Ann Richards

Ann Richards (née Margaret Ann Borden, October 1, 1935 – April 1, 1982) was an American pop and jazz singer. She was the second wife of bandleader Stan Kenton. She had a short career in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Early life, musical education and influences Ann Richards was born Margaret Ann Borden on October 1, 1935, in San Diego, California, but raised to the north in Albany, California. Her father William left the family after Ann's mother had an affair and child with one of her students. By 1940, her mother Bernice was divorced and Ann's mother's maiden name of Richards was adopted. Her mother taught school and also wanted her daughter to become a teacher. Richards' mother gave Ann piano lessons and discovered Ann could sing at the age of 15. In nearby Oakland, Richards babysat for Judy Davis, who was the later vocal coach of Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. She tended after Davis's children in exchange for vocal lessons. Unbeknownst to her mother, Richards would go out late at night to sing in clubs, getting experience in the bay area as a jazz and pop singer. Shortly after the tour with Barnett, she moved to Hollywood. Kenton contacted Richards and hired her as his new singer the day they met in his office on Robertson Blvd. The sessions were scheduled to highlight her, with several pop singles produced from those dates, including "A-Ting-A-Ling", "Freddy"/"Winter In Madrid" and "The Handwriting's on the Wall". Her initial recordings never produced the hits Kenton was looking for at the time.

The most notable and mature of these initial 1955 singles with Kenton come from a July 22, 1955, session: Richards sings two Bill Holman arrangements of the standards "Black Coffee" and "The Thrill Is Gone", recorded at Universal Studios in Chicago.

By August 1961, Richards' personal and professional relationship with Kenton came to a quick end after she posed for Playboy magazine and concurrently signed a contract with Atco Records without Kenton's knowledge. The cover of her 1961 Atco release Ann, Man! was taken from her June 1961 Playboy photo shoot. That same year, she obtained a regular singing engagement at the Losers jazz club in Hollywood. Her next release was a live album recorded for Vee-Jay Records, Live...at "The Losers". It sold disappointingly. As rock & roll grew in popularity, singers like Richards were becoming passé. In March 1964, Richards appeared as a musical guest on The New Steve Allen Show. In 1965, she had a brief cameo as a bar patron in Angel's Flight, a lesser known B-movie for which she also sang the title song. After this time, her singing career never regained the traction she enjoyed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

By the mid-'70s, Richards had become the resident singer in the lounge of the upscale Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, backed by pianist Bud Herrmann. Film critic Rex Reed said that "She performed half a set seated at my table, with a mic in one hand and a scotch in the other", adding that she "sang like a dream." Soon after, they had two children: Dana Lynn and Lance.

In 1961, Richards posed for a nude layout in Playboy magazine's June 1961 issue.

Death and controversy Richards was found dead on April 1, 1982, at her home in the Hollywood Hills, her death ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles Police Department. Her estranged husband during that time, Bill Botts, found the body.

Richards' death is still considered controversial. There was a bullet wound in Richards' right temple with a rifle lying close by in the room. A letter was also there, seemingly written by Richards, which discussed the singer's depression. The police read it as a suicide note, although according to her daughter, Dana Kenton, it voiced no clear motive for the death.

When visiting the house after the body had been removed, Kenton found cocaine and marijuana that had been planted in the house, which were later revealed to be fake. Both Dana and Lance Kenton pushed for a further investigation with the LAPD, but were unsuccessful. Due to connections with insurance policies on Richards' life, Botts has been suspected to be involved, though this claim is unsubstantiated.

Later, Richards' close friend Ted Sitterley requested the police report but was turned down. The LAPD currently lists the police report as unavailable and perhaps destroyed. Botts later appeared to claim his share of Richards' estate; she had left no will. "We argued all the way down to a vacuum cleaner," Dana Kenton said. "He took my mom for every penny she had."

In 1982 her friend Donna Shore organized a memorial for Richards at Carmelo's Jazz Club in Sherman Oaks, California. Albert Marx, Jack Sheldon, Lou Levy, and Bill Henderson paid tribute.

Discography Kenton with Voices with Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1957) I'm Shooting High (Capitol, 1958) The Many Moods of Ann Richards (Capitol, 1960) Two Much! (Capitol, 1961) Ann, Man! (Atco, 1961) Live...at "The Losers" (Vee-Jay, 1963) I Hear Music (Total Recording, 1993)

Film and television Music 55 (1955) Hideout in the Sun (1960) The Ray Anthony Show (1963) The New Steve Allen Show (1964) Angel's Flight (1965)