Singer. She was a respected Big Band, jazz, night club, and recording artist for over 60 years. The child of noted songwriter Richard A. Whiting, she was raised in Detroit and later Los Angeles within the entertainment milieu; at six she sang for songwriter Johnny Mercer, who became her mentor and "substitute father" following her father's 1938 death. She had a hit with the Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen song "That Old Black Magic" followed with "My Ideal," "Moonlight in Vermont" and others. She's often identified with her rendition of "It Might as Well Be Spring" and"Come Rain or Come Shine." A regular presence on radio and performing for troops during the way years, she also earned praise for duets she recorded with country star Jimmy Wakely in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with the 1949 "Slippin' Around" reaching No.1 on the charts. With the coming of television, she appeared on all the major variety shows and in the 1950s had her own series, "Those Whiting Girls", which co-starred her sister Barbara. Whiting's night club and cabaret career continued throughout her performing years, extending into the 2000s. In tribute to Johnny Mercer and she helped to create the 1997 Broadway musical "Dream." She was heard on the silver screen as late as 2009 when her record of "Time after Time" was used in the movie "Julie & Julia", and lived her final years in the Englewood, New Jersey, actor's home where she died of natural causes.
Singer. She was a respected Big Band, jazz, night club, and recording artist for over 60 years. The child of noted songwriter Richard A. Whiting, she was raised in Detroit and later Los Angeles within the entertainment milieu; at six she sang for songwriter Johnny Mercer, who became her mentor and "substitute father" following her father's 1938 death. She had a hit with the Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen song "That Old Black Magic" followed with "My Ideal," "Moonlight in Vermont" and others. She's often identified with her rendition of "It Might as Well Be Spring" and"Come Rain or Come Shine." A regular presence on radio and performing for troops during the way years, she also earned praise for duets she recorded with country star Jimmy Wakely in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with the 1949 "Slippin' Around" reaching No.1 on the charts. With the coming of television, she appeared on all the major variety shows and in the 1950s had her own series, "Those Whiting Girls", which co-starred her sister Barbara. Whiting's night club and cabaret career continued throughout her performing years, extending into the 2000s. In tribute to Johnny Mercer and she helped to create the 1997 Broadway musical "Dream." She was heard on the silver screen as late as 2009 when her record of "Time after Time" was used in the movie "Julie & Julia", and lived her final years in the Englewood, New Jersey, actor's home where she died of natural causes.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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