Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510240016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HYANNIS, MASS. LENGTH: Medium
Andrews, of Auburn, Calif., died at Cape Cod Hospital at 4:20 a.m. Saturday after suffering a heart attack while on vacation in Massachusetts.
She and her sisters, Patty and Laverne, were one of the most successful women's singing groups, with 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100 million copies.
Their other best-known songs included ``Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree'' and ``Rum and Coca Cola.''
At the height of their popularity in the 1940s, the Andrews Sisters appeared in 16 films, including ``Buck Privates,'' ``In the Navy,'' ``How's About It,'' ``Hollywood Canteen" and ``Road to Rio.'' They also had their own radio show, ``Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch.''
Laverne Andrews died in 1967. The group officially broke up the next year after trying out a possible replacement.
Maxene Andrews began a solo career in 1979. Her last performance was Oct. 8 in the show ``Swing Time Canteen'' - her off-Broadway debut.
She sang ``America the Beautiful'' this summer for thousands of veterans in Honolulu at ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of V-J Day. Many had mobbed the Andrews Sisters when they performed at military posts and hospitals in Africa and Europe during World War II.
Andrews was recognized for her service in 1987 with the Pentagon's highest civilian honor, the Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Her adopted daughter and manager for the past 21 years, Lynda Wells, said Sunday she remembered Andrews for her ``wonderful wisdom and her honesty.''
``She was probably one of the most frank-to-a-fault people that you would ever meet. You wouldn't hear anything but the truth from her, and if you weren't prepared for the truth, get out of the room,'' Wells said
The sisters began performing in the early 1930s, scoring their first big hit with ``Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,'' in 1938.
by CNB