Helen O`Connell Discography

See also Biography Index (H) :: Filmography Index (H) :: Discography Index (H)

O`Connell was a big band singer, actress, and dancer.

O`Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early forties with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Yours." In each of these Latin-influenced numbers, Bob Eberly crooned the song which Helen then reprised in an up-tempo arrangement. O`Connell was selected by Down Beat readers as best female singer in 1940 and 1941 and won the 1940 Metronome magazine poll for best female vocalist.

O`Connell retired from show business upon her first marriage in 1943. When her marriage ended in 1951, she resumed her career, achieving some chart success and making regular appearances on television. She was one of the first "girls" on NBC`s The Today Show, and at one point had her own NBC program, Here`s Hollywood, conducting interviews with celebrities, often in their own homes. O`Connell co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants with Bob Barker from 1972 to 1980 and was nominated for an Emmy award in 1976 for her coverage of the Miss Universe pageant.

O`Connell was married four times and had four children. In her last marriage, she was married to arranger/conductor/composer Frank De Vol when she died in San Diego, California from a battle with hepatitis C resulting in primary liver cancer (hepatoma).