Monica Lewis

Monica Lewis (born May Lewis; May 5, 1922 – June 12, 2015) was an American jazz singer and film actress. Between 1947 and 1961, she was the voice for Chiquita Banana's animated ad campaign. Her father, Leon, was a pianist, musical director for CBS, and composer while her mother, Jessica, was a singer with the Chicago Opera Company, with Lewis studying voice with her mother. Shortly after working for Gloom Dodgers, Lewis had a radio show titled Monica Makes Music. She went on to co-star on The Chesterfield Supper Club on radio. She recorded for Signature Records, MGM Records, Decca Records, Capitol Records, and Verve Records. Some of her songs included "Put the Blame on Mame", "I Wish You Love", and "Autumn Leaves." However, Lewis' parents did not allow her to perform in out-of-town tours. Some of her films included The Strip, Everything I Have Is Yours, Affair with a Stranger, and The D.I, and she later appeared in some 1970s disaster films such as Earthquake, Rollercoaster (1977), and both Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979).

She spoke about her career 10 days before her death to The New Yorker in an article published in the September 7, 2015 edition

Personal life Lewis was married twice. Her first husband was the American record producer Bob Thiele, with whom she started Signature Records. They married in 1945 but divorced a couple of years later. She moved to Beverly Hills, California in the 1950s. and, by her husband's first marriage, jazz pianist/Hollywood session musician Mike Lang. Her sister Barbara was a pianist and her brother Marlo was co-producer of The Ed Sullivan Show.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1951 Inside Straight Cafe singer Excuse My Dust Daisy Lou Shultzer The Strip Herself 1952 Everything I Have Is Yours Sybil Meriden 1953 Affair with a Stranger Janet Boothe 1957 The D.I. Burt 1973 Charley Varrick Beverly 1974 Earthquake Barbara 1977 Airport '77 Anne Rollercoaster Tourist mother 1978 Zero to Sixty Aunt Clara The Immigrants Mrs Whittier TV movie1979 The Concorde ... Airport '79 Gretchen 1982 Boxoffice Francesca 1983 The Sting II Band singer 1985 Stick Female vocalist 1988 Dead Heat Mrs. Von Heisenberg