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Jane Morgan, the singer known for her frequent television appearances in the 1950s and 1960s and her work on Broadway, has died. She was 101.
She married the influential film producer Jerry Weintraub in 1965. They separated in the 1980s but never divorced and later reconciled. Weintraub died in 2015.
Morgan died of natural causes in Naples, Florida. In a statement to Deadline, her family said: “Our beloved Jane passed away peacefully in her sleep.”
She was born Florence Catherine Currier in Newton, Massachusetts on May 3, 1924. Her parents were musicians and she appeared in theatrical productions from a young age. After graduating from high school she studied at the Juilliard School in New York, hoping to become an opera singer.
She began her career as a nightclub singer, and was given the name “Jane Morgan” by the orchestra leader Art Mooney. In 1948, the actor and composer Bernard Hilda took her to Paris where her voice made her a star and she landed a recording contract with Polydor.
Morgan subsequently returned to New York, where she released her debut album The American Girl from Paris in 1956. Her song “Fascination” was used in the Audrey Hepburn movie Love in the Afternoon the following year.
She became a fixture on US television, appearing 50 times on The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1971, Morgan appeared on The Johnny Cash Show where she sang a response to his hit “A Boy Named Sue” called “A Girl Named Cash.” The song was written by comedian Martin Mull.
Morgan also regularly appeared on Broadway in productions such as Can-Can, The King and I, andGentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Following Morgan’s marriage to her manager, Jerry Weintraub, in 1965 the couple adopted three daughters. Morgan also stepmother to Weintraub’s son from his first marriage.
She mostly retired from performing in 1973, but continued to appear at occasional special events and benefits. She also worked as a production assistant to her husband on films such as the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
In her later years she preferred to be known as Jane Weintraub, and she performed at a tribute to her husband in Beverly Hills in 2009.
