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Last month, a limited-run revival of Merrily We Roll Along played in New York as part of the Encores! season. Here from the rehearsal hall, its three stars — Colin Donnell, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Celia Keenan-Bolger — sing one of my favorite Sondheim songs from that show's score…

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Zero Mostel in perhaps his greatest role — as an airplane…

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The other day, we showed you an 8+ minute video of the title song from the current Broadway revival of Anything Goes which then starred Sutton Foster. Here's a brief version of the costumed version on a morning TV show…

Update

Jon Delfin informs me that Sutton Foster has left Anything Goes on Broadway and has been replaced by Stephanie J. Block. I love Sutton Foster but if Ms. Block is as good in the show as she was in that production I saw of They're Playing Our Song, she's terrific, too.

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A revival of Anything Goes is still playing on Broadway with (last I heard) Sutton Foster and Joel Grey still in the leads. Here's a rehearsal-type video of the title number — no sets, no costumes, just talented people performing…

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Here's one of those clips that I'm amazed exists. Between the time Jack Paar departed as host of The Tonight Show and Johnny Carson took over, there was a six month gap. Mr. Carson was still under contract to host the afternoon game show Who Do You Trust? over on ABC and couldn't assume command of NBC's late night program until the contract expired. Some reports say that ABC was refusing to let him out early but my understanding is that the real obstacle was Don Fedderson, producer of Who Do You Trust?

So for six months, guest hosts vamped in Johnny's place. Art Linkletter hosted a week or two. Merv Griffin hosted a week or two. Steve Lawrence hosted a week or two. Even Soupy Sales hosted a week or two…and so did Jerry Lewis. You may wonder why from this clip but Jerry was said to have done a very good job and that led to him wanting to do a regular show of this type, and that wanting led to his infamous two-hour live prime-time talk show for ABC the following year. Here's a little less than eight minutes of one of those nights Jerry hosted The Tonight Show before Johnny took over. It includes one of Jerry's patented overpraise-the-guest introductions followed by Jack Carter and Jerry conducting a conversation with their usual dignity…

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This here's the trailer for the 1970 movie Where's Poppa?, written by Robert Klane, directed by Carl Reiner and starring George Segal and Ruth Gordon. My reaction to the film itself was mixed. I thought it was amusing but not overly so. But the trailer? I actually thought the trailer was better than the movie, especially the vocals…

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Not long ago, someone unearthed a color home movie of the Three Stooges. It was shot at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City on July 1, 1938 by a gent named George Mann who was half of a comedy dance team called Barto and Mann. Mr. Mann and his wife Barbara Bradford also appeared in the film.

Someone with a sense of fun and creativity recently added titles, music and sounds from the Stooges shorts for Columbia. Here's the result…

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This is amazing. One day recently on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, about thirty dolphins inexplicably beached themselves. The dolphins would have perished but folks who happened to be on the beach at that moment ran down and shoved the creatures back into the water. For more on this story read this after you watch the video shot by someone who happened to be there at the moment…

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I am to cooking what Lindsay Lohan is to SNL-hosting but I do enjoy learning how those who can cook cook. I've taken to "tuning in" to the adventures at Cookus Interruptus, which is a site featuring short sitcom-like cooking videos. There's a continuing cast of folks, some of whom teach you how to make things, some of whom kibbitz and observe. The episodes are fun to watch even if, as in my case, you're never going to try to replicate the recipes in your own home.

I picked an installment almost at random to embed here. In this one, Jane (played by Bhama Roget) demonstrates how to make coconut-encrusted date pecan bon bons. Basically, you combine all the main things that I'm allergic to and would die from eating…but for those who don't have my food intolerances, they're probably a taste delight. Her grandfather Ward is played by my pal Frank Buxton, who I've written about before on this blog. Frank's an actor, writer, producer, voiceover artist and he was even briefly a game show host before going into semi-retirement in the state of Washington, which is where they produce these. I kinda like how they make food preparation seem almost humanly possible…

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At the risk of becoming a soup pimp, here's a video about how Souplantation makes their Classic Creamy Tomato Soup. Please understand that all this is is a good tomato soup. It does not cure any diseases. It will not help you find the love of your life. It will not bring peace to the Middle East. It's just a soup I like. If you go try it, don't expect anything more than tomato soup…

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Here's another installment of Bruce Kimmel's Outside the Box, a series about unusual musical theater…

Robert Sherman, R.I.P.

Robert (L) and Richard Sherman

Robert Sherman, who with his brother Richard penned some of the world's best loved songs, died earlier today in London at the age of 86. He had been ill for the last few years and I guess everyone knew it was only a matter of time. He and Richard gave us many of the songs one hears at Disneyland (including "It's a Small World"), the score of Mary Poppins and other Disney movies, a number of rock 'n' roll hits (like "You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful and You're Mine" and for Annette Funicello, "Tall Paul" and "Pineapple Princess") and of course, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. What a catalog. What a legacy.

I never met this Mr. Sherman. I know his brother Richard but I never got to meet Robert, largely because he moved to England. Not long ago, the two of them were the subject of a documentary called The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story. It's a very good film, exploring not only their careers and their music but their relationship which was not always one of brotherly love. If you haven't seen it, Netflix it or order it here from Amazon.

Here's a minute or two of the Sherman Brothers singing one of their songs with Walt. Robert's the one on the left…

A Night (or Four) at the Egyptian

dayattheraces

Those of you in L.A. may want to take note: The Egyptian Theater, under the auspices of the American Cinematheque, is about to show a batch of Marx Brothers movies the way God and Irving Thalberg intended they be viewed: With an audience. Sure, you've got them all on DVD. Big deal. I've got them all on DVD, too. But though they're fun to watch that way, it ain't the same. Some movies really need to be seen in a big group and Marx Brothers movies are high on that list. (The most extreme example of that is Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. It's a pretty boring, lame movie if you view it alone or even with a small contingent. On the big screen in a packed house, it becomes a very different — and pretty darn good — cinematic experience.)

This L.A. Times article quotes two friends of mine who are devout Marxists of the Groucho kind. Robert Bader is fonder than I am of the first two Paramount films, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers. I think they were harmed severely by the constrictions of early "talkie" technology. They have their moments (so do At the Circus and Go West) but I favor Monkey Business through A Day at the Races. I will set Bader straight the next time I see him.

Steve Stoliar, also mentioned in the article, is the gent I've mentioned here who worked as Groucho's aide/secretary for the last few years of Doc Hackenbush's life. Steve will be signing his book (oft-plugged on this site) one evening at the Marxfest and also at an upcoming event at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. He'll be talking about his experiences working for The Man and showing rare, you've-never-seen-it footage of Groucho in his later years. It's March 14 and if you're thinking of going, order tix now. The place ain't that big and they may already be sold out.

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Last Thursday, the Disney folks christened the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship with an on-board show in two parts as the craft sat docked in New York Harbor. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the first part which included a performance by Jerry Seinfeld. The second part featured Disney CEO Bob Iger and other company execs along with performers Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey. The video embed below will show you selected highlights from these presentations. Part Two should play right after Part One…

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And now here's a video of a musical number performed by Mr. Harris. I'm not sure I've mentioned it here but I'm an enormous fan of the man some just call N.P.H. I know I haven't mentioned it to him. I keep seeing him up at the Magic Castle, of which I am a 30+ year member. He's the club's President so he's often up there but every time I'm within a yard of him, he always seems so busy that I don't feel like I can say howdy and whatever else it is that would follow that.

But I remember seeing him in a production of Sweeney Todd and watching him steal the show — an amazing achievement given that he was playing neither Todd nor Mrs. Lovett. And I think he's terrific in everything he does these days, including his revival of the lost art of hosting awards show with both talent and humility. This is a video — not of the best quality, I'm afraid — of a musical number he performed at the Disney Fantasy christening. Gee, he's good at this stuff…

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