Della Russell

Italian-American actress and singer active in the 1940's and 1950's. Born January 30, 1921 in Italy. Died November 2006 (age 85) in Beverly Hills, California, USA. Married to Andy Russell (2) from 1945 until divorce in 1954. She and her family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,USA as a small child, where she lived the majority of her childhood. She learned to play piano and sing. In 1954 Della along with Connie Haines, Jane Russel and Beryl Davis formed The Hollywood Christian Group after meeting at a church.The quartet was signed to Coral Records and released a single, which was followed by an LP named 'Make Joyful Noise Unto the Lord.' In May 1954, their single 'Do Lord' made its way to #27 on the Billboard singles chart, selling a total of two million copies. Adelina stage name became Della Russell after marrying Andy Russell an American vocalist and singer. Della became a famous actress and singer in the fifties, she appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and also had a weekly show with her husband called "Andy and Della Russell", a show that ran just five minutes between the evenings longer show. The couple performed renditions of current popular songs, backed by pianist Mort Lippman. After the first month of broadcasting, the show was renamed after the sponsoring company and became "Cook's Champagne Party". Later she remarried, raised a family and became a philanthropist.