Jane Pickens Langley
Encyclopedia
Jane Pickens Hoving was a popular singer on Broadway
, radio and television for 20 years and later an organizer in numerous philanthropic and society events. Mrs. Hoving was the musical leader of the Pickens Sisters, a trio born on a Georgia
plantation that reached national stardom in the 1930s with its own radio show, concert tours and records.
, Georgia, and grew up there and in Atlanta. Their parents taught them to harmonize. Their father, a cotton broker, played the piano and their mother sang.
At first the sisters sang for friends, then at churches and schools. The family moved to Park Avenue
in Manhattan
in 1932, and a test recording for Victor
made such an impression with radio executives that they hired the sisters unseen. Promoted as "Three Little Maids From Dixie", they appeared in Thumbs Up on Broadway and in a movie, Sitting Pretty
.
Signed to Victor as Victor's answer to the popular Brunswick
recording artists, Boswell Sisters
, they recorded 25 sides for Victor from early 1932 until late 1934. Their records had a much more novel quality than the harder Jazz styled Boswell Sisters' records.
The group earned $1 million in five years but dissolved when two sisters left to get married and a fourth, who was the group's manager, also departed.
in France
and won fellowships at the Juilliard School
where she studied with Anna E. Schoen-René. Several times she dropped out of public appearances to resume formal training.
She sang in the Ziegfeld Follies
of 1936 in a cast that included Fanny Brice
and Gypsy Rose Lee
. In 1940 she played opposite Ed Wynn
in Boys and Girls Together on Broadway. Brooks Atkinson
's review said she had "a most attractive voice."
A turning point came in the 1940s when, unsatisfied with her career, she consulted Robert Alton, a music arranger. He told her that she came across as aloof, which he attributed to her feeling defensive. His analysis was a revelation. "I woke up the next morning absolutely healed," she said. "That wall was just gone."
In 1949 she won acclaim for starring in the lead of Regina
, the musical version of The Little Foxes
. One review said her performance was "in every way admirable." Jack Gould wrote that she "sings and acts with the ferocity of a poisonous snake."
Mrs. Hoving pursued her music career alone and had wide-ranging success, from musical comedy to opera and nightclub engagements as well as her own shows on NBC radio and ABC television
. The World-Telegram said in 1940: "She's probably the most beautiful woman on Broadway with a voice."
In 1954, Pickens appeared in a 15-minute ABC
television
musical series, The Jane Pickens Show, which was replaced in the spring by The Martha Wright Show
.
She frequently performed benefits for charitable causes, including events for orphans, hospitals, youths, veterans and the disabled. When her career tapered off in the late 1950s, she turned to running hundreds of fund-raising affairs. Among her favorite causes were the Salvation Army
and research into heart disease
and cerebral palsy
, a condition that afflicted her daughter.
, who had owned Tiffany & Company and Bonwit Teller
.
In 1972 she ran as the Republican
-Conservative challenger to United States Representative Edward I. Koch in the Silk Stocking district on the East Side of Manhattan
. Five years later, Koch was elected mayor of New York.
Mrs. Hoving also painted. Flowers were her favorite subject, roses in particular. She exhibited in galleries and sold dozens of paintings for charity.
She was 83 years old when she died of heart failure in Newport
, Rhode Island
, on February 21, 1992. She also had a home on Park Avenue in Manhattan. An early marriage to Russell Clark ended in divorce. She was survived by her daughter, Marcella Clark McCormack of Newport and Manhattan, and a sister, Patti Shreve of Bethlehem
, Pennsylvania
.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, radio and television for 20 years and later an organizer in numerous philanthropic and society events. Mrs. Hoving was the musical leader of the Pickens Sisters, a trio born on a Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
plantation that reached national stardom in the 1930s with its own radio show, concert tours and records.
Pickens Sisters
The Pickens sisters were born in MaconMacon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, Georgia, and grew up there and in Atlanta. Their parents taught them to harmonize. Their father, a cotton broker, played the piano and their mother sang.
At first the sisters sang for friends, then at churches and schools. The family moved to Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1932, and a test recording for Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
made such an impression with radio executives that they hired the sisters unseen. Promoted as "Three Little Maids From Dixie", they appeared in Thumbs Up on Broadway and in a movie, Sitting Pretty
Sitting Pretty (1933 film)
This article is about the 1933 motion picture. For other articles about other uses of the phrase "Sitty Pretty", see the disambiguation page Sitting Pretty ....
.
Signed to Victor as Victor's answer to the popular Brunswick
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
recording artists, Boswell Sisters
Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Martha Boswell , Connee Boswell , and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell , noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation...
, they recorded 25 sides for Victor from early 1932 until late 1934. Their records had a much more novel quality than the harder Jazz styled Boswell Sisters' records.
The group earned $1 million in five years but dissolved when two sisters left to get married and a fourth, who was the group's manager, also departed.
Serious about her music
Mrs. Hoving, who arranged the group's numbers, was the most serious about music. She studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and the FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and won fellowships at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
where she studied with Anna E. Schoen-René. Several times she dropped out of public appearances to resume formal training.
She sang in the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1936 in a cast that included Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
and Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
. In 1940 she played opposite Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
in Boys and Girls Together on Broadway. Brooks Atkinson
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
's review said she had "a most attractive voice."
A turning point came in the 1940s when, unsatisfied with her career, she consulted Robert Alton, a music arranger. He told her that she came across as aloof, which he attributed to her feeling defensive. His analysis was a revelation. "I woke up the next morning absolutely healed," she said. "That wall was just gone."
In 1949 she won acclaim for starring in the lead of Regina
Regina (opera)
Regina is an opera by Marc Blitzstein, to his own libretto based on the play The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. It was completed in 1948 and premiered the next year. Blitzstein chose this source in order to make a strong statement against capitalism...
, the musical version of The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in...
. One review said her performance was "in every way admirable." Jack Gould wrote that she "sings and acts with the ferocity of a poisonous snake."
Mrs. Hoving pursued her music career alone and had wide-ranging success, from musical comedy to opera and nightclub engagements as well as her own shows on NBC radio and ABC television
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The World-Telegram said in 1940: "She's probably the most beautiful woman on Broadway with a voice."
In 1954, Pickens appeared in a 15-minute ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
musical series, The Jane Pickens Show, which was replaced in the spring by The Martha Wright Show
The Martha Wright Show
The Martha Wright Show is a 15-minute musical variety program starring singer and actress Martha Wright which aired at 9:15 pm EST on ABC television from April 18 to December 5, 1954...
.
She frequently performed benefits for charitable causes, including events for orphans, hospitals, youths, veterans and the disabled. When her career tapered off in the late 1950s, she turned to running hundreds of fund-raising affairs. Among her favorite causes were the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and research into heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
and cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, a condition that afflicted her daughter.
Personal
She became a noted figure at balls and other society events in New York City, Long Island and Newport. After her career peaked she was married twice to prominent businessmen. First was William C. Langley, a Wall Street broker. After he died, she married Walter HovingWalter Hoving
Walter Hoving was a Swedish-born American businessman and head of Tiffany & Company from 1955 to 1980.-Background:...
, who had owned Tiffany & Company and Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
.
In 1972 she ran as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Conservative challenger to United States Representative Edward I. Koch in the Silk Stocking district on the East Side of Manhattan
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. Five years later, Koch was elected mayor of New York.
Mrs. Hoving also painted. Flowers were her favorite subject, roses in particular. She exhibited in galleries and sold dozens of paintings for charity.
She was 83 years old when she died of heart failure in Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, on February 21, 1992. She also had a home on Park Avenue in Manhattan. An early marriage to Russell Clark ended in divorce. She was survived by her daughter, Marcella Clark McCormack of Newport and Manhattan, and a sister, Patti Shreve of Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.