Singin' Sam aka Harry Frankel (January 27, 1888, Springfield, Ohio
-June 12, 1948, Richmond, Indiana) was a minstrel performer,
vaudevillian and popular personality during the early days of radio.
He was best known as "Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man" for his long
association with that company.The son of clothing merchant Sol
Frankel, Harry grew up in Danville, Kentucky, singing in various
quartets, moving with his parents to Richmond, Indiana, when he was
nine years old. He joined Coburn's Minstrels in 1908 and later toured
with Al G. Field's Minstrels. Frankel and Joe Dunlevy were known as
the "Two Blackbirds" when they performed in vaudeville theaters during
the late 1920s.When Frankel began in radio in 1930 on WLW (Cincinnati,
Ohio), sponsored by the Great States Lawn Mower Company, he started
using Singin' Sam as his professional name, and he was also known at
that time as "The Lawnmower Man." In New York he began as "Singin' Sam
the Barbasol Man" on WABC on July 20, 1931. He disliked New York, and
three years later, he returned to Richmond, Indiana, with vocalist
Helene "Smiles" Davis,[a] so named because of her identification with
the (then new) song "Smiles" while singing to the troops during World
War I. The couple married May 2, 1934, in Richmond and lived first on
their 5-acre (20,000 m2) farm, known as Just-a-Mere Farm, ll miles
west of town on the National Road (now U.S. Route 40). They later
lived on small farm on the southeast side of Richmond with a large
colonial revival house with a pool and several outbuildings. In late
1934, Singin' Sam returned to broadcasting after Barbasol arranged to
do his show live from Cincinnati, an easy commute.He continued with
Barbasol until 1941, and during that time, he also did shows for
Coca-Cola, flying to New York on alternate weeks to make
transcriptions for his weekly 15-minute Refreshment Time with Singin'
Sam, which aired from 1937 to 1942. In total, he made 260
transcriptions for the syndicated program.
-June 12, 1948, Richmond, Indiana) was a minstrel performer,
vaudevillian and popular personality during the early days of radio.
He was best known as "Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man" for his long
association with that company.The son of clothing merchant Sol
Frankel, Harry grew up in Danville, Kentucky, singing in various
quartets, moving with his parents to Richmond, Indiana, when he was
nine years old. He joined Coburn's Minstrels in 1908 and later toured
with Al G. Field's Minstrels. Frankel and Joe Dunlevy were known as
the "Two Blackbirds" when they performed in vaudeville theaters during
the late 1920s.When Frankel began in radio in 1930 on WLW (Cincinnati,
Ohio), sponsored by the Great States Lawn Mower Company, he started
using Singin' Sam as his professional name, and he was also known at
that time as "The Lawnmower Man." In New York he began as "Singin' Sam
the Barbasol Man" on WABC on July 20, 1931. He disliked New York, and
three years later, he returned to Richmond, Indiana, with vocalist
Helene "Smiles" Davis,[a] so named because of her identification with
the (then new) song "Smiles" while singing to the troops during World
War I. The couple married May 2, 1934, in Richmond and lived first on
their 5-acre (20,000 m2) farm, known as Just-a-Mere Farm, ll miles
west of town on the National Road (now U.S. Route 40). They later
lived on small farm on the southeast side of Richmond with a large
colonial revival house with a pool and several outbuildings. In late
1934, Singin' Sam returned to broadcasting after Barbasol arranged to
do his show live from Cincinnati, an easy commute.He continued with
Barbasol until 1941, and during that time, he also did shows for
Coca-Cola, flying to New York on alternate weeks to make
transcriptions for his weekly 15-minute Refreshment Time with Singin'
Sam, which aired from 1937 to 1942. In total, he made 260
transcriptions for the syndicated program.
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