Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 10, 1993 TAG: 9309100122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN DIEGO LENGTH: Short
O'Connell died of cancer less than a month after her last appearance, said longtime manager Gloria Burke.
Her husband, composer and conductor Frank DeVol, and three of her four daughters were with her when she died, Burke said.
Hitting the road as a big-band singer at age 16, O'Connell was still a teen-ager when she was launched to stardom in 1939 by recording "Green Eyes" with Bob Eberly and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
A fresh-faced, girl-next-door personality, O'Connell popularized the songs "Tangerine," "Amapola," "Jim," "I Remember You," "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry" and "When The Sun Comes Out."
She was the darling of World War II GIs, but in 1943 she stepped out of the limelight to raise a family.
Last month, she toured with a big-band show, performing for the last time at the Valley Forge Music Fair in Valley Forge, Pa., on Aug. 14. After experiencing chest pain, she was unable to continue and returned home to San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
During her career she appeared with the orchestras of Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and Glenn Miller, the Pied Pipers and singer Don Cornell.
by CNB