Annie Stevens

Annie Stevens of Encino, California, passed away Friday, June 6, 2014, 8 Sivan 5774. Services will be private, and the family is welcoming donations, in lieu of flowers and Shiva gifts, to: The SPCA, www.spcala.com, and/or The American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/donate. Mrs. Stevens, whose stage name was Ann Lorain, was a Big Band singer, Radio Queen 1952, and performed on Broadway and with the Ziegfeld Follies. She sang with such notables as Keeley Smith, Glenn Miller, Horace Heights, and Charlie Spivak; and with her late husband, Morton "Morty" Stevens (OBM), associated and worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, the infamous Rat Pack. Mr. Stevens was a musician, film and TV composer, who, among other accomplishments, wrote the theme music for the original 1970's television program "Hawaii Five-O".

Mrs. Stevens is survived by her children, Lisa (David) Brown and Mark (Carol) Stevens; her grandchildren, Carter and Nicholas Stevens; great-grandson, Charles; sisters, Nicki Collier and Joy Heatherly, and her brother, Bill Sunrich.

The following biography was written by Mrs. Stevens' children, Lisa and Mark Stevens:

A ray of sunshine came into the world on January 9th, 1931, and her parents named her Ethel Annie Sunrich. She was raised in Georgia, along with her two sisters, Nicki and Joy, and her brother, Bill. In her late teens, she got the bug to leave her hometown and hit the road as a singer. Her stage name was Ann Lorain, and she enjoyed a very successful career singing with the most famous big bands of the era, becoming Miss Radio Queen of 1952, and performing on Broadway and the Ziegfield Follies. In September of 1959, while having lunch at the Stage Deli in NYC, she was introduced to Morty Stevens by a mutual friend. Morty fell in love at first sight, and two weeks later they were married. Annie (who dropped the name Ethel by then) gave up her successful career to start a family, and soon became a mother to Lisa Susan and Mark David Stevens. Morty also had a successful music career, and they traveled the globe enjoying all the gifts the world had to offer. Morty passed away in 1991, but Annie stayed in California and had a fun and full life; traveling, spending time with family and friends, and working on several charities. She was a fun, caring, sassy, loving, smart, GORGEOUS, and classy lady, full of piss and vinegar, as she put it. The world lost this incredible woman on June 6th, 2014, after a battle with cancer.

Annie Stevens was our mother, and she will be forever in our hearts and our soul, and we will miss her terribly everyday. We know she is at peace though, and having her party once again.

Arrangements under the direction of Groman Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills, CA.