Priscilla Lane sang with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians during the big band craze of the '30s and co-starred in the movies "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "The Roaring Twenties" during the heyday of Hollywood, but she gave up all the glitter and glamour when she married Joseph A. Howard.
She died Tuesday at Wingate, Mass., at the age of 76.She was born Priscilla Mullican in Iowa City, Iowa, the youngest of five sisters. As a young girl, she and her sister Rosemary sang as the Lane Sisters and later moved to New York City, where they were "discovered" by band leader Fred Waring.
The night of her first performance with Waring, a very nervous Priscilla chewed gum to ease the tension. She forgot to remove the gum when she went onstage and was unable to sing. When Waring realized her predicament, he stopped the music and began ribbing her. The young Miss Lane rose to the occasion, ad libbed admirably and her talent as a comedienne was revealed.
She made her movie debut in "Variety Show," a 1937 feature starring the Pennsylvanians.
With her effervescent personality, Priscilla soon became a star in her own right. She co-starred in more than a dozen feature films.