Well, dear readers, you won’t believe it. I barely believe it myself, but it is true and so I must. I wrote an entire paragraph and just deleted it. Why did I write an entire paragraph and just delete it? Well, I’ll tell you why I wrote an entire paragraph and just deleted it because you have a right to know these things. I wrote an entire paragraph and just deleted it because said paragraph was so boring it almost put me to sleep. And I thought, if it almost put me to sleep it will almost put you dear readers to sleep and we can’t have you reading these here notes whilst sleeping, now can we? So, I deleted the entire paragraph and started over. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Yesterday just flew by and before I knew it it was today. I had meetings, I had lunch, I had phone calls, I had e-mails, I had a plethora of stuff and before I knew it it was evening. What does that mean, “before I knew it”? I’ve always known “it”, ever since I was a wee sprig of a twig of a tad of a lad of a youth. “It” sure has been busy – first “it” was today, then “it” was evening. “It” is like a chameleon in that regard. What the hell am I talking about? Perhaps I should delete this whole thing and start over again. Perhaps not.
Last evening I did finally get around to listening to the new CD release of the old Shelly Manne/Andre Previn jazz version of Li’l Abner. It’s a lot of fun, not as good as some of their others, but some really swingin’ versions of certain songs, and a couple of lovely ballads.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because don’t I have excellent questions to answer?
Yes, Virginia, I do have some excellent questions to answer, so here are said answers in the form of answers.
William E. Lurie asks if it is generally part of a show leasing contract that if there are program bios, all authors must have a bio. It may be true for stock, but I don’t think it’s true for amateur. William is surprised that in the A Little Night Music revival Mr. Sondheim has a bio but Mr. Hugh Wheeler does not. Well, that seems a rather stupid gaffe, whether it’s contractual or not. I would have to believe that any major revival would need to carry a bio for Mr. Wheeler. William has always assumed that Bay Cities Records was located in San Francisco, since it’s known as the city by the bay. However, according to Michael Shayne’s marvelous ME site and according to Mr. Nick Redman in his Unseemly Interview, the company was located in Los Angeles, California. In that case, how did it get its name? Very simple – One of the other partners and I were big Raymond Chandler fans, and that is what Mr. Chandler used to call Santa Monica in his books. Since we were all living in Santa Monica at the time, we thought it had a nice ring to it as a label name.
Arnold M. Brockman has often wondered why people walk out of stage presentations (if they don’t like them) but sit through the worst movies (even if they don’t like them). Do I have a theory about this strange entertainment phenomena? I have many theories but none on this strange entertainment phenomena. For me, the opposite has been true – I have walked out on many movies, but I can only remember one show where I bailed at intermission – and that show, should you be interested to know, was the recent Madison Square Garden Wizard of Oz with Mickey Rooney. I actually didn’t last until intermission, I left after forty minutes.
Kerry ask what was my loneliest moment. My loneliest moment ever? Well, this is dredging up an old memory, but one New Year’s Eve I’d gone to a party in Beverly Hills, but I’d only stayed until eleven or so. I was not living at home (I was in my first semester of college), and I’d forgotten my key and my parents were going to be out most of the night and I had no way of getting back to the awful apartment I was living in then, nor did I want to go back there. I also did not really want to show up in the middle of the night, as I had no idea when my parents would actually get back. So, on New Year’s Eve I walked the streets of Beverly Hills for eight hours, found a restaurant that was open in the morning, had breakfast, killed some more time, and finally ended up at the Stanley Warner Beverly Hills for their ten o’clock show. The movie was The Slender Thread (I’ve never forgotten that) and I slept through most of it, then went home. But those eight hours were pretty lonesome, let me tell you that.
Sandra asks what is my favorite comic strip? You know, I’ve never really been that big a fan of comic strips. As a kid, I occasionally read Terry and the Pirates, and Dick Tracy, and even Li’l Abner. I did like comic books though, especially Superman and Batman and Robin.
Allan asks of all the albums I’ve produced which is my favorite. It’s an impossible question really – the answer changes all the time. They’re all my babies, so I can’t single just one out, I’m afraid.
S. Woody White asks how many dogs have shared my life? Well, with the exception of Luckie’s brief stay, and Molly’s even briefer stay, just one – Sandy, who we had for five or six years, until my divorce, and Sandy went elsewhere in that settlement.
Jrand52 asks what are my favorite episodes of I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, and I Married Joan. Well, my two favorite episodes of Lucy (for very personal reasons) are the Harpo episode and the Superman (George Reeves) episode. I don’t remember specific episodes of either My Little Margie or I Married Joan, even though I watched them a lot.
Matthew asks why I think composers today don’t write for certain people, in the way they did for Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, with people like Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley, Liz Callaway and even Brent Barrett. Well, part of the problem is, as good as all those people are, there are no producers grooming stars anymore, building them up the way the Mermans and the Martins were. It’s much more about the show now, and I miss those star vehicles. I actually think it would help certain composers to write for specific people, but tell them that.
MattH asks if I have a favorite movie musical and a favorite stage musical. Well, I have many favorites, but I’ll just take the easy way out and say Gypsy for the stage, and Singin’ In The Rain for the movie.
Craig asks if I could ask any person out for a date, living or dead, who would it be and why, and what would I do? Oh, goodness, there are so many. Leslie Parrish, for sure. Veronica Lake. Hayley Mills when she was in her late teens. What would I do? Guess.
William F. Orr asks if the stage version of Nudie Musical will include the classic song So, Touch Me, I’m You, and if so will Alan Abelew at long last receive credit for his immortal lyric. Alan and I spoke about that when we were doing the documentary – he remembers that I gave it to him on the spot, and I simply don’t remember at all. But yes, it’s in the stage version.
Tom from Oz asks if there’s any chance of me going back to producing some more wonderful (thank you) CDs in the near future. Without going into detail, I can tell you with a certainty that the answer is yes.
Hapgood asks if there are any roles in the musical or non-musical theater that I would love to play? I’ve always wanted to play C.C. Baxter in Promises, Promises. And I would love to play the lead in The Prisoner of Second Avenue – Cindy Williams and I were talking about it recently, trying to do it somewhere. What was the best production of 1776 that I’ve ever seen? I’ve only seen two – the original Broadway production and then the Roundabout. I did not care for the Roundabout at all, so the winner would be the original production, which was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had seeing theater. What was my favorite subject in school and my best? Drama. Pretty much hated everything else. What is my favorite Noel Coward play? Private Lives. Do I keep potted plants. I have one that was given to me four years ago by my then assistant Esther. I’m proud to say it is still alive and doing well. When was the last time I got flowers and from whom and why? I know I got some within the last two years or so, but I’ll be horn-swoggled if I can remember from who. I’m quite certain it was during a recording. Are there any theater critics past or present that I love? Hate? Oh, I don’t really pay too much attention. There was a critic out here that I loathed (and he loathed me as well) named Lawrence Christon. He was about as low as they came.
Ray asks if I could only have five CDs to listen to for the rest of my life which would they be and why? These questions are so hard to answer, because the answers change by the hour. Well, let’s see – I would have to say Claus Ogermann’s Gate of Dreams, simply because I find it moves me terrifically and I never ever tire of hearing it. Bill Evans’ Conversations with Myself, again because it moves me, and because it is sheer poetry and can evoke a thousand different moods. Rachmaninov’s Symphony Number Two, because I find it sublimely beautiful and it takes me places, new places, every time I hear it. The soundtrack to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, again for its beauty and it’s bittersweetness. And the soundtrack to A Patch of Blue, probably the soundtrack I have played more than any other.
Sigerson Holmes tells me that his favorite ME song is I Want To Eat Your Face from my film The Creature Wasn’t Nice (aka Spaceship, aka Naked Space). Do I have a favorite BK song of my own? I have a few – I’m quite partial to Chinese Food in Bed and When You’re Waiting For Love, and also a song called It Doesn’t Get Easier from my musical Pals. Is there an officially recognized Hainsian alternative to the ham chunks for those who have dietary restrictions? I believe dear reader Sandra has that alternative and it is called floop. Where do I stand on the issue of Hebrew National cocktail weenies instead of ham chunks? I stand to the left and chuckle whilst trying to imagine the mind that came up with “cocktail weenies” (or franks or frankfurters). Finally, who dubbed for the creature in the song I Want to Eat Your Face? Why, I do believe that I did.
Well, that was exhilaratingly exhilarating. I feel spent. I feel like I’ve given my all and can give no more. I could give more, of course, but there aren’t any more questions.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must keep on top of things, I must look sharp, I must look flat, I must look diminished and augmented, I must look chromatic, I must look twelve-tone, I must look minor and I must look major. I have no idea what any of that means but I enjoyed writing it. Today’s topic of discussion: Continuing our favorite film composers – what are your five (or more) favorite film scores of John Barry? I’ll start – Goldfinger, Robin and Marian, Somewhere in Time, The Ipcress File, and King Kong (I really do love his score for the remake, shoot me). Put I must give special mention to The Knack, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, and The Black Hole. Your turn.