Frances Farmer--"Auralee," 1957 TV, "Love Me Tender"

Frances Farmer recreates her performance of "Auralee," which she first sang 21 years earlier in the 1936 film "Come and Get It," in this rare 1957 TV appearance. "Auralee" was also sung by Elvis Presley that same year, with the title and lyrics changed to "Love Me Tender."

[@MegaPlexy]

What a woman, what a voice, what a strength. Farmer's life is a warning for us all, especially women. If you are not careful enough to check your back, you gonna have most evil people riding on you and ripping you down.

[@lisagardner5157]

Many of these comments are how sad her life was. She had very rough times. She's a women who always got back up. In many ways I admire her. RIP.

[@2Jeezuzisreal]

I read her story is most astounding. Frances was an amazing person.

[@mbd6054]

What a lovely, moving, unaffected performance.

[@stephenryan7698]

I read her autobiography what a tragic life but what a fighting spirit and she came to know Jesus and she is safe and one of my hero's. GOD BLESS ALL

[@karltaylor4455]

Rest In Peace, Miss Farmer

[@Chsrles62]

Lovely contralto voice!

[@Weesperbuurt]

Her life was unbearably sad.

[@allancuseo7431]

I was always fascinated by her. I was seven at the time

[@sugarin4860]

Beautiful to me.

[@Jabberstax]

Thank you for sharing this 🙏

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

Poor Frances. I saw a movie made about her life. So incredibly sad. Thankfully the days of doing those terrible things to ppl are gone.

[@antoniod]

The movie is essentially fiction.

[@antoniod]

@@theiceman6941 The gist of the film, that Frances was punished for trying to be independent, was certainly fiction. That was just how people with Manic Depression were treated then. Her Mother didn't push her back into her career, she wasn't lobotomized, and she wasn't raped by sailors in the institution.

[@marshroanoke]

I wish that were the case. You can see that the entertainment industry still uses and abuses women boosted by drugs and alcohol

[@PowersBenzoCoaching]

@@antoniod How do you know any of these things? She claimed all of that happened to her and they certainly were a very real reality back then. On what grounds to you deny her claims or the evidence of these happenings at the time?

[@robertspencer2647]

What a beautiful soul she was !

[@clintonmyers3337]

seritonin and dopamine!!!

[@clintonmyers3337]

godsmack

[@clintonmyers3337]

INTENCE!!!

[@song4you80]

❤️

[@2Jeezuzisreal]

I knew immediately I recognized that name and the memory will never leave me of the hardship that she went through with her mother and the torment in the mental hospital. And that strange surgery they did through her eye socket was just horrifying. .

[@camiologytv7149]

I like this era’s music.

[@healingenso7923]

Originally from the Civil War era.

[@kadoguy]

Thank you for this!

[@theoldfartsfarm5637]

I was 6 yrs old then. Wow

[@daviddavis3155]

Wow

[@satts1949]

A free spirit...wronged!

[@guppyfisch9638]

What they had done to her is an evil crime!

[@MonicaRodriguez-uj3di]

Indeed ,all she wanted was a happy humble life but chose fame to please people especially her mom😢

[@lilijohansen821]

She had such a sad life

[@blackjakko]

Amazing woman who managed to survive her mother continually locking her up in mental institutions where she was forced to have electric shock 'therapy' amongst other unimaginable horrors. Can hardly believe she returned to public life after that.

[@healingenso7923]

If you are interested in parallels, read the life story of Michele Shocked. Having seen Michele perform several times and heard some of her life story, it's hard to tell whether she truly was ill or not. Note, ECT is still in use today and is highly effective in the treatment of severe depression, producing positive outcomes 80% of the time. But it is now performed under general anesthetic. But how many women even today, who don't conform to social and traditional rules, are treated as mentally ill ? A great deal of effort is made, to separate those who are not harmful to themselves or others, who are simply "freewheeling souls" or whatever other label you care to apply. How often do they get it right ?

[@joey13zzzbee]

'Shadow Land' by William Arnold is this poor ladies testament

[@philipanderson4673]

quite a lot of misinformation, sadly

[@Skurwysyna]

There were lies published in that book. Complete fabrications including the lobotomy she never had.

[@timmcgurl]

Hey there, Ed. I reckon, I'm writing to you from the FUTURE? I've been 66 years late in "correcting you" in your introduction to Frances Farmer singing "Aura Lee", erroneously attributing the songwriter of Aura Lee as being the brilliant Stephen Foster, known also as "the father of American music"! I can see how that mistake has been carried down through the centuries now, since the song's Lyrics were written by "W.W. Fosdick" (sounds a wee bit like Foster, especially, with the first 3 letters "FOS" both being the same). Anyway, W.W. Fosdick wrote the Lyrics and the melody was composed by George R. Poulton in 1861. It's been a common mistake over the decades for folks to think that "Aura Lee" was written by Stephen Foster, since it's from the same period of his Songwriting career, 1840s through his death in 1864.

[@fernandagonzalez998]

This sounds so much like love me tender

[@Super241946]

It is......unfortunately Elvis and Col. T. Parker claimed the royalties as "writers" of the piece......shameless !!!

[@fernandagonzalez998]

@@Super241946 wow 😮 I had no idea

[@___David___Savian]

Ed Sullivan was being very nice to Frances here because she had gone through a lot. She was forced into a mental asylum and she had been forced to get electric shock treatment on her brain years earlier before this appearance. Here is a KZbin video link showing where she is buried. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXbRg5R7npKIntk

[@Joy-sr8nh]

The world finally knows they did my beautiful girl so wrong....they couldnt take away her voice.

[@michaelklein5242]

Ed could be a rotten &@%#$$!, but he also had a big heart. Without going into her story, Francis Farmer was at a very low point in her career when she appeared here. It was very generous of Ed to sign her up for more appearances in an attempt to regenerate interest in her once again. I do believe some film and TV work came her way due to this appearances.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

Auralee was not written by Stephen Foster.

[@raymondgallardo576]

all rights go to Andrew Solt and SOFA Entertainment

[@MsAdri1988]

She had such a sad and miserable life 😢

[@jefflawrence1385]

Praeterhuman

[@SOCIALint]

Je zajímavé, že když zpívá různé písně, tak jakoby měla hlubší hlas než když běžně mluví. Ona byla asi celkově zajímavá, atypická osobnost. Český osud dtto Frances Farmer, kterou zabil hlavně showbyznys.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWLIinVqf7Ooa7M

[@karate4348]

Cringeworthy... Francis was way beyond her time... a strong woman and men could not stand it. omg what a patronising git impersonation those guys did in those days... and if only they could see how much we women love to just be human and not treated like perpetual children... for men to profit from. yuuuuck. such a woken up woman she was... how dare the patriachy do such rubbish to rubbish her!!! and so many women still today across the world.!

[@kathleenreichert7111]

So sad; she isn't the same voice or personality who sang this song in the movie Come and Get it. This must have been after the lobotomy.

[@ellie.joy.cohencohen5097]

I. Am facibated. By. Frances. Farmer. But no. Body. Wants. To discuss her'. She should have moved in with her dad. .Sister Edith. She probably. Not been committed:. Her Mom. Lillian... Was. A conservative. Judgemental. Old hag! Movie. Stars live at a pace. That is hard. For anyone one I like. To. Play act. I would not be able to bkeep up with that pace. It would make me crazy! Poor. Frances.

[@amornaocorrespondido6879]

The rape she suffered, Just disgusting

[@freddyfurrah3789]

She was an EVIL PERSON.

[@coletteohagan2086]

She is a shell of herself here and her singing was horrendous

[@Candyfan993]

If you had any empathy at all, you would feel for what she went through and then you'd be able to recognize the sense of pathos exhibited in this performance. She may have been a kook, but she had more talent and brains and beauty than you could ever conceive of.

[@philipanderson4673]

not horrendous...

[@susanmorano405]

It is not.

[@PowersBenzoCoaching]

@@Candyfan993 calling her a "kook" is you showing empathy? nice