Peter Lind Hayes (born Joseph Conrad Lind Jr.; June 25, 1915 – April 21, 1998) was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

entertainer and film and television actor.

Early life

Hayes was born in San Francisco, the son of Joseph Conrad Lind Sr., a railroad man and amateur singer, and vaudeville entertainer Grace Hayes (1895–1989). Joseph Lind Sr. died when his son was two years old. Hayes attended parochial school in Cairo, Illinois, during his early childhood before moving to the New York City suburb of New Rochelle and continuing his education there.

Career

Hayes made his vaudeville debut with his mother at the age of six. In 1939, his mother sold some jewelry and borrowed $8,000 to open the Grace Hayes Lodge in Los Angeles, where he began working as a nightclub performer. Hayes appeared in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s and had a significant television career in the 1950s. He often appeared with his wife Mary Healy. During World War II Hayes enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and appeared in both the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of ''Winged Victory''. In 1946, Hayes opened at the Copacabana in New York. This led to an engagement with the

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...

radio show. Hayes and Healy were the original singers of the

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

jingle " See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet" in 1950. (Dinah Shore later sang the song for Chevrolet starting in 1952.) The couple starred in '' Zis Boom Bah'' (1941) along with Grace Hayes and were top-billed in the cult fantasy musical film '' The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.'' (1953). He also had a considerable reputation as a singer of comic songs, several of which made their way onto record, including "Life Gets Tee-Jus, Don't It". Hayes may best be remembered for being designated substitute for

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

on both his CBS-TV and radio programs as well as several short-lived television series in which he and Healy co-hosted or co-starred, such as '' The Peter Lind Hayes Show'' (1950–51), '' Star of the Family'' (1950-1952), and '' Peter Loves Mary'' (1960–61). He also appeared on the pilot episode of '' The Match Game'' on December 5, 1962. He and his wife Mary were occasional guests on TV quiz shows ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...

'', and ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'' In 1964, he appeared in an episode of '' The Outer Limits'', titled " Behold, Eck!", playing the lead role of Dr. Robert Stone, an absent-minded optical engineer and researcher.

Personal life

Hayes was married to Mary Healy from 1940 until his death in 1998. In 1961, Hayes and Healy co-authored their biography, titled ''Twenty-Five Minutes from Broadway''. The title was inspired by the name of the George M. Cohan musical '' Forty-five Minutes from Broadway'', about the community of

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

where the two lived. They owned Columbia Island in New Rochelle, along the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

shore. From that house, they broadcast a weekday breakfast conversation show on New York radio station 710 WOR.

Death

Hayes died from vascular problems in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 82. He was survived by his wife; a son, Peter Michael Hayes, and a daughter, Cathy Lind Hayes.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Peter Lind 1915 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors American male television actors Decca Records artists Male actors from New Rochelle, New York Male actors from San Francisco Military personnel from California United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American vaudeville performers