Biography for
Mel Tormé More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 September 1925, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Date of Death

5 June 1999, Los Angeles, California, USA (stroke)

Birth Name

Melvin Howard Torme

Nickname

The Kid With the Gauze In His Jaws
The Velvet Fog
Mr. Butterscotch

Mini Biography

A professional singer at the age of three, Mel Torme was a genuine musical prodigy. As a teenager, he played the drums in Chico Marx's band and earned the nickname "The Velvet Fog" because of his smooth, mellow high baritone voice. In the 1940s, he formed his own group, the Mel-Tones, one of the first jazz-influenced vocal groups. As a solo musician, he had a number one hit in 1949 called "Careless Love" and several lesser hits. He also acted in films and wrote several books, including biographies of Judy Garland and Buddy Rich. Torme's career included some songwriting, too. One of his most well-known compositions, "The Christmas Song", was written in midsummer as Torme relaxed by the pool.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Sujit R. Varma

Spouse

Ali Severson	(30 October 1984 - 5 June 1999) (his death)
Janette Scott	(20 May 1966 - 1977) (divorced) 2 children
Arlene Miles	(31 October 1956 - 1965) (divorced) 1 child
Candy Toxton	(11 February 1949 - November 1955) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Scat singing

Trivia

Suffered a stroke. [8 August 1996]

Jazz singer

Father of Tracy Tormé, Steve March, Melissa Torme-March, Daisy Tormé and James Torme.

Nicknamed The Velvet Fog, a nickname he was not particularly fond of.

Composed the music and words to "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire") with songwriting partner Robert Wells (Bob Wells).

Singer of "Lili Marlene" in USA.

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990.

Known for "scatting" during a song.

He was drafted into the army in 1944, but soon after when he went on bivouac, cuts were discovered in the soles of his feet and it was determined that he was so flat-footed he should never have been drafted in the first place. He was sent home from the army in 1945.

Interred in a grave close to Heather O'Rourke and Truman Capote.

He won Best Jazz Vocalist Grammy Awards in 1982 and 1983.

Frustrated by his experiences as the music director of Judy Garland's short-lived CBS variety series, he wrote a vicious tell-all book about his talented but challenging former boss. "The Other Side of the Rainbow: With Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol" portrayed Garland as hopelessly drug-addicted, unprofessional and a horror to work with.

At age eight he was a snare drummer in the Shakespeare Grammar School drum and bugle corps on Chicago's south side.

Is often referred to by Harry Anderson's character in the NBC TV series "Night Court" (1984). Harry Anderson, while on the show as "Judge Harry Stone" and, in real life, claims to be a huge fan of Torme.

He had three sons, Steve March, Tracy Tormé, and James Torme, and two daughters, Melissa Torme-March and Daisy Tormé. He had two stepchildren, Carrie and Kurt.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1541 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Former son-in-law of British actress Thora Hird.

Was a major collector of firearms.