Abbe Lane
Who was the spouse of Xavier Cugat between Aug 1961 and Nov 1962?
Xavier Cugat Xavier Cugat ( ; January 1 , 1900 – October 27 , 1990 ) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana , Cuba . A trained violinist and arranger , he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music . In New York City he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II . He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur . The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya . Life and career . Cugat was born Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu in Girona , Catalonia , Spain . His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old . He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education . He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra . When he wasnt performing , he started drawing caricatures . On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on the SS Havana . Cugat appeared in recitals with Enrico Caruso , playing violin solos . In the 1920s , he led a band that played often at the Cocoanut Grove , a club in Los Angeles . Cugats friend , Charlie Chaplin , visited the club to dance the tango , so Cugat added tangos to the bands performances . Seeing how popular the dance was becoming , Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons . This , too , became popular , and Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra . In 1928 he turned his act into the film Xavier Cugat and His Gigolos . He worked for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist . His caricatures were nationally syndicated . They appeared in Photoplay magazine beginning with the November 1927 issue , under the byline de Bru . His older brother , Francis , was an artist of some note , having painted cover art for F . Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby . In 1931 Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of the Waldorf–Astoria hotel . He replaced Jack Denny as leader of the hotels resident band . For sixteen years , he led the Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra , shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years . One of his trademark gestures was to hold a chihuahua while he waved his baton with the other arm . His music career led to appearing in the films In Gay Madrid ( 1930 ) , You Were Never Lovelier ( 1942 ) , Week-End at the Waldorf ( 1945 ) , Bathing Beauty ( 1944 ) , Holiday in Mexico ( 1946 ) , A Date with Judy ( 1948 ) , On an Island with You ( 1948 ) , and Chicago Syndicate ( 1955 ) . Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat in West Hollywood . The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners favorite songs upon request . The restaurant began operations in the 1940s and closed in 1986 . The restaurants exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 film Neptunes Daughter in which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself . A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 film The Heats On , also starring Cugat as himself . Death . Cugat spent his last years in Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain , living in a suite at Hotel Ritz . He died of heart failure at age 90 in Barcelona and was buried in his native Girona . He was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2001 . Marriages . Cugat was married five times . His first marriage was to Rita Montaner ( 1918–20 ) , his second was to Carmen Castillo ( 1929–44 ) , his third to Lorraine Allen ( 1947–52 ) , his fourth to singer Abbe Lane ( 1952–64 ) , and his fifth to Spanish guitarist and comic actress Charo Baeza ( 1966–78 ) . Recordings . Cugat recorded for Columbia ( 1940s and 1950s , and Epic ) , RCA Victor ( 1930s and 1950s ) , Mercury ( 1951–52 and the 1960s ) , and Decca ( 1960s ) . Dinah Shore made her first recordings as a vocalist with Cugat in 1939 and 1940 for RCA Victor . In 1940 his recording of Perfidia became a hit . Cugat followed trends closely , making records for the conga , the mambo , the cha-cha-cha , and the twist when these dances were popular . Several songs that he recorded , including Perfidia , were used in the Wong Kar-wai films Days of Being Wild and 2046 . In 1943 Brazil was Cugats most successful chart hit . It spent seven weeks at No . 2 on the Billboard magazine National Best Selling Retail Records chart behind Harry Jamess song Ive Heard That Song Before . In the 1950s he made several recordings with his wife , singer Abbe Lane . His orchestra included Desi Arnaz , Lina Romay , Abbe Lane , Tito Rodriguez , Yma Sumac , Miguelito Valdés , Frank Berardi , Gene Lorello , George Lopez , Glenn E . Brown , Henry Greher , Isabello Marerro , James English , John Haluko , Joseph Gutierrez , Luis Castellanos , Manuel Paxtot , Oswaldo Oliveira , Otto Bolívar , Otto Garcia , Rafael Angelo , Richard Hoffman , Robert De Joseph , and Robert Jones . On June 25 , 2019 , The New York Times Magazine listed Xavier Cugat among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire . Discography . - The Lady in Red ( Victor , 1935 ) - One , Two , Three , Kick - Congas ( Victor , 1941 ) - Cugats Rhumba ( 1945 ) - In Santiago , Chile ( Taint Chilly At All ) ( Columbia , 1948 ) - Siesta ( Columbia , 1948 ) - Tropical Bouquets ( 1949 ) - Relaxing with Cugat ( Columbia , 1952 ) - Dancetime with Cugat ( RCA Victor , 1953 ) - Cugats Favorite Rhumbas ( Columbia , 1954 ) - Mambo at the Waldorf ( Columbia , 1955 ) - Mambo ! ( Music for Latin Lovers ) ( Mercury , 1957 ) - The King Plays Some Aces ( RCA Victor , 1958 ) - Cugat in Spain ( RCA Victor , 1959 ) - Chile Con Cuge ( RCA , 1959 ) - The Latin Rhythms of Xavier Cugat ( Harmony 1960 ) - Cugat in France , Spain , and Italy ( RCA , 1960 ) - Viva Cugat ! ( Mercury , 1961 ) - Cugat Plays Continental Hits ( Mercury , 1962 ) - Most Popular Movie Hits As Styled By Cugat ( Mercury , 1962 ) - Cugats Golden Goodies ( Mercury , 1963 ) - Plays the Music of Ernesto Lecuona ( Mercury , 1964 ) - Midnight Roses ( Decca 1968 ) - Cugis Cocktails ( Mercury , 1963 ) - Cugat Caricatures ( Mercury , 1964 ) - The Cugat Touch ( Springboard , 1976 ) External links . - Personal papers of Xavier Cugat , Biblioteca de Catalunya ; accessed 8 November 2015 - About Xavier Cugat , - Xavier Cugat recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings .