A woman who sets her mind to achieving anything and goes ahead to achieve it is who Jane Morgan is. She wanted to be famous firstly in Europe, she got fame, she wanted to be a recording artist, and she got her desires fulfilled. When Jane Morgan decided that she wanted to be on Broadway, she went on to play many roles in musicals. Nothing anyone said to discourage her from achieving her dreams, worked.
Jerry Weintraub, the former American producer and actor was the husband of Jane Morgan. They remained legally married from 1965 until Jerry’s death in 2015 and together they adopted 3 children.
Jane Morgan was Born into a Family of Entertainers
Jane Morgan was born Florence Currier on May 3, 1924, in Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America. Her parents Bertram Currier and Olga Brandenberg Currier were both musicians and music teachers.
Her father was a Boston Symphony Orchestra for a lot of years while her mother, a graduate of the England Conservatory of Music, was a big-time pianist. They both started a family music school back in Newton where they also composed music.
Florence was the youngest of her parent’s 5 children. Her older brother started the Kennebunkport Playhouse in Kennebunkport Maine and she took on roles in many plays produced at the playhouse.
She learned how to sing, play the piano, dance, and act courtesy of her mother who taught her all these. Olga also taught her daughter how to perform operatic roles and this prepared her for her future career.
When she was 4 years old, Bertram, her father passed away and she had to move with her family to Daytona Beach, Florida.
While in Florida, she enrolled in Daytona Beach High School and honed her musical skills there. She also began to participate in singing competitions against other students and schools. Her confidence and fame began to soar from this point.
She eventually graduated from high school and earned express acceptance into Julliard School of Music, New York where she hoped to harness her talent as an opera singer.
It was at the school that she had her name changed from Florence to Jane Morgan. Her orchestra leader, Art Mooney decided to name her after 2 of his vocalists, Janie Ford (where he took the first name from) and Marian Morgan (the inspiration for the last name).
She Has Done it All
Well, everything she set her mind to do, Jane Morgan has done. Her career started when she started working as a singer at nightclubs and events to pay her school fees at Julliard. Jane then rose to earning $25 weekly. At the time, she got a gig to be a hired performer at the Roseland Ballroom, in Manhattan.
She first aimed at being a famous European singer and she achieved this when she got the chance to work with French impresario, Bernard Hilda. She went with him to France and began to sing in about 5 languages including French and Italian.
After making an impression in Europe, Morgan’s next target was America. She aimed to be a recording artist but was discouraged because the managers thought she was too specialized. However, while singing at the Latin Quarter, she was noticed by record producer, Dave Kapp who signed her to his record label and her fame in America began to rise.
Jane Morgan released a good number of songs and was sought after by many agents who wanted to book her for events and nightclubs.
With that ticked off her list, Morgan’s next goal was Broadway and stage. She began to eye a spotlight in musicals. She got this and starred in Can Can, Kiss Me Kate, Affairs of State, and many more stage plays.
Jane Morgan got the opportunity to perform before the former presidents. She delighted the likes of Charles de Gaulle of France, John Kennedy, and George Bush of the United States of America.
Her career has also afforded her the opportunity to sing at the Academy Awards. There she performed a song written for her by Michele Legrand titled ‘I Will Wait For You’.
Her career spanned almost 7 decades (66 years), beginning in 1943. She was active until she retired in 2009 at the age of 85.
She has earned many honors and recognitions for her contribution to Broadway, stage, and the music industry in general. One of her most notable recognitions is being inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She was the Second Wife of Jerry Weintraub
Jane Morgan was married to Jerry Weintraub for 50 years. They got married in 1965 and remained so until the 1980s when their relationship hit rock bottom.
Jane was Jerry’s second marriage as he was first married to Janice Greenberg but the marriage did not last for long.
Jane Morgan was also previously married before her union with Jerry. She was married to Larry Stith but they got divorced in 1962.
Jerry was a well-known producer, talent manager, and actor. He had worked with a lot of notable names in the entertainment industry including Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, The Carpenters, Frank Sinatra, and many others.
Weintraub was also the CEO of United Artists whose greatest achievement dates back to when he signed John Denver to his record label in 1970.
Jerry whose real name is Jerome Charles Weintraub, died at the age of 77 on July 6, 2015.
Upon his death, he was still legally married to Jane Morgan although they separated in the 1980s as earlier stated. Even though Jane and her husband never got divorced, Jerry lived with his lover of 20 years, Susan Ekins, until his death.
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The 100-year-old Adopted 3 Children with her Husband
Jane Morgan had no children of hers but she adopted 3 children with her husband, Jerry. The names of the adopted children are Julie, Jamie, and Jodie.
From Weintruab’s first marriage to Janice, he had a son named Michael and so Jane was Michael’s stepmother.
At the time of Jerry’s death in 2015, the separated couple were grandparents to 5 grandchildren. Their grandkids were named Sarah, Raphael, Joseph, Ari, and Samuel.
