Helen OConnell was an American singer actress and hostess described as the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s OConnell launched her career as a bigband singer with Larry Funk and his Band of a Thousand Melodies She was singing with Funks band in Greenwich Village when Jimmy Dorseys manager discovered her OConnell joined the Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early 1940s with Green Eyes Amapola Tangerine and Yours In each of these Latininfluenced numbers Bob Eberly crooned the song which Helen then reprised in an uptempo arrangement OConnell was selected by Down Beat readers as best female singer in 1940 and 1941 and won the 1940 Metronome magazine poll for best female vocalist In a 1993 obituary article the Associated Press described OConnell as the darling of GIs during World War II OConnell retired from show business upon her first marriage in 1943 When her marriage ended in 1951 she resumed her career achieving some chart success and making regular appearances on television In 1953 OConnell and Bob Eberly headlined TVs Top Tunes a summer replacement program for Perry Comos CBS television show The program also featured Ray Anthony and his orchestra In March 1955 OConnell visited Australia as a support act on the landmark tour headlined by singer Johnnie Ray which set a new box office record for Australia that stood until the 1964 visit by The Beatles and during which local media also reported that OConnell was romantically linked with Ray OConnell also was the featured singer on The Russ Morgan Show on CBS TV in 1956 In 1957 she had her own 15minute program The Helen OConnell Show twice a week on NBC Helen was one of the first girls on NBCs The Today Show commenting at the time I wasnt hired as a singer I was hired as a talker a pleasant switch She had that role from 1956 to 1958 In 1961 Helen cohosted the DesiluNBC program Heres Hollywood conducting interviews with celebrities often in their own homes OConnell cohosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants with Bob Barker from 1972 to 1980 and was nominated for an Emmy award in 1976 for her coverage of the Miss Universe pageant OConnell sang duets with Bing Crosby Johnny Mercer and Dean Martin She also sang the National Anthem for Super Bowl XV in 1981 OConnells 1942 recording of Brazil with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra was a 2009 addition to the Grammy Hall of Fame In 1992 Helen was featured along with The Andrews Sisters and Kay Starr in the KCET special Those Fabulous 40scitation needed Her final performance was at the Valley Forge Music Festival in Valley Forge Pennsylvania on August 14 1993
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