Patty Andrews, Last Of The Andrews Sisters, 94

Patty Andrews, last surviving member of the 1940s swing vocal group The Andrews Sisters trio, died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge earlier today. She was 94.

Throughout the late 1930s and into the 40s, Patty, along with her sisters LaVerne and Maxene, had a string of hit songs including “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,” “Rum and Coca-Cola” and their biggest, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.” The Sisters performed with a number of the biggest swing bands of the era including Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Guy Lombardo, Desi Arnaz and Russ Morgan. Through the war years, the Sisters toured extensively with the USO entertainingtroops in both theaters of war and back home, encouraging citizens to buy war bonds.

The group’s popularity landed them a contract with Universal Pictures in 1940, where they appeared in a number of comedies including Abbott & Costello’s In The Navy and Buck Privates (both 1941). Their last film appearance was in the 1947 Bob Hope and Bing Crosby comedy The Road To Rio.

Although the group ended in 1967 with LaVerne’s death, their music continued to be used in a number of films when it was needed to establish the time period.