Solid!
The encyclopedia of big band, lounge, classic jazz and space-age sounds.
Abbe Lane
Born
- December 14, 1932
- Brooklyn, NY
Real Name
- Abigail Francine Lassman
Marriages
- Xavier Cugat (1952-64)
- Peter Laff (1964)
Abbe Lane
Singer, sex symbol, and wife of bandleader Xavier Cugat, Abbe Lane got her professional start at age four singing on a radio program. She appeared in several short films during the 1940s and at age 16 began working in stage musicals. She also appeared as featured vocalist on the Vincent Lopez television program in 1949, where she met Cugat. Impressed by the young singer, Cugat hired her. The two were later married in 1952.
With Cugat, Lane emerged as a star. Her seductive stage persona made her the focal point of the orchestra. In the mid-1950s she traveled with Cugat to Italy, where he worked in film and television production. Lane starred in many of his endeavors and established herself as a successful actress. When Cugat decided to return to the United States she stayed to continue her career. The couple divorced in 1964.
Lane returned to the United States that same year and married Peter Laff. She resumed singing and appeared on several television programs throughout the 1960s. By the early 1970s, however, her career had gone downhill. An attempt to revive it in the late 1970s with the release of a disco album brought her briefly back into the public eye.