Eileen Barton

BARTON, Eileen The popular singer passed away peacefully at her home on Tuesday, June 27, 2006. The multi-talented entertainer was born to vaudevillians, Benny and Elsie Barton, and spent her infancy in a drawer of an H&M theatrical trunk in dressing rooms while her parents were on stage. At two and a one half she broke into her parents' act singing "Ain't Misbehaven." Six months later she opened at the famed Palace Theatre on Broadway doing Two-A-Day. She was a smash at three and went on to be a successful child star, working with Milton Berle when she was seven, on his coast-to-coast radio show on CBS, using the name of the sponsor's daughter, Jolly Gillette. At 14, she became an understudy to Nancy Walker in "Best Foot Forward" and played that role extensively on Broadway. She then opened in "Angel in The Wings" with Elaine Stritch. This was now under her own name. The precocious young lady eventually graduated to being Frank Sinatra's teenage protege and co-starred with him on his CBS show for two years. Frank never played the Paramount Theatre without taking Eileen with him. They played there fifteen times. She performed on her own, and later with Nat King Cole, Count Basie and Danny Kaye. Soon she had her own show, "Teen Timers", and later the "Eileen Barton Show" on NBC. In late 1949, Eileen cut a song titled "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked A Cake" and introduced it on the "Breakfast Club" radio program. The record was an instant sensation. It became one of the highest selling records on an independent label in music business history. It remained on the best seller charts over four months, and was number one in the country for twelve straight weeks. Her success led to many more recordings and she became a Headliner at such famous night clubs as the New York Copacabana, The Fountainbleau, Eden Roc, Cal-Neva, Mocambo, the Fairmont, the Flamingo, the Dunes and Caesar's Palace. Over the years, besides being in motion pictures, she appeared regularly on numerous television programs. A Memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 1st at 2:00 p.m. Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the Actors' Fund of America 5757 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., CA 90036.