ELENA
(eh-LAY-nuh)
1.
Elena Verdugo: American film and television actress 2.
“Maria Elena”: a popular song written by Lorenzo
Barcelata in 1932 Common clues: Actress
Verdugo; “Maria ____”; Barcelata tune, “Maria
____”; Verdugo of “Marcus Welby, MD”; Jimmy
Dorsey's “Maria ____” Crossword
puzzle frequency:
6 times a year Frequency
in English language:
49463 / 86800 Video: Jimmy
Dorsey: “Maria Elena”
Elena
Verdugo, born April 25, 1925, in Paso Robles, California of
Spanish parentage, is an actress who began in films at the age of
six in Cavalier of the West (1931). Her career in radio,
television and movies spanned six decades.
She
made numerous film appearances through the 1940s, including
several Universal horror films. While filming the Abbott and
Costello comedy Little Giant (1946), she met and married
screenwriter Charles R. Marion, who also wrote for the comedy
team's radio show. The couple had one son, Richard Marion, who
later became an actor/director.
Verdugo
had a flair for comedy, and she garnered much laughter and
applause in the title role of the hit situation comedy Meet
Millie on both radio and live television of the early 1950s. She
was twice nominated for an Emmy for her performances as Consuelo
Lopez in Marcus Welby, M.D.
She
has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"María
Elena" is a 1932 popular song written by Lorenzo Barcelata
(Spanish words and music). It was published by Peer International
Corporation of Mexico. The English words by Bob Russell.
The
song was dedicated to María Elena, the wife of Mexican
President Emilio Portes Gil.
An
instrumental version of the song was used for the background
theme of the film Bordertown, starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis,
in 1935. The next year the words and music were used in the
Mexican film María Elena.
Lawrence
Welk later introduced the tune in the United States on his radio
program, then in 1941 on the Okeh Records label.
The
song was a hit for the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra with Bob Eberly
doing the vocals. The recording was made on March 19, 1941 by
Decca Records as catalog number 3698. The flip side was "Green
Eyes." The record first reached the Billboard magazine
charts on May 16, 1941 and lasted 17 weeks on the chart, peaking
at #1 on June 14, 1941.[3] Since "Green Eyes" was also
a #1 hit, this was a major double-sided hit recording. In the
same year the Wayne King Orchestra also had a #2 hit with "Maria
Elena".
An
instrumental version was recorded in 1958 and released in the
United States in 1962 by Natalico and Antenor Lima, better known
as Los Indios Tabajaras. This popular revival hit No.6 in the
Billboard pop chart and No.3 on the Billboard easy listening
chart in the USA in late 1963, as well as making No.5 on the UK
singles chart at the same juncture.
Ry
Cooder performed an instrumental version of this song on his 1972
album Boomer's Story.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Elena
Verdugo"
and “Maria
Elena”.
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