Died On This Date (October 27, 1999) Frank De Vol / Played Happy Kyne on “Fernwood 2Night”
themusicsover Frank De Vol
September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999
Frank De Vol was a musician, composer, band leader, arranger, and actor who is perhaps best remembered as the ironically named Happy Kyne, who, with his Myrthmakers, were the house band for fictional talk show parodies Fernwood 2Night and later, America 2-Night. The television shows, which had sizable cult followings during the late’70s, were spin-offs of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and co-starred Martin Mull and Fred Willard as host and co-host. De Vol began playing music as a child, and had performed with a few different travelling orchestras before going off to become a recording artist. He also worked as an arranger during his early career, collaborating on records by the likes of Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, as well as on the # 1 hit, “Nature Boy” for Nat King Cole. Soon after, De Vol was signed to Columbia Records where he recorded several easy-listening albums that did quite well. He also created the scores or smaller pieces for numerous popular movies and television programs of the ’60s and ’70s. That list includes such films as Pillow Talk, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, and Cat Ballou, and TV shows, The Love Boat, The Brady Bunch, and My Three Sons. During the ’70s, De Vol acted in several television programs including Fernwood 2Night and America 2-Night, where his deadpan delivery as the mopey band leader who performed schmaltzy versions of pop hits of the day brought him many a new legion of fans. Frank De Vol was 88 when he passed away on October 27, 1999.
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