Happy Birthday, Mel Tormé

Born on September 13 in the year of 1925 (which also brought the world June Christy, Johnny Carson, Dick Van Dyke and Sammy Davis, Jr.), the consummate entertainer and jazz singer (as well as the songwriter of "The Christmas Song"), Mel Tormé.

After his first published song, "Lament to Love," became a hit recording for Harry James, Mel played drums in the early 1940's touring band of comedian/musician Chico Marx and joined forces with a vocal quintet of Los Angeles City College students as their lead vocalist and principal arranger. Dubbed The Mel-Tones, the vocal quintet was hired by Musicraft Records to make cutting-edge swing recordings with jazz clarinet icon Artie Shaw to counter Frank Sinatra's popular Columbia recordings with The Axel Stordahl Orchestra.



In late 1946, Mel struck out on his own as a solo artist, and in 1949, had his first number one hit, 'Careless Love'. He soon began making a series of recordings - some of his own original material (County Fair, etc.) - with the Page Cavanaugh Trio. Here's one of his early solo appearances.



Mel continued performing amazing music in the 50's, and in particular did stellar work in a series of recordings with The Marty Paich Orchestra (a veritable Who's Who of West Coast jazz at the time), many on the Verve label.

He hosted his own show in 1951-1952 and made numerous television appearances. Among them: scatting with Ella Fitzgerald; singing Bobby Timmons; "Dat Dere" on Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual show.





Like Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel did more than just a little bit of acting on the side; , after getting his start with parts on such radio serials as Jack Armstrong: All-American Boy and The Romance Of Helen Trent, his role in the 1943 musical Higher And Higher (which also was Frank Sinatra's screen debut), would be the first of over 30 appearances in films and television. Particularly notable was his vivid performance in Rod Serling's Emmy-winning episode of Playhouse 90, The Comedian portraying the sad sack "whipping boy" brother of an abusive monster of a TV star, Sammy Hogarth, played with tremendous relish by the post-noir Mickey Rooney

Mel could also play the drums, and sometimes got behind the kit in his own performances, as well as during such "drum battles" as this one with Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Lionel Hampton.



He wrote five books, three in the last nine years of his life, including a biography of his pal Buddy Rich, who he performed with on a number of occasions, including this scat-fest on The Merv Griffin Show:



The book I have wanted to read very much was Mel's first hard account of his (without a doubt) never-a-dull-moment stint as music director on Judy Garland's TV show.



If anything, Mel's swingin' music just got better and better with the decades. From 1982 onwards, he recorded prolifically with Concord Records, including four albums with pianist George Shearing.

Some of my favorite performances he ever did were from his long partnership with Shearing. They sounded great together; each gave each other plenty of room to be creative, while backing off and letting the other shine when necessary. And here's plenty of proof:







Swing on! Thanks for the memories, Mel.

And This Blog Loves Visionary Composer Raymond Scott: Happy 102nd, Ray!

The 20th Century was graced by many musical innovators, and among the most fascinating of them was Raymond Scott. While I am way too damn lazy to write a blog, and thus, two years late to celebrate Scott's centenary, today's entry toasts his lengthy, restlessly creative, varied and one-of-a-kind career as composer, bandleader, arranger, orchestra conductor and inventor of such electronic instruments as the Electronium.

The striking original compositions performed by his 1930's ensemble, The Raymond Scott Quintette, were eventually licensed by Warner Brothers for use in their cartoons.


The Raymond Scott Quintette

Stamped in the collective consciousness via the six minute masterpieces directed by Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson and Art Davis (among other animation luminaries), these amazing songs are available on the Restless Nights And Turkish Twilights and Microphone Music CDs.



Raymond Scott's contributions to Carl Stalling's inspired soundtracks for Looney Tunes And Merrie Melodies were just one accomplishment from a career spanning four decades.



There's a documentary, Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines And Mystery Of Raymond Scott, produced by his son, Stan Warnow, that I'd love to see on the big screen and own a DVD copy of. Here is the official website and the trailer.



For additional sources of information about Raymond Scott's life and career:

• Raymond Scott Archives


• Raymond Scott Blog


• Raymond Scott - Official Website


• The Raymond Scott Collection at Marr Sound Archives


• Stu Brown's Raymond Scott Project

We close with "Lightworks" from the Manhattan Research, Inc. album, with Dorothy Collins on vocals and Raymond playing electronic instruments he designed, and the electronic music composition, "Little Miss Echo" (which makes me wonder if Brian Eno and Pere Ubu's Allen Ravenstine were fans of Scott's early synth work).

Grant Green-Barney Kessel-Kenny Burrell

Album Covers For Hammond B-3 And Gibson Guitar Fetishists

Most of the following stellar soul jazz and hard bop luminaries made very few television appearances (that early death problem), so there just isn't much video around to post, with the exception of just a smidgen of brief clips involving Larry Young's performances as a backing player in some killer early 70's rock-jazz fusion bands (Tony Williams Lifetime, McLaughlin-Santana, etc.)











And yes, I promise to switch to another topic after today's entry.

It's Official: Psychotronic Paul Is An Unrepentant Hammond B-3 Geek

No Stupid Jokes About Organs On This Blog!

Please do not compare me to that infernal hologram from the classic Red Dwarf TV show (the ever-loathesome Arnold J. Rimmer, portrayed with panache by Chris Barrie) when I make the following admission: I really, really like the sound of organs, not just as rousing accompaniment for swashbuckling silent movies, but as good stuff to listen to (any ham-handed butchers I have winced through at ballparks and skating rinks notwithstanding).

That sound got me, even as a very young person (a pre-zygote at the time). I sought out the music of bands that featured the Hammond B-3 - The Zombies, Booker T And The MGs, The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Procul Harum, Sly And The Family Stone and especially The Young Rascals.





Later, as an obsessed jazz fan, I watched gaping-mouthed as Alice Coltrane conjured otherworldly orchestral soundscapes, impressionistic reveries, hymn-like chants and serpentine soprano sax-like lines out of a mighty custom-made organ.

The greatest ever to play the Hammond B-3? Arguably, the fabulous Larry Young (1940-1978). What he does here on his 1965 Blue Note Records album Unity - pouring out cascades of single-note runs with fast moving chords and nimble bass lines simultaneously - is nothing short of astounding.





I have been marveling of late at the Hammond B-3 centric soul jazz masterpieces of Jimmy Smith, Baby Face Willette and Big John Patton (many with guitar genius Grant Green on hand to stoke the fires even further). The groove can't be beat.


Is there anyone around today who can rip up and down the keyboard while tapping out ridiculously propulsive swinging bass lines with unstoppable happy feet? You can't overlook Rhoda Scott, who has been doing just that in playing the living daylights of the B-3 for decades.



In addition, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joey De Francesco and Wil Blades can more than hold their own with the mighty B-3.

We close with Barbara Dennerlein, another goddess of the B-3. Swing it, Barbara!

Psychotronically Yours by Robert Emmett

The KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival returns to Foothill College this Saturday.



When: Saturday, August 28 7:00pm to 11:00pm (come early for best seats)

Where: Room 5015 on the Foothill College Campus

What: 16mm films (the vinyl of visuals), formerly unwanted and unloved, now presented for your entertainment

Cost: $5 Donation for KFJC and $2 for parking on campus



Why: Summer 2010 not-busters like Clash Of The Titans and The Last Airbender have kept us out of the theatres. Sex And The City 2 didn't have enough of either and most 3-D movies have been dull, deadly duds.




Though rumors of the coming of the next Edward D. Wood, Jr. notwithstanding, none of us has been able to adequately assess the relative merits of Birdemic. Where does one turn, at this point between ennui and activity that always marks the period between Summer's end and Fall?




Don't distress or stay depressed! We are squeezing in an extra Psychotronix this year, as we usually only have one in December and another in Spring.



There has been a deluge of new-to-us ancient commercials, forgotten cartoons, bizarre movie trailers and antique music performances. Our overstocked archive is bursting at the seams with new material that demands another show, to show-off some of the coolest odd-ball films you are likely to see.



But it's not just about films - fabulous door prizes will be given away, like Star Trek - The Wrath Of Kahn figurines, "drinking monkey" shot glasses, a Psychoanalyst comic book and delightful DVDs like I Bury The Living, Hercules In New York, Jesse James Vs. Frankenstein's Daughter and many more films that will never make the AFI "Best Of" list.




Foothill remodeled Room 5015, so we have to say "NO Food" at this time. Also, there aren't any vending machines close by. So, come hungry for films and fun, not hungry.

The good thing about the remodel is the new chairs in 5015 are wider and comfortable - no more broken springs. Unfortunately, to get wider, we lost a couple of seats overall, so please come early.







Let's finish the Summer of 2010 the right way - Psychotronically (as if that is really a word).

Bring your friends and have a blast!



Be seeing you!

(on Saturday)

Robert Emmett, The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show, KFJC-FM

Shameless Self-Promotion

Burt Bacharach Day

While partial to anything Rat Pack-related, I've never seen this 1971 sendup of westerns, complete with Bacharach theme song.

Dean Martin stars alongside a stellar supporting cast, including Brian Keith, Ben Johnson, Honor Blackman, Albert Salmi - and especially the crappy little dog we see here at 0:08.



Looks like campy fun, and if this features anything other than Dino consuming mixed drinks with showgirls at the Cal-Neva Corral, I'd be very disappointed.

Since Mel Brooks soon ended up featuring a gag in which Count Basie And His Orchestra perform in the middle of the prairie (in Blazing Saddles), it's a good bet that we don't see Burt Bacharach whooping it up on the ivories at the Lone Star Saloon in this film. . . but I could be wrong.

And This Blog Loves Lillian Roth

Some go for Garbo. Some dig the blonde bombshells - Thelma Todd, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell and Carole Lombard - or the gal who spoofed the sirens, the hilarious Lyda Roberti. For 1920's fellas, the babe most from Babe-A-Lon was the "It Girl", Clara Bow. . . or, in Paree, Josephine Baker. Some dyed-in-the-wool film buffs give Janet Gaynor and Margaret Sullavan, notable for amazing performances in the classic movies of uber-romantic visionary Frank Borzage, a serious nod in the incandescent department.

If the preference is "rough and tough", Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis, at least onscreen, provoked men to pretty much make complete asses out of themselves. And both men and women go West over Mae, Lola-Lola over Marlene Dietrich, and - even more so in the 21st century - positively Lulu over Lulu, A.K.A. the radiant Louise Brooks (A.K.A. Brooksie), silent screen actress, dancer, author and provocateur.


Alas, for this blogger, the bomb, lo these eight decades later, remains the fabulous Lillian Roth.



Here she is, in all her glory, in Take A Chance and Story Conference, so beloved here at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog that it's getting a second run (this time in its entirety).

Dear Psychotronic Paul

During a busy morning putting off accomplishing anything on the dreaded to-do list for as long as humanly possible, I perused my e-mails and found a request for relationship advice.

Although the mere thought of my offering helpful hints for the lovelorn - frankly, only an utter inability to bounce back quickly after getting dumped (and then resume the very Pepe LePew antics which earned the rejection in the first place) prevented me from enduring more matrimonial train wrecks and subsequent divorces than Zsa Zsa Gabor - provokes quite a laugh, here goes:

If you find yourself thinking about how much you want that special someone to:

• communicate in a forthcoming, open way



• be accountable for behavior, admit wrongdoing and apologize



• resolve conflicts together, not just unilaterally dictate terms



• acknowledge when communication problems arise and work together on tackling them head-on



• at least be present (emotionally, intellectually, spiritually as well as physically) some of the time



• treat you with respect and consideration



• be happy with you by his/her side - and not want to date others



• stop doing and saying things that seem calculated to drive one away



• consider you at least 1/17 as attractive as the poor love-starved bastard played by Emil Jannings found Marlene Deitrich's Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel

And NONE of the aforementioned things has been happening. . .

Stick a fork in it, it's DONE. End it, run, don't weaken - and don't go back.

Then grieve, rage, curse, run, go to the gym (take out your anger on inanimate objects or exorcise aggressions on exercise machines if need be), take as long as needed to heal and get on with your life.

South Sea Island Bolero: The Worst (Pre-Disco) Musical Number Ever Filmed

Submitted for your disapproval: the following whirlwind of WTF and monument to sheer camp, "The South Sea Island Bolero", one of the production numbers from Down To Their Last Yacht, a 1934 debacle that lost plenty of dough-re-me for RKO Radio Pictures and abruptly ended the career of producer Lou Brock.

Tacky costumes? Yes. Unrelenting bad taste? Affirmative. Ungainly dance moves, not in unison? Check. Notable for the presence of 1930's screen comedy mainstays Sterling Holloway, Mary Boland, Polly Moran, Ned Sparks and ubiquitous "lumbering dumb lug" Tom Kennedy? Uh-huh.

My guess is there are early 1930's production numbers I've yet to see (probably Busby Berkeley's handiwork) that surpass this in the WTF department. And, then again, there's that clip of Carmen Miranda and chorines dressed as giant bananas. . . but that's grist for another posting.

Yet More 1930's WTF Musical Moments

Here are "Three Short Musical Vignettes", sure to provoke gaping-mouthed WTF reactions.

The opener looks like a 1932 commercial for Coca-Cola and features cheesy dance moves by that Roaring Twenties staple, 30 year old actors unconvincingly portraying perky collegians. That is followed by two production numbers set in a prison (I'm not kidding), "The Sing Sing Serenade" and "Ballin' The Chain", where high-kicking showgirls entertain condemned men in a film that is neither pornographic nor written by Mel Brooks.

While I haven't a clue what magnum opus these pre-code musical clips came from, it's a good bet they were NOT directed by Fritz Lang or G.W. Pabst.



Next up, and somewhat less from the "what were they thinking?" file, is an excerpt from Singapore Sue, a 1931 Paramount short featuring sprightly vaudeville entertainer Anna Chang, as well as, in the anonymous role of "horny sailor on shore leave", an actor whose voice is very familiar. . .



The latter can be found on the Kino Video DVD Hollywood Rhythm Volume 2 - The Best Of Big Bands And Swing. The former - who knows?

Another Goofball Musical From Vitaphone

After the Disney Studio's Silly Symphony cartoons in 3-strip Technicolor proved emphatically to be box office gold, Vitaphone started producing musical comedy shorts in glorious Technicolor (if not yet Cinemascope or "stereophonic sound").

Here, with big time thanks to my favorite cable channel, the indispensable Turner Classic Movies, is a beaut from that mid-1930's series, Service With A Smile. Prolific screen comedian and Ziegfeld Follies veteran Leon Errol provides the wheezy jokes, while showgirls supply the pulchritude.

The same crew produced Story Conference, a wonderful classic short, and one of two musical shorts (the other being Masks And Memories) Vitaphone produced featuring the legendary Lillian Roth.

Belated Musings On The 15th San Francisco Silent Film Festival

2010 SFSFF posters by David O' Daniel

It turns out every cineaste scribe, his/her brother and Aunt Millie - not a one "way too damn lazy to write a blog" and including a prolific local correspondent and researcher who made stalwart contributions to the program notes - covered the 2010 San Francisco Silent Film Festival at length. Check their detailed accounts out here.

Also deserving of kudos: Michael Guillen's transcriptions of festival events and the review author Leonard Maltin posted on his website.



My favorite films, with full admission that the restored Metropolis and Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera blew me away (as expected), were the "lovable lug and ragamuffin" boxing flick The Shakedown and Mario Camerini's brooding drama Rotaie, produced in 1928 during the height of Murnau-Borzage-Fox, but more akin to a 1940's neo-realist film or a Monty Clift "tormented young antihero" opus from the 50's.



The Shakedown in particular was a pleasant surprise and demonstrated emphatically that William Wyler had his directorial chops early on. Enjoyed the well-crafted, skillfully edited boxing sequences and comic scenes between "the ragamuffin" played by Jack Hanlon and ubiquitous comedian-character actor Harry Gribbon.



James Murray, who you may recognize from King Vidor's The Crowd, did a fine job as "the big lug"; the extent to which this talented young actor threw a promising career away is nothing short of mind-numbing.

I had a blast at the festival, but by midway through the last day, it was apparent that I'd hit that Roberto Duran "no mas, no mas" point: my eyeballs felt as if they were going to drop out of their sockets, roll around and then look accusingly at me, as if I were starring in a Ren & Stimpy cartoon.

I did, however, get the opportunity to briefly meet Paula Félix-Didier and Fernando Martín Peña, the intrepid archivists responsible for restoring Metropolis to its original length, thank them and say "hey - maybe next time you'll find Murnau's 4 Devils". . . which got a big laugh.

KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival Returns To Foothill College On August 28

Like that itch you just have to scratch, the KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival returns for another evening of 20th century pop culture deconstruction next month.



At Foothill College's Room 5015, where we did the very first one of these shows in December 1992, the crew of improvising film historians and host Robert Emmett will be back with yet another indescribable and hallucinatory blend of outrageous, hilarious, bizarre and fun forgotten (sometimes justifiably) footage.



Personally, I will be more than ready for the "and now for something completely different - and now here's something completely different from what you just watched" philosophy that the KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival is all about.



I never, ever know just what my inspired co-conspirator archivists Sci Fi Bob Ekman and Scott Moon will bring to the celluloid Osterizer - and that's exactly the way I like it!

Burt Bacharach Day

This is a beautiful song by Burt Bacharach that gets me every time.

Psychotronic Paul Is A "Guest Blogger" Today

Specifically, I'm doing a guest shot on my significant other's Annie's New York Eats blog, which will soon be on the Hudson Valley Food Network website (and rechristened Annie's New York Kitchen).

S.F. Silent Film Festival Update

The latest is that the Friday evening screening of the restored Metropolis is sold out, although Festival Pass holders can see the show. Further updates can be found on the San Francisco Silent Film Festival website.

While there have been some good comprehensive pieces about the festival, the best article I've read thus far has been Richard Von Busack's write-up in The Metro.

Since I have frequently written on this blog about the silent and early sound era comedies of The Hal Roach Studio, A.K.A. The Lot Of Fun, I'm pleased that Pixar director Pete Docter has picked three howlingly funny silents - two by that unbeatable Leo McCarey/Laurel & Hardy/ Roach Studio trifecta - for the Saturday morning comedy show.

Not convinced? Read historian Thomas Gladysz' 15 Reasons To Attend The San Francisco Silent Film Festival

This Weekend: The 15th San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Silent movie diva Norma Talmadge, just one of the stars represented in the 2010 San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The spectacular art-deco movie palace The Castro Theatre plays host to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival this weekend. It is the 15th Anniversary of what began as a single screening of Ernst Lubitsch's 1918 opus I Don't Want To Be A Man and, thanks to tons of work by co-founders Stephen Salmons and Melissa Chittick (and regiments of volunteers), evolved into a three day event rivaling the epic Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

The big screen fun begins Thursday night with John Ford's epic The Iron Horse and will include Friday evening's sold-out screening of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, complete with the footage discovered by ace Argentinian archivists, who will be there to tell their story.

My only complaint is that the festival transpires on the same weekend as Slapsticon, the four days of screen comedy rarities holding forth at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre in Arlington, VA. One of these years, I'd really like to attend both festivals!

Sunday Matinee At Niles Salutes Dorothy "Echo" DeBorba and Our Gang

Nice composite shot of various Our Gangsters.

The mere mention of Hal Roach Studio comedy stars Our Gang (A.K.A. Little Rascals), Harold Lloyd, Charley Chase, Laurel & Hardy, etc. brings to mind the line from John Ford's 1958 film The Last Hurrah, "how can you thank someone for a million laughs?"

One way for San Francisco Bay Area classic comedy fans to do just that - and have some fun in the bargain - would be to attend the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum's Tribute To Dorothy DeBorba, the winsome and hilarious Our Gangster who passed away at 85 on June 2.


Dorothy, towards the end of her memorable stretch in the formidable early 1930's Our Gang lineup, with Stymie Beard, Dickie Moore, Spanky McFarland and Tommy Bond (before his later Our Gang incarnation as uber-bully Butch Rafferty).

Among the Our Gang alumni who dodged the "child star curse" chronicled on Neatorama at length recently as The Curse Of The Little Rascals, Dorothy, thankfully for Bay Area classic film fans, made frequent appearances at screenings and was as fun as the Hal Roach's Rascals comedy short subjects that lightened the load of Americans during the height of the Great Depression. Leonard Maltin's tribute on the Movie Crazy website says it all regarding Dorothy's affable, good-natured personality.



I have no doubt that the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum staff, the Sons Of The Desert's Midnight Patrol tent and S.F. Bay Area film historian Paul J. Mular have put together what will be an exceptionally entertaining Sunday matinee for the occasion. Of course, the penultimate vehicles for Dorothy's comic talent, Love Business and Dogs Is Dogs, will be on the bill.



We needed laughs and fellowship then and need 'em now, and the 20-30 minute gems produced by the Hal Roach Studio in the 1920's and 1930's still deliver the goods.

When: Sunday, July 11, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.

Where: Edison Theatre, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, 37417 Niles Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94536-2949

Admission: $5

Best Low Budget Comedy Sketch Ever

Ernie Kovacs As "Eugene" (In Color) In The Tilted Table Sketch, 1957

The "Tilted Table Sketch" is from Ernie's classic "The Silent Show", which originally aired on NBC on January 19, 1957. The newly Dean Martin-less Jerry Lewis was signed by the network to do a 90 minute special that night, but he would only agree to give NBC a one hour show. Asked to fill the remaining 30 minutes and save the day: Ernie Kovacs.



Ernie would remake The Silent Show in glorious black and white for his 1961 ABC series.

We thank rolko52 tons for posting this historic piece of video from one of the rare available kinescope copies. Rolko - are you a professional film/broadcasting archivist, close friend of the late, great Edie Adams or both? We'd love to hear from you!

Tilda Swinton Leads "Laurel And Hardy Dance" At Edinburgh Festival

As a big fan of Laurel & Hardy, all I can say is this is great! Wish I could have been there in Edinburgh for the fun. Thanks, Tilda - you rock!



Laurel and Hardy, like fellow Hal Roach Studio stalwarts Charley Chase and Leo McCarey, definitely had "song and dance man" in their souls. Here is the charming and funny bit from the Stan n' Babe classic Way Out West that inspired Tilda and the Edinburgh Flash Mob.



Laurel And Hardy: still the best!

Celebrating July 4th (And Post #400) With Ernie Kovacs And Edie Adams

I know, the following wonderfully loopy Kovacsian take on "Naughty Marietta" / "Italian Street Song" (My Heart is Back in Napoli / Zing-Zing)" does not have a damn thing to do with July 4 or Independence Day - and I don't care. It's my blog, by cracky!



Nothing says Americana to me quite like the inimitable sight gag genius and absurdist sensibility of Ernie Kovacs, enhanced by Edie Adams' deliciously wry performance. Enjoy the comic fireworks!

My (New) Favorite Frank Loesser - Make That Hoagy N' Frank -Tune

Hogay Carmichael (1899-1981), in his natural habitat

"Two Sleepy People" was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser when the latter was working as studio lot lyricist for Paramount Pictures. The powers that be at Paramount hoped that Hoagy could, like clockwork, crank out another hit to equal "Thanks For The Memories", the boffo Bob Hope and Shirley Ross duet penned by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger for The Big Broadcast Of 1938. While not the overwhelming hit that Bob's theme song was, "Two Sleepy People" added another doozy of a charmer to Carmichael's repertoire, and also provided a key career break for Loesser (who even then had his sights on Broadway).

IMO, this is the most genuinely romantic of pop standards; the lyrics are actually about the relationship and tangible experiences between two people, as opposed to the lame-brained romantic mythology, adolescent fantasies and/or infatuation drivel that make many "love songs" range from merely false to positively cringe-worthy.

So, here, Bob n' Shirley present "Two Sleepy People":



Hoagy himself got a shot at recording "Two Sleepy People" in his inimitable laid-back style in 1958.




The incomparable songwriter, stride pianist, vocalist, cut-up and all-around raconteur Thomas "Fats" Waller waxed this into a hit in December 1938. The multi-talented Waller passed away from an extended stretch of hard living (A.K.A. too much fun + too little rest) in 1943, just as he was breaking into a new career as songwriter for Broadway.




Enjoy the ever-sultry Julie London's Marilyn Monroe-ish take on "Two Sleepy People", which begs the question, was Marilyn ripping off Julie?



Offering proof positive that this Hoagy n' Frank ditty sounds fantastic in the 21st century, here's a sweet performance of "Two Sleepy People" from Joe's Pub in fabulous New York City on July 22, 2008. Take it away, Howard and Nellie!

Happy 100th Birthday, Frank Loesser

Frank Loesser, author of literally hundreds of songs and numerous enduring standards, was born on June 29, 1910. Loesser, who could write both lyrics and music with panache, deserves credit for giving that Gershwin-Porter metropolitan musical tradition an original spin drenched with genuine 1950's style Americana.

To represent the Damon Runyon-esque part of that mix, I submit the following:

Pianist, vocalist and walking encyclopedia of American musical theater, Michael Feinstein, spoke at length about Loesser (whose classic Broadway shows include Where's Charley, Guys And Dolls, The Most Happy Fella and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) in this interview by Terry Gross that aired as part of a tribute on the Fresh Air show.

The following trailer plugs Walter Gottlieb's 2006 documentary about the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning author of Broadway shows and movie scores.

My favorite Loesser tune? Let's Get Lost! And while I have a tough time choosing between Sinatra's and Chet Baker's versions of it, for today's blog entry, I go with Chet - but promise to crank up Frank's killer version of "Luck Be A Lady" from Sinatra At The Sands later.



My second favorite? Tough call, since there are so many cool songs to choose from, but I just love the simmering salaciousness of Baby, It's Cold Outside. Here are two highly entertaining covers - with big time thanks to Dino, Satchmo and Velma - of that fine song:

Fleischer Studio, 1921

More Amazing Stuff By The Fabulous Émile Cohl

Back at the beginning of the 20th century, cinema innovator Émile Cohl picked up where Georges Méliès, Ferdinand Zecca and others left off and invented many animation techniques.

We can only hope there's a place somewhere in which 35mm nitrate negatives of the following two films, The Dentures and Mobilier Fidéle (A.K.A. The Automatic Moving Company) have been sitting untouched in cold storage for 100 years.

Winsor McCay Invents "Squash And Stretch"

After I posted a couple of the very, very few surviving films by the remarkable early animator Émile Cohl, one of my film buff friends responded by sending me a link to an equally wonderful clip by another genius of early cinema, animation, comic art and illustration, Winsor McCay.



I've seen this clip before in 16mm, but never in a nice color print like this one. The mere thought that McCay drew and hand-colored EVERY FRAME boggles the mind.