Frank Prince (2)

American big band singer and actor. He also sang under the name of "Fred Lawrence", which is a pseudonym he used as an actor. Height 6 feet, 1 inch; brown hair and blue eyes (courtesy International Motion Picture Almanac). Born: April 20, 1909 in Oak Park, Illinois, USA Died: October 29, 1983 (age 74) in Los Angeles, California, USA. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1930 with an Economics degree and began working for Marshall Fields Co. in Chicago but quickly switched to music. He took a contract with Ben Bernie, who changed his last name to Prince, claiming that it sounded a little more regal. He was recording as lead vocalist as early as September of 1932 with Ben Bernie and His Orchestra. In 1933 he recorded as "Fred Lawrence" with Ben Bernie and All the Lads. In 1934 sang solo on "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" and duet with Dorothy Dell on "Do I Love You?" with Ben Bernie And His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra for the movie Shoot the Works (1934), which Lawrence, Dell, and Bernie all acted in. Dell died in an auto accident just one month later.