The opulent, vivacious blonde lyric soprano Florence George was given
only two rather routine opportunities to stake her claim in films. As
such, she was not given the chance to challenge the other glamorous
film opera divas who were the rage of the day
('Jeanette Macdonald',
Grace Moore,
Susanna Foster,
Lily Pons and
Gladys Swarthout). Instead she remained
focused on radio, concerts, recordings and the stage for the rest of
her career.
The Ohio-born beauty came into this world as Catherine M Guthrie on
December 21, 1911, the daughter of Florence and George Guthrie (she
took their first names as her professional stage moniker). Gifted
musically and vocally, she attended Wittenber College and graduated
with a degree in music at the Chicago Conservatory. She studied
one-on-one with former Italian opera star Madame Amelia Galli-Curci
(1882-1963) and earned a few radio singing spots before making her
operatic debut in "Rioletto" at the Chicago Civic Opera House. A
Paramount talent scout happened to catch one of her performances and
set up a screen test.
Florence made a charming debut opposite
John Payne singing with him "I Fall
in Love with You Every Day" and "What Romeo Said to Juliet," her best
moment came with her lovely solo on "Moments Like This". Instead of
putting her in another showcase, the studio primarily had her do
publicity sessions and radio spots. Her next movie would be the MGM
loanout Tell No Tales (1939) in a
supporting role.
Florence married the much older Everett N. Crosby (1896-1966), Bing's
business manager and older brother, in 1939. He proceeded to steer her
career as well and would do so up until his death in 1966. Purposely
guiding her away from films, he focused her on radio, recordings,
concerts here and abroad, and the light operetta stage. In 1962,
Everett bought Fair Acres, a farm estate in Connecticut where he and
Florence raised Morgan and Arabian stallions. After his death from
throat cancer, she married Andelmo Ortiz, a production manager for an
advertising firm, in 1970, and retired to Maryland. She died at age 80
on September 13, 1998.
