https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRGSABGscBA





>He was born Richard Benjamin Haymes in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1918.^[1] His Irish-born mother, Marguerite
Haymes (1894-1987), was a well-known vocal coach and instructor. He became the
vocalist in a number of big bands, worked in Hollywood on radio and in many films throughout the
1940s and 1950s.
He never became a United States citizen and avoided
military service during World
War II by asserting his non-belligerent status as a citizen of Argentina,
which was neutral. Hollywood-based columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper seized upon this at the time,
questioning Haymes' patriotism, but the story had little effect on Haymes'
career. At about that time he was classified 4-F by the draft board because of
hypertension. As part of his draft examination he was confined for a short
period to a hospital at Ellis Island, which confirmed his hypertension.^[2] However, Haymes'
decision would come back to haunt him in 1953 when he traveled from California
to Hawaii, then technically not part of the United States, without first
notifying immigration authorities. Haymes was nearly deported to Argentina, but
ultimately was allowed to remain in the U.S.
Haymes experienced serious financial problems later in life, as well as
alcoholism, and at one point was forced into bankruptcy.^[3]
Haymes was married six times, but drinking, debts, and abuse led to the
dissolution of all but his sixth marriage. His more notable marriages were to
film actresses Joanne Dru (1941-1949), Rita
Hayworth (1953-1955) and Fran Jeffries (1958-1964). He was also married to
Nora Eddington, a
former wife of Erroll Flynn. Haymes' wives bore him six children
in all. His daughter Stephanie Haymes was married to Sir Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin.
He died in Los Angeles from lung cancer at the age
of 61.