Biography
Patty Andrews was born Patricia Marie Andrews on February 16, 1918, in Mound, Minnesota, to Peter Andreos (who changed his surname to Andrews upon immigrating to the US) and Olga Sollie. Her father was a Greek Catholic immigrant, and her mother, a Lutheran from Norway, operated the Pure Food Café, a Greek café located next to the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. Patty’s sisters were Lavern Sophie (born July 6, 1911; died 1967 of cancer) and Maxene Angelyn (born January 3, 1916; died October 1995 of a heart attack while vacationing in Cape Cod, Massachusetts). Peter Andrews disapproved of his daughters being in show business, preferring they return to school and become secretaries. Maxene made her first radio broadcast in Minneapolis at age four. By six, she was performing at veterans’ hospitals, for the Mayor of Minneapolis, and at Daughters of the American Revolution luncheons. Lavern initiated the trio, and the sisters performed in kiddie revues on local radio stations and at Minneapolis’s Orpheum Theater. There, Larry Rich discovered them and offered a job with his traveling revue. Patty was only ten years old at the time. The sisters started their careers in New York City with Jack Belasco’s orchestra and later toured the Vaudeville circuit with Ted Mack. In 1937, recording executive Dave Kapp discovered them, leading to a long partnership and a series of hit songs. The group disbanded in 1953, with Lavern moving to New York to study dramatics and eventually becoming a homemaker, while Patty continued in show business as a solo artist following disagreements about their goals. They reunited in 1956 to perform in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel, receiving numerous TV offers and securing a new recording contract with Capitol Records. Their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön," was popular even in Nazi Germany until it was revealed that the songwriters were Jewish. Other notable hits included "Don't Fence Me In," "Apple Blossom Time," "Rum and Coca Cola," and "I Can Dream, Can't I?" released in 1937.
