WA2K Radio is now on the air

are you ready for a little yodelling and singing by that
great old canadian "wilf carter" (born 1904 in nova scotia) ?
hope you enjoy his soft lyrics and style .
hbg



My Little Yoho Lady Lyrics

I'm longing tonight once again to roam
In a beautiful valley I could always call home
There's a girl I adore and I'm longing to see
In a beautiful yoho valley

My little yoho lady-o
And I'll sing you a song while the moon's rolling low
My little yoho lady-o
In a beautiful yoho valley

Oh silvery moon I'm so lonely tonight
To stroll once again in that beautiful light
Dream of a girl oh so happy and free
In a beautiful yoho valley

My little yoho lady-o
I'll sing you a song while the moon's rolling low
My little yoho lady-o
In a beautiful yoho valley

It seems when we met all my dreams had come true
I gazed in those beautiful eyes oh so blue
Your smile keeps lingering like a golden memory
Of a beautiful yoho valley

My little yoho lady-o
And I'll sing you a song while the moon's rolling low
My little yoho lady-o
In a beautiful yoho valley

My little yoho lady-o
And I'll sing you a song while the moon's rolling low
My little yoho lady-o
In a beautiful yoho valley

ah, edgar. The King is dead; Long live Elvis. Thanks, Texas. Good lyrics, incidentally, and rather reminds me of his "Don't be Cruel."

Well, my goodness, folks. Here's hamburger and he is yodeling. Welcome back, Canada. Anyone from Nova Scotia is talented, I hear.

Thinking of another Canadian since he likes Dan Fogleberg:

A Voice for Peace


You know that everybody has a voice
And how they use it is their own free choice
In your glory I will not rejoice
If you choose the ways of war
If you choose the ways of war

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
My country 'tis of thee, in God we trust
But how much longer will he shelter us
While we choose the ways of war
While the winds of war rage on

Let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Let it start here with me, oh let mine be a voice for peace

The good book tells us thou shalt not kill
The truth came shining and it's shining still
But how much blood upon this earth must spill
Before we lay our weapons down
Let us lay our weapons down

Let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Let it start here with me, oh let mine be a voice for peace

And in the face of the beast, oh let mine be a voice
Until the breaths in me cease, oh let mine be a voice for peace

Let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Oh let mine oh let my small voice be a voice for peace
Let it start here with me, oh let mine be a voice for peace

Raise your voice up, raise your voice up
Raise your voice up and sing for the promise.

That is also for my son who sounded so strong and happy this evening.

Im playin for keeps
This time its real
And I want you to know
Exactly how I feel
Im playin for keeps
Im sure this time
And I wont be happy
Until I know youre mine

There have been others
That could love me true
But no one else can thrill me like you do
Im playin for keeps
Oh love me too
Oh, dont make me sorry
That I fell in love with you

There have been others
That could love me true
But no one else can thrill me like you do
Im playin for keeps
Oh love me too
Oh, dont make me sorry
That I fell in love with you

Elvis Presley

Talking to the blues
Talking to the blues
Since my baby left me I`ve been talking to the blues
Good morning blues
How you feeling today
You dog
Might as well pull up a chair
Looks like you`re here for quite a stay

Sighing to the blues
Crying to the blues
Morning after morning alibi-ing to the blues
Sit down bad news
Yeah the coffee`s still hot
You dog
I`m gonna take good care of you
`Cause you`re the only friend I`ve got

Help me to remember now where were we when I finally fell asleep yeah
I remember I was telling you telling how her cheating cut me deep

Talking to the blues
Talking to the blues
Since my baby left me I`ve been talking to the blues
Old buddy blues
Yeah take my last cigarette
You dog
Have a million laughs on me
But please teach me to forget

Talking to the blues
Talking to the blues
Since my baby left me I`ve been talking to the blues
Old buddy blues
Yeah take my last cigarette
You dog
Have a million laughs on me
But please teach me to forget
Blues you are the lowest
You dog

Jim Lowe

Oh rainy day!!!

Tex Ritter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tex RitterTex Ritter (January 12, 1905 - January 2, 1974) was an American country singer and actor.



Life and career

He was born Maurice Woodward Ritter in Murvaul, Texas, the son of James Everett Ritter and Martha Elizabeth Matthews.

He grew up on his family's farm in Panola County and attended grade school in Carthage. He then attended South Park High School in Beaumont. After graduating with honors, he entered the University of Texas at Austin; he studied pre-law, majored in government, political science and economics.

Ritter, one of the early pioneers of country music, soon became interested in show business. In 1928, he sang on KPRC Radio in Houston, a thirty minute show featuring cowboy songs. In that same year, he moved to New York City and quickly landed a job in the men's chorus of the Broadway show The New Moon (1928).

He appeared as "The Cowboy" in the Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs (1930), which was the basis for the later musical Oklahoma!. He also played the part of Sagebrush Charlie in The Round Up (1932) and Mother Lode (1934).

Ritter also worked on various radio programs. In 1932, he starred on the WOR Radio show The Lone Star Rangers, which was New York's first broadcast western. He sang songs and told tales of the Old West. Ritter wrote and starred in Cowboy Tom's Roundup on WINS Radio in New York in 1933. This daily children's cowboy radio program aired over three stations on the East Coast for three years. These shows marked the beginning of Ritter's popularity in radio, which paved the way for his upcoming singing career. He also performed on the radio show WHN Barndance and sang on NBC Radio.

He appeared in several radio dramas, including CBS's Bobby Benson's Adventures and Death Valley Days.

Ritter began recording for American Record Company (Columbia Records) in 1933. His first released recording was "Goodbye Ole Paint." He also recorded "Rye Whiskey" at that label. In 1935, he signed with Decca Records, where he recorded his first original recordings, "Sam Hall" and "Get Along Little Dogie."

In 1936, he moved to Los Angeles, California. His motion picture debut was in Song Of The Gringo (1936) for Grand National Pictures. He starred in twelve movies for Grand National, "B" grade Westerns, which included Headin' For The Rio Grande (1936), and Trouble In Texas (1937) co-starring Rita Hayworth (then known as Rita Cansino).

After starring in Utah Trail (1938), Ritter left the financially troubled Grand National. Between 1938 and 1945, he starred in around forty "singing cowboy" movies, mostly to critical scorn.

Ritter made four movies with actress Dorothy Fay at Monogram Pictures: Song of the Buckaroo (1938), Sundown on the Prairie (1939), Rollin' Westward (1939) and Rainbow Over the Range (1940).

He recorded a total of twenty-nine songs for Decca, the last being in 1939 in Los Angeles as part of Tex Ritter and His Texans.

Tex helped start United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc, after his son, Thomas, was found to have cerebral palsy. Tex, Thomas, and John spent a great deal of time raising money and public awareness to help others with cerebral palsy.

In 1942, Ritter signed with the newly formed Capitol Records as their first Western singer and their first artist signed. His first recording session was on June 11. His music recording career began what was his most successful period.

He achieved significant success with "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle," and in 1944, he scored another hit with "I'm Wastin' My Tears On You," which hit #1 on the country charts and #11 on the Pop charts. "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" was a country charts #2 and Pop charts #21. In 1945, he had the #1, #2 and #3 songs on Billboard's "Most Played Jukebox Folk Records" poll, a first in the industry. Between 1945 and 1946, he registered seven consecutive Top 5 hits, including "You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often," a country #1 written by Jenny Lou Carson, which spent eleven weeks on the charts. In 1948, "Rye Whiskey" and his cover of "Deck Of Cards" both made the Top 10 and "Pecos Bill" reached #15. In 1950, "Daddy's Last Letter (Private First Class John H. McCormick)" also became a hit.

In 1952, Ritter recorded the movie title-track song "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin')", which became a hit. He sang "High Noon" at the first-ever televised Academy Awards ceremony in 1953. It received an Oscar for Best Song that year.

Ritter did his first tour of Europe in 1952. And in 1953, he began performing on Town Hall Party on radio and television in Los Angeles. He formed Vidor Publications, Inc., a music publishing firm, with Johnny Bond, in 1955. "Remember the Alamo" was the first song in the catalog.

In 1957, he released his first LP album Songs From the Western Screen. He starred in his own TV music series, Ranch Party, in 1959, which was televised for four years.

Even after the peak of his performing career, Ritter would be recognized for his contributions to country and western music and for his artistic versatility. He became one of the founding members of the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1964, he became the fifth person and first singing cowboy to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He moved to Nashville in 1965 and began working for WSM Radio and the Grand Ole Opry. He also received a lifetime membership to the Opry. His family remained in California temporarily so that son John could finish high school there. For a time, Dorothy was an official greeter at the Opry. During this period, Ritter co-hosted a late night radio program with famed country disc jockey Ralph Emery.

In 1970, Ritter surprised many people by entering the Republican primary for United States Senate. Despite high name recognition, he lost overwhelmingly to Chattanooga Congressman Bill Brock, who then went on to win the general election.


Personal life

Ritter was married to actress Dorothy Fay (June 14, 1941-his death January 2, 1974). They had two sons, Thomas Ritter and well-known American television star John Ritter. He is also the grandfather of Jason Ritter.


Death and recognition

Ritter had his last recording session for Capitol Records in 1973. His last song, "The Americans," became a posthumous hit shortly after his death. In 1974, he had a heart attack and died in Nashville. He is interred in Oak Bluff Memorial Park, Port Neches, Texas.

For his contribution to the recording industry, Tex Ritter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6631 Hollywood Blvd. In 1980, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Trivia

Tex Ritter can also be heard as the voice of Big Al. Big Al is the fattest bear at the Country Bear Jamboree attraction located in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. His character sings "Blood on the Saddle" and continues through the finale as the rest of the cast attempts to drown him out.

Ray Price
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ray Price (born January 12, 1926 in Perryville, Texas) is an American country and western singer/songwriter/guitarist. Some of his more famous songs include "Release Me", "Crazy Arms", "Heartaches By the Number", "City Lights", "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You" and "Danny Boy." He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.


1940s-50s success


Price served in the Marines, 1944-46, and began singing on KRBC in Abilene in 1948. He joined the "Big D Jamboree" in Dallas in 1949. He hit Nashville in the early 1950s, rooming for a short time with Hank Williams. [citation needed] When Williams died, Price took over his band, the Drifting Cowboys, and had minor success. He was the first artist to have a hit with "Release Me" (1954), [citation needed] a top five pop hit for Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967.

Price became one of the stalwarts of the grinding, honky-tonk music that became even more popular in the early 1950s with such singers as Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce and others. Price developed the famous "Ray Price Shuffle Beat" that is heard on "Crazy Arms," which served as the beat for many honky-tonk classics since then. [citation needed]

In 1953, Price formed his famous band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Among its members in the late 1950s and early 1960s were Roger Miller, Willie Nelson and Johnny Paycheck. In fact, Miller wrote one of Ray Price's classics in 1958, "Invitation to the Blues," and sang harmony on the recording. In addition, Nelson penned the Ray Price classic "Night Life." [citation needed]

Besides his numerous country hits, Ray Price also was a favorite of pop music fans for his 1967 hit "Danny Boy" and "For the Good Times" in 1970.

Later career

Price's first #1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959 was "For The Good Times" in 1970. Written by Kris Kristofferson, the song also made it to #11 on the pop chart and featured a more mellow Price backed up by sophisticated musical sounds, quite the opposite from the honky-tonk sounds Price pioneered two decades before. Price had three more #1 country hits in the 1970s, "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top-ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country chart through 1989. Today he is singing gospel music and has recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have in Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages"[1].

In 2006, Price was living near Mount Vernon, Texas and still performing in concerts throughout the country.

Shirley Eaton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Shirley Eaton (born January 13, 1937) is a British actress who appeared in many British black and white comedies in the 1950s and onwards.

She was born in London. Throughout her career, she appeared with many of the top British male comedy stars from the period including Jimmy Edwards, Max Bygraves, Bob Monkhouse and Arthur Askey. Her female co-stars included Peggy Mount, Thora Hird and Dora Bryan among others.

Early roles include Three Men In A Boat (1956) and Date with Disaster (1957), starring with American Tom Drake. She also worked with The Crazy Gang in Life Is a Circus (1958) and with Mickey Spillane in The Girl Hunters (1963) in which Spillane played his own literary creation Mike Hammer. Later she starred in an entertaining version of Ten Little Indians (1965), co-starring American singer and actor Fabian. She also appeared in several early Carry On films, but did little TV work (she did appear in three episodes of The Saint opposite Roger Moore).

However, undoubtedly Eaton's most famous role was that of Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Her character's death, being painted head to toe in gold paint and suffering "skin suffocation", became an iconic image of the film and inadvertently led to the creation of an urban legend concerning both the method of death and the actress' own fate. Eaton, very much alive, later appeared in a 2003 episode of the TV documentary series MythBusters to help debunk the legend. However, it should be said that Margaret Nolan, not Eaton, was actually the golden girl who appeared in the film's well known advertising campaign and title sequence.

In any case, the movie made Eaton a star; she even appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in her gold-painted persona. After Goldfinger, Eaton made a few more films including the notorious The Million Eyes of Su-Muru, before she retired from acting to raise her family.

Eaton expressed no regrets in giving up show business while at the height of her fame. In a 1999 interview with Steve Swires of Starlog Magazine, Eaton said: "A career is a career, but you're a mother until you die."

In the Express Lane at the store, quietly fuming. Completely ignoring
the sign that said 6 Items or Less, the woman ahead of me had slipped
into the check-out line pushing a cart piled high with groceries.
Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward,
looked into the cart and asked sweetly, "So, which six items would you
like to buy?"

Wouldn't it be great if that happened more often?!

Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors.

First, allow me to observe edgar's songs. Thanks, Texas, for once again reminding us of Elvis. The other fellow, I am afraid I do not know, but nonetheless that is why we are all here, to learn and listen, right?

Welcome back Cyracuz. Not certain what your Oriental symbols mean nor your comment on rain, but we always enjoy seeing you, Norway.

Well, folks, we know that our man in Boston is finished with his delightful bio's when he reminds us of the eternal super market wars. Thanks, hawkman.

Unfortunately, our Raggedy will not be with us today as she has certain appointed tasks to fulfill, and there is no way that I will try and match her artistry at montage making.

Here is one by Ray Price that I will play until I have had a chance to review Bob's background information.

Now, blue ain't the word for the way that I feel,
There's a storm brewin' in this heart of mine.
This ain't no crazy dream, I know that it's real.
You're someone else's love now, you're not mine!

Chorus:
Crazy arms that seek to hold somebody new,
But my burnin' heart keeps sayin' you're not mine!
My troubled mind knows soon to another you'll be wed,
And that's why I'm lonely all the time.

Break

Please take these treasured dreams I had for you and me,
And take all the love I thought was mine,
This ain't no crazy dream, I know that it's real,
And that's why I'm lonely all the time!

Repeat Chorus.

And, folks, a great supermarket story about a crafty mom:

Goodbye Mom

A guy shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him
around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at
him. She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him
and said, "I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that
you look so much like my late son."

He asnwered, "That's okay."

"I know it's silly, but if you'd call out "Good bye, Mom" as I leave
the store, it would make me feel so happy." She then went through the
checkout ... and as she was on her way out of the store, the man
called out, "Goodbye, Mother." The little old
lady waved and smiled back at him.

Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's day, he
went to pay for his groceries.

"That comes to $121.85," said the clerk.

"How come so much?! I only bought 5 items.. "

The clerk replied, "Yeah, but your Mother said you'd pay for her
things, too."

That little funny was sent to me by my Irish friend.

One of my favorites to sing during my karaoke evenings.

For The Good Times Lyrics
Ray Price

Don't look so sad, I know it's over
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning
Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together
There's no need to watch the bridges that we're burning

Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the rain drops flowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me one more time
For the good times

I'll get along, you'll find another
And I'll be here if you should find you ever need me
Don't say a word about tomorrow or forever
There'll be time enough for sadness when you leave me

Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the rain drops flowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me one more time
For the good times

Ok, here are a list of Bob's celebs:

Jack London-"To Build a Fire" was my very favorite of his short stories.

Ray Price-already acknowledged.

Shirley Easton- covered in gold-Walter gave us the theme from that J.B. movie.

Kirstie Alley- had no idea she had a problem with cocaine

Tex Ritter-Mostly recognized for his song from "High Noon."

Jack London, and the "before and after" Kirstie.





Back later to acknowledge our Bob's song.

Hey, Bob. I love that song, but had no idea that Ray Price had done it.

Beautiful, hawkman, and yes, for the good times.

Poem for the day:

Hold On To Your Dreams

Hold on to your dreams
Don't ever give in.
If you keep trying
You're going to win.

Hold on to your dreams
Though sometimes it's hard.
Just hold your head up
And reach for the stars.

Hold on to your dreams
Though they seem far away.
And those dreams will come true
Somehow.....Someway!!

-Author Unknown-

However, folks, I still prefer London's idea that the character in "To Build a Fire" had NO imagination, but the dog did.

Sophie Tucker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.

Sophie Tucker (January 13, 1884 - February 9, 1966) was a singer and comedian, one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first third of the 20th century.

She was born Sophia Kalish to a Jewish family in Czarist Russia. Her family emigrated to the United States when she was an infant, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut. The family changed its name to Abuza, and her parents opened a restaurant.



Early life

She started singing for tips in her family's restaurant. In 1903, at the age of 19, she was briefly married to Louis Tuck, from which she decided to change her name to "Tucker." (She would marry twice more in her life, but neither marriage lasted more than five years.)

Tucker played piano and sang burlesque and vaudeville tunes, at first in blackface. She later said that this was at the insistence of theater managers, who said she was "too fat and ugly" to be accepted by an audience in any other context. She even sang songs that acknowledged her heft, such as "Nobody Loves a Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love."

She made a name for herself in a style that was known at the time as a "Coon Shouter", performing African American influenced songs. Not content with performing in the simple minstrel traditions, Tucker hired some of the best African American singers of the time to give her lessons, and hired African American composers to write songs for her act.

At a 1908 appearance, the luggage containing Tucker's makeup kit was stolen shortly before the show, and she hastily went on stage without her customary blackface. To the theater manager's surprise, Tucker was a bigger hit without her makeup than with it, and she never wore blackface again. She did, however, continue to draw much of her material from African American writers as well as African American culture, singing in a ragtime- and blues-influenced style, becoming known for a time as "The Ragtime Mary Garden," a reference to a famous operatic soprano of the era.

Tucker made her first appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1909, but didn't last long there because Florenz Ziegfeld's other female stars soon refused to share the spotlight with the popular Tucker.

Tucker made several popular recordings. They included "Some of These Days," which came out in 1911 on Edison Records. The tune, written by Shelton Brooks, was a hit, and became Tucker's theme song. Later, it was the title of her 1945 autobiography.

In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro as her accompanist and musical director, a position he would keep throughout her career. Besides writing a number of songs for Tucker, Shapiro became part of her stage act, playing piano on stage while she sang, and exchanging banter and wisecracks with her in between numbers.

Tucker remained a popular singer through the 1920s, and hired stars such as Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters to give her lessons.

In 1925, Jack Yellen wrote one of her most famous songs, "My Yiddish Momme". The song was performed in large American cities where there were sizable Jewish audiences. Tucker explained, "Even though I loved the song and it was a sensational hit every time I sang it, I was always careful to use it only when I knew the majority of the house would understand Yiddish. However, you didn't have to be a Jew to be moved by 'My Yiddish Momme.' 'Mother' in any language means the same thing." She also made the first of her many movie appearances in the 1929 sound picture Honky Tonk.

In the 1930s, Tucker brought elements of nostalgia for the early years of 20th century into her show. She was billed as The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, as her hearty sexual appetite was a frequent subject of her songs, unusual for female performers of the era. She made numerous popular film appearances, including Broadway Melody of 1938. In that film, Tucker sings a song during the big finale; even though she is playing a character and not herself, several neon lights displaying her real name light up in the background of the stage in tribute.


Tucker in 1952In the 1950s and early 1960s, she made television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, What's My Line, and The Tonight Show.

She continued performing in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, until shortly before dying of lung cancer in 1966 at the age of 82.

She was interred at Emanuel Cemetery in Wethersfield, Connecticut.


Legacy and influence

Sophie Tucker's comic style is credited with influencing later female entertainers, including Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, and most notably Bette Midler who has included "Soph" as one of her many stage characters. In addition to her performing, Tucker was active in efforts to unionize professional actors, and was elected president of the American Federation of Actors in 1938.


Quotes

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, honey, rich is better."
When The Beatles performed the song Till There Was You from The Music Man early in their careers, Paul McCartney would often introduce the number by saying that "It's also been done by our favourite American group - Sophie Tucker."
"From birth to age eighteen, a girl needs good parents. From eighteen to thirty-five she needs good looks. From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs a good personality. From fifty-five on, she needs good cash."

Gwen Verdon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Gwyneth Evelyn Verdon (January 13, 1925 in Culver City, California - October 18, 2000 in Woodstock, Vermont) was an acclaimed Tony Award winning American dancer and actress. She was known professionally as Gwen Verdon.

She was the second child of Joseph William Verdon (December 31, 1896-June 23, 1978) and Gertrude Lilian Standring (October 24, 1896-October 16, 1956), who were British emigrants to the U.S. by way of Canada. Her brother was William Farrell Verdon (August 1, 1923-June 10, 1991).

They were also "show people." Her father, Joseph, was an electrician at MGM Studios, and Gertrude, her mother, was a former member of the Denishawn dance troupe, and a veteran of vaudeville.

As a child, Gwen was afflicted with rickets, which left her legs so badly bent and misshapen she was called "Gimpy" by other children and spent her early years in orthopedic boots and stiff leg braces. Gertrude Verdon placed Gwen in dance classes at the age of three and ballet began strengthening her legs and improving her carriage. Little did Gwen or her mother know she would one day become a famous Broadway star.

By the age of six, feisty redheaded Gwen was performing on stage as a tap dancer. She went on to study multiple dance forms, from tap, jazz, ballroom and flamenco, to Balinese and juggling.

At age eleven, she appeared in the musical/romance film The King Steps Out (1936), which was directed by Josef von Sternberg and starred Grace Moore and Franchot Tone. Gwen was a solo ballerina.

She attended Hamilton High School in Los Angeles and also studied under the renowned ballet master, Ernest Belcher. While in high school, she was cast in a revival of Show Boat.

Verdon then shocked her parents and instructors when she abandoned her budding career to elope with her first husband at the age of 17 in 1942. In 1945, she appeared as a dancer in the movie musical The Blonde From Brooklyn. After her divorce, she entrusted her young son, Jimmy, to the care of her parents.

Her quest for work led to a job as assistant to choreographer Jack Cole, whose work was respected by both Broadway and top Hollywood movie studios. During her five-year employment with Cole, she took small roles in movie musicals as a "specialty dancer." She also gave dance instruction, with trainees including such big name stars as Jane Russell, Gene Kelly, Fernando Lamas, Lana Turner, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe.

Verdon started out on Broadway as a "gypsy," going from one chorus line to another. Her breakthrough role came when she was cast by choreographer Michael Kidd as the second female lead in Cole Porter's musical Can-Can (1953), which starred French prima donna Lilo.

Out-of-town reviewers hailed Verdon's interpretation of Eve in the Garden of Eden ballet and said it outshone the show's star. Lilo was displeased with all the attention Verdon received and demanded her role be cut to only two featured dance numbers.

With her role reduced to barely more than an ensemble part, Verdon threatened to walk out of Can-Can, formally announcing her intention to leave by the time the show premiered on Broadway. But on opening night her Garden of Eden number stopped the show. The audience thundered her name until the startled actress was brought out of her dressing room in her bathrobe to take a curtain call. Verdon received a pay raise and her first Tony Award for her triumphant performance.

With flaming red hair and a sassy, ill-mannered attitude, Verdon was considered the best dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s. She would forever be identified with her role as the vampish "Lola" in Bob Fosse's Damn Yankees (1955), which is based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. Verdon played the Devil's disciple who entices a baseball aficionado to sell his soul to play for the Washington Senators. The musical ran for 1,019 performances. She won another Tony and went to Hollywood to repeat her role in the movie version, Damn Yankees (1958).

She received a total of four Tonys; for Can-Can (1953), Damn Yankees (1955), New Girl in Town (1957) and Redhead (1959), a murder-mystery musical. She also won a Grammy Award for the cast recording of Redhead.

Verdon had two husbands, tabloid reporter James Henaghan (married 1942-divorced 1947) and Bob Fosse (married 1960-his death 1987).

She and Henaghan had one son, Jim Henaghan (born 1943); she and Fosse had a daughter, Nicole Fosse (born 1963).

After the birth of her daughter, Verdon took time off. In 1966, she returned to the stage in the role of Charity in Sweet Charity, which like many of her earlier Broadway triumphs was choreographed by her longtime husband, Bob Fosse. The show became a Broadway cult classic and was followed by a movie version starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis Jr., and Chita Rivera. Verdon helped choreograph the numbers, which included the legendary "Big Spender", the fast-paced "Rhythm of Life" and the show-stopping "If My Friends Could See Me Now".

In 1971, Verdon filed a legal separation from Fosse because of his open extramarital affairs but they never divorced. They remained close friends and were collaborators and co-workers on projects like Chicago (1975), her last major Broadway role in which she played murderess Roxie Hart, and the musical Dancin' (1978), as well as his autobiographical movie, All That Jazz (1979). She developed a close working relationship with Fosse's domestic companion, actress Ann Reinking, and even instructed for Reinking's musical theatre classes.

After playing "Roxie Hart" in Chicago, Verdon concentrated on straight acting. She played character parts in such movies as The Cotton Club (1984), Cocoon (1985) and Cocoon: The Return (1988).

Verdon was accompanying Fosse to the 1987 revival of Sweet Charity starring Debbie Allen in Washington and held him in her arms when he suffered a fatal heart attack on the walk outside the theatre.

She continued to instruct dance and musical theatre and to act, including receiving three Emmy Award nominations for appearances on Magnum PI (1988), Dream On (1993) and Homicide (1993). Verdon appeared as the mother of "Alice" in the Woody Allen movie Alice (1990) and as "Ruth" in Marvin's Room (1996), which co-starred Meryl Streep and Hume Cronyn.

In 1999, Verdon served as artistic advisor and consultant on the stage biography of her late husband's life in theatre, the current stage musical Fosse, and her daughter, Nicole, was credited with "special thanks." The show received the Tony for best musical. Verdon also played Alora in the movie Walking Across Egypt (1999) and appeared in the movie Bruno, which was released in 2000.

Gwen Verdon died quietly in her sleep of natural causes at the home of her daughter, Nicole Fosse, in Woodstock, Vermont, at the age of 75.

At 8:00 p.m. on the night she died, for the first time in a long time, all the marquee lights on Broadway were dimmed in tribute to one of its greatest and brightest stars.

Patrick Dempsey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born January 13, 1966 (age 40)
Lewiston, Maine

Patrick Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor. He first became prominent in Hollywood during the late 1980s and is also known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. During the 2000s, he also appeared in several film roles, including The Emperor's Club and Freedom Writers.





Biography

Early life

Dempsey, an Irish American,[1] was born in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in Turner, Maine, the youngest of three children born to Amanda and William Dempsey. Dempsey attended St. Dominic Regional High School, where his mother worked as a secretary, but dropped out before he graduated. He was an adept juggler, tying for second in a national juggling competition.[citation needed]


Career

Dempsey was discovered by an agent and invited to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. Dempsey's audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in San Francisco. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and The Subject was Roses, which showed at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 in the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he continued to be featured in film and television roles throughout the 1990s. Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 2004 he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as one of the suitors for Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2007 Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunites with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He is also lending his voice for the main character in Brother Bear 2. Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Robert Chase on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, the show has become a highly rated program. Media attention has been focused on Dempsey's character Derek, often referred to as "McDreamy", and the character's romance with intern Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo).

The intense media attention appears to have led to some backstage friction. News reports surfaced in October 2006 that Dempsey was involved in an argument with co-star Isaiah Washington that appears to have become a physical altercation. News reports have also stated that this argument may have been initiated over an anti-gay slur directed at T.R. Knight by Washington.[2]


Personal life

Dempsey has been married twice. From 1987 to 1994, he was married to actress Rocky Parker. When the couple married, much was made in the media of the age difference between the two (and its parallels to Dempsey's film "Loverboy"); at the time, Dempsey was 21 years old, while Parker was 48. Because of the age difference in his first marriage, his stepson Corey Parker was actually one year his senior. The two remain friends.

Dempsey remarried on July 31, 1999; his second wife is noted make-up artist and founder of Delux Beauty, Jillian Fink Dempsey. The couple has one child, a daughter named Tallulah Fyfe, born in January 2002. In September 2006, it was announced that Jillian is pregnant and is due to give birth in late January/early February 2007. When Dempsey appeared on the show Live With Regis and Kelly on September 19, 2006, he revealed that he and his wife are having twin boys.

Dempsey enjoys racecar driving in his spare time. On June 27, 2004, he participated in race #2 of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, driving a Panoz GTS race car. In 2007 he will race in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Orlando Bloom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom
Born January 13, 1977 (age 30)
Canterbury, Kent, England


Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom[1] (born January 13, 1977) is an English actor. He had his break-through role in the early 2000s as the elf-prince Legolas Greenleaf in The Lord of the Rings and blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy of films, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood films, including Troy, Elizabethtown, and Kingdom of Heaven. Bloom's most recent releases are the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Haven.




Biography

Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent. His mother, Sonia Constance Josephine Copeland, was born in Calcutta, India, the daughter of Betty Constance Josephine Walker and Francis John Copeland, a physician and surgeon;[1] . Bloom's maternal grandmother's family has lived in Tasmania, Australia and India, and are of English descent, some of them having originally come from Kent.[1] Bloom had thought that his father was South African-born Jewish lawyer Harry Saul Bloom, but during his younger years and after Harry's death, Bloom's mother revealed to him that his biological father was actually Colin Stone, a family friend. Bloom, who is named after the 17th century composer Orlando Gibbons,[1] has one sister, Samantha Bloom, who was born in 1975.

Bloom managed to struggle through St Edmund's School in Canterbury despite his dyslexia.[2] In 1993, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and earning a scholarship to train at the British American Drama Academy.

Bloom began acting professionally with a television role in an episode of Casualty, and subsequently made his film debut in Wilde (1997), opposite Stephen Fry, before entering the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied acting, sculpture and photography. In 1998, he broke his back in a three story fall, and it was briefly feared that he would not regain the ability to walk. However, he made a complete recovery and was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches within twelve days. Bloom had steel plates inserted into his backbone to support it, which have since been removed, except for a single screw. He regularly practices yoga and Pilates to strengthen his back.


Career

His first appearance on the screen was a small role as a rent boy in the 1997 film Wilde. Shortly after graduating in 1999, Bloom was cast in his first major role, playing Legolas Greenleaf in The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003). He had originally tried out for the part of Faramir, who doesn't appear until the 2nd movie. The director, Peter Jackson, said he tried to pick the most perfect beings to be the elves. While shooting a scene, he broke a rib after falling off a horse, but fully recovered and continued shooting. The success of the trilogy transformed Bloom from an unknown actor into one of world's best-known celebrities. In 2002, he was chosen as one of the Teen People "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" and was named People's hottest Hollywood bachelor in the magazine's 2004 list.

All members of the cast of the Rings movies were nominated for Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for three years in a row, finally winning in 2003 for the third film, The Return of the King. Bloom has also won other awards, including European Film Awards, Hollywood Festival Award, Empire Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and has been nominated for many others.

Bloom next starred opposite Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was a blockbuster hit during the summer of 2003. He subsequently played the lead roles in Kingdom of Heaven (gaining 15 to 20 lb of muscle by eating six times a day and lifting weights during filming) and Elizabethtown (both 2005). Both films were box office failures in the United States, although Kingdom of Heaven performed better internationally and Elizabethtown was critically acclaimed.

Bloom later starred in sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was released on July 7, 2006, and the independently made Haven, which received a limited release in the U.S. on September 15, 2006. He is currently filming the third of the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which is to be released on May 25, 2007. Bloom was set to subsequently appear in the Great Depression-themed independent film drama, Seasons of Dust, which would have starred Kate Bosworth, due to their break-up however, the film was put on hold. After Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earned over 1 billion dollars at the box office, Bloom became only the second actor after Bernard Hill to have 2 movies to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).

Bloom, who had intended to become a stage actor after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, has stated that he would like to appear in stage roles, and is "avidly looking for the right sort of material that [he] can do something with".[3]


Personal Life

Orlando is a Manchester United fan and lives in London. During filming in Morocco for Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom rescued and adopted a dog, Sidi (a black Saluki mix with a white mark on his chest).

Bloom met American actress Kate Bosworth outside a coffee shop in 2002, where he was introduced to her by a mutual friend, soon after he met her again at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers later in that year. The two actors dated from 2002 until splitting up temporarily in 2005.[4] However, on September 6, 2006, sources reported that the couple had separated again.[5]

In 2004, he became a full member of Soka Gakkai International, a lay Buddhist association affiliated with the teachings of Nichiren. [6] [7]

He has on his right wrist a tattoo of the Elvish word for "nine", a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other actors of "The Fellowship" (Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood) got the same tattoo with the exception of John Rhys-Davies who sent his stunt double to get the tattoo. He covers the tattoo up with armbands or sleeves in other films, however it is possible to catch a glimpse of it during Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also has a tattoo of a sun-like image to the bottom-left of his navel.