Abbe Lane, the glamorous entertainer who starred in movies with Glenn Ford and Cornel Wilde and built a thriving singing career alongside her onetime husband, famed bandleader Xavier Cugat, has died at the age of 93. Abbe Lane, born Abigail Francine Lassman on December 14, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York, began her career in the entertainment industry at a young age.
She sang on the radio, modeled, and attended the High School of Music and Art for a year before performing on Broadway in 1947-48 in George Abbott's "Barefoot Boy With Cheek" and in Michael Todd's "As the Girls Go." It was during this time that she met Xavier Cugat, who was looking for a new vocalist for his Latin music orchestra.