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Maurice Chevalier - Thank Heaven for Little Girls (from Gigi) Lyrics




Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!

Thank heaven for little girls
they grow up in the most delightful way!

Those little eyes so helpless and appealing
one day will flash and send you crashin' thru the ceilin'

Thank heaven for little girls
thank heaven for them all,
no matter where no matter who
for without them, what would little boys do?

Thank heaven... thank heaven...
Thank heaven for little girls!

I guess that one is Maurice's signature song, Bob, but I was surprised to find out that he did this one.

Long ago my heart and mind
Got together and designed
The wonderful girl for me
Oh what a fantasy

Thought the ideal of my heart
Can't be ordered a la carte
I wonder if she will be
Always a fantasy

Will I ever find the girl in my mind?
The one who is my ideal
Maybe she's a dream and yet she might be
Just around the corner waiting for me

Will I recognize the light in her eyes
That no other eyes reveal
Or will I pass her by and never even know
That she was my ideal

[Instrumental solos]

Will I recognize the light in her eyes
That no other eyes reveal
Or will I pass her by and never even know
That she is my ideal

about time to spin another record before the station goes off the air for the day !

and let me quickly sneak another one in - before letty close shop !

here is the cootie williams band with chick webb at the SAVOY BALLROOM

Well, hbg. Ain't nothin' like the Duke to go to bed by. Thanks for the song, and I love the line "...ain't got no fancy to tickle...."

In searching for music by Rachel Ward, folks, I was quite surprised to come across a mini series that she and Richard Chamberlain did for Hallmark called Blackbeard.



How about a pirate song to go with it.

The Pirate Song

To the mast nail our flag it is dark as the grave,
Or the death which it bears while it sweeps o'er the wave;
Let our deck clear for action, our guns be prepared;
Be the boarding-axe sharpened, the scimetar bared:
Set the canisters ready, and then bring to me,
For the last of my duties, the powder-room key.

It shall never be lowered, the black flag we bear;
If the sea be denied us, we sweep through the air.
Unshared have we left our last victory's prey;
It is mine to divide it, and yours to obey:
There are shawls that might suit a sultana's white neck,
And pearls that are fair as the arms they will deck.

There are flasks which, unseal them, the air will disclose
Diametta's fair summers, the home of the rose.
I claim not a portion: I ask but as mine
'Tis to drink to our victory - one cup of red wine.
Some fight, 'tis for riches - some fight, 'tis for fame:
The first I despise, and the last is a name.

I fight, 'tis for vengeance! I love to see flow,
At the stroke of my sabre, the life of my foe.
I strike for the memory of long-vanished years;
I only shed blood where another shed tears,
I come, as the lightning comes red from above,
O'er the race that I loathe, to the battle I love.


Tomorrow, I shall be heading for Virginia and, of course, I've procrastinated.

Heh,heh. What kind of sneakers are you wearing, hbg? But that, too, is a great one and a wonderful way for Letty to say....

Goodnight, my friends.

From Letty with love

Elvis Presley - Let Me Lyrics

Whenever I dance with the girl I love
My head goes round and round
When she's close to me
I can't stay on the ground
Whenever I dance with the girl I love
I never have a care
All night I'm so light
I walk right on the air
Oh let me, oh honey let me
Let me do what you know I love to do
Please take another chance and let me
Let me have another dance with you
Whenever I feel those pretty arms
Reaching round about
That feeling goes to my toes
And all the lights go out, go out, go out
Whenever I see those eyes of blue
Smiling up so shy
I'm in such a spin I take right off and fly
So let me, oh honey let me
Let me do what you know I love to do
Please take another chance and let me
Let me have another dance with you
So let me dance in the arms I love
Thrill me through and through
I'm so drunk with love
That all I see is you
I never hear the music play
I never see the crowd
Only you and me
Dancing on a cloud
Oh let me, oh honey let me
Let me do what you know I love to do
Please take another chance and let me
Let me have, another dance, with you

Good early morning, WA2K radio audience.

edgar, while Elvis walks on air, Letty is up early because I was sleepless, and that's the price we pay for procrastination.

Artist: Sleepless
Song: Sands of time


The sand, the grains - a symbol of time
The sea, the waves - a song with a rhyme
A desert wind

Time - shattering the images above and healing wounds
A desert wind, a frying sun
A holy war handled by an angry gun
The night, the moon, the sky, the stars above us
The day, the sun, burning the mysterious thoughts
Inspiring an artist

Did you ever think, did you ever know, did you ever feel
That I was last to go?
Waiting at the gallows pole
There's a time when our dreams should be fulfilled

The screen of rays full of mist
A little child grown by the loving priest

There's a time when our dreams should be fulfilled
The day we come back from the landmine field
Distorted figure covered in black
Another soul is hidden away from you
Well what's the point?

The sand, the grains - a symbol of time
Well what's the point
If your ego is based on your success?
So the story goes on like a game of chess

Jerry Lee Lewis - I Believe In You


Well I heard the other day
from some people who passed this way
They were saying you were untrue
I love you baby no matter what you do
They say you'll leave me and I'm just a fool
All I'll ever be is your footstool
But I believe oh honey right now
I believe in you oh yeah now

They say you're bad so bad
but you're the best girl old Jerry ever had
Love me and leave me that's what they say
I love you baby yeah come what may
They say you'll leave me and it won't be long
I'm gonna wake up one morning Lord
I'm gonna find you gone
But I believe oh honey right now honey
I believe in you oh yeah

Well they say you're just plain bad
you're the best girl that I ever had
Oh don't leave me don't leave me honey
They say you'll soon be gone that's what they say
Oh I'll love you baby yeah come what may
Honey I want you to hang around here
and be with old Jerry just one more day
Cause I believe oh I believe
I believe in you yes I be-lie-ve

Claudette Colbert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Lily Claudette Chauchoin
Born September 13, 1903(1903-09-13)
Paris, France
Died July 30, 1996 (aged 92)
Speightstown, Barbados
Spouse(s) Norman Foster (1928-1935)
Dr. Joel Pressman (1935-1968)
[show]Awards
Academy Awards
Best Actress
1934 It Happened One Night
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actress - Miniseries
1988 The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 - July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning French-American actress for It Happened One Night.

She was popular leading lady in Hollywood films, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s. Almost all her titles were American movies.

In 1999, she was ranked 12th by the American Film Institute in their list Greatest Female Stars of All Time.




Early life

She was born Lily Claudette Chauchoin in Paris, France to Georges Claude Chauchoin (1867-1925), a banker and diplomat, and his wife, the former Jeanne Loew (d. 1970). Her family emigrated to the United States when she was three years old and settled in New York City three years later,[1][2] when her father encountered financial setbacks. Colbert was made a naturalized citizen of the United States.

She attended New York City public schools. Her very first acting part was in As You Like It. Colbert studied at Washington Irving High School to overcome a slight lisp. Her speech teacher Alice Rossetter encouraged her to audition for a play Rossetter had written, and she made stage debut at the Provincetown Playhouse in The Widow's Veil, at the age of fifteen.

She then attended the Art Students League of New York and worked as a stenographer, a salesclerk in womens' clothing, and a tutor in order to pay her expenses. She intended to become a fashion designer but after she attended a party with the playwright Anne Morrison she was offered a three-line role in Morrison's new play. She appeared on the Broadway stage in a small role in The Wild Westcotts (1923). Colbert embarked on a stage career in 1925.[3] She had used the name Claudette instead of Lily in high school, and for her stage name she added her paternal grandmother's maiden name, Colbert.[4]


Becoming an actress

About the mid 1920s, she signed five-year contract with the producer Albert H. Woods. She played on Broadway from 1925 through 1929. During her early years on stage, she received critical acclaim on Broadway in the production of The Barker (1927).

In 1927, Colbert accepted an offer by First National to make her first film. She made her first motion picture appearance in For the Love of Mike (1927), her only silent film shot on location in New York City facilities, and now believed to be a lost film.[5] It was unsuccessful. In 1928 she signed a film contract with Paramount Pictures, which enabled her to continue her stage career. Her screen career started in earnest early in 1929, after the arrival of sound. Her first talkie and first hit film was The Hole in the Wall (1929), co-starring Edward G. Robinson, and The Lady Lies (1929) was also successful.


Film career

She would make a total of four films with Fredric March, including Dorothy Arzner's Honor Among Lovers (1931), which fared well at the box-office. She sang in her role opposite Maurice Chevalier in the Ernst Lubitsch musical The Smiling Lieutenant (1931). By 1932 she had appeared in some 17 films, playing diverse roles in approximately four films per year.

Colbert's career prospects were enhanced when Cecil B. DeMille cast her as the Roman empress Poppaea in his historical epic, The Sign of the Cross (1932). In one of the scenes, she bathes in a marble pool filled with asses' milk.[6] Later the same year she appeared in The Phantom President (1932). Other successes of this period included Tonight Is Ours (1933) and Torch Singer (1933). In 1933 she renegotiated her contract with Paramount and was allowed to appear in films at other studios. Four Frightened People (1934) was a social comedy that failed to find a substantial audience.


Perhaps her most famous role was as Ellie Andrews, in It Happened One Night (1934). This film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and she was selected for Best Actress.

Cleopatra (1934), with Colbert in the title role, was a box office success. She then starred in Imitation of Life (1934).

In 1935 and 1936, she was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", voted on by movie exhibitors throughout the U.S. for the stars who had generated the most revenue in their theaters.[7]


Other films of rest of the 1930s include The Bride Comes Home (1935); Ernst Lubitsch's comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938), opposite Gary Cooper, her former co-star in His Woman (1931); Midnight (1939, one of her best[8]), with Don Ameche; It's a Wonderful World (1939), with James Stewart. In 1938, she was reported to be the highest paid performer in Hollywood, with a salary of $426,924.[9]

She also spent this period alternating between romantic comedies and dramas: Boom Town (1940), Preston Sturges' classic[10]screwball comedy The Palm Beach Story (1942, Some say the film is her comic best[11]), Guest Wife (1945), Tomorrow Is Forever (1946), Without Reservations (1946), directed by Mervyn LeRoy and co-starring John Wayne, Three Came Home (1950), and her last screen romantic comedy Let's Make It Legal (1951). She seldom played strictly dramatic roles.[12]

In 1945, she left Paramount Pictures after having spent most of her starring career there.[13] Colbert and Fred MacMurray would make seven films together over 13 years, including The Egg and I (1947). The film was the twelfth most profitable American film of the 1940s, and one of the most significant commercial successes of her career.[14] On the basis of this success, she made the "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars" for the last time, after being absent since 1936.[15]

Several of her late 1940s films did well enough at the box office to sustain her career.[16] After that, her doctor (who was also her husband) told her she could only film a short time each day, a request most directors were not willing to accommodate. By the 1950s, her career had begun to wind down.


Other works

From 1935 to 1954, she starred in numerous programs of CBS' Lux Radio Theater, one of the popular dramatic radio shows at the time.


From 1952 to 1954, she worked mostly in Europe. In 1954, Colbert made a deal with CBS to star in five teleplays after successful appearance in The Royal Family. From 1954 to 1960, she appeared in a number of programs in the infant medium of television, such as Blithe Spirit (1956). In 1959, she played her last major acting role on TV for 25 years, in The Bells of St. Mary's.

She stopped making motion pictures by the middle of that decade. Her last starring film was the western Texas Lady (1955). Her last major appearance was in 1961's soap opera, Parrish.

She returned to Broadway in 1956 in Janus. In 1958, she appeared with Charles Boyer, in the long-running The Marriage-Go-Round. Her other theatrical appearances included The Irregular Verb to Love (1963), The Kingfisher (1979) in which she co-starred with Rex Harrison, and Frederick Lonsdale's Aren't We All? (1985) in which she co-starred again with Harrison, first in London and then on Broadway.


Behind the scenes

Colbert was very particular regarding the way she appeared on screen. She believed that her face was difficult to light and photograph, and was obsessed with not showing her "bad" side, the right, to the camera, because of a small bump from a nose broken in childhood.[17]

During the 1930s, she distrusted the new technicolor film process, and feared that she would not photograph well in color. Although she appeared in the early color film, Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), she preferred to be photographed in black-and-white.[18]

In 1948, Colbert was replaced by Katharine Hepburn in the leading role in State of the Union after disagreements with Frank Capra.


Personal life

Colbert married twice. Her first husband was Norman Foster, an actor and later director, whom she married in 1928. She co-starred with him on the stage The Barker (1927), and in the film Young Man of Manhattan (1930). Colbert did not live with him and kept marriage a secret for many years. They divorced in Mexico in 1935.


Four months after her divorce, on 24 December 1935, Colbert married Joel Jay Pressman (1901-1968), a Los Angeles surgeon. Colbert did not have any children.

She spent half of each year at her vacation home in Speightstown, Barbados, beginning in the early 1960s. However, her registered domicile remained the United States.

Colbert suffered a stroke in 1994 and never fully recovered; it curtailed her daily swims and speedboat rides.[19] In 1996 she died at her oceanfront home in the former British colony, Barbados at the age of 92.

Most of Colbert's estate, estimated at $3.5 million and including her Manhattan apartment and villa in Barbados, was left to a friend, Helen O'Hagan (1931?-), a retired director of corporate relations at Saks Fifth Avenue, whom Colbert had met in 1961 on the set of the actress's last film.[20][21][22]


Opinion

In 1930 she starred in Manslaughter. The New York Times wrote about it, "Claudette Colbert is capable of excellent acting. She shows some of it in her part of Lydia, although the film is so busy going on its way that there isn't much time."[23][24]
Myrna Loy was originally offered the role in It Happened One Night (1934), but she turned the script down, later noting that the final version bore little resemblance to the script she was offered.[25] At least six actresses turned down the role.[26] Colbert was reluctant to appear in It Happened One Night (1934). Director Frank Capra recalled, "Colbert fretted, pouted and argued about her part... she was a tartar, but a cute one"[27]

Cecil B. DeMille perceived her as a femme fatale, and each of her three films with him included semi-nude,[28] however she did not wish to be portrayed as a siren and thereafter refused such roles.[29]
During filming of So Proudly We Hail! (1943), a rift occurred between Colbert and Paulette Goddard when Colbert overheard a remark made by Goddard in an interview. Asked which of her costars she preferred, Goddard had replied, "Veronica, I think. After all, we are closer in age". Veronica Lake commented that Colbert "flipped" and "was at Paulette's eyes at every moment" and said that they continued their feud throughout the duration of filming. [30] Goddard (33 at the time) was actually closer to Colbert's age (40) than Veronica Lake's (24).
In Since You Went Away (1944); producer David O. Selznick predicted that she would feel threatened by the idea of playing a more mature character. He had been impressed by her performance in So Proudly We Hail! (1943) as well as her box-office clout, commenting that "even light little comedies with her have never done under a million and a half." Hedda Hopper convinced Colbert to accept the part.[31] Director John Cromwell later noted that Colbert was "level headed, very professional and with no temperament." The film grossed almost five million dollars in the United States. The critic, James Agee, commented that it was the "richest, biggest role of her career". He also wrote that she demonstrated "smooth Hollywood formula acting, and sometimes - in collaboration with Mr. (Joseph) Cotten - flashes of acting that are warmer and more mature."[32]
David O. Selznick wrote in a memo that they had rebuilt several sets of Since You Went Away (1944) "because of her refusal to have the right side of her face photographed, on top of which we have to pay her not only a fabulous salary, but also give her two days off a month, which works out to $5000 every four weeks for doing absolutely nothing, and now she's demanding three.... Tell her there's a war on and we all have to make some sacrifices."[33]
Irene Dunne commented that she lacked Colbert's "terrifying ambition" and noted that if Colbert finished work on a film on a Saturday, she would be looking for a new project by Monday. Hedda Hopper once wrote that Colbert placed her career ahead of everything "save possibly her marriage", and described her as the "smartest and canniest" of Hollywood actresses, with a strong sense of what was best for her, and a "deep rooted desire to be in shape, efficient and under control". [34]
By the time Joseph L. Mankiewicz began working on a screenplay of All About Eve (1950), he had decided on Claudette Colbert for the lead female role, as she represented the style of actress that he envisioned for the part. He admired her "sly wit and sense of class" and felt that she would play the role as an "elegant drunk" who would easily win the sympathy of the audience. But Colbert was forced to withdraw after severely injuring her back.[35]
Colbert is cited by modern film historians as a leading female exponent of screwball comedy, along with such actresses as Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, Irene Dunne and Jean Arthur. In her comedy films, she invariably played shrewd and self reliant women, but unlike many of her contemporaries, Colbert rarely engaged in physical comedy, with her characters more likely to be observers and commentators.[36]

Awards and nominations

Colbert was also nominated the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1936 for Private Worlds, and in 1945 for Since You Went Away.

She was nominated for Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for The Marriage-Go-Round, and she won the 1980 Sarah Siddons Award for Best Actress to play in Chicago for the season 1979-80 for her performance in the play, The Kingfisher.

During her career, Claudette Colbert appeared in more than sixty films. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6812 Hollywood Blvd.

In 1987, she returned to TV in two-part film, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-series or a Special. In 1988, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV.

In 1989, she was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors.

Dick Haymes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born September 13, 1916
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died March 28, 1980, age 63
Los Angeles, California, USA

Dick Haymes (September 13, 1916 - March 28, 1980) was one of the most popular American male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s.

He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His Irish-born mother, Marguerite Haymes (1894-1987), was a well-known vocal coach and instructor. He became the vocalist in a number of big bands, worked in Hollywood on radio and in many films throughout the forties and fifties.

He never became a United States citizen and avoided military service during World War II by asserting his non-belligerent status as a citizen of Argentina, which was neutral. Years later (1955), this act of his nearly caused his deportation to Argentina on an unrelated technicality in immigration law. During World War II, he was briefly detained at Ellis Island.

Haymes was married six times and had six children. His most famous marriages were to film actresses Joanne Dru (1941-1949) and Rita Hayworth (1953-1955). His daughter Stephanie Haymes was married to Sir Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin

He died in Los Angeles from lung cancer, at the age of 63.

Scott Brady
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Scott Brady (September 13, 1924 - April 16, 1985) was an American film actor.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the younger brother to a fellow actor, Lawrence Tierney, Brady began his film career after taking drama classes after World War II (where he was a Navy boxing champ). The actor specialized in tough-guy roles in films like He Walked by Night and Johnny Guitar. He appeared regularly on the 1970s cop show, Police Story. His last film role was in the 1984 movie Gremlins. He is often confused with his brother, Tierney, whom he resembles. Brady was a lumberjack early in life before taking up acting.

He was originally offered the role of Archie Bunker in All in the Family in 1971 and turned it down. He played Shirley Feeney's father Jack Feeney in episode 32 of Laverne & Shirley which aired 2/15/1977.

Brady died from pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 60. Other sources have the cause as emphysema

Mel Tormé
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background information

Birth name Mel Tormé
Born September 13, 1925(1925-09-13)
Origin Chicago, Illinois
Died June 5, 1999 (aged 73)
Genre(s) Jazz
Instrument(s) Vocalist, Drums

Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 - June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, is best known as one of the great male jazz singers. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He composed the music for the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song".





Biography

Early years

Tormé was born to immigrant Russian Jewish parents[1] whose name had been Torma. A child prodigy, he first sang professionally at 4 with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy," at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. Between 1933 and 41, he acted in the network radio serials The Romance of Helen Trent and Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. He wrote his first song at 13 and three years later, his first published song, "Lament to Love," became a hit recording for Harry James. He played drums in Chicago's Shakespeare Elementary School drum and bugle corps in his early teens. While a teenager, he sang, arranged, and played drums in a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers. His formal education ended in 1944, with his graduation from Chicago's Hyde Park High School.


Early career

" Tormé works with the most beautiful voice a man is allowed to have, and he combines it with a flawless sense of pitch… As an improviser he shames all but two or three other scat singers and quite a few horn players as well. "
?-Will Friedwald, Jazz Singing


In 1943, Tormé made his movie debut in Frank Sinatra's first film, the musical Higher and Higher. He went on to sing and act in a number of films and television episodes throughout his career, even hosting his own television show in 1951-52. His appearance in the 1947 film musical Good News made him a teen idol for a few years.

In that year he also formed the vocal quintet "Mel Tormé and His Mel-Tones," modeled after Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers. The Mel-Tones, which included Les Baxter and Ginny O'Connor, had several hits fronting Artie Shaw's band and on their own, including Cole Porter's "What is This Thing Called Love?" The Mel-Tones were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups, blazing a path later followed by The Hi-Los, The Four Freshmen, and The Manhattan Transfer.

Later in 1947, Tormé went solo. His singing at New York's Copacabana led a local disc jockey, Fred Robbins, to give him the nickname "The Velvet Fog", thinking to honor his high tenor and smooth vocal style, but Tormé detested the nickname. (He self-deprecatingly referred to it as "this Velvet Frog voice.") As a solo singer, he recorded a number of romantic hits for Decca (1945), and with the Artie Shaw Orchestra on the Musicraft label (1946-48). In 1949, he moved to Capitol Records, where his first record, "Careless Hands," became his only number one hit. His versions of "Again" and "Blue Moon" became signature tunes. His composition "California Suite," prompted by Gordon Jenkins' "Manhattan Tower," became Capitol's first 12-inch LP album. Around this time, he helped pioneer cool jazz.

From 1955 to 1957, Tormé recorded seven jazz vocal albums for Red Clyde's Bethlehem Records, all with groups led by Marty Paich, most notably Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dektette. These recordings proved a creative peak for Tormé and for Paich, a leading figure in the West Coast jazz of the time.

When rock & roll music (which Tormé called "three-chord manure") came on the scene in the 1950s, commercial success became elusive. During the next two decades, Tormé often recorded mediocre arrangements of the pop tunes of the day, never staying long with any particular label. He was sometimes forced to make his living by singing in obscure clubs. He had two minor hits, his 1956 recording of "Mountain Greenery," and his 1962 R&B song "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by Claus Ogerman. The latter recording led the jazz and gospel singer Ethel Waters to say that "Tormé is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man." It was later covered instrumentally by Quincy Jones and Kai Winding.

In 1963-64, Tormé wrote songs and musical arrangements for the The Judy Garland Show, and made two guest appearances on the show itself. A few years later, after Garland's death, his time with her show became the subject of his first book, "The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol" (1970). Although the book was praised, it led to an unsuccessful lawsuit by Garland's family.

Other books by Mel Tormé include his novel "Wynner" (1979), "It Wasn't All Velvet" (1988) and "My Singing Teachers Reflections on Singing Popular Music" (1994).

Tormé befriended drummer Buddy Rich the day Rich left the Marine Corps in 1942. Rich became the subject of Tormé's book Traps?-The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich (1987). Tormé also owned and played a drumset that drummer Gene Krupa had used for many years. George Spink, treasurer of the Jazz Institute of Chicago from 1978 to 1981, recalled that Tormé played this drumset at the 1979 Chicago Jazz Festival with Benny Goodman on the classic "Sing, Sing, Sing".[2]

Although a jazz and popular musician, Tormé also respected classical music, especially that of Frederick Delius and Percy Grainger.


Later career

The resurgence of vocal jazz in the 1970s resulted in another artistically fertile period for Tormé, whose live performances during the 1960s and 70s fueled a growing reputation as a jazz singer. He found himself performing as often as 200 times a year around the globe. In 1976, he won an Edison Award (the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy) for best male singer, and a Downbeat award for best male jazz singer. For a number of years around this time, his September appearances at Michael's Pub, on the Upper East Side would unofficially open New York's fall cabaret season.

Tormé viewed his 1977 Carnegie Hall concert with George Shearing and Gerry Mulligan as a turning point. Shearing later said:

"It is impossible to imagine a more compatible musical partner… I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our countless performances. As Mel put it, we were two bodies of one musical mind."

Starting in 1982, Tormé recorded a number of albums with Concord Records, including:

Five albums with pianist George Shearing;
His big band work with Rob McConnell and his Boss Brass orchestra (see Mel Tormé, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass);
A reunion with Marty Paich, resulting in a live recording in Tokyo (In Concert Tokyo) and a studio album (Reunion).
In the 1980s, he often performed with pianist John Colianni.

Tormé made nine guest appearances as himself on the 1980s situation comedy Night Court whose main character, Judge Harry Stone (played by Harry Anderson), was depicted as an unabashed Tormé fan. In the mid-1990s, Tormé gained a following among Generation Xers by appearing in a series of Mountain Dew commercials and on an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld ("The Jimmy"), in which he dedicates a song to the character Kramer. Tormé also recorded a version of Nat King Cole's "Straighten up and Fly Right" with his son, alternative/adult contemporary/jazz singer Steve March Tormé.

Tormé was also able to work with his other son, television writer-producer Tracy Tormé, in an episode of Tracy's series, Sliders. Tormé plays an alternate version of himself, who is also a FBI informant, in the 1996 episode, "Greatfellas".

In February 1999, Tormé was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On August 8, 1996, a stroke abruptly ended his 65-year singing career; another stroke in 1999 ended his life. In his eulogistic essay, John Andrews wrote about Tormé as follows; [1]:

"Tormé's style shared much with that of his idol, Ella Fitzgerald. Both were firmly rooted in the foundation of the swing era, but both seemed able to incorporate bebop innovations to keep their performances sounding fresh and contemporary. Like Sinatra, they sang with perfect diction and brought out the emotional content of the lyrics through subtle alterations of phrasing and harmony. Ballads were characterized by paraphrasing of the original melody which always seemed tasteful, appropriate and respectful to the vision of the songwriter. Unlike Sinatra, both Fitzgerald and Tormé were likely to cut loose during a swinging up-tempo number with several scat choruses, using their voices without words to improvise a solo like a brass or reed instrument."


Accomplishments

Tormé was a licensed pilot, and often flew a small plane to his USA gigs. At a low point in his musical career, he even pondered becoming an airline pilot.


The songwriter

Tormé wrote more than 250 songs, a number of which became jazz standards. He also often wrote the arrangements for the songs he sang. He often collaborated with Bob Wells, and the best known Tormé-Wells song is "The Christmas Song", often referred to by its opening line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," First recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, it has been a holiday favorite ever since. Tormé said that he wrote the music to the song in only 40 minutes, and that it was not one of his personal favorites.

Jacqueline Bisset
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Winfred Jacqueline Fraser-Bisset
Born September 13, 1944 (1944-09-13) (age 63)
Weybridge, Surrey, England

Jacqueline Bisset (born Winifred Jacqueline Fraser-Bisset on 13 September 1944) is an English actress.





Biography

Early life

Bisset was born in Weybridge, Surrey, England to Max Fraser-Bisset, a Scottish General Practitioner, and the former Arlette Alexander, a lawyer of French and English descent; Bisset's mother cycled from Paris and boarded a British trooper in order to escape the Germans during WWII.[1] Bisset has a brother, Max. Bisset's mother taught her to speak French fluently and she was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in London. When Bisset was a teenager, her mother was diagnosed with disseminating sclerosis. Bisset's parents divorced in 1968, after 28 years of marriage.[1] Bisset subsequently moved in to help her mother. She had taken ballet lessons as a young child, and now began taking acting lessons and fashion modelling to pay for them.

She lives in England.


Career

In 1967, Bisset was cast in the critically acclaimed movie Two for the Road. Next, she participated in the James Bond satire, Casino Royale (1967), as Miss Goodthighs.

In 1968, Mia Farrow dropped out of the movie The Detective (1968), and the role went to Bisset. That same year, she was cast opposite Steve McQueen in Bullitt, and appeared in the 1970 disaster film Airport.

In 1973, she appeared in François Truffaut's Day for Night, where she earned the respect of European critics and moviegoers as a serious actress. In 1977, Bisset made great strides towards becoming a better known entertainer in America with her movie The Deep (1977),[2] co-starring Robert Shaw, where her appearance swimming underwater wearing only a T-shirt helped make the film a box office smash, leading the producer Jon Peters to say, "That T-shirt made me a rich man",[3] and led many to credit her with popularizing the wet T-shirt contest. At the time, Newsweek magazine declared her to be "the most beautiful film actress of all time".

By 1978, she was a household name. She earned her first Golden Globe nomination for the comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?. Soon thereafter, she played in the movies Rich and Famous (1981) with Candice Bergen, and Under the Volcano with Albert Finney (1984), for which she earned her a second Golden Globe award nomination. In 1996, she was nominated for a César Award, France's version of the Oscars, for her role in La Cérémonie. During her career, Bisset has worked with such well-respected directors as Truffaut, John Huston, George Cukor and Roman Polanski. Several of her movies are French or Italian productions.

Bisset has also appeared in many made-for-TV movies, especially during the past ten years, some of which have been quite successful. One of her later TV movies, released in 2003, was America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, in which she portrayed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Bisset's most recent television work was a recurring role as the mysterious James, during the fourth season of the FX show Nip/Tuck.


Personal life

Though she has been romantically linked with many actors, Bisset has never married. Bisset is the godmother to actress Angelina Jolie. She appeared with Jolie in the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005); however, the scenes never made the final cut.

Unlike many actresses of her generation who have had difficulty finding work after the age of 40, Bisset made a seamless transition from leading lady to character actor. She remains very much in demand both in Hollywood and Europe. She told a Bermuda newspaper in 2004:[4]

"This film business, perhaps more so in America than in Europe, has always been about young sexuality. It's not true of theatre, but in America, film audiences are young and they go to the cinema to see the sort of romance or adventure that appeals to them. It's not an intellectual cinema in America. But one mustn't be too greedy. One wants to be stimulated by the work as long as there is something to give. I think you have to be as flexible as possible. Perhaps you don't get handed the big American productions, but, quite honestly, who would want to be in a lot of them? Many of them are just puerile teenage filler, and they're not fascinating to be in. To be used in a part without depth is a frustrating feeling, when you know you have something to give, and the camera just sort of brushes past you, and doesn't get what you have to give. Most actresses I know are frustrated, but you have to adapt to the reality. I go and find a small part in something I find interesting, or find an independent film".


Bisset in popular culture

In the NBC TV show Cheers, the episode "Bar Bet" has Sam Malone faced with a bet made with an old drinking buddy a long time ago. The bet: he would marry Jacqueline Bisset by a certain date or lose his bar. Rather than losing the bet because he'll never marry the Jacqueline Bisset, or welching on the bet and having to admit under oath that he was drunk when he made the bet, he instead locates an American woman with the exact same name and brings her back to Boston.

Bisset is mentioned by name in the Al Stewart song "Clifton in the Rain."

In the HBO TV show The Larry Sanders Show, Artie says he once dated Bisset.

Nell Carter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Nell Ruth Hardy
Born September 13, 1948(1948-09-13)
Birmingham, Alabama
Died January 23, 2003 (aged 54)
Long Beach, California
Years active 1979 to 2003
Spouse(s) George Krynicki (1982-1992)
Roger Larocque (1992-1993)
Partner(s) Ann Kaser (?-2003)
[show]Awards
Emmy Awards
1982 Ain't Misbehavin
Tony Awards
1978 Ain't Misbehavin

Nell Carter (September 13, 1948 - January 23, 2003) was a Tony Award-winning American singer and film, stage, and television actress.





Early life

Born Nell Ruth Hardy to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.. Carter, who was black and one of nine children, overcame adversity and hardships before finding success as an actress. Her father Horace died in an accident with a power line. She was raped at age 16 and became pregnant from the attack, giving birth to a daughter, Tracy.


Acting and singing career

She appeared alongside Bette Davis in the 1974 stage musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film The Corn is Green. The show closed before making it to Broadway.

She broke into stardom in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978. She also won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982. Additional Broadway credits included Dude and Annie.

In 1979 she had a part in the Miloš Forman-directed musical film adaptation of Hair. Her famous vocal talents are showcased throughout the motion picture soundtrack. One of the more memorable moments in the film involves her rendition of the song "White Boys" where she can be seen dancing playfully as she performs the song.

In 1978, Carter was cast as Effie White in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, but departed the production during development to take a television role on Ryan's Hope in Los Angeles. When Dreamgirls premiered in late 1981, Jennifer Holliday had taken over the lead. Carter also took a role on television's The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, before landing a steady role as housekeeper Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, for which she earned Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. The popular show lasted from 1981 to 1987.

After the show began, Carter's life took a turbulent turn. She married mathematician and lumber executive George Krynicki, and converted from Presbyterian to Judaism in 1982. She attempted suicide in the early 1980s, and entered a drug detoxification facility around 1985. Her brother Bernard died of AIDS in 1989.

Carter had three children, a daughter Tracey and two sons Daniel and Joshua. She adopted both her sons as newborns over a four month period. She attempted to adopt twice more but both adoptions fell through. In one case she brought home a child, Mary, but the birth parents demanded money before they would sign the adoption papers. In her final attempt, she allowed a young pregnant woman to move into her house with the plan to adopt the child but the mother decided to parent her child.

During this period Carter appeared in low-budget films, TV specials, and on game shows such as Match Game and To Tell the Truth. However, she also co-starred in "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper", a sitcom that ran for several years as part of ABC's successful TGIF programming block.

In 1992, she had surgery to remove aneurysms. She had divorced Krynicki and married Roger Larocque that same year. In 1993 she divorced Larocque. She declared bankruptcy in 1995 (and again in 2002). She also endured three miscarriages.

Appearing emotional and tearful on an episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Carter explained how she went to a Liza Minnelli concert during a very turbulent time of her life. Carter told Raphael how Minnelli, seeing Carter in an agonized state, ran offstage to tell her sister, Lorna Luft, to go out and take Carter backstage so that she could get some help. Minnelli and Luft helped get Carter into rehab for her cocaine problems which she conquered.

In the mid-90's, Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was very upset when commercials promoting the show used a different actress, Marcia Lewis, who is white, as Miss Hannigan. The producers claimed that the commercials, which were made during an earlier production, were too costly to reshoot. Carter felt that racism played a part in the decision. "Maybe they don't want audiences to know Nell Carter is black," she told the New York Post. However, the ads did mention that Carter was in the show. "It hurts a lot," Carter told the Post. "I've asked them nicely to stop it ?- it's insulting to me as a black woman." Carter was later replaced by Sally Struthers.

She also appeared as a panelist on Match Game.


Death

Carter died from heart disease complicated by diabetes and obesity on January 23, 2003. She was 54 years old. At the time of her death, Carter had been rehearsing for a production of Raisin, a stage musical of A Raisin in the Sun in Long Beach, California, and filming a movie, Swing.

Although Carter had previously declared bankruptcy and owed $1.1 million in back taxes, her friends and family were surprised to discover barely $200 in her bank account.

Carter is entered in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

She is survived by her two adopted sons (Joshua and Daniel) and a daughter (Tracy), conceived during her rape, as well as by her partner Ann Kaser.[1] Her bisexuality and relationship with Kaser did not become public knowledge until after her death.

The local parish had a fairly new priest. He had wonderful,
innovative ideas that were, for the most part accepted by
the congregation.
His mentor - a "higher ranking" priest came for a visit -
to see how he was doing. After looking the parish over,
the senior priest said, "Father John, your idea of a drive
through confessional is wonderful. That makes it so
convenient for your church members. And, Father John,
it was a really good idea to have the confessional open 24
hours a day, for those who work "shift" work. However,
Father John... that flashing neon sign that says:
"TOOT and TELL or GO to HELL" ... well, that has GOT TO GO!!

Lookit this place. Musta forgot to pay the help. Well let's see if I can find an appropriate song to play. At least it'll stir the cobwebs. Oh, I know.

The Sound Of Silence (3:08)

P. Simon, 1964

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turn my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence

Nuttin!
Maybe it was sumpin you said.
Don't think so.
Maybe you need a bath.
Had one this month.
You been ornery?
Not that I know of.
Try bein nice to them.
How?
Give them a good mornin song.
Oh yeah. Shoulda thought of that. Thanks.


Oklahoma

Curly:

There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow
There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow.
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye
And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky.

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

All the cattle are standin' like statues
All the cattle are standin' like statues
They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

All the sounds of the earth are like music
All the sounds of the earth are like music
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree
An' a ol' weepin' willer is laughin' at me

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.
Oh, what a beautiful day!

Howzat?
Looks ok to me.

Jack Hawkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name John Edward Hawkins
Born September 14, 1910
Wood Green, London, England
Died July 18, 1973 ( age 62 )
London, England

John Edward "Jack" Hawkins (September 14, 1910 - July 18, 1973) was an English film actor of the 1950s and 1960s.

Hawkins made his London stage debut aged 12, and was appearing on Broadway in Journey's End by the age of 18. Although he appeared in several films during the 1930s, it was only after service in World War II that he began to build a successful career in the cinema, often playing stern but sympathetic authority figures in films like Angels One Five (1952), The Long Arm (1956) and The Cruel Sea (1953), the film that made him a star. Ironically Hawkins was politically liberal and an emotional man, in sharp contrast to his conservative screen image.

From the late 1950s he mostly appeared in character roles, often in epic films like The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) (playing General Edmund Allenby) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). For Kwai, he had to convince his good friend, Alec Guinness, to take the lead role, which would ultimately win Guinness an Oscar.

Some of his more unusual roles included an Egyptian Pharaoh in Land of the Pharaohs (1955), Ben Hur's adoptive Roman father Quintus Arrius in Ben-Hur (1959), and Zulu (1964), where he played against type as the fanatical Rev. Otto Witt.

He was married to Jessica Tandy from 1932 to 1942 and later to Doreen Lawrence from 1946 until his death in 1973.

In December 1965, Hawkins was diagnosed with throat cancer and his entire larynx was removed in January of the following year; thereafter his performances were dubbed, often (and to Hawkins's approval) by actor Charles Gray. The loss of his voice was all the more tragic as he had spoken in a very rich baritone and a cultured accent. However, his voice had clearly been failing since the late 1950s - unknown to the public, he had undergone cobalt treatment in 1959 for what was described as a secondary condition of the larynx. In private, he used a mechanical larynx to aid his speech.[1]

Hawkins died in 1973 following an operation to insert an artificial voicebox. He was 62. His final appearance was in the television miniseries QB VII. His autobiography, titled "Anything For a Quiet Life", was published after his death.

Clayton Moore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clayton Moore (September 14, 1914 - December 28, 1999) was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character The Lone Ranger.

Born as Jack Carlton Moore in Chicago, Illinois, Moore was a circus acrobat as a boy, then later enjoyed a successful career as a John Robert Powers model. Moving to Hollywood in the late 1930s, he began working as a stunt man and bit player between modelling jobs. According to his autobiography, around 1940 Hollywood producer Edward Small convinced him to adopt the stage name "Clayton" Moore. He was an occasional player in B westerns and Republic Studio cliffhangers, ultimately starring in more even than serial hero Buster Crabbe. His big break came in 1949, when George Trendle spotted him in "The Ghost of Zorro". As producer of the radio show and creator of "The Lone Ranger" character along with writer Fran Striker, Trendle was about to launch the masked man in the new medium of television. Moore was cast on sight.

Moore then faced the challenge of training his voice to sound like the radio version of The Lone Ranger, which had then been on the air since 1933, and succeeded in lowering his already distinctive baritone even further. With the first notes of Rossini's stirring "William Tell Overture" and announcer Fred Foy's, "Return with us now, to those thrilling days of yesteryear...", Moore and co-star Jay Silverheels in the role of Tonto made television history as the first western written specifically for that medium. The Lone Ranger soon became the highest-rated program to that point on the fledgling ABC network and its first true "hit", earning an Emmy nomination in 1950.


After two successful years, which presented a new episode every week, 52 weeks a year, Moore had a pay dispute and left the series. As "Clay Moore," he made a few more westerns and serials, sometimes playing the villain. The public didn't really accept the new Lone Ranger, actor John Hart, so the owners of the program relented and rehired Moore at his requested salary, who stayed with the program until it ended the first-run production in 1957. He and Jay Silverheels also starred in two feature-length "Lone Ranger" motion pictures.

After completion of the second feature, "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" in 1956, Moore embarked on what eventually became 40 years of personal appearances, TV guest spots, and classic commercials as the legendary masked man. Silverheels joined him on occasional appearances during the early 1960s, and throughout his career Moore always expressed his tremendous respect and love for Silverheels.

In 1979 the owner of the Ranger character, Jack Wrather, obtained a court order prohibiting Moore from making future appearances as The Lone Ranger. Wrather anticipated making a new film version of the story, and did not want the value of the character being undercut by Moore's appearances, nor anyone to think that the 65-year-old Moore would be playing the role in the new picture. This move proved to be a public relations disaster of the first order. Moore responded by changing his costume slightly and replacing the mask with similar-looking wraparound sunglasses, and then counter-sued Wrather. He eventually won the suit, and was able to resume his appearances in costume, which he continued to do until shortly before his death.

Some have attributed the incredible failure of Wrather's picture, finally released in 1981 as The Legend of the Lone Ranger, to this move. In reality, it was only one of the picture's many problems (including Klinton Spilsbury's performance in the title role, reportedly so inept that his dialogue was re-recorded by James Keach). However, none of the subsequent remakes of the fictional western hero caught the public's imagination nor earned their respect as the original.

Moore often was quoted as saying he had "fallen in love with the Lone Ranger character" and strove in his personal life to take The Lone Ranger Creed to heart. This, coupled with his very public fight to retain the right to wear the mask, ultimately elevated him in the public's eyes to an American folk icon.


Clayton Moore in his later years shortly before his death. Photo: Howard Frank Archives
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.Moore was so identified with the masked man that he is the only person on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as of 2006, to have his character's name along with his on the star, which reads, "Clayton Moore ?- The Lone Ranger". He was inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 1990 was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In keeping with the nature of the Ranger character, Moore chose to always protect the Ranger's identity and therefore is probably the only actor, or one of very few to have achieved his level of fame, whose face is largely unknown to the public. His full face was never shown in the TV series, although occasionally he would don a disguise and affect an accent, revealing the upper half of his face in the process. However, there is no shortage of photos of Moore unmasked, including many in his autobiography. His many fans though could easily identify him by his instantly recognizable voice.

Erroneous reports not withstanding, Clayton Moore's birthdate was September 14, 1914 and he died December 28, 1999 from a heart attack. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.


Autobiography

I Was That Masked Man, by Clayton Moore with Frank Thompson, Taylor Publishing Company, 1996 - ISBN 0-87833-939-6