Monica Lewis

Monica Lewis Born May Lewis May 5 1922 – June 12 2015 Was An American Jazz Singer And Film Actress. Lewis Was The Longtime Voice Of Chiquita Banana In The Company's Animated Ad Campaign Beginning In 1947. Early Life Lewis Was Born In Chicago Illinois On May 5 1922 The Youngest Of Three Children. Her Father Leon Was A Pianist And Composer And Her Mother Jessica Was A Singer With The Chicago Opera Company. Career At The Age Of Seventeen She Started Working As A Singer For A Radio Show Called Gloom Dodgers. With The Help Of Benny Goodman She Began To Establish Her Career Through Nationally Broadcast Shows Such As The Revere Camera Show And Beat The Band. Lewis Was Dubbed "America’s Singing Sweetheart" During This Time. Some Of Her Songs Included "Put The Blame On Mame" "I Wish You Love" And "Autumn Leaves." In 1947 Lewis Started Providing The Singing Voice For "Miss Chiquita Banana" A Cartoon Television Commercial Character. In 1948 She Appeared In The First Ever Ed Sullivan Show Which Was Created And Produced By Her Brother Marlo Lewis. In 1950 She Was Signed A Contract With MGM. Some Of Her Films Included The Strip Everything I Have Is Yours And Affair With A Stranger And She Later Appeared In Some 1970s Disaster Films Such As Earthquake 1974 Rollercoaster 1977 And Both Airport '77 1977 And The Concorde ... Airport '79 1979 . Personal Life Lewis Was Married Twice. Her First Husband Was The American Record Producer Bob Thiele. They Married In 1945 But Divorced A Couple Of Years Later. She Moved To Beverly Hills California In The 1950s. In 1956 She Married Film Producer Jennings Lang And They Remained Together Until His Death In 1996. They Had Three Children. Her Sister Barbara Was A Pianist And Her Brother Marlo Worked As A Television Producer. In Her 2011 Memoir "Hollywood Through My Eyes " Lewis Revealed That Actor And Future U.S. President Ronald Reagan Had Proposed To Her. However Lewis Declined Reagan's Marriage Proposal. Monica Lewis Died On June 12 2015 At Her Home In Woodland Hills California Of Natural Causes At The Age Of 93. read less