Arms was born on February 3, 1920 in
Berkeley, California, gaining acting experience via the
Pasadena Playhouse. He began his career on
radio, including working at
WNEW in
New York City. He moved up to minor screen roles during
World War II as a contract player with
Warner Bros. In his screen debut, he played Richard, the son of the Stanleys, in 1942's
The Man Who Came to Dinner. He later worked as a freelance performer, mostly in
Westerns. Subsequently, he appeared in supporting roles in both
feature films and
television. In 1953 he played the role of Chester Finley, a piano instructor and hopeful suitor to
Doris Day, in the film
By the Light of the Silvery Moon. From 1952 to 1957, he was best known as a
vocalist on
Your Hit Parade, an NBC
television series that reviewed the
popular songs of the day and on which a regular cast of vocalists would perform the top seven songs of the week. Arms and
Eileen Wilson (who starred on the show from 1950 to 1952) were the only surviving lead performers from the show until Arms' death in 2012. He authored an autobiography in 2005,
My Hit Parade... and a Few Misses. During his career as a singer, he was also well known for his 1957
hit single, "Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)", which entered the
charts on January 12, 1957 and stayed there for 15 weeks, peaking at No. 22. In 1957, he released the album
Where Can A Wanderer Go, on the Era label. The same year he was a singer on
The Hidden Treasure Show, "the first nationwide quiz show in which home viewers win the money...". The syndicated program was sponsored by
Disabled American Veterans. For the next two decades he continued to act periodically in other television series, including the
CBS sitcom
Ichabod and Me in 1962 and the
NBC drama
Gibbsville in 1976. A 1958 newspaper story about Arms noted, "Although Arms started in show business as an actor, he became a singer 'by accident,' and now he can't get anyone to believe he can act. 'I'm now in the process of proving them wrong,' he said." ==Personal life==