number One in 1948. That same year, he released a version of "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" (Capitol Records 15420), that he arranged and sang lead vocals on.
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