This is a one stop place to find news and stories about the greatest singer of all-time, Bing Crosby. From his days with Paul Whiteman to his final performances in 1977, we will examine this remarkable entertainer's life and times!
Of all the melancholy memories of Jan Hooks -- who died on October 9, 2014 at the age of 57 -- certainly none resonate more with me, and maybe you too, than this remarkable short film that aired during the ninth episode of the 14th season of "Saturday Night Live."
For "SNL," "Love is a Dream" was a departure -- and "SNL" has never quite "departed" in this way since. This short film -- which "SNL" fans will vividly recall also repeated as a tribute, following Hartman's death in 1998 -- was directed by Tom Schiller, a true "SNL" original (and, in fact, a member of the original writing team) who had created other short films/send-ups of classics like "La Dolce Gilda," or "Java Junkie" -- influenced naturally by "Reefer Madness."
This film is based on the cornpone weepy "The Emperor Waltz," a 1948 before-he-was-great Billy Wilder romantic fantasy starring Joan Fontaine and Bing Crosby, about a lovestruck Austrian princess, her dog and a salesman from Newark who wanted to marry her, but dear old dad -- the King, or whatever -- didn't think that was such a good idea. (For one thing, he didn't think they could live happily ever after in Newark...seriously, that was a reason.)
Here's what Schiller told Mike Thomas, as recounted in his just-published (and excellent) biography of Hartman, "You Might Remember Me": "Phil was a gentleman and she was a gentle lady. They weren't crass. They weren't showbiz types climbing to the top. That's why they had fun on the shoot, because it was away from Studio 8H, they got their own costuming, they were the stars. There was no one else telling them what to do. And it just wasn't for laughs every two lines." As it turns out, this short film, with principal photography by Neal Marshad, may well have been Hooks' finest moment on "SNL" -- and there wasn't a single laugh to be had...
"It's one of the best-loved scores ever," Gordon Greenberg says of Holiday Inn, the 1942 Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire musical film that launched the lives of now-classic Irving Berlin songs including "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade." Greenberg, the director and reinventor of musicals including Working and The Baker's Wife, is now helming the show in a new adaptation he coauthored with Chad Hodge. The world premiere production is currently running at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, through December 7.
The classic film revolves around Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby's role, here played by Tally Sessions) and Tim Hanover (Fred Astaire on film, now Noah Racey), longtime vaudeville performers whose partnership comes to an end when Ted announces that he's going to run off with Jim's girlfriend, the dancer Lila Dixon (Hayley Podschun taking on Virginia Dale's screen role). Jim, using this as the impetus to retire, buys a New England farmhouse and converts it into an inn that is open to the public only on major holidays. It's a relatively quiet existence, until Ted returns and sets his sights on Jim's new lady friend, Linda Mason (Patti Murin, in the Marjorie Reynolds role).
Gordon Greenberg, director
For Greenberg, it was the opportunity to make the story that had a surprising mature subject matter (for a family film) just a touch more family-friendly. "In the original, it was a romantic triangle," he says. "Fred Astaire was literally stealing his best friend's fiancée. In this version, it's not about him stealing his best friend's fiancée, but instead offering her a golden opportunity in show business." It's an idea that he finds more contemporary — "the pull of accomplishment and success and how one defines that" — and one that he hopes will resonate with today's audiences. That's not the only thing that's been changed. The painfully dated blackface number "Abraham," presented in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, has been excised completely, as it is when the film is broadcast annually on television.
Despite the presence of a cast of Broadway regulars and the backing of none other than the Universal Stage Productions division of Universal Pictures, a New York run isn't guaranteed. Still, the success of the stage version of Berlin's White Christmas, which toured the United States and Europe before landing on Broadway in 2008 and 2009, is encouraging. But the two shows couldn't be more different, at least in terms of becoming a holiday perennial. "The difference between that and this is that this is a musical in ten holidays, as we like to say. Christmas is only a small percentage of the show. We spend just as much time on Easter," Gordon says. "Just in terms of Americana, it probably has more in common with The Music Man than it does with White Christmas."
It is hard to believe that the 1954 musical White Christmas is turning 60 years old. It is all being reissued on DVD...
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Diamond Anniversary Edition from Paramount celebrates the 60thanniversary of the holiday classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The Blu-Ray Combo Pack arrives on October 14th and includes new special features, such as five classic Christmas television show appearances by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, including a virtual duet between Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé.
There’s also an exclusive twelve-song Christmas CD featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney, with guest appearances by Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. The CD includes eight never- before-released tracks.
The release also celebrates the 60th anniversary of Danny Kaye’s appointment as UNICEF’s first Goodwill Ambassador, and The Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation and Paramount Pictures are proud to make a combined $100,000 donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children around the world. Danny Kaye received an honorary Academy Award for Assignment Children. The 1954 short film documented his world travels for UNICEF. Assignment Children – with a new introduction by Michael Bublé – is included among the bonus features of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Diamond Anniversary Edition...
Of all the new releases I am looking foward to this one most. I love this concept album Bing recorded originally in 1956. He was in great voice. This will be coming out on November 25th...
1. April Showers
2. When My Baby Smiles at Me
3. My Blue Heaven
4. A Little Kiss Each Morning
5. Prisoner of Love
6. Ain't Misbehavin'
7. Paper Doll
8. This Love of Mine
9. Thanks for the Memory
10. Blues in the Night
11. Mona Lisa
12. Memories Are Made of This
13. Thank Heaven For Little Girls - Previously unissued.
14. You'll Never Know - Previously unissued.
15. At Sundown - Previously unissued.
16. Cocktails for Two
17. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans - Previously unissued.
18. Mandy Make Up Your Mind - Previously unissued.
19. Deed I Do - Previously unissued.
20. Lady of Spain - Previously unissued.
21. Heart of My Heart (with The Four Aces) - Previously unissued.
22. A Kiss to Build a Dream On - Previously unissued.
