Monica Lewis, who began her singing career as a teenage fill-in for Benny Goodman and later became familiar to millions as the playful voice for Chiquita Bananas, has died.
Her former publicist, Alan Eichler, said Lewis died in her home in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Friday, June 12, due to natural causes.
Lewis, an attractive performer who also worked alongside Frank Sinatra, recorded several jazz hits in the 1940s. In 1951, she signed an exclusive contract with MGM for both music and film, and she appeared in "The Strip" with Mickey Rooney and "Excuse My Dust" with Red Skelton, according to the Daily Mail.
Because of her stunning looks, Lewis was also featured in many ads for companies like Camel for its cigarettes, General Electric and Burlington Mills for its hosiery.
For 14 years, she voiced the Chiquita Banana cartoon character, who reminded Americans not to put bananas in the refrigerator.
The jingle, sung over a Latin beat, became "numbingly familiar to moviegoers," the Washington Post reported.
"I'm Chiquita banana, and I've come to say, bananas have to ripen in a certain way, and when they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue, bananas taste the best and are the best for you," Lewis repeated in the iconic commercial.
She married production executive Jennings Lang in 1956, and the couple raised three sons together.
Lewis made appearances in many of her husband's films, including "Earthquake" with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner and "Charley Varrick" with Walter Matthau.
She also guest-starred on various TV shows, including "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "Remington Steele," ''Ironside" and "Falcon Crest." She resumed her singing career in 1985 and recorded several new albums.
Lewis is survived by her two sons and three grandchildren.