The phenomenal entertainer died in August. Here he is doing his best Shirley Bassey impression. He also did wonderful Tom Jones and Johnny Mathis and more – have a look on YouTube.
Tag Archives: entertainment
Orangemen
I’m a day late, but in honour of July 12th and King Billy (my family benefitted rather enormously from this man and his adventures), I give you this terrific tune. (You will recognize the melody – Sweet Betsy From Pike. Of course, when immigrants came to North America, they brought their songs and the lyrics were often changed.)
Tim Conway
Wonderful comedian. I was a great fan of The Carol Burnett Show when I was a kid, and I fondly remember Tim Conway as the old man, and Mr. Tudball, but I think this skit is one of the absolute best. So delightful to watch Lyle Waggoner try to keep a straight face.
My Latest…
…about Doris Day and how she gets the short shrift from cultural morons. In fact, I would argue that she and John Wayne are scapegoats for what the Baby Boomers hate about the 1950s. The column is at CBC Opinion.
American Idol
The Galloping Major
Charles van Doren
Charles van Doren died this week. For those of you to whom that name means nothing, he was at the centre of the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. Robert Redford directed this excellent film about it all. Because it has no car chases or shooting and the actual scandal didn’t involve anything sexy, I can’t see it attracting any Millennials, but I highly recommend it – a nostalgic portrait of a time when we expected honesty from people. It is also about the van Dorens. My family was never quite so glamorous, but my parents — like van Doren’s mother and father — were extremely competitive and had huge expectations for their kids. I always felt a lot of pressure.
The film’s trailer:
It Does Not Get Better
St. Patrick’s Day
For St. Patrick’s Day, here is a photo from my trip to Ireland last year: it’s Maureen O’Hara’s house on Bantry Bay! (She doesn’t live there now, obviously, as she is dead.) FYI, The Quiet Man is on TCM tonight – you are a fool if you don’t watch it (or at least tape it to watch it later). And if you don’t get TCM and/or haven’t seen The Quiet Man, purchase/rent the film, pronto.
