Betty Ruth Wand (August 10, 1923 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer and author, best known as the singing voice
dubbed in for various actresses in musical films, including
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French and American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards.
Caron b ...
in ''
Gigi'' and some of
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...
's part in ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
''.
[Crosby Day. "Showtime will air 'West Side Story,'" ''The Wichita Eagle'', (Kansas), February 1, 1993, page 9A.] In 1990, she wrote ''Secrets for Women in Their Prime'', an advice book for older women on
fashion
Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
,
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
, and
travel
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...
.
[Jacquelyn Gray. "A woman 'in her prime' shares her beauty secrets with readers," ''The Milwaukee Journal'', September 22, 1991, Life/Style section, page 5.][Frances Halpern. "Booksmarks: Senior circuit goes prime time with literary adventures," ''The Daily News of Los Angeles'' (California), September 2, 1990, page L29.]
Wand was born in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, California. She began her career in the 1940s during the
Big Band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
era, singing with the orchestras of
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat (; ; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was an American musician and bandleader who was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. Originally from Girona, Spain, he
spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba, before arriving i ...
,
Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...
, and
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...
.
In the 1950s, she invented and patented a baby bottle holder.
Wand married Aulden Schlatter, with whom she had two sons.
Schlatter died in July 2004, ten months after Wand.
See also
*
Ghost singer
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wand, Betty
1923 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American women singers
American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women inventors
20th-century American inventors