WA2K Radio is now on the air

There's our Raggedy, folks. Great group, as usual, PA. Since most of our listeners and staff recognize the celebs, it's probably not necessary to give their backgrounds, although we miss the details from our hawkman.<sigh>

Let's hear a song from Andy, shall we?

Love this one:

You get a line and I'll get a pole, Honey,
You get a line and I'll get a pole, Babe.
You get a line and I'll get a pole,
We'll go fishin' in the crawdad hole,
Honey, Baby mine.

Sittin' on the bank 'til my feet get cold, Honey,
Sittin' on the bank 'til my feet get cold, Babe,
Sittin' on the bank 'til my feet get cold,
Lookin' down that crawdad hole,
Honey, Baby mine.

Yonder comes a man with a sack on his back, Honey,
Yonder comes a man with a sack on his back, Babe,
Yonder comes a man with a sack on his back,
Packin' all the crawdads he can pack,
Honey, Baby mine.

The man fell down and he broke that sack, Honey,
The man fell down and he broke that sack, Babe,
The man fell down and he broke that sack,
See those crawdads backing back,
Honey, Baby mine.

I heard the duck say to the drake, Honey,
I heard the duck say to the d b6e rake, Babe,
I heard the duck say to the drake,
There ain't no crawdads in this lake,
Honey, Baby mine.

Missed you, Arthur. Ah, yes, and Elton modified it for Princess Diane. Thanks, buddy, for the reminder.

Frank Morgan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Frank Morgan as The Wizard of Oz.Frank Morgan (June 1, 1890 - September 18, 1949) was an American character actor best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.

Born Francis Phillip Wuppermann in New York City to the wealthy family which distributed Angostura bitters, he attended Cornell University where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He then followed his older brother Ralph Morgan into show business, first on the Broadway stage and then into movies. His first film was The Suspect in 1916. His career expanded when talkies began, his most stereotypical role being that of a befuddled but good-hearted middle-aged man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1934's The Affairs of Cellini, where he played the cuckolded Duke of Florence and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942's Tortilla Flat, where he played a simple Hispanic man.

Morgan's most famous role was in The Wizard of Oz (1939), where he played the carnival huckster "Professor Marvel", the door warden to the Emerald City, the driver of the carriage drawn by "The Horse of a Different Color", the armed guard leading to the wizard's hall, and the Wizard of Oz himself. Like Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West, his characters only appear on-screen for a few minutes in total, but they are show-stoppers. He was so popular that MGM gave him a lifetime contract. Other movies of note include The Shop Around the Corner, The Human Comedy, The White Cliffs of Dover and his last movie, Key to the City, which was released after his death, in Beverly Hills, California.

Like most character actors of the studio era Frank Morgan had numerous roles in many motion pictures. One of his last roles was as a key supporting player in The Stratton Story, a true story about a ballplayer (played by James Stewart) who makes a comeback after losing a leg in a hunting accident.

Having died in 1949 (while filming Annie Get Your Gun), Morgan was the one major player from the movie who did not live to see The Wizard of Oz become an American institution. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1708 Vine Street.

Hoorah! The hawkman is back

Molly Picon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Molly PiconMolly Picon (Yiddish:מאָלי פּיקאָן) was born Margaret Pyekoon in New York City on June 1, 1898. She was a star of stage, screen and television. She also was a lyricist. Her career began at the age of six in the Yiddish Theatre.

In 1912, she debuted at the Arch Street Theatre in New York and became a star of the Second Avenue Yiddish stage.

She was so popular in the 1920s that many shows had the name Molly in their title. In 1931 she opened the Molly Picon Theatre.

Picon appeared in many films, starting with the silent movies. Her earliest film still existing is East and West which deals with the clash of new and old Jewish cultures. Molly plays a daughter, and her husband in real life, Jacob Kalich, plays one of her Galician relatives from Eastern Europe.

Her most famous film, 'Yidl Mit'n Fidl (1936), was made on location in Poland. She made her English language debut on stage in 1940.

On Broadway, she starred in the first staged play of Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn in 1961, and in the musical Milk and Honey also in 1961.

Her first English speaking role in the movies was the film version of Come Blow Your Horn in 1963. She also played "Yente, the Matchmaker" in the film version of the Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof in 1971.

An entire room was filled with her memorabilia at the Second Avenue Deli in New York (now closed).

She died on April 5, 1992, aged 93, from Alzheimer's disease in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her husband, from 1919 until his death in 1975 from cancer, was Jacob Kalich. They had no children.

Nelson Riddle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. (June 1, 1921-October 6, 1985) was a well-known American bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. Riddle is perhaps best known for his 1950s work for Capitol Records, providing jazzy big-band style arrangements to accompany such vocalists as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, and Keely Smith. Later, his arranging talents were also used by Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Matt Monro, Linda Ronstadt, and others. His arrangements are characterized by innovative orchestration with counter melodies and instrumentation that express the emotions of each verse of a song.

Early years

Riddle was born in Oradell, New Jersey, the only child of Marie Albertine Riddle and Nelson Smock Riddle, Sr. Following his father's interest in music, he began taking piano lessons at age eight and trombone lessons at age fourteen. After his graduation from Ridgewood High School, Riddle spent his late teens and early 20s playing trombone in and occasionally arranging for various local dance bands, culminating in his association with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra.

In 1943, Riddle joined the Merchant Marine where he continued his musical work. After his enlistment term ended, Riddle travelled to Chicago to join the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1944; he remained the orchestra's third trombone for eleven months until drafted by the United States Army in April, 1945.

Just months after Riddle entered the Army, World War II ended and he was discharged in June 1946 after only fifteen months on active duty. Riddle moved shortly thereafter to Hollywood to pursue his career as an arranger, and spent the next several years ghostwriting arrangements for more established names in the music business, and also serving on the arranging staff at NBC.

The Capitol years

In 1950, Riddle was hired by arranger Les Baxter to write arrangements for a recording session with Nat King Cole; this was one of Riddle's first associations with Capitol Records. Although one of the songs Riddle had arranged, "Mona Lisa," soon became the biggest selling single of Cole's career, the work was credited entirely to Baxter. However, once Cole learned the true identity of the arrangement's creator, he sought out Riddle's work for other sessions, and thus began a fruitful partnership that furthered the careers of both men at Capitol.

During the same year, Riddle also struck up a conversation with Vern Yocum, (born George Vernon Yocum) a big band jazz musician (brother of Pied Piper, Clark Yocum) who had transitioned into music preparation servicing Frank Sinatra. He also worked for Nat King Cole and other entertainers at Capitol Records. A collaboration followed with Vern becoming Riddle's "right hand" as copyist and librarian for the next thirty years.

In 1952, Capitol Records executives viewed the up-and-coming Riddle as a prime choice to arrange for the newly-arrived Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was reluctant however, preferring instead to remain with Axel Stordahl, his long-time collaborator from his Columbia Records years. When success of the first few Capitol sides with Stordahl proved disappointing, Sinatra eventually relented and Riddle was called in to arrange his first session for Sinatra, held on April 30, 1953. The first product of the Riddle-Sinatra partnership, "I've Got The World On A String", became a runaway hit and is often credited with relaunching the singer's slumping career.

Riddle was to stay at Capitol for another decade, during which time he continued to arrange for Sinatra and Cole, in addition to such Capitol artists as Dean Martin, Keely Smith, and Ed Townsend. He also found time to release his own instrumental albums on the label, most notably "Hey...Let Yourself Go" (1957) and "C'mon...Get Happy" (1958), both of which peaked at a respectable number twenty on the Billboard charts.

Later years

In 1963, Riddle joined Sinatra's newly-established label Reprise Records. Much of his work in the 1960s and 1970s was for film and television, including his hit theme song for Route 66, steady work arranging episodes of Batman and other television series, and the scores of several motion pictures including the Rat Pack features Robin and the Seven Hoods and the original Ocean's Eleven.

In the latter half of the 1960s, the partnership between Riddle and Frank Sinatra grew more distant as Sinatra began increasingly to turn to Don Costa, Billy May and an assortment of other arrangers for his album projects. Although Riddle would write various arrangements for Sinatra until the late 1970s, Strangers In The Night, released in 1966, was the last full album project the pair completed together. The collection of Riddle-arranged songs was intended to expand on the success of the title track, which had been a number one hit single for Sinatra arranged by Ernie Freeman.

Because of changes in musical tastes, Riddle only worked sporadically in the 1970s. During this time, the majority of his work was for film and television, including the score for the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby, which earned Riddle his first Academy Award after some five nominations. In 1973, he served as musical director for the Emmy Award winning The Julie Andrews Hour.

In 1982, Riddle was approached by Linda Ronstadt and producer Peter Asher to write arrangements for an album of pop standards Ronstadt had been contemplating for some time. The end result was a three-album contract which included what were to be the last arrangements of Riddle's career.

1982 also saw Riddle work for the last time with Ella Fitzgerald, on her last orchestral Pablo album, The Best Is Yet to Come. Arrangements for Ronstadt's "What's New" (1983) and "Lush Life" (1984) won Riddle his second and third Grammy Awards (the last was awarded posthumously in 1986).

In 1985, Riddle died at age 64 of liver ailments. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.

Following Nelson Riddle's death, his last three arrangements for Linda Ronstadt's For Sentimental Reasons album were conducted by Terry Woodson; the album was released in 1986.

In February 1986, Riddle's youngest son Christopher, himself an accomplished bass trombonist, assumed the leadership of his father's orchestra. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra continues touring to this day, playing tribute concerts showcasing Riddle's arrangements for Frank Sinatra and others.

Following the death of Riddle's second wife Naomi in 1998, proceeds from the sale of the Riddle home in Bel Air were used to establish the Nelson Riddle Archives at the University of Arizona, which officially opened in 2001. The opening showcased a gala concert of Riddle's works, with Linda Ronstadt as a featured guest performer.

In 2000, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops released a Nelson Riddle tribute album entitled "Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound" on Telarc Records. The album showcases expanded orchestral adaptations of the original arrangements provided by the Nelson Riddle Archives, and is presented in a state-of-the-art digital recording that was among the first titles to be released on multi-channel SACD.

While in the Army, Riddle married his first wife Doreen Moran in 1945. The couple had six children: In 1968, Riddle separated from his wife Doreen; their divorce became official in 1970. A few months later he married Naomi Tenenholtz, then his secretary, with whom he would remain for the rest of his life.

Andy Griffith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, singer, writer and producer from Mount Airy, North Carolina. He is a genuine country boy who made sophisticated humor based on his own background.

He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1949. While at UNC, he was president of the UNC Men's Glee Club and was a member of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, America's oldest fraternity for men in music. After graduation, he taught English at Goldsboro High School, Goldsboro, NC for a few years.

TV legacy

Griffith is best known as "Sheriff Andy Taylor" in the popular 1960s television series The Andy Griffith Show and in the title role in the television series Matlock, which ran from 1986 to 1995.

Comedian to film star

Griffith started out in show business as something of a stand-up comedian, although a better description might be monologist. His first success was a 1953 live recording of "What it was, was football", a story about a country boy at his first football game, delighting in the "big orange drinks" and the boys running up and down the "cow pasture" in "the awfulest fight I have ever seen in my life" and "these purty girls a-wearin' these little-bitty short dresses, and a-dancin' around". Later that year, he recorded "Number One Street", telling the story of a rural family travelling to Florida on United States Highway 1.

By 1954, he was on Broadway, starring in No Time for Sergeants, a play about a country boy in the Air Force, made into a film in 1959, in which he also starred, and which is considered the direct inspiration for Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..

Dramatic pinnacle

In 1957, Griffith starred in A Face in the Crowd. Again, he played a country boy, but this time the country boy was a terrifying psychopath who became a television host and used his show as a gateway to political power. This classic film showcased Griffith's powerful talents as a dramatic actor and singer, and also showed early on the power of television upon the masses. (Directed by Elia Kazan, this superbly prescient film was seldom run on television until the 1990s.)

The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show, which aired from 1960 to 1968, became an instant hit with its American audience. Viewers immediately felt a connection with Taylor, his son "Opie" (Ron Howard), "Aunt Bee" (Frances Bavier), Deputy "Barney Fife" (Don Knotts), "Gomer Pyle" (Jim Nabors), Goober Pyle (George Lindsey) and the entire town of "Mayberry".

Matlock and other series

After leaving his still-popular show in 1968, Griffith starred in less successful series such as as The Headmaster (1970), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971), Salvage 1 (1979), and The Yeagers (1980).

He scored another prime-time hit in 1986 with Matlock. Griffith played the title role of Benjamin Matlock, a criminal defense attorney with a Southern drawl, a signature searsucker suit, and an open countenance that belied his sly intelligence, The series ran from from 1986 to 1992 on NBC and from 1992 until 1995 on ABC. Distributed by Viacom it has seen long-running success in syndication.

TV movies

He also starred in many television films such as The Strangers In 7A (1972), Winter Kill (1974) and Pray for the Wildcats (1974). In 1981 Griffith won an Emmy nomination for his role in the TV film Murder In Texas and in 1983 won further acclaim for his role as a homicidal villain in the TV film Murder In Coweta County, co-starring music legend Johnny Cash as the hero. He also had an appearance as the villain in the 1996 movie Spy Hard.

Singing and Recording Career

Griffith sang as part of some of his acting roles, most notably in A Face In The Crowd and on some episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Within recent years, he has recorded successful albums of classic Christian hymns, for Sparrow Records.

Marilyn Monroe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born: June 1, 1926
Los Angeles, United States of America
Died: August 5, 1962
Los Angeles, United States of America

Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 - August 5, 1962) is one of the twentieth-century's most famous movie stars, sex symbols and pop icons. After acting in small roles for several years, she gradually became known for her comedic skills, sex appeal, beauty and remarkable screen presence, going on to become the most bankable star of the 1950s. Later in her career, she worked towards serious roles with a measure of success. However, disappointments in her personal life deepened longstanding personal problems. The circumstances surrounding her death have been the subject of endless speculation and conspiracy theories. These have only served to solidify her reputation as one of the most legendary public figures of all time.


Early life

Marilyn Monroe as a child from [1] The Maite Minguez Ricart CollectionAlthough she would become one of the most celebrated actors in film history, Marilyn Monroe's beginnings were humble. She was born in the charity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital. Her registered name was Norma Jeane Mortensen her grandmother, Della Monroe Grainger, later had her baptized Norma Jeane Baker.

Her mother, Gladys Pearl Monroe Baker, had returned to California from Kentucky where her first husband Jasper Baker had taken their children, Robert and Berniece, after she divorced him. Monroe's biographers portray Jasper as a brute who routinely beat Gladys. Berniece recounts in her book My Sister Marilyn that, after Robert suffered a fall, Baker treated him with "home remedies" instead of seeking medical attention; the boy died in 1933.

Most biographers believe her biological father was Charles Stanley Gifford, a salesman for the studio where Gladys worked as a film-cutter. Her birth certificate lists Gladys's second husband Norwegian Martin Edward Mortensen as the father. While Mortensen left Gladys before Norma Jeane was born, some biographers think he was the father, but that his surname was slightly misspelled on the birth certificate. [citation needed] Whomever the father was, that he played no part in the child's life has never been in dispute.

Gladys was unable to persuade Della to look after Norma Jeane, so she was placed with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Santa Monica, southwest of Los Angeles, where she lived until she was seven years old. In her autobiography My Story, Monroe states she thought Albert and Ida were her parents until one day, rather rudely, Ida corrected her.

Again according to My Story, Gladys visited Norma Jeane every Saturday, but never smiled, hugged or kissed her. At some point, Gladys announced that she had bought a house for herself and her daughter, but a few months after they moved in, she suffered a mental breakdown. Monroe recalled Gladys "screaming and laughing" as she was forcibly removed to the State Mental Hospital in Norwalk, California, the same hospital where Gladys' mother Della had died in August, 1927. Gladys' father, Otis, had also died in a mental hospital (near San Bernardino, California) as a result of syphilis.

However, it should be noted that My Story is not to be considered a trustworthy source. It was ghost-written by Ben Hecht, and designed to colour Monroe's image as a long-suffering orphan. Its factual claims have been considered suspicious. [citation needed]

Norma Jeane was declared a ward of state and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee (later Goddard) became her guardian. After McKee married in 1935, Norma Jeane was sent to the Los Angeles orphanage and then to a succession of foster homes where it is alleged she was subjected to abuse and neglect. There is little evidence that she lived in as many foster homes as claimed. Moreover, Monroe was known to have given exaggerated information about her childhood. [citation needed]

The Goddard family were moving to the East Coast and could not take her. Grace, worried about Norma Jeane having to return to the orphanage, spoke to the mother of James Dougherty. Mrs. Dougherty approached her son, who agreed to take Norma Jeane out on dates, paid for by Grace. They married two weeks after she turned 16.

Career


While her husband served in the Merchant Marines during World War II, Mrs. Norma Jeane Dougherty moved in with her mother-in-law, and worked in a factory spraying airplane parts with fire retardant and inspecting parachutes. Army photographer David Conover scouted local factories taking photos for a YANK magazine article about women contributing to the war effort. He saw her potential as a model and she was soon signed by The Blue Book modelling agency (in his book "Finding Marilyn", Conover claimed the two had an affair that lasted years.) She became one of their most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers. In 1946 she came to the attention of talent scout Ben Lyon. He arranged a screen test for her with 20th Century Fox. She passed and was offered a standard six-month contract with a starting salary of $75 per week, the high end of industry standard.

Lyon suggested "Marilyn" after Marilyn Miller; she suggested her mother's maiden name "Monroe". Thus the twenty-year old Norma Jeane Baker became "Marilyn Monroe". During her first six months at Fox, Monroe was given no work. Instead, she learned about hair, make-up, costumes, acting and lighting. After six months Fox decided to renew her contract and she was given very minor roles in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and Dangerous Years, both released in 1947. In Scudda Hoo!, her face wasn't even visible. Both films failed at the box office and Fox decided not to renew her contract. Monroe returned to modelling and began to network and make contacts in Hollywood.

In 1948, a six-month stint at Columbia Pictures saw her star in Ladies of the Chorus, but the low-budget musical was not a success and Monroe was dropped yet again. She then met one of Hollywood's top agents, Johnny Hyde, who had Fox re-sign her after MGM had turned her down. Fox Vice-President Darryl F. Zanuck was not convinced of Monroe's potential. However, due to Hyde's persistence, she gained supporting parts in All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle. Even though these roles were minor, movie-goers took notice and Monroe began receiving more fan mail than some top-billed stars of the time. The next two years were filled with largely inconsequential roles in standard fare such as We're Not Married! and Love Nest. However, RKO executives used her name to boost box office potential of the Fritz Lang production Clash By Night. After the film performed well, Fox employed a similar tactic and she was cast as a ditzy receptionist in the Cary Grant comedy Monkey Business. Critics could no longer ignore her, with one wit commenting: "She disproves more than adequately the efficacy of the old stage rule about not turning one's back to the audience." Both films' unexpected success at the box office is attributed to Monroe and her rapidly growing popularity with audiences of the time.

Fox finally gave her a starring role in 1952 with Don't Bother To Knock, in which she portrayed a deranged babysitter who attacks the little girl in her care. It was a cheaply made B-Movie, and although the reviews were mixed it clearly demonstrated Monroe's ability and confirmed that she was ready for more important leading roles. Her performance in this, one of her earliest films, has since been noted as one the finest of her career by many critics.

Stardom

Monroe's critically well received role in the thriller Niagara gave her credibility as a dramatic actress, but her career would quickly follow a more Comedy-orientated path.Although critics were at first unwilling to admit Monroe's abilities as a dramatic actress, they were left in no doubt about her sex appeal. Monroe proved she could carry a big-budget film when she finally received star billing for Niagara in 1953. Movie critics focused on Monroe's connection with the camera as much as the sinister plot. Her turn as the unbalanced easy virtue, Rose Loomis, who is planning to murder her equally neurotic husband, led some movie critics to claim Monroe would have been the perfect leading lady in an Alfred Hitchcock film.

It was around this time that nude photos of Monroe began to surface, taken by photographer Tom Kelley when she had been struggling for work. Prints were bought by Hugh Hefner and in December 1953 appeared in the first edition of Playboy. To the dismay of Fox, Monroe decided to publicly admit it was indeed her posing in the pictures. To a journalist asking what she had on during the photoshoot, she replied: "The radio." When asked what she wore in bed, she said: "Chanel No. 5." Her honesty and humour endeared her to the public, to the surprise of many industry insiders. Over the following months, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How To Marry A Millionaire cemented Monroe's status as an A-List screen actress and she quickly became arguably the world's biggest movie star. The lavish, technicolor comedy films firmly established Monroe's "dumb blonde" on-screen persona - one that she never truly escaped, despite her later efforts.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is regarded as one of the best comedies of all-time by many critics. Monroe's self-ironic turn as the gold-digging showgirl Lorelei Lee is generally considered to be one of her most alluring on-screen efforts, and her rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is among the best-known scenes in movie history. It was for this role that Monroe was awarded her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


A much parodied scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which would be the first of many pop culture icons to form Marilyn Monroe's careerIn How to Marry a Millionaire, Monroe was teamed up with two other major sex symbols, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. She played a short-sighted dumb blonde named Pola Debevoise and managed to shine even among her charismatic co-stars. Even though the role was in many ways a stereotype, Monroe garnered favorable reviews, and critics took note of her comedic timing. In Europe, she was already getting recognition for her acting skills, up to the extent that she was compared to Charlie Chaplin.

Her next two films, the western River of No Return and the musical There's No Business Like Show Business, were not successful, partly due to the fact that Monroe wasn't given much to work with. Monroe, ambitious as ever and striving to face challenges, got tired of the roles that Zanuck assigned her. After completing work on The Seven Year Itch in early 1955, she broke her contract and fled Hollywood to study acting at The Actors Studio in New York. Fox would not accede on her new contract demands and insisted she return to start work on productions she considered inappropriate, such as The Girl In Pink Tights (which was never filmed), The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, and How To Be Very, Very Popular.


A famous scene from the film The Seven Year Itch, in which Monroe's character has her skirt blown upwards revealing her underwear. This has grown to become another iconic moment for Monroe.Monroe refused to appear in these films and stayed in New York. As The Seven Year Itch raced to the top of the box office in the summer of 1955, with other Fox starlets Jayne Mansfield and Sheree North failing to click with audience, Zanuck admitted defeat and Monroe triumphantly returned to Hollywood. A new contract was drawn up, giving Monroe complete directorial approval as well as the option to act in other studios' projects.

The first film to be made under the contract was Bus Stop, directed by Joshua Logan. Critics immediately took note of Monroe's profound approach on the character she played. Generally praised for her performance as Cherie, a saloon bar singer who falls in love with a cowboy, Monroe deliberately appeared badly made-up and non-glamorous. A lot of people believe she should have been nominated for an Academy Award. She did, however, get a Golden Globe nod.

Monroe formed her own production company with friend and photographer Milton H. Greene. Marilyn Monroe Productions released its first film The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957 to mixed reviews. Along with executive-producing the film, she starred opposite the acclaimed British actor Laurence Olivier, who directed it. Unfortunately, the chemistry between the two was lacking, not surprising given Olivier's fury at her "unprofessional" behavior and Monroe's reputation in the film industry for being difficult only grew. Monroe's performance as songstress Elsie Marina, however, was hailed as a first-rate characterization by the critics of the time, especially in Europe, where she was handed the David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Academy Award, as well as the French Crystal Star Award. Furthermore, Monroe got nominated for the much valued BAFTA award.

Later years

In 1959 she scored the biggest hit of her career starring alongside Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot. Her difficult behavior on the set is now legendary. After shooting finished, Wilder publicly blasted Monroe and she wasn't invited to the wrap party. In the years after her death, however, Wilder's attitude softened, and hailed her as a first-rate comedienne. Some Like It Hot is consistently rated as one of the best films ever made.[citation needed] Monroe's performance as the sweet and not-too bright Sugar Kane earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in musical or comedy.


Screen Tests for Something's Got To Give revealed Monroe at her most radiant, but the film became a costly debacle.After Some Like It Hot, Monroe did Let's Make Love directed by George Cukor and co-starring Yves Montand. Monroe, Montand and Cukor all considered the script subpar, yet Monroe was forced to make the film because of her obligations to Twentieth Century Fox. While the film was not a commercial or critical success, it included one of Monroe's legendary musical numbers, Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy".

Arthur Miller wrote what became her and her co-star Clark Gable's last completed film, The Misfits. It was a long and exhausting shoot in the middle of the hot Nevada desert. Monroe's tardiness became chronic and the shoot was troublesome. Despite this, Monroe, Gable and Montgomery Clift were able to deliver performances that are now considered excellent, even iconic. Monroe became friends with Clift, with whom she felt a deep connection. Some blamed Gable's death of a heart attack on Monroe, claiming she had given him a hard time on the set. Gable, however, insisted on doing his own stunts and was a heavy smoker. Monroe did attend his funeral.

Some of the most famous photographs of her were taken by Douglas Kirkland in 1961 as a feature for the 25th anniversary issue of LOOK magazine.

Monroe returned to Hollywood to resume filming on an already troubled picture, Something's Got to Give. In May 1962, Monroe made her last significant public appearance, singing Happy Birthday, Mr. President at a televised birthday party for President John F. Kennedy. After shooting what was claimed to have been the first ever nude scene by a major motion picture actress, Monroe's attendance became even more erratic due to illness.


Happy Birthday, Mr. President May 1962Already in a financial strain due to production costs of Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Fox used Monroe's absences as an excuse to drop her from the film, sue her, and then replace her with Lee Remick. However, a clause in co-star Dean Martin's contract gave him approval over the film's leading lady. As he was unwilling to work with anyone else, Monroe was rehired for double her original salary.

Monroe conducted a lengthy interview with Life Magazine, in which she expressed how bitter she was about Hollywood labeling her as a dumb blonde and how much she loved her audience. She also did a photo shoot for Vogue, and began discussing a future film project with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. She was also planning to star in a biopic as Jean Harlow. Other projects being considered for her were What a Way to Go! and The Stripper.

Before the shooting of Something's Got to Give resumed, however, Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home, on the morning of August 5, 1962. Her death, officially ruled to be a probable suicide by drug overdose, has become the subject of conspiracy theories, but these have done little to dent her iconic status as the archetypal sex symbol and film star in movie history.

Marriages

James Dougherty

Monroe married James Dougherty on June 19, 1942. In The Secret Happiness of Marilyn Monroe and To Norma Jeane with Love, Jimmie, he claimed they were in love but dreams of stardom lured her away. She always maintained theirs was a marriage of convenience engineered by Grace Goddard. She was reportedly furious when he claimed to Photoplay in 1953 she threatened to jump off the Santa Monica Pier if he left her. He appeared as a contestant on To Tell the Truth as "Marilyn Monroe's real first husband". He sold signed copies of his books on his website [2].

In the 2004 documentary Marilyn's Man, Dougherty made three new claims: he was her Svengali and invented "Marilyn Monroe", the studio forced her to divorce him and he was her true love. The evidence does not support this. He remarried in 1947. When informed of her death, the New York Times reported he replied "I'm sorry" and continued his LAPD patrol; he did not attend her funeral. In the December 1952 Modern Screen Magazine, his sister revealed he left Marilyn because she wanted to pursue a career. In an interview for A&E Network, he admitted that his mother asked him if he'd marry Norma Jeane. More telling, the Christie's and Julien's auctions revealed that Monroe kept nothing from Dougherty except their divorce decree. He died from leukemia complications on August 15, 2005.

Joe DiMaggio

In 1951 Joe DiMaggio saw a picture of Monroe with two Chicago White Sox players, but did not ask the man who arranged the stunt to set up a date until 1952. She did not want to meet him, fearing a stereotypical jock. They eloped at San Francisco's City Hall on January 14, 1954. During the honeymoon, she was asked to visit Korea. She performed 10 shows over 4 days in freezing temperatures for more than 100,000 soldiers and marines. Reportedly, Joe was not pleased with his wife's decision during what he wanted to be an intimate honeymoon.

After returning home, she wrote him a letter about her dreams for their future, dated February 28, 1954:

"My Dad, I don't know how to tell you just how much I miss you. I love you till my heart could burst. All I love, all I want, all I need is you- forever. I want to just be where you are and be just what you want me to be. I know its lousy of me to be so late so often and I promise to try a million time harder. I promise. I want someday for you to be proud of me as a person and as your wife and as the mother of the rest of your children. (two at least! I've decided) I miss it so much when you don't love me and hold me and cuddle me to sleep every night. I want to be near you and I feel so sad tonight. Darling please don't leave me anymore."
DiMaggio biographer Maury Allen quoted New York Yankees PR man, Arthur Richman, that DiMaggio told him everything went wrong from the trip to Japan on. Although Marilyn wanted a family, she was intent on continuing her career. Biographer Fred Guiles speculated that Joe, knowing first-hand the power and hollowness of fame, tried desperately to head off what he was convinced was Marilyn's "collison-course with disaster."

Friends claimed that DiMaggio became more controlling as Monroe grew increasingly defiant. After filming the notorious skirt-blowing scene in The Seven Year Itch, Billy Wilder recalled the "look of death" on DiMaggio's face as he watched; biographer Richard Ben Cramer claims that Joe was so "disgusted", he beat her after she returned to their hotel. Her makeup man Allan Snyder recalled that Marilyn later appeared on set with bruises on her upper arms. Tom Ewell told the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1989 that Wilder set the whole scenario up: he had fans in bleachers, and a fan placed under the grate before rehearsals that would blow the dress over her head. She filed for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty 274 days after the wedding.

Even before her separation from Arthur Miller, the state of her mental health became widely speculated on by the media. In February 1961, her psychiatrist arranged for her to be admitted to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic (she was reportedly placed in the ward for the most seriously disturbed). Unable to check herself out, she called DiMaggio. He secured her release. She later joined him in Florida. Their "just good friends" claim did not stop rumors of remarriage. At the 1960 Academy Awards telecast, Bob Hope jokingly dedicated Best Song nominee The Second Time Around to them.

According to Maury Allen, on August 1, 1962 DiMaggio - alarmed by how Marilyn had fallen in with people he felt detrimental to her (including Frank Sinatra and his "Rat Pack" - quit his job with a PX supplier to return to California and ask her to remarry him. He claimed her body, and arranged her funeral, barring Hollywood's elite. For 20 years, he had a dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week. He never talked about her publicly or "cashed in" on the relationship. He never remarried. He died on March 8, 1999, of lung cancer.

A telegram Marilyn sent on September 21, 1961 indicates her feelings for him never lessened:

"Dear Dad Darling... When plane was in trouble, I thought about two things: you and changing my will. Love you, I think more than ever."

Arthur Miller

On June 29, 1956, Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller, whom she had first met in 1951, in a civil ceremony in White Plains, New York. A Jewish wedding followed two days later (she had converted to Judaism). After she finished shooting The Prince and the Showgirl, the couple returned to the States from England and discovered she was pregnant. However, she suffered from endometriosis and the pregnancy was found to be ectopic; it was aborted to save her life. A subsequent pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

By 1958, she was the couple's main breadwinner. Not only did she pay alimony to Miller's first wife but he reportedly charged her production company for buying and shipping a Jaguar to the United States. His screenplay for The Misfits was meant to be a Valentine gift for his wife, but by the time filming started in 1960 their marriage was broken beyond repair. A Mexican divorce was granted on January 24, 1961. On February 17, 1962, Miller married Inge Morath, one of the Magnum photographers recording the making of The Misfits.

In January 1964, Miller's After the Fall opened, featuring a beautiful, child-like, yet devouring shrew named Maggie. The similarities between Maggie and Monroe did not go unnoticed by audiences and critics (including Helen Hayes), many of whom sympathized with the fact that as she was no longer alive and could not defend herself. Simone Signoret noted in her autobiography the morbidity of Miller and Elia Kazan resuming their professional association "over a casket." Miller always insisted that Maggie was not based on his ex-wife. His last Broadway-bound work, Finishing the Picture, was based on the making of The Misfits. In interviews, he described her as "highly self-destructive." He told Vanity Fair what "killed" her was not some conspiracy, but the fact that she was Marilyn Monroe. In his 1987 autobiography Timebends, Miller elaborated on her and their marriage while defending his actions. He died on February 10, 2005, at the age of 89.

Death and aftermath

Main article: Death of Marilyn Monroe
Monroe was found dead in the bedroom of her Brentwood, California home clutching her telephone by her live-in housekeeper Mrs. Eunice Murray on August 5, 1962. She was only 36 years old. Her death was ruled as an overdose of sleeping pills, but several conspiracy theories have been brought up around the circumstances. Cover-up has been a main topic for discussion for decades. Marilyn is buried at Corridor of Memories, #24, at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, CA.

Administration of Estate

In her will, Monroe left Lee Strasberg control of 75% of her estate. She expressed her desire that Strasberg, or, if he predeceased her, her executor, "distribute (her personal effects) among my friends, colleagues and those to whom I am devoted."

Strasberg willed his portion of Monroe's estate to his widow, Anna. She declared she would never sell Monroe's personal items after successfully suing Odyssey Auctions in 1994 from preventing the sale of items which were withheld from Strasberg by Monroe's former business manager, Inez Melson. However, in October 1999 Christie's auctioned the bulk of Monroe's estate, netting $12.3 million. Julien's staged a second auction in 2005.

Strasberg is currently in litigation against the children of four photographers to determine rights of publicity, which permits the licensing of celebrity images for commercial purposes. The decision as to whether Marilyn's last residence was California or New York at the time of her death is worth millions. [3]

Trivia

Haugesund, Norway, birthplace of Martin Edward Mortenson, has a lifesize statue of Marilyn.
Childhood pictures show that Marilyn was a blonde, but her hair turned "mousy" as she grew up. She dyed her hair several different shades of blonde as an adult.
Monroe fans: Albert Einstein, Ayn Rand, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alfred Hitchcock, Edith Sitwell, Gwen Stefani, Madonna and Vladimir Nabokov.
Colin Farrell admitted that as a child he would put sweets under his pillow for Monroe in case she visited him from heaven.
When Rainier III of Monaco was looking for a famous wife, Monroe was suggested. However, since she wasn't Catholic, she could not be considered.
Marian McKnight won the 1957 Miss America crown with a Marilyn act.
The "subway grate" scene in The Seven Year Itch has been aped in countless shows, commercials, products, and ads, and by everyone from Anna Nicole Smith, Absolut vodka, Betty Boop, Perrier Mineral Water and the Statue of Liberty.
A computer-generated Monroe is featured in The Sims: Superstar.
Monroe's features are copyrighted to her estate and are not allowed to be reproduced exactly
A convert to Judaism after her marriage to Arthur Miller, she peppered her conversation with Yiddishisms
Monroe had a mild stutter, which was most severe during her teens. She commented in an interview, "I stuttered... Later on, in my teens, when I was at Van Nuys High School, they elected me secretary of the English class and every time I had to read the minutes I'd say, 'Minutes of the last m-m-m-meeting.' It was terrible." [4]
Her first screen test was shot by cinematographer Leon Shamroy.
Hugh Hefner bought a crypt next to Monroe's for $85,000. The other crypt next to hers was sold for $125,000. There are no empty spots available near Monroe.
The myth that Monroe was born with eleven toes resulted from photos in The Birth of Marilyn by Joseph Jasgur in March 1946. The story is dismissed as an urban legend. Photos of her as a child and baby show only 5. This 6th toe in Jasgur's photograph is probably just a lump of sand on the beach. [5]
Monroe was Miss Artichoke of 1948.
The "subway grate" scene in The Seven Year Itch was reshot at Fox, since the crowds proved too distracting.
Billy Wilder said Monroe had breasts like granite and a brain like Swiss cheese. However, Wilder also said she was a genius.
A roommate of Oscar-winning actress Shelley Winters.
Talked a club owner into booking Ella Fitzgerald: 'I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular night-club in the 50's. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn's superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard… After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. Marilyn was a little ahead of her time and she didn't know it.' [6]
Said to be quite intelligent, although it was hidden behind her image. She wrote poems, enjoyed literature and always regretted never continuing high school.
George Barris claims he took the last pictures of Monroe. However, it was Allan Grant who took the last pictures of Monroe, during an interview for Life magazine on July 7, 1962.
Among the men Monroe allegedly had affairs with were: President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, and Yves Montand. In 2005 it was claimed she had a one-night stand with Joan Crawford, who was very angry that Marilyn refused to repeat the experience and Crawford became, in Monroe's words, "spiteful".
Frank Sinatra gave her a Maltese puppy that she named "Maf Honey". "Maf" was supposedly short for "Mafia".
The beauty mark above her lip was genuine. It was a very pale mole that she darkened with makeup. [7]
Truman Capote wanted her to play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation of his Breakfast At Tiffany's.
Purportedly shaved a quarter of an inch off many of her right high-heeled shoes to accentuate the wiggle in her walk.
The diamonds she wore as she performed Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend were rhinestones.
According to tapes recorded of sessions between Monroe and her psychologist, she had at least one affair with a woman.
The gown Monroe wore to sing happy birthday to John F. Kennedy sold in 1999 for over $1,500,000.
Marilyn is the first stamp of the USPS's "Legends of Hollywood" series
1999 Voted 'Sexiest Woman of the Century' by People magazine.
1999: Voted 'Sex Symbol of the Century' by E! Online.
1998: Voted 'The Number One Sex Star of the Century' by Playboy magazine.
1996: Voted Sexiest starlet of all time by Celebrity Skin.
1995: Voted 'The Sexiest Female Movie Star' by Empire movie magazine

Pat Boone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Pat BoonePat Boone (born June 1, 1934) is a singer whose smooth style made him one of the most popular performers of the 1950s and 1960s. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had some impact on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. He is also an actor and television personality, and a conservative political figure.




Biography and career

Born Charles Eugene Patrick Boone in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Boone is a direct descendant of the legendary American pioneer Daniel Boone. He grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, attended David Lipscomb College and began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of "Ain't That a Shame" was a hit, selling far better than Fats Domino's original version. This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on reworking R&B hits of Afro-ethnic musicians with a cleaner, tamer image. This brought rock 'n' roll tunes to a much wider audience, namely the Euro-ethnic majority population of the USA, while bringing little attention to most of the original artists. Little Richard once said "Pat Boone is the man who made me a millionaire." Little Richard is one of the few artists to become famous in his own right despite the policy of using people like Pat Boone to "rework" his songs. Little Richard also once said that the kids (his audience) would have Pat Boone in the top drawer and Little Richard hidden in the bottom drawer, which shows an understanding of the underlying prejudice of systemically using Euro-ethnic artists to "rework" the art of Afro-ethnic artists.

Known as "The Kid in White Buck Shoes", Boone sported a clean-cut image that appealed to teens and parents alike. His singing style, a rich baritone, followed in the tradition of his idol, Bing Crosby. Preferring to carry on in the Crosby tradition, he soon began turning more and more to ballads. Some of his biggest hits included "Love Letters in the Sand" (with the instrumental break featuring Boone's whistling), "April Love", "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)", and "Don't Forbid Me".

His teen idol popularity in the late 1950s was second only to that of Elvis Presley, and, like Elvis, he soon tried his hand at acting. Boone's pictures were fewer in number than Elvis', but significantly higher in quality, including 1960's Journey to the Center of the Earth alongside Hollywood notable James Mason.

His recording of the theme song from the 1957 film April Love topped the charts for six weeks and was nominated for an Academy Award. Pat also wrote the theme song for the movie Exodus.

A devout born-again Christian, he was raised in the conservative Church of Christ but has been a member of the Pentecostal church for more than thirty years. Boone has refused both songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards, including a role opposite the decade's reigning sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. Among his other achievements, he hosted a TV series in the late 1950s, and began writing in the early 1960s, a series of self-help books for adolescents, including Twixt Twelve and Twenty.

The British Invasion effectively ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he switched to gospel and country, and he continued performing in other media as well, most importantly radio. He is currently working as the deejay of a popular oldies show, and runs his own record company which provides a much-welcomed outlet for new recordings by 1950s greats who can no longer find a place with the major labels.

Boone married Shirley Lee Foley, daughter of Red Foley in 1953, and they had four daughters: Cherry, Lindy, Debby, and Laury. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as The Pat Boone Family and The Family Who Prays.

In the early 1990s, Boone joined Amway and spoke at many motivational seminars. He was also a distributor, and a 1994 copy of the Amway magazine shows him reaching the coveted Amway rank of Diamond.

In 1997, Boone released In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of heavy metal covers revamped to fit his style. To promote the album, he appeared at the American Music Awards in black leather, shocking audiences and losing his respectability among his largest constituency, conservative Christians. He was then fired from Gospel America, a TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. About a year later, the controversy died down and many fans accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". He was re-hired by TBN and Gospel America was brought back.

In 2003, the Gospel Music Association of Nashville, Tennessee recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him in its Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Boone lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Shirley. They are influential and respected members of The Church on the Way in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley.

When Boone was interviewed for the movie **** (documentary), he claimed to use his own surname in lieu of curse words when upset.

In 2006, Boone penned an article for WorldNetDaily in which he argued that Democrats and others who are against the Iraq War cannot, under any circumstances, be considered patriotic.[1]

April Love :: Pat Boone

April love is for the very young
Every stars a wishing star that shines for you
April love is all the seven wonders
One little kiss can tell you this is true

Sometimes an april day will suddenly bring showers
Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet
But april love can slip right through your fingers
So if she's the one don't let her run away

Sometimes an april day will suddenly bring showers
Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet
But april love can slip right through your fingers
So if she's the one don't let her run away

Morgan Freeman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film director.


Early life

Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Morgan Porterfield Freeman (a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis) and Mayme Edna, a cleaner; he has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, and had lived in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at the age of eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At the age of twelve, he won a state-wide drama competition, and performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee, while in high school. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing instead to work as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force.

Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this time, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman made his acting debut in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Niggerlovers, before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.

Career

Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the PBS kids' show The Electric Company and on the soap opera Another World. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he began playing prominent supporting roles in a number of feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters. His notable early roles include Hoke, the chauffeur in Driving Miss Daisy, and Red, the redeemed convict in The Shawshank Redemption.

Freeman is recognized for his distinct voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary, March of the Penguins. After three previous nominations (a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart, 1987, and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy, 1989, and The Shawshank Redemption, 1994), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.

In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment.

Personal life

Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, to 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. He has two sons, Alphonso and Saifoulaye, from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter, Deena, and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana.

Freeman currently lives in Charleston, Mississippi. He has a private pilot's license, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant and Ground Zero Blues Club both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Freeman has come out publicly against the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying that "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month." Freeman says "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." [1]

Freeman received an honorary doctorate degree from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13, 2006.

A soldier was being reprimanded by an officer after he lost his rifle and was informed he would have to pay for it. The soldier asked, "Sir, if I lost a tank, would I have to pay for it?"

"Yes!" roared the officer "even if it took the rest of your life!"

The young soldier shook his head and tremulously asserted, "Now I know why the captain goes down with his ship!"

I offer my apologies for the unscheduled abscence. There was a little bump in the road I had to take care of. It seems the bumps get bigger as we get older. But as a sage once said you're not really old when you forget to zip up; you're old when you forget to zip down.

Well, Hawk. We know that your bio's are over, Boston. Very accurate, that soldier. Big smile.

Well, let's do another Sir Elton for Frank, shall we?

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road


Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Available on the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road



When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

Thank you Letty my love for that rousing welcome back.

For Letty from Bob:

We're Off to See the Wizard

written by EH Harburg

We're off to see the Wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
We hear he is a Whiz of a Wiz
If ever a Wiz there was
If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was
The Wizard of Oz is one because
Because, because, because, because, because
Because of the wonderful things he does
We're off the see the wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Ah, my dear friend, Bob, thank you for that neat little song. I suppose that Letty will have to rummage through her closet and look for those ruby red slippers. I have always wanted to ride on the back of a banded red hawk.

A tidbit of history is in order, Ruby Red slippers as in Oz were originally silver and were symbolic of Frank Baum's concern regarding the US of A going off the silver standard.

Well, folks, glad to see dys back with a bit of history. Thanks, cowboy. I have heard that Baum's entire book was a political satire on U.S.policies.

Yeppers that's the truth. Baum was a wannabe populist politician from Kansas.

Well, listeners, we learn a great deal about what is behind the scenes, here on our little radio. Actually, the movie only covered one small part of Baum's book. Dorothy visited more odd places than just the Emerald City.

Here is the most beautiful ballad that was nearly cut from the movie:

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high.
There's a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, Away above the chimney tops.
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then - oh, why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh, why can't I?