Count Every Star by Dick Haymes with the Artie Shaw Orch recordded in 1950. He was born Richard Benjamin Haymes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1918 His Irish-born mother, Marguerite Haymes (1894–1987), was a well-known vocal coach and instructor. He became the vocalist in a number of big bands, worked in Hollywood, on radio, and in many films throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He never became a United States citizen and avoided military service during World War II by asserting his non-belligerent status as a citizen of Argentina, which was neutral. Hollywood-based columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper seized upon this at the time, questioning Haymes’ patriotism; but the story had little effect on Haymes’ career. About that time, he was classified 4-F by the draft board because of hypertension. As part of his draft examination, he was confined for a short period to a hospital at Ellis Island, which confirmed his hypertension.[2] However, Haymes’ decision would come back to haunt him in 1953 when he went to Hawaii (then a territory and, technically, not part of the United States) without first notifying immigration authorities. Haymes was nearly deported back to Argentina. Haymes experienced serious financial problems later in life and at one point was forced into bankruptcy.[3] Haymes was married six times; but drinking, debts, and abuse led to the dissolution of all but his sixth marriage. His more notable marriages were to film actresses Joanne Dru (1941–1949), Rita …