Frank De Vol

Frank DeVol was born to Herman Frank DeVol and Minnie Emma (Humphreys) DeVol in Moundsville, West Virginia, on September 20, 1911 and grew up in Canton, Ohio. His father had a "pit" orchestra at the local movie house, and his mother had a sewing shop in Canton. His father was also an accountant. Frank De Vol graduated from McKinley High School in 1929. He attended Miami University (in Ohio) for six weeks. His parents had wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted a musical career. He was a member of the musicians' union from the age of 14 and worked for his father in the theatre orchestra. His instruments were violin, saxophone at first. After his stint in college, he joined Emerson Gill's orchestra in Ohio and traveled the state. Later, he joined Horace Heidt's band and not only was he a musician but he also became an arranger for the band. Later, he traveled with Alvino Rey's band. This affiliation led to long-time friendships with The King Family. Finally, in 1943, he settled in California and started his own band, appearing on KHJ radio and accompaniment to many radio shows, such as Jack Carson and Jack Smith. With the advent of television, he moved to working on The Betty White Show (1958) and The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956), among others. In the 1950s, he broke into movie composing and composed the score for 50 films. In addition, he composed the music for a number of television shows, such as Family Affair (1966), The Smith Family (1971), My Three Sons (1960), and The Brady Bunch (1969). De Vol joined ASCAP in 1964. He collaborated musically with Mack David and Bobby Helfer, and his popular-song compositions include "I've Written A Letter to Daddy", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", "Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte", "I and Claudie", "My Chinese Fair Lady", and "The Chaperone". Also a character actor, he appeared in both films and TV. In the late 1970s, he performed a parody of himself as band leader Happy Kyne on Fernwood Tonight (1977) and then America 2-Night (1978), both shows starring Martin Mull. After his first wife, Grayce, died, he married Helen O'Connell. Sadly, Helen O'Connell De Vol died two years later from cancer. Frank was survived by two daughters and four grandchildren when he died October 27, 1999, in Lafayette, California.