Her recordings of such songs as "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup," "The Last Time I Saw Paris" and "Lili Marlene" became worldwide hits.
Meanwhile others have been surreptitiously angling for other posts and heads, such as Mr Darling's.
This was partly unavoidable, as big figures such as Alistair Darling and Jack Straw have gone to the backbenches.
A care home in Harrogate has been reprimanded by inspectors for addressing residents with terms of endearment such as sweetie, darling, handsome and love.
Today the cabinet appeared to be divided over tactical voting, with Ed Balls and Peter Hain openly advocating it, but other senior ministers such as Alistair Darling and Lord Mandelson much cooler.
Ed rejected calls for him to appoint experienced figures such as Alistair Darling, Alan Johnson or Jack Straw to his first Cabinet, saying he talks to them regularly but that they feel they have done their bit in government.
Curtailing spin, and putting dour and competent folk such as Alistair Darling in charge of critical ministries, may limit damage of one kind, but it will also leave a news vacuum.
The prime minister acknowledged suggestions that his role in any "no" to independence campaign might anger Scots into voting for it, suggesting leading Labour names such as Alistair Darling, John Reid and Gordon Brown could front such an effort.
Films such as Alfie Darling and The Bawdy Adventures Of Tom Jones led, in 1978, to the film of her sister Jackie's novel, The Stud, followed the next year by The Bitch.
