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![]() Friday, September 17, 1999 Published at 19:19 GMT 20:19 UK ![]() ![]() Obituaries ![]() 'Mr Moonlight' Frankie Vaughan dies ![]() Frankie Vaughan, Mr Moonlight, with his trademark top hat and cane ![]() Legendary crooner Frankie Vaughan has finally lost his long fight for life, more than four months after undergoing serious heart surgery.
Mr Vaughan, famous for his tuxedo, top hat and cane, had a history of health problems. He came out of hospital about three weeks ago, after undergoing six operations.
In October 1992 he had emergency surgery for a ruptured artery. But in his heyday, Mr Vaughan had musical success on both sides of the Atlantic.
His flamboyant act and hits including Green Door and Garden of Eden, ensured his fame as a popular showman and entertainer for well over 30 years. Working further afield, he also made a number of film appearances including, most notably, in 1960, Let's Make Love starring Marilyn Monroe. And in the mid-1980s he starred, to great critical acclaim, in the Drury Lane production of 42nd Street.
He took the stage name Vaughan because his Russian grandmother had said he would be her "number vorn" singer. He was Showbusiness Personality of the Year in 1957 and after that often topped the bill in the West End.
He had to give up the role in late 1986, after about a year, due to ill health.
In 1964 he was appointed to a committee set up to advise on juvenile delinquency. Four years later he persuaded gangs of Glasgow youths to give up their weapons and an amnesty was granted. Frankie Vaughan and his wife Stella married in 1951. They had three children and several grandchildren. ![]() |
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