Monica Lewis (1) (1922–2015)

Monica Lewis was the stage name of May Lewis, born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of three children in a musical family. Her father Leon was a pianist, musical director for CBS, and composer, and her mother Jessica was a singer with the Chicago Opera Company. When Monica was 11, the family moved to New York City looking for work during the Great Depression. At age 17, she was studying at Hunter College and working as a singer for a radio show called Gloom Dodgers. She went on to co-star on The Chesterfield Supper Club program and

won a part as a singing cigarette girl in the Broadway show Johnny 2X4. Her work on Broadway led to a job performing at the Stork Club and she left college, changing her name to Monica..

In 1943, at an audition in Times Square with hundreds of women, she won the coveted role of a singer with bandleader Benny Goodman. She performed on nationally broadcast shows such as The Revere Camera Show and Beat the Band. Monica was star dubbed "America’s Singing Sweetheart" during this time, with songs that included "Put the Blame on Mame," "I Wish You Love," and "Autumn Leaves." In 1948, she appeared in the first Ed Sullivan Show, produced by her brother Marlo Lewis. In 1950, she was signed to a contract with MGM, where she made such films as Everything I Have Is Yours, and Affair with a Stranger. In the 1970s, she appeared in disaster films such as Earthquake (1974), Rollercoaster (1977), and Airport '77. (1977) From the 1950s to the 1980s, she made appearances in several television action series, including Peter Gunn, The Virginian, and Ironside.
Monica was married twice and had three children.

In 2011, she published a memoir entitled Hollywood Through My Eyes.