Stubby Kaye dead at 79
Terrymelin
I heard of CBS radio that Stubby Kaye has died at age 79. No details.
Terry Ellsworth
Matthew Hubbard
Terrymelin <terry...@aol.com> wrote:
: I heard of CBS radio that Stubby Kaye has died at age 79. No details.
He had a long life and his body of work is impressive. Some
might consider me a weirdo for saying this, but Stubby Kaye was a much
more important artist in my life than Frank Sinatra; to be honest, and
meaning no disrespect, I take this report much more personally than I
take the deaths of Jimmy Stewart, Princess Diana or Mother Teresa.
His best work was definitely Nicely Nicely in "Guys and Dolls," a
`small' role that actually has the three best songs in the show, one a
solo showstopper near the end (if done correctly) entitled "Sit Down,
You're Rocking the Boat." (The other two songs are ensemble pieces, the
opener "Fugue for Tinhorns" a.k.a. "I Got the Horse Right Here," and the
title song.) The soundtrack for the movie "Leap of Faith" has a version
of this song by Don Henley; if I ever meet Mr. Henley, I will say, "Mr.
Henley, I knew Stubby Kaye; Stubby Kaye was a hero of mine. Sir, you
are no Stubby Kaye."
I also loved him as Marryin' Sam in "Li'l Abner." It was a very
different time, and it's hard to say if a talent like his would be
recognized today; Nathan Lane and Jason Alexander are almost like Stubby
Kaye, but they seem to be more conscious that they are taking star turns
when they do it. Stubby just did it. Stubby Kaye could be on stage with
a fabulous babe in a skimpy costume, like the scene he has in "Li'l
Abner" with Daisy Mae, and the audience would be watching HIM watch her.
"And as I laughed at those passengers to Heaven,
A great big wave came and washed me overboard,
And as I drown, and I hollered `Someone save me,'
That's the moment I woke up, thank the Lord.
And I said to myself sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat,
I said to myself sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat,
For the devil will drag you under, with a stone so heavy you'll
never float,
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down,
Sit down you're rocking the boat."
A great man passes,
MattH
[remove asterisk to reply]
Not to mention that Stubby Kaye was the host of my favorite Saturday
Morning Game Show in the 60's - "Shenanagans". I wanted to be one of
those lucky kids that got to play the game.
Remember the "Pie in the Eye?"
Matthew Kruk
Matthew Hubbard wrote:
> ...
Younger readers probably know him better from "Cat Ballou" and "Who
Framed Roger Rabbit?".
Ron A. Zajac
Was he "Maroon"?(!)
--
Ron A. Zajac / NORTEL / 972-684-4887 esn444 / za...@Snortel.com
These notions are mine, not NORTEL's!
It is endlessly amazing that so many people that distrust the
government trust it with capital punishment.
-- Bruce Tennant
Andrew Milner
He was a Broadway musical star of the 1950s. He was the original
Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the original run of GUYS AND DOLLS, and
introduced the song, "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat." He also
originated the role of Marryin' Sam in B'way's LI'L ABNER. He played
both roles in the subsequent movie versions...
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it
flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." --
Matt Groening, Life in Hel
Matthew Kruk
Ron A. Zajac wrote:
>
> Matthew Kruk wrote:
> >
> > Matthew Hubbard wrote:
> > > ...
> >
> > Younger readers probably know him better from "Cat Ballou" and "Who
> > Framed Roger Rabbit?".
>
> Was he "Maroon"?(!)
He was Marvin Acme. Alan Tilvern was Maroon.
John Stone
Bummer. "Guys and Dolls" is one of my favorite musicals. He did a good
job in that movie. John S.
Steven Celli
Matthew Kruk wrote:
>
> Matthew Hubbard wrote:
> > ...
>
> Younger readers probably know him better from "Cat Ballou" and "Who
> Framed Roger Rabbit?".
He once came to my school in Freeport,NY around 1966 to give a
presentation about how they made movies.Like Soupy Sales,Alan King,Woody
Allen etc.,he was a well-known fixture in the New York area for many
years.
--
Best Wishes,
Steven Celli
sce...@swbell.net
The maximum effective range of an excuse is ZERO meters!
Terrymelin
He, along with Vivian Blaine, was the only good thing in the movie version of
"Guys and Dolls" which must go down as the worst adaptation of a Broadway
musical of all-time. What a loser of a film that one is.
Terry Ellsworth
Laurie D. T. Mann
I almost remember the theme song...I even owned the board game at
one point.
--
Laurie D. T. Mann *** lm...@ISPcity-net.com
(Delete all caps to spam-bust the E-mail address.)
Dead People Server: http://www.city-net.com/~lmann/dps
Matthew Kruk
Steven Celli wrote:
> ...
> He once came to my school in Freeport,NY around 1966 to give a
> presentation about how they made movies.Like Soupy Sales,Alan King,Woody
> Allen etc.,he was a well-known fixture in the New York area for many
> years.
Sid Ceasar too no? (Geez, I'm starting to think about Steve and Edie
too, whoa.)
Matthew Kruk
Steven Celli wrote:
> ...
> You're right,Matt....and Steve and Edie were always on the
> telethons.What scares me is that I actually(in my middle age of 44)have
> grown to like their music.Their CD's do look a bit out of place in my
> collection next to the likes of Led Zep and Frank Zappa,though!
They were all in a class by themselves - almost forgot Imogene Coca and
Soupy Sales too. Fabulous era, very groundbreaking and television was
still young and not as formula (nor commercial) as today.
I always look forward to Woody's next film, not only for the film itself
but the music selected for it. Like you, it doesn't quite look right
beside my Zappa and Zeppelin (and I'll raise you a Black Sabbath) but I
like it just the same.
JSTONE9352
>
>He, along with Vivian Blaine, was the only good thing in the movie version of
>"Guys and Dolls" which must go down as the worst adaptation of a Broadway
>musical of all-time. What a loser of a film that one is.
>
>
But the songs were just great. A classic American musical.
Andrew Milner
popularity of the 1992 B'way revival -- opening night made the front page
of the NY Times -- I'm surprised nobody's tried to remake the movie. Maybe
they could actually shoot it on location in Times Square instead of the
stupid phoney indoor sets in the original.
Kathy O'Connell
sigh
What a wonderful idea. Maybe somebody could produce it for video.
And, this time, how about keeping in "I've Never Been in Love Before,"
IMHO the most beautiful song in the show.
Stupidest thing about the movie is that Marlon Brando sings "Luck Be a
Lady" instead of Sinatra.
Andrew Milner (a...@bbs.cpcn.com) wrote:
: >
: Given the mediocrity of the GUYS AND DOLLS movie, and the enormous
Terrymelin
The score for "Guys and Dolls" is probably one of the greatest in Broadway
history. Hollywood ruined it for the film version by casting non-singers like
Brando and Simmons to sing the finest tunes in the score. What a lost
opportunity that was.
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
Well, of course, it isn't stupid that Brando sings "Luck Be a Lady" in the film
version of Guys and Dolls since it's Brando's character who has to sing the
song. It was just bad casting.
Terry Ellsworth
PS: Saw the 1992 Broadway revival three times; too bad they just couldn't have
filmed it.
Steven Celli
You're right,Matt....and Steve and Edie were always on the
telethons.What scares me is that I actually(in my middle age of 44)have
grown to like their music.Their CD's do look a bit out of place in my
collection next to the likes of Led Zep and Frank Zappa,though!
Brad Ferguson
In article <19971215224...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
terry...@aol.com (Terrymelin) wrote:
> He, along with Vivian Blaine, was the only good thing in the movie
version of
> "Guys and Dolls" which must go down as the worst adaptation of a Broadway
> musical of all-time. What a loser of a film that one is.
>
> Terry Ellsworth
Worst adaptation? Not as long as there's A CHORUS LINE.
At least G&D had Jean Simmons. Exquisite.
Not that this has anything to do with dead people, but my favorite Jean
Simmons story is the one she told on AMC about how her stunt double in the
NORTH AND SOUTH mini-series was a young woman who'd been the baby Jean held
up for Kirk Douglas to see at the end of SPARTACUS.
--
Stop by http://www.fred.net/thirteen
*** Now decorated for Christmas ***
John Stone
Kathy O'Connell wrote:
>
> sigh
> What a wonderful idea. Maybe somebody could produce it for video.
> And, this time, how about keeping in "I've Never Been in Love Before,"
> IMHO the most beautiful song in the show.
> Lady" instead of Sinatra.
>
> Andrew Milner (a...@bbs.cpcn.com) wrote:
> : >
> : Given the mediocrity of the GUYS AND DOLLS movie, and the enormous
> : popularity of the 1992 B'way revival -- opening night made the front page
> : of the NY Times -- I'm surprised nobody's tried to remake the movie. Maybe
> : they could actually shoot it on location in Times Square instead of the
> : stupid phoney indoor sets in the original.
Sinatra wanted the role that Brando had but the producers and directors
said no. The writer of "Guys and Dolls" didn't think Sinatra was right
for the role of Nathan Detroit and raised a stink about it to no
avail. John S.
John Stone
Brando did "OK" for a non professinal singer. He had a voice coach help
him with the singing. He admitted he was not a professional singer
but he gave it a decent try. There was one song in the stage version
that his character sang but it was dropped from the movie because Brando
just couldn't sing it right. John S.
Zachariah Love
vidiot@vidiot.*.org, [remove, asterisk, to, reply] wrote:
>
> Not to mention that Stubby Kaye was the host of my favorite Saturday
> Morning Game Show in the 60's - "Shenanagans". I wanted to be one of
> those lucky kids that got to play the game.
>
> Remember the "Pie in the Eye?"
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!
Sorry. You just tweaked a long-forgotten, but very important place in my
closet of childhood memories. It's barely there, and I can't quite
picture it, but I am suddenly filled with a powerful, bittersweet
sensation of longing. I think this is one of the things that I swore I
would never forget when I grew up. Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain ...
Zachariah Love, Commissioner
The Lee Atwater Invitational Dead Pool
http://stiffs.com
Terrymelin
Yep, forgot about "A Chorus Line" ... bad film version but then I never really
liked the show to begin with ... Guys and Dolls though is one of my favorites
and they cut the most beautiful song from the score for the film "I've Never
Been in Love Like This Before" because Brando couldn't sing.
Terry Ellsworth
M. Collins
Get ahold of a copy of "L'il Abner" (Broadway or Soundtrack)
and listen to Stubby Kaye's rendition of "Jubilation T. Cornpone"
That alone will explain why he was such a great entertainer in his own right.
Rest in peace, fella.
mc
remove the * to reply
Fred Goldrich
In article <19971216172...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
"My Time of Day" is also a gorgeous song, also Sky's, also
cut from the film. It quite a difficult song even for singers; and
it's got a level of sophistication that few composers other than
Loesser could have brought to a Broadway score.
But this thread is about Stubby Kaye, and I'd like to join
those mourning his passing. As far as I'm concerned, his was one of
the great, classic voices that represented the heyday of the Broadway
musical.
-- Fred Goldrich
--
Fred Goldrich
gold...@panix.com
H Glazer
Vidiot wrote:
>I always wanted to be one of those kids who played the game.<
So did I. In fact, I wrote to Channel 7 in Boston asking to appear.
(Hey, I was 10. What did I know about networks?) Well, I was so
convinced I was going to be on "Shenanigans" that I told all my friends
at school I'd be on in a few weeks. And they all wrote to Channel 7 to
try to get on the show with me.
Of course, a few days later, I got a form letter from Heatter-Quigley
Productions, explaining that the show was produced in California. And of
course my friends got the same letter the following week. But
Heatter-Quigley did include an autographed picture of Stubby!
This is amazing. "Shenanigans" only lasted one season, and there are at
least three people whose first thought (or one of them) when Stubby died
was "Shenanigans."
Howard
Swoodman
I hoped to be one of those kids too. I loved that show
sorry to hear he's gone
Woodman