More Sunday Faves!

 Shirley with Adolph Menjou in Little Miss Marker,

her first starring role in a major motion picture

(remember when they were called "motion pictures?"), 

in 1934, co-starring with Menjou and Dorothy Dell.

Menjou said of her.."She knows all the tricks. She frightens me."

 Lannyl Stephens and Andrea Martin,

in My Favorite Year.

We'll hear "Funny" ...cuz it is.

 Donald O'Connor...he "Make(s) 'Em Laugh"

Jessica Molaskey and "Surbaya Santa",

a parody of Marlene's Surbaya Johnny.

And YES, it will be repeated during the holiday season.

Ho Ho Ho. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Newley... September 24, 1931.

 

 Singer/Songwriter/Actor...

inducted into the 

Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989,

Anthony Newley was born in Hackney, England,

raised by his aunt and uncle,

and was one of the evacuated children sent to country homes

during the London Blitz, during WWII.

He hated school, and by the age of 14, was working as an 

office boy at an acting school.

 At age 15, Anthony was cast as 

The Artful Dodger in David Lean's Oliver Twist, 1948

(at left above, with John Howard Davies as Oliver).

With Cyril Ritchard in 

The Roar of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The Crowd,

which Newley co-wrote with Leslie Bricusse.

Stop The World - I Want to Get Off, 

another Newley/Bricusse collaboration,

brought Anthony a Tony nomination for Best Actor.

 Here, in Dr. Doolitte...with Rex Harrison

(no, that's not Rex, that's a monkey)

and Samantha Eggar (right).

 The Strange World of Gurney Slade, a British TV series

that Anthony conceived of and starred in.

Along with movies, TV, and stage work,

he also wrote the theme for Goldfinger...pop hits for

Sammy, Shirley and Tony,

and received a Grammy in 1963 for his creation,

"What Kind of Fool Am I?"

 In 1971, he and Leslie received an Oscar nomination

for the musical score for Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.

 Anthony as The Mad Hatter, in the 1985 television special,

with an all-star cast.

1931 - 1999

Playlist for Sunday, September 20, 2015: No, I Don't Want A Coke!

Ahhh...flops. Why doesn't Kim play more of them? Said nobody ever.

I've been accused, from time to time, of playing too many of Broadway's eccentrics, the also rans, the failures. Kim, play something we can hum! More South Pacific! More Sound of Music! More...pablum!

What's wrong with a flop? And what/who/wherefore determines a flop anyway? Why do some shows succeed and others lie in a heap at the curb? Do the masses, the lines around the block, determine a winner? Do the Addison Dewitts still wield the Vegamatic power to slice and dice like they used to...ruining runs and curdling careers? Just because something closes in 3.5 weeks, is it bad? The Rodgers and Hart shows of the 20s and 30s lasted less than a year each, yet all were crowned successes. Now a show of that length is deemed kaput, a niche-market, a lucky-if-you're-cult. $$$ plays a huge part, of course, and if it's only making $, your show will kindly take a back seat (or smaller theatre, please) to one making $$$$. And if I can't hum your closing theme easily enough on my way up the aisle to my waiting Uber, that's it. Youz history.

Karen Morrow, who'll be featured singing a song from Miss Spectacular this Sunday (An unproduced show! So bad it never happened?), has a history of them. A dozen or more musicals she was slated to star in failed in previews, shuttered after opening night, you were great but now it's over pack up get out here's your hat what's your hurry.

But I play 'em. For there is wonder to be found. Case in point: Songs For A New World. It was on Broadway for what? An hour? But it had Jessica Molaskey, it mixed jazz with gospel with pop, had a couple of good character songs and some heart-felt ballads.  Hey, it tried!  If we only listen to the Phantoms and the Oklahomas, we might just as well drink Coke and eat McDonalds for the rest of our days. Open wide, and experience...escargot! 

Rant over.  See ya Sunday! 


Cell Block Tango (Catherine Zeta Jones, Ensemble, Chicago)
The River Won't Flow (Brooks Ashmanskas, Ty Taylor, Songs For A New
               World)
I'm Not Afraid Of Anything (Andrea Burns, Songs For A New World)
Surabaya Santa (Jessica Molaskey, Songs For A New World)
Ev'ry Sunday Afternoon (Shirley Ross, Ray Sinatra, A Connecticut Yankee)
My Heart Stood Still (Dick Foran, Julie Warren, A Connecticut Yankee)
Where Or When (Gregg Edelman, Judy Blazer, Babes In Arms)
I Wish I Were In Love Again (Jason Graae, Donna Kane, Babes In Arms)
Broadway Baby (Bernadette Peters, Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall)
The Little Things You Do Together (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)
Funny (Lannyl Stephens, Andrea Martin, My Favorite Year)
The Joker (Anthony Newley, The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The
                 Crowd)
Make 'Em Laugh (Donald O'Connor, Singin' In The Rain)
Laugh, You Son Of A Gun (Shirley Temple, Dorothy Dell, Little Miss Marker)
They Say It's Wonderful (Judy Garland, Howard Keel, Annie Get Your Gun)
Lose That Long Face (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)
Mack The Black (Judy Garland, The Pirate)
The Sweetest Sound (Richard Kiley, Diahann Carroll, No Strings)
No Other Music (Karen Morrow, Miss Spectacular)
The Music That Makes Me Dance (Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl)
Agony (Chuck Wagner, Robert Westenberg, Into The Woods)
Happily Ever After (Craig Lucas, Marry Me A Little)
Isn't It? (Lauren Ward, Saturday Night)
The Boy From...(Millicent Martin, The Mad Show/Side By Side By Sondheim)
Natasha (David Garrison, Peggy Hewitt, A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The
                 Ukraine)
Boston Beguine (Alice Ghostley, New Faces Of 1952)
Tango (Temptation) (Instrumental, Singin' In The Rain)
The Beguine (Tamara Long, Steve Elmore, Dames At Sea)

Sunday Duets

 Sara Gettlefinger and Christine Ebersole,

singing "Peas In A Pod," from

Grey Gardens.

Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's music

reminded some critics of Sondheim's...

 Mark Linn-Baker as Toad, and Jay Goede as Frog

in A Year With Frog and Toad.

They'll be raking leaves with "He'll Never Know."

 Jill Paice and David Hyde Pierce

in "Tough Act To Follow"

from Curtains, 

with music brought to you by Kander, Ebb, and Rupert Holmes

(Rupert of "The Pina Colada Song" fame!).

James Naughton and Dee Hoty

do "The Tennis Song," from City Of Angels

(although I liked this non-tennis-y photo better!).

Cy Coleman's melodies, David Zippel's zippy lyrics.

Jane "LIVED!!!"

 You may think you don't know Jane Connell,

who got her big break in 1966 when she clinched the role of

Agnes Gooch in Mame,

and here she is with Angela Lansbury,

singing "Gooch's Song."

But she was an often-seen TV show guest star in the 1970s.

 Jane reprised her role as Gooch

in the 1974 film version of Mame, starring Lucille Ball.

Jane took over the Gooch role when Lucy grew irritated

with Madeline Kahn and fired her.

 She starred again with Angela in Dear World,

another Jerry Herman musical, of 1969.

Other Broadway shows included

Me & My Girl, Lend Me A Tenor, Crazy for You, and Moon Over Buffalo.

 Most people know Jane from her appearances on Bewitched,

where she played Hepzibah (here with Cesar Romero)...

 and as Queen Victoria...here with Aunt Clara,

played by Marion Lord.

Other television appearances included

Green Acres, MASH, Maude, and Law & Order.

Jane was born in California in 1925, and 

passed away in 2013.

She was married to fellow actor, Gordon Connell

for 65 years.

David Daniel Kaminsky, of Brooklyn, NY

 Danny recorded "Civilization" with the Andrews Sisters in 1947...

and they Binga-Bango-Bongoed to Number 3 on the charts with it.

This photo looks like two pics photo-shopped together,

but c'est la vie!

 That same year, Danny starred in 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty...

and from that movie, we'll hear "The Professor." 

Sylvia Fine, who Danny married in 1940,

wrote and later produced much of his material.

By the time this movie was released, they were estranged,

yet they continued to work together professionally.

 "No Two People," from Hans Christian Andersen, 1952,

with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser.

Here Danny is pictured with Zizi Jeanmarie, in a fantasy segment.

The actual vocal part of Zizi was sung on the album

by Jane Wyman.

 A tap dancing Noah?

Well, if you've cast Danny Kaye, expect anything!

Two by Two, with music by Richard Rodgers,

lyrics, Martin Charnin, opened in 1970.

Danny "souped up" his part, going for the laughs.

He brought in the crowds, but the producers and writers were not happy.

That's Madeline Kahn on the left in green.

 And a couple additional photos I couldn't resist!

Danny's first vaudeville act, The Three Terpsichoreans...

with Cathleen Young and Dave Harvey.

They met at White Roe, a summer camp for adults in the Catskills,

where Danny worked as a tummler, someone who

keeps the folks entertained between acts

(and between courses!).

 

 With Bing on the set of White Christmas, 1954.

They wanted Fred, they almost got Donald...

but then there was Danny.

Danny worked for many years with UNICEF,

and this is one of the many photos of him with children around the globe.

Little known Kaye facts: Aviation Enthusiast!

Great Cook! Part Owner of the Seattle Mariners!

1911 - 1987

Playlist for Sunday, September 13, 2015: The Show Must Go On

Hell, it's fall.
School buses, new markers, a pleated wool skirt, and a pencil case.
AND I have to dig out my charm bracelet with all the math formula charms.
Yeah, I live on the school calendar. The new year starts in September, and ends mid June. Summer is something you get thru without pay.
Of course, as a self-employed teacher, there are no "weekends" (Maggie Smith was puzzled, and so am I).  If someone can't understand a word problem about train times in Albuquerque or cupcake recipes or zip code permutations ...well, Sunday a.m. can be as much about work as Wednesday afternoon. 
But ALL must steer clear of "SHOW TIME!"

So back at it:  Mame!, Snoopy!, Curtains!  Audra, Judy, Dee, and various amphibians. All these and more will be on hand to usher us into Autumn.  Also (by request), A Danny Kaye Extravaganza, which includes one from The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty film, done in 1947.  James Thurber evidently hated what the writers (and Producer Sam Goldwyn) did to his writing, tossing out most of his original story line and tailoring it to Danny's talents. Thurber thought the end result should have been called "The Public Life Of Danny Kaye." Despite the contention, a couple of great patter songs came out of the endeavor, thanks to Sylvia Fine, and we'll hear one of them on Sunday..."The Professor of Music." Also, my kids grew up with that song, and other DK classics, so it'll be a walk down memory lane.

Watch for photos thru the week, and I promise to sprinkle them (like sugar on cereal, like chorizo on eggs) with proper trivia. Thanks for waiting...for me to be BACK.


It's Today (Angela Lansbury, Ensemble, Mame)
The Woman's Dead (Debra Monk, Edward Hibbert, Ensemble, Curtains)
A Tough Act To Follow (David Hyde Pierce, Karen Jill Paice, Curtains)
Show People (David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, Ensemble, Curtains)
Remember? (Benjamin Rayson, Teri Ralston, Beth Fowler, Gene Varrone,
                    Barbara Lang, A Little Night Music)
The Glamorous Life (Audra McDonald, Go Back Home)
It Would Have Been Wonderful (Len Cariou, Laurence Guittard, A Little Night
                    Music)
No Man Left For Me (Dee Hoty, The Will Rodger's Follies)
Could I Leave You? (Dee Hoty, Follies)
The Tennis Song (Dee Hoty, James Naughton, City Of Angels)
Civilization (Danny Kaye, The Andrews Sisters, Angels In The Wings)
The Professor Of Music (Danny Kaye, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty)
No Two People (Danny Kaye, Jane Wyman, Hans Christian Andersen)
Ninety Again! (Danny Kaye, Two By Two)
Edgar Allan Poe (Cast, Snoopy! The Musical)
He'll Never Know (Mark Linn-Baker, Jay Goede, A Year With Frog And Toad)
The Great Writer (It Was A Dark And Stormy Night (David Garrison,
                     Snoopy! The Musical)
The House We Live In (Christine Ebersole, Ensemble, Grey Gardens)
Peas In A Pod (Christine Ebersole, Sara Gettelfinger, Grey Gardens)
Another Winter In A Summer Town (Christine Ebersole, Mary Louise Parker,
                     Grey Gardens)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Cast, The 25th Annual
                     Putnam County Spelling Bee)
I'm Not That Smart (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, ...Spelling Bee)
Magic Foot (Dan Folger, ...Spelling Bee)
Drop That Name (Judy Holliday, Ensemble, Bells Are Ringing)
On My Own (Sydney Chaplin, Bells Are Ringing)
I'm Going Back (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)
Gooch's Song (Jane Connell, Mame)
Mame (Company, Mame)