CONNIE HAINES
(January 20,1921-September 22,2008)
Often appearing next to Frank Sinatra while with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra during the early '40s, Connie Haines delivered a few of Dorsey's chart hits and recorded on her own during the '50s and '60s. Born Yvonne Marie Antoinette Ja Mais in Savannah in 1922, she learned the art of vocals quite early; her mother was both a voice and dance teacher. Living in Jacksonville after her parents divorced, she began airing over the radio before the age of ten. In 1931, she appeared over NBC radio as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air, sang with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra one year later, and in 1934 won a vocal contest on The Fred Allen

Connie died in Clearwater, Florida, at age 87 of myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neruomuscular disease. She was survived by her children and the one woman who influenced her the most -- her mother and manager, Mildred, who was 109 at the time of Connie's death on September 22, 2008.