Rudy Vallee started his career as a saxophone player and singer and later became a bandleader. In the 1920s and early '30s, he had a hit radio program, The Fleishmann's Yeast Hour (although his explosive, ego-driven personality made his cast and crew hate him). In the early 1930s, he was ranked with the likes of Bing Crosby and the tragic Russ Columbo in the Hit Parade. A huge hit on radio in 1933 with his program, initially known as The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, Vallee was considered a slavedriver by his staff. He was known to instigate fist fights with virtually anyone who got on his nerves. During his show's run, he slugged photographers, threw sheet music at pianists' heads, and socked hecklers in their noses. While audiences loved him, most of his staff hated him.

As a very popular star in nightclubs, on records, and in movies, he helped other singers, such as Alice Faye--who was his band singer for a while--and Frances Langford to start their careers. In his early movies, he often played the romantic lead, but later he switched to stuffy and comic parts. He also appeared on Broadway. The mid-'60s Broadway hit, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, was filmed in 1967 with him in his original Broadway role.