Thanks, edgar. I went back and rechecked Bob's info, and realized that he was a teenage idol.
I like to play those that are unfamiliar to me, and here is a great one by Boz, folks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj4JCPXQjk8&feature=related
Thanks, Raggedy, for the great montage that jolts our RNA. Also recall the Music Man, and love that song.
I read the book "Something of Value" which was the story of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, Africa, and I saw the movie with Dana Wynter, but I could find nothing that would fit the bio's.
Well, no matter. Let's listen to another oldie which I also enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV_7Dhmh03c
The German soccer team just won their first game in this year's European Championship 2:0 against Poland.
And something like this is going on in our town and all over Germany now:
Soccer fans
Only it is almost 11 pm and dark and I have to go to bed...
edgar, I listened to that song by Judy several times. I am stunned at how wonderfully clear her voice is and how perfect her intonation; all done a capella as well. You were right about the whales. Their plaintive song had a perfect contrapuntal effect on the lyrics and the melody.
Is Tarwathie in Scotland? It sounds a bit Celtic, somehow.
Well, our Urs dropped in long enough to tell us about soccer in Germany, so this is for her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1VWSntqRg
Back later to say goodnight, folks.
and now my goodnight song. This is for Urs and for me, everyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtA9Js-22ko
With the hope that tomorrow will be a better day...
From Letty with love
There is, interestingly, an old whaling song that is still sung to-day - Farewell tae Tarwathie, written by George Scrogie, a miller at Fedderate, New Deer, in the early 1850s. This haunting beautiful song was recorded by Judy Collins in a long-playing record called 'Whales and Nightingales'. Behind the voice of the singer can be heard the wailing of the whales, a sad sound, as if they were crying out against their fate. Tarwathie is a farm in the lap of Mormond Hill, near the village of Strichen, and the song tells the story of a lad who left there to seek his fortune at the whaling [...]. There are three Tarwathies near Mormond Hill, but no one has ever been able to find out what happened to their whaler boy. (Smith, Whale Hunters 39)
The song is indeed Scottish.
That bit of Schubert was marvelous.
Wichita Lineman was one of Campbell's very best. I never get tired of it.
Good morning, WA2K radio audience.
edgar, I too love Glen Campbell. What a great performer in his day. Thanks for the memories of that marvelous voice, Texas.
RH, Boz Scaggs is also a fantastic guy. Never heard him before you, and it has been a treat listening. Thanks again.
One of my favorites by Glen, and I don't think that this is a Vietnam song, but one observing WWI, but I'm not certain, folks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck0leo5QgQk&feature=related
edgar, I know that one, but I was curious about the composer and found this information.
Vice president under Calvin Coolidge, Dawes resumed a role in the banking business, becoming chairman of the board of the City National Bank and Trust Co. from 1932 until his death in Evanston. He is interred in Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago. His landmark lakeshore home in Evanston is owned by Northwestern University and operated by the Evanston History Center as a museum.
Dawes was also a self-taught pianist and composer. His 1912 composition "Melody in A Major," became a well-known piano and violin piece, and was played at many official functions as his signature tune. It was transformed into a pop song ("It's All In The Game") in 1951, when Carl Sigman added lyrics. The song was a number one hit in 1958, for Tommy Edwards (Hatfield 1997: 360), and has since become a pop standard recorded hundreds of times by artists including The Four Tops, Van Morrison, Cliff Richard,Nat "King" Cole, Brook Benton, Elton John, Barry Manilow, and Keith Jarrett. He was also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men in music.
Michael J. Fox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Michael Andrew Fox
June 9, 1961 (1961-06-09) (age 47)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Spouse(s) Tracy Pollan (1988-present)
Awards won
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series
1986-1988 Family Ties
2000 Spin City
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor in a Television Comedy
1989 Family Ties
1998-2000 Spin City
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
1998, 1999 Spin City
Michael J. Fox (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9, 1961) is a Canadian/American film and television actor. His roles include Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990); Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties (1982-1989), for which he won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award; and Mike Flaherty from Spin City (1996-2000), for which he won an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in 1998. As the symptoms of his disease worsened, he semi-retired from acting in 2000.
Early life
Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Phyllis, an actress and payroll clerk, and William Fox, a police officer and member of the Canadian Forces.[1][2] Fox's family lived in various cities and towns across Canada because of his father's career.[2] The family finally settled in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver when his father retired in 1971.[3] Fox also attended Burnaby South Secondary, which currently has a theater named after him.
Fox co-starred in the Canadian television series Leo and Me at age fifteen, and in 1979, at eighteen, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.[2] He was "discovered" by producer Ronald Shedlo and made his American television debut in the television movie Letters from Frank, credited under the name "Michael Fox". He intended to continue to use the name, but when he registered with the Screen Actors Guild, which does not allow duplicate registration names to avoid credit ambiguities, he discovered that Michael Fox, a veteran character actor, was already registered under the name.[2] As he explained in his autobiography, Lucky Man, and in interviews, he needed to come up with a different name. He did not like the sound of "Andrew" or "Andy" Fox. He decided against using his middle initial because he didn't want to fit into a Canadian stereotype, as in Michael "Eh?" Fox, and because he did not want teen fan magazines referring to him as "Michael, A Fox!". He decided to adopt a new middle initial and settled on "J" in reference to character actor Michael J. Pollard.[3] Sometimes he jokes that the J stands for "Jenius" or "Jenuine".
Acting career
Family Ties
Fox auditioned for the role of Alex P. Keaton, the arrogant, wise-cracking Republican teenager on the television series Family Ties. The first audition did not go very well, as creator Gary David Goldberg did not think he was right for the part. But casting director Judith Weiner convinced Goldberg to give Fox another shot. Goldberg had a change of heart at the next audition, but now Fox faced opposition from NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff.[2] Goldberg tried to convince Tartikoff that Fox would be good for the role, and Tartikoff finally relented, famously commenting, "Go ahead if you insist. But I'm telling you, this is not the kind of face you'll ever see on a lunch box". A few years later, after Back to the Future opened to big success, Tartikoff received a lunch box in the mail that had Fox's picture on it. There was a note inside that read, "To Brandon: This is for you to put your crow in. Love and Kisses, Michael J. Fox." Tartikoff kept the lunch box in his office for the rest of his career.
Family Ties struggled out of the gate, barely getting renewed in its first season. In 1984, it was paired up with The Cosby Show on Thursday nights, and the two shows ranked in the top two for the Nielsen ratings until 1987, when Family Ties was moved to Sunday nights. Fox won three Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe for his portrayal of Alex P. Keaton. A famous episode in 1987, called "My Name is Alex", was directed like a theatrical play, with Alex seeing a psychiatrist to cope with the death of his best friend. This episode was picked as the 68th best in television history in a 1997 issue of TV Guide. In a 1999 issue, Alex P. Keaton was ranked #27 on their list of the 50 Greatest TV Characters Ever. Fox also met his future wife Tracy Pollan, when she portrayed Alex's girlfriend Ellen Reed in the 1985-1986 season. The couple met again on the set of his 1988 movie Bright Lights, Big City.[2]
Post-Family Ties
Fox shot to movie stardom in the mid 1980s with his leading role as time traveller Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy of films. His other notable films included Teen Wolf (1985), The Secret of My Succe$s (1987), Doc Hollywood (1991), The Hard Way (1991), For Love or Money (1993) or The Concierge in some countries , Life With Mikey (1993), Greedy (1994), The American President (1995), and Mars Attacks! (1996).[2] His last major film role was in The Frighteners (1996).
He has also done voice work providing the voice of Stuart Little in the movie of the same name and its sequel, both of which were based on the popular book by E. B. White. He also voiced the bulldog Chance in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and its sequel Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco as well as Milo Thatch in Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Spin City was a sitcom that ran from 1996 to 2002 on ABC, based on a fictional local government running New York City, originally starring Fox as Mike Flaherty, the Deputy Mayor of New York.[2] After leaving the show, he was replaced by Charlie Sheen, who portrayed the character Charlie Crawford. Altogether 145 episodes were made (see list of episodes).
In 2004, Fox guest starred in the comedy Scrubs as Dr. Kevin Casey, who suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder. In 2006, he appeared in four episodes of Boston Legal as a lung cancer patient who used his influence in an experimental drug test to ensure he received the real drug instead of a placebo. The producers brought him back in a recurring role for Season 3, beginning with the season premiere. Though his character did not survive the season, Fox was nominated for an Emmy Award for best guest appearance.
Personal life, illness and advocacy
Fox married actress Tracy Pollan on 16 July 1988, at West Mountain Inn in Arlington, VT. The couple have four children: Samuel Michael (born May 30, 1989), twins Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances (born February 15, 1995), and Esmé Annabelle (born November 3, 2001). Fox holds dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship.[4]
Fox started displaying symptoms of early-onset Parkinson's disease in 1990 while shooting the movie Doc Hollywood, though he wasn't properly diagnosed until the next year. In 1998, he decided to go public with his condition, and since then he has been a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research.[2] His foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was created to help advance Parkinsons Disease research through embryonic stem cell studies.[2]
One of the few people to know that Fox had Parkinsons Disease before 1998 was one of Michael's best friends, his stunt double Charles Croughwell on Doc Hollywood. In later years, he and Fox developed a system of hiding Michael's symptoms.[citation needed]
In 1998, he was honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.[5]
On May 14, 2008, Fox was the recipient of an honorary degree, Doctorate of Fine Arts at New York University's 176th Graduation Commencement, the only college graduation to be held for the first and last time at Yankee Stadium in New York, NY. Later on May 22, he received the degree Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the University of British Columbia.[6]
Fox, in a 2006 interview with Katie Couric, explained his political advocacy, "I'm in this situation with millions of other Americans... and we have a right, if there's answers out there, to pursue those answers with the full support of our politicians".[7]
Two years earlier, Fox had appeared in a television commercial for Republican Arlen Specter's 2004 Senate campaign.[8] In the commercial, sponsored by Specter's re-election campaign, Fox comments that Specter "gets it" and Specter's voice is heard saying, "There is hope."
On July 18, 2006, Fox appeared in a taped interview on ABC's Good Morning America, defending a Senate bill (Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act) that would have expanded federal funding for stem cell research.[9] The bill was not enacted, however, being vetoed by President George W. Bush.
For the November 2006 U.S. midterm elections, Fox endorsed candidates on the basis of their support of embryonic stem cell research, as different from adult stem cell research. He appeared at events for several candidates including New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, Iowa Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver,[10] Illinois congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth, Virginia senatorial candidate James Webb and Ohio senatorial candidate Congressman Sherrod Brown.
2006 political advertisement controversy
In late October 2006, Fox appeared in a television campaign commercial, endorsing Claire McCaskill, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri and opposing incumbent senator Jim Talent for his specific opposition to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Fox also made similar ads in Wisconsin (supporting Governor Jim Doyle) and in Maryland, endorsing senatorial candidate Congressman Ben Cardin. All three of the endorsed politicians won their respective elections.
Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh caused controversy by claiming Fox was "either off his medication or acting" in the ad for McCaskill, calling Fox "really shameless".[11] According to the Washington Post, Limbaugh also told his listeners that Fox was "exaggerating the effects of the disease... He's moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act".[12] Limbaugh later said he would apologize to Fox "if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act. . ."[13][14][15] Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote Parkinson's Disease and the Family offered the opinion that "Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease. Any other interpretation is misinformed."[12]
Fox responded to Limbaugh's comments, "... it's difficult for people who don't have Parkinson's, or don't know about Parkinson's, to understand the symptoms and the way they work and the way medication works. You get what you get on any given day".[16]
Fox on living with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disorder which can be characterized by four cardinal symptoms: rigidity (specifically "leadpipe" and "cogwheeling" rigidity), resting tremor, postural instability, and bradykinesia (slow movement). At present, there is no cure, but medications provide some relief from the symptoms. Fox manages his symptoms using Sinemet,[17] a commercial form of Levodopa (L-dopa). L-dopa treatment decreases in effectiveness as it is used over a long period of time, so Fox, like many PD sufferers, extends the life of its effectiveness by using it as little as possible.
In his memoir, Lucky Man, Fox wrote that he did not take his medication prior to his testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in 1998. "I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling."[18]
After years of L-dopa treatment, new symptoms may develop called dyskinesia, which are different than that of PD. In an April 2002 NPR interview,[17] Fox explained what he does when he becomes symptomatic during an interview:
" Well, actually, I've been erring on the side of caution--I think 'erring' is actually the right word--in that I've been medicating perhaps too much, in the sense times the symptoms that people see in some of these interviews that have been on are actually dyskinesia, which is a reaction to the medication. Because if I were purely symptomatic with Parkinson's symptoms, a lot of times speaking is difficult. There's a kind of a cluttering of speech and it's very difficult to sit still, to sit in one place. You know, the symptoms are different, so I'd rather kind of suffer the symptoms of dyskinesia. . .this kind of weaving and this kind of continuous thing is much preferable, actually, than pure Parkinson's symptoms. So that's what I generally do...
...I haven't had any, you know, problems with pure Parkinson's symptoms in any of these interviews, because I'll tend to just make sure that I have enough Sinemet in my system and, in some cases, too much. But to me, it's preferable. It's not representative of what I'm like in my everyday life. I get a lot of people with Parkinson's coming up to me saying, 'You take too much medication.' I say, 'Well, you sit across from Larry King and see if you want to tempt it.'
