Celebrities Project: Louis Armstrong

I finished my study of Louis Armstrong last week, when I finally finished reading the informative, yet tedious, book Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life by Laurence Bergreen. but I haven't had a chance to write because we have been at the Weber. In some ways, I struggled with learning about Louis Armstrong, simply because I couldn't really relate to much of his life or his interests outside of music. I was surprised to discover how much I seek to relate to these celebrities when I have been learning about them, which must indicate something about how I learn or what type of connections I find meaningful. One thing that I really did admire about Louis is that he was an extremely generous person. It is easy to tell that gift giving was his "love language," since he loved to gift expensive items and money to the people that he cared about.

Some interesting things that I learned:

• Louis always pronounced himself as it is spelled ("Lou-is") not "Louie." He also went by the nicknames "Satchelmouth" and its abbreviated form "Satchmo." The names referred to when he use to hold coins in the side of his mouth while playing, to ensure that no one would steal the money that was being given to him while he played.

• Outside of music, Louis was passionate about laxatives and marijuana. He was such a fan of the laxative Swiss Kriss that he would give cellophane-wrapped packets to everyone he met: journalists, diplomats, fellow musicians, etc. In fact, you can purchase Swiss Kriss in the gift shop of the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
• Louis Armstrong had four wives, not to mention numerous affairs on the side. It also appears that he fathered an illegitimate daughter, news which was just made public about four years ago.
• One of the most influential moments in Louis Armstrong's life was when he was sent to a juvenile detention center as a young boy. During Mardi Gras, he decided to take his stepfather's gun and shoot it off in the air during the celebrations. When authorities caught Louis with the gun in his possession, he was placed in jail and then moved to the detention center.  As a poor black boy in New Orleans, he wasn't given a chance to be proven innocent. However, this time in the center really changed his life and helped introduce him to more formal instruction in music.
• One of the main reasons that Louis Armstrong would stop and sing during his musical numbers was simply out of necessity: he needed to give his embouchure a break from all of the tension and pressure that it sustained during trumpet playing!
• Louis Armstrong even created an album of Disney songs: Disney Songs the Satchmo Way

It was easy to segue into Louis Armstrong performances this month, since I saw his appearances in the film High Society during last month (when I focused on Grace Kelly). The other shows that I watched were Hello Dolly (1969), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), A Song is Born (1948), and The Five Pennies (1959). In several of these movies, I didn't really feel like I got a great sense of Louis Armstrong as a performer, since his appearances were short (and he really just seems to serve a more secondary, even caricatured, role as a black entertainer in order to support the white leading actors). But I do think that his energy, personality, and love of music are apparent in this rendition of Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong singing "Oh When the Saints Go Marchin' In" from The Five Pennies:

Another sweet scene from The Five Pennies is when Louis Armstrong, Danny Kaye, and the child actress Susan Gordon perform a trio medley. The person who posted this video mentioned how these people are all very different and from different backgrounds, but they are brought together by music.

This month I also watched Louis Armstrong: The Portrait Collection, which included some televised performances of Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton. Their interactions are entertaining (such as in the performance of "That's My Desire"). One of my favorite television performances, though, is when Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra sing "The Birth of the Blues" together. Frank's singing is actually rather bland here, I think (and really is only kept lively through Louis's trumpet playing), but the thing that I live is that Frank is genuinely jamming when Louis starts singing at about 1:16:

I read that Louis Armstrong never made great friendships with the wealthy white entertainers within Hollywood, but they did seem to respect and greatly admire his musicianship and showmanship. And I feel the same way: although I don't feel like I have a great connection with Louis Armstrong's personal history, I really respect the way that he could move his audiences. His rendition of What a Wonderful World is such a inspiring, heartfelt song.

King of Jesters!

Since I discovered the blog The Danny Kaye Show a few weeks ago, I decided to read the biography of Kaye that was written by the owner of that blog, David Koenig. I liked the book Danny Kaye: King of Jesters alright, although I do wish that there was a little bit more information about Danny's personal life and friendships. Instead, this book focuses on Danny's career, with comparatively limited discussion of Kaye's personal life. Kaye's relationship with his wife, Sylvia Fine, is discussed in detail quite a bit - which makes sense, since Fine's musical compositions, lyrics, and overall micromanagement of Kaye's work was a large part of his career. I don't think that this book would be interesting to the casual reader, but it was interesting for me to learn more about many of the films that I enjoy so much.

I also discovered some interesting things about Kaye's career and work, and I also learned about some films and performances that I have never seen (yet!). Here are several things that I found interesting in this book:

• Danny coveted the role of Hans Christian Andersen until it was given to him. Another actor who was really interested in this role was Jimmy Stewart. Stewart’s interest in the film helped in the negotiating with Kaye, since Kaye was a more natural choice (Koenig, p. 145). Can you even imagine Stewart as Hans Christian Andersen? He would be personable and lovable, of course, but his slow drawl would seem a little absurd to me in this context: "Well...once...there was...an ugly duckling..."
• Perhaps, since I have a little baby right now, I was touched to read about how in a stage performance in Omaha, Danny finished singing the final number when a baby, who was seated with his mother in the front row, started to cry. The mother couldn't quiet the child, and Kaye announced from the stage that he would sing one more song: a lullaby. He walked down to the baby in the front row, picked it up, and went back on stage. As Kaye sang, the child slowly grew quieter, and finally became silent. Upon finishing the song, Kaye put a finger to his lips to prevent the audience from applauding. He quietly returned the baby to its mother and then, still with a finger to his lips, walked back up on stage and off into the wing. The child slowly grew quieter and finally silent. Kayte put a finger to his lips to stop any applause and quietly returned the baby to its mother. Danny, still with a finger to his lips, walked back up on stage and off into the wing (Koenig, p. 156-57).
• The song “Willow Willow Waley” was pared down in length and “Pass the Basket” was entirely cut from The Court Jester. Danny still recorded a full version of these songs as well as “I Live to Love” and “Where Walks My True Love” (recording by Jeri Southern HERE). The latter was another song that was cut, but does appear as instrumental music when Hawkins is traveling in a cart with Maid Jean (Koenig, p. 176-77).  
• I was interested to read about how Kaye wanted to set himself apart from Jerry Lewis. In a sketch with Lucille Ball on The Danny Kaye Show, there is a scene when they are getting progressively drunk. Kaye was letting the food slop out of his mouth during rehearsal, and the producer Oppenheimer said, “'Well, [that’s] something I would expect from Jerry Lewis, but not from Danny Kaye,'” and he just froze over and turned on his heel…but by golly, he turned over and took all of the gross stuff out. And maybe ten times after that, during the course of the show, any time there was a little discussion or something, he’d say, 'Do you think that’s maybe what Jerry Lewis would do?' So it really touched him" (Koenig, p. 209).
• Can you imagine Kaye as Professor Harold Hill, Tevye, or Professor Higgins? "Over the years offers...trickled in [for Kaye] on Broadway, such as originating the lead roles in The Music Man in the 1950s and Fiddler on the Roof in the 1960s, and filling in for Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady for three months" (Koenig, p. 259).
• Kaye did the voice for the narrator in Here Comes Peter Cottontail, an animated classic by Rankin and Bass. This film never reached the same amount of popularity as the claymation Christmas TV specials by Rankin and Bass.
• Kaye played Captain Hook in Peter Pan in London. Mia Farrow played Peter Pan. The show was planned as a Christmas special and televised in London. It was taped 1975, and aired in 1976 on NBC (now available on YouTube) (Koenig, p. 268).

• I love the expression of Danny Kaye's face in this photo. A copy of this photo appeared in Koenig's book. The biography explains how Kaye tried to create a persona for himself on stage which was so friendly and warm, to the point that the audience thought that they had really got to know who Danny Kaye was as an individual. Although Kaye seems to have been much more difficult and less personable in actuality, I like to think that the warm, kind person that he created on stage did exist within Kaye himself, or else he wouldn't have been able to portray it at all. In this photo Kaye appears with Victoria Paige Meyerink, a precocious four-year-old who appeared on Kaye's show several times (and received a lot of fan mail in the process!). I imagine that Meyerink has just said something amusing, and Kaye is looking out to the audience to connect with them in that amusement.

 

• I was really surprised to learn that in the 1970s, Kaye took a break from show business to be a part-owner of the new Seattle Mariners team! Kaye owned several radio stations in Seattle too. After six losing seasons, though, Kaye sold his interest in the team (Koenig, p. 270). 

Since I started to read this book, I have also been interested in listening to a little bit of The Danny Kaye Show that aired on the radio in the 1940s. Episodes of this show are available at the My Old Radio and Radio Lovers sites. I don't think it's as fun to listen to Danny Kaye as watching him, but I still have a pretty good idea of the facial expressions and hand gestures that he might be using during the radio skits.

Lucy Music and "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing"

I have a bunch of silly songs that I sing to Lucy. I call many of them "original compositions" - although they really are too silly and repetitive to really be called compositions. Maybe they should be called jingles. One day I need to write a post on all of these silly songs that I have made up. I keep joking with J that I also need to transcribe them into musical notation. I sang several of these songs to Sam when he was a baby, and it's fun to sing them again to Lucy.

Some of the songs I sing to Lucy are actual songs, although occasionally I change the words or sing the song in a silly way. Probably the one I sing the most is "Lucy dee Loo," which is sung to the chorus of the original "Winnie the Pooh" theme song (at about 1:07 in this clip). Sometimes, for Lucy's entertainment and my own amusement, I sing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables with the inflections of Julie Andrews. I'm still working on perfecting that impersonation, but Lucy seems to enjoy it. Perhaps she just recognizes the tune, because I used to sing that song in the shower when I was pregnant.

Other songs are not made up or silly, though. I like to sing "Moon River" and "Edelweiss" to Lucy (though not in a Julie-Andrews-style voice, but my own). And today, since Lucy has become a fan of trying to keep her head up, we danced cheek-to-cheek around the house while I sang "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" from White Christmas. We probably danced like that for fifteen minutes - Lucy really enjoyed it. Perhaps she was just relieved that I was singing a song legitimately instead of my usual jest! And I kept singing and dancing because I liked having her chubby cheek against my cheek. I took a picture of us with my phone, while we waltzed through the bathroom.

I pulled up a video clip of this song on my computer afterward, so Lucy could listen to the actual song with musical accompaniment. When looking up the video clip, I came across this really interesting post about the filming of this song. Irving Berlin wrote "The Best Things..." with Donald O'Connor in mind. When Danny Kaye assumed the role, some modifications needed to be made since Kaye lacked some of the technical dancing skills that O'Connor had. Interestingly, both Kaye and Vera-Ellen got injured at different times when rehearsing this number. (On a side note, this whole blog, "The Danny Kaye Show," looks like a really fun read.)

Maybe if I sing enough songs from my favorite musicals to Lucy, she will grow up to become a fan herself. I suppose I'll have to make sure that she knows that I'm singing most songs from musicals due to my own enjoyment of the music, not because I'm being silly!

Sam's Favorite Songs

As of late, there are two songs that Sam continually requests to have playing while we drive together in the car. I suppose it's my fault for introducing him to these songs in the first place. About a month ago, I found an old CD mix that had a bunch of miscellaneous songs from my family's computer - including Danny Kaye songs (originally downloaded by my sister C) and Weird Al songs (originally downloaded by my brother C). I can't even remember how I ended up with this mix.

Anyhow, as I was going through the CD, Sam listened to the songs with me...and subsequently became obsessed. We talk about how "The Black Fox" is like a superhero at least once a day. We also continually recap the info about "Star Wars" mentioned in Weird Al's "The Saga Begins." Sam always calls the Weird Al song, "A Long Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Away."

Fred Astaire --> Donald O'Connor --> Danny Kaye

Here's your classic movie fact for the day: Danny Kaye was the third person who was considered for the role of Phil Davis in the classic film, White Christmas.

 Originally, White Christmas was intended to reunite Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in another Irving Berlin musical. (Crosby and Astaire had previously co-starred in Holiday Inn and Blue Skies). However, Astaire declined the film after reading the script. (I wonder if Astaire ever regretted that decision!)

In turn, Donald O'Connor was selected to play opposite Bing Crosby. But get this: O'Connor got sick from a disease that he seems to have gotten from a mule. O'Connor had recently filmed Francis, a story about a soldier who gets befriended by a talking mule (see image above). This mule apparently transmitted some disease to O'Connor though, and he had to back out of White Christmas shortly before production.

In turn, Danny Kaye was considered for the job - but he asked for a huge paycheck ($200,000 plus ten percent of the gross), not thinking that his offer even would be accepted. Paramount was in a bind, however, and they accepted Kaye's request. And, in the end, aren't we all glad? I can't imagine this film without Danny Kaye.

I've always considered Donald O'Connor to be a poor imitation of Danny Kaye. But now I wonder if O'Connor was more popular than I have assumed. Was Donald O'Connor more desirable for the Phil Davis role? Or was he just a cheaper option for Paramount than Kaye? Who was the bigger star, and who influenced who? Could it be that Danny Kaye actually an imitation of Donald O'Connor? (If this is the case, the Kaye surpassed the actor whom he was imitating!) It looks like the two actors began their careers around the same time (if you discount O'Connor's appearance in Sing You Sinners as a twelve year-old boy).

Any thoughts? Who do you prefer: Donald O'Connor or Danny Kaye?

For more information, read Turner Classic Movies' article on White Christmas.

Christmas movies

This Christmas season has been especially fun with Sam this year. Now he’s old enough to appreciate a lot of the Christmas movies that Jeremy and I enjoyed when we were young. J and I have a lot of fun showing him different Christmas shows, books, and holiday-related activities that enjoyed when we were younger. We’ve also tried some new activities too, like going to the “Snowflake Lane” presentation (with a drum line dressed up like toy soldiers).

Here are the children’s Christmas shows that we have introduced to Sam this year:

• The claymation Christmas movies, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas

• How Grinch Who Stole Christmas (see here and here)

• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (I don’t think I ever watched this show as a kid, but J watched it quite often.)

Sam especially loves How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We showed him the movie about the same time that we borrowed the Dr. Seuss book from J’s parents. Sam likes to reenact the Grinch’s movements while J reads the story. He especially likes to repeatedly pull down on an imaginary Max (see 5:32 of this clip), when the Grinch says, “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!” Oh, and he also likes to slither and slink around the Christmas tree like the Grinch (see 4:19 of this clip).

We also have had many-a-conversation about how the Grinch was able to lift the sleigh after his heart grew three sizes. I think Sam interprets the Grinch to be some kind of superhero.

I’ve enjoyed revisiting these children’s Christmas movies with Sam this year. It will be fun to introduce him to my own favorite Christmas shows, as he gets older. Two of my favorite Christmas shows are It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas. J grew up watching the musical Scrooge with his family; he always wants to watch that show before Christmas. (I know – it’s a shocker that my husband actually likes a musical.) He also likes to watch Edward Scissorhands sometime around the holiday season. So, I guess for us, Christmas isn’t complete unless we can celebrate with Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Albert Finney, and Johnny Depp.

What are your favorite Christmas movies (for the young and/or old)?

up in arms

After posting this morning about The Inspector General, I was reminded of another great Danny Kaye movie, Up in Arms. This is a really entertaining film. Danny Kaye plays a hypochondriac who ends up getting drafted in the army. I remember watching this film a lot in high school. My mom thinks that my best friend Katie looks like co-star Dinah Shore. Maybe she does a little bit.

Before going into the army, Danny Kaye goes out on a double date with his friend. As the group stands in line, waiting to get into a movie theater, Danny Kaye sings a song about how all movie "pictures" are alike. I love the timbre of his voice when he mimics the chorus girls. (Sorry about the Spanish subtitles. This is the only clip I could find online).



One of the other scenes I love is when Danny is in the army. He is trying to listen to a recording that he made in a recording booth before getting enlisted - but he has to sneakily use the record player of another bunkmate. When the bunkmate walks in the room, Danny Kaye lip syncs to the record to he won't get caught. This scene starts at about 2:12 on the clip. I love when he forgets to lip sync one of the dog barks, and he just kinda shrugs it off.

the inspector general

Like Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye is one of my favorite comedians from the early film era. I can't even count how many times I've seen The Court Jester. I think that Danny Kaye is so endearing - even though I agree with critics that he uses his hands too much when he sings. He is especially good at singing tongue-twisting lyrics. Quite impressive.

One of the first Danny Kaye films that my mom bought for our family was The Inspector General (1949). It is about an illiterate stooge who is mistaken by corrupt town officials for being an inspector general. In this clip, Danny Kaye has decided to pretend that he actually is the inspector general, in an attempt to help the town get back some of the money that was stolen by the corrupt administration. During this song, Kaye imagines different personality traits that an inspector general might possess. Although this isn't the most hilarious Danny Kaye clip, it's quite fun. I watched this film so many times growing up that I have this whole song memorized. Unfortunately, the end of the song (which is quite funny!) is cut off in the clip. You'll just have to watch the whole film to see it.



This second clip is also quite fun. Here, the corrupt town officials have placed poison in Danny Kaye's drink, and they are waiting during this whole "drinking song" for him to take a sip. I think it's so funny to see the man joining in with the ladies (in the group assigned to say "ha ha ha!"). I also love when Danny Kaye stands up on the piano and puts his hands out like a little ballerina before he jumps. He hee!



If you love other Danny Kaye movies like White Christmas or Hans Christian Andersen, I think you should see The Inspector General.