LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
She was the last of the three singing sisters: Patty Andrews died today at age 94 at her home in Northridge.
Andrews would have turned 95 on February 16. The mezzo soprano was born in Minnesota, following her elder sisters LaVerne and Maxene. The trio rose to fame in the 1940s for their popular songs like "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B," the latter of which was later re-popularized by a Bette Midler cover.
In addition to 19 gold records, the singing sisters appeared in 16 films. They were well known and loved for appearing in support of the U.S. Armed Forces on USO tours. Also well-known were the personal and professional feuds among the sisters; Patty notoriously would not speak about Maxene and LaVerne, opting to move on to other subjects or making jokes about the sibling tension when pressed in interviews.
Maxene died in 1995 at age 79 of a heart attack and LaVerne died of cancer in 1967 at age 55, notes City News Service. Patty Andrews reportedly died of natural causes.