Rosemary Clooney and George Clooney

I learned today that George Clooney is Rosemary Clooney's nephew. How did I not put this together before?!? And I can totally see the familial resemblance now, too, with the spacing of their eyes and the shapes of their faces. I love that George Clooney feels a connection with his aunt's music, too: he had Rosemary's recording "Why Shouldn't I?" playing in the background on the night that he proposed to his wife Amal (and the song was also played for the couple's first dance at their wedding celebration).

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)?

Jerry Lewis Nostalgia: Colegate Comedy Hour with Rosemary Clooney

Many people who grew up with me know that Jerry Lewis films are one of my guilty/not-so-guilty pleasures. I'm not really a fan of slapstick comedy, but sometimes the timing of Jerry's movements are impeccable. I also agree that some of Jerry's antics are a bit prolonged in some scenes, but I love him just the same.

In high school, I would watch episodes of the Colgate Comedy Hour (Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin's television show from the 1950s) ad nauseam with my friends, particularly Katie and Heather. This video clip is of our favorite episode where Rosemary Clooney was a guest (though I didn't include any clips with Clooney). I especially love this episode because there is so much improv between Martin and Lewis. Heather and I must have been influenced by all of this improv and banter - we took improv to the utmost level during our district drama competition, where we improvised our whole scene because both of us had been too lazy to memorize the script. The hilarious thing is that we actually won the district competition and were sent to the state competition after that - which we promptly lost because we still hadn't memorized our lines.

Things I love about this episode: When Jerry gets after the audience for laughing at a "non-funny" joke (27:30); when he calls his coat a "puzzle" because he is fumbling with it on the set; the look on his face while saying "Isn't that a stunning model?" I also love that naive Jerry helps the burglar load wedding presents into his sack and the burglar makes a clean get-away.

In order to make amends, Jerry decides to clean up the mess in the room. I like when he lifts up his hands in fake surprise while saying the word "cleaner" (35:04). My high school friends and I would sometimes do this movement to feign astonishment, and I still find myself wanting to do it at times - though I generally refrain myself since no one would get the joke. I also love the expression in Jerry's face while the butler is giving his line.

I also love the musical number is at the end of the episode. I especially love how Dean starts to laugh when Jerry asks him if he wants an "introduction" (44:46). And I can't help but crack up every time Jerry falls down when the music booms especially loud (46:00). The timing is so great.

This being said, I also have to say that I love Dean Martin too. Jerry wouldn't be as funny without Dean acting as his "straight man." Sometimes I think Dean goes unappreciated when people talk about the "Martin and Lewis" team. He really is a great comedian too, not to mention a fabulous singer.