The Rosary is the next of our books to be offered as a Kindle book. Of all the proposed projects Jeanette and Nelson considered using for their movie comeback in the late 1940s, The Rosary seems to be tailor-made for them. In our edition, you can read the original novel as well as an introductory chapter with photos and the correspondence that went back and forth between Jeanette and Nelson as they discussed the book and the possibility of their filming it. Also included is the sheet music from the original song and background information and more photos about the novel’s author.
We have the paperback edition on sale (click on the photo above). Plus now you can get and immediately download the ebook at this link. It’s at a low introductory price for those who want to read it on their kindles, iphones, ipads or other smartphones or tablets (you just need to download the free Kindle app). Or download the free Kindle reader on Amazon’s website and download the book to your computer and read it that way!
This month on TCM there are no Mac/Eddy films together but at various times during the month they are airing this short subject: MGM Parade Show #22 (1955) Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald perform in a clip from “Maytime”; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduce a clip from “Forever Darling.” Hosted by George Murphy.
On Monday, September 23, two of Jeanette’s films are screening:
6:00 AM eastern: Cairo (1942) (Please note that Nelson does indeed make a cameo appearance; his photo hangs in a movie theater lobby while Jeanette, Robert Young and Ethel Waters are talking!)
8:00 PM eastern: Love Me Tonight (1932)
Also, this month TCM is airing (on Monday and Tuesday evenings) the excellent multi-part documentary, “The Story of Film.” It’s a very interesting overview of the history of worldwide cinema and reminds me very much of my film history classes at UCLA back in the 1970s… What I am enjoying about this current series is that some of the little-known films referred to in the documentary are shown on TCM following the particular episode, which gives you a chance to see some film classics you might have missed before.
I have not seen this documentary before and don’t think it likely that they go into the Jeanette/Nelson films. But at least for the first few episodes dealing with the first few decades of Hollywood history, I think you might find it well worth watching. And who knows, we may learn a few things of interest!
Listening to music that you love (ie, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy for folks on this site!) is good for the heart!
This weekend, newspapers around the country were referencing a study of patients with heart problems that showed the following, per MSN news:
It’s not your imagination when music makes you feel better.
A study of 74 heart disease patients seems to indicate that listening to music for at least 30 minutes per day can strengthen the heart and improve recovery. No need to suffer through Beethoven or Celine Dion if that’s not your thing, since all that matters is that the music makes the listener happy. That said, music that increases stress — say, hard-core rap or heavy metal — probably isn’t going to do as much good as opera, classical and other types of uplifting music, which is more likely to stimulate endorphins. Even healthy people can reap the coronary benefits from music, though, and as with heart disease sufferers, adding regular exercise to the mix is going to be a huge boost.
The findings, presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Amsterdam, suggested that the release of key hormones while listening to music was behind the changes.
Prof Delijanin Ilic, the lead investigator, from the Institute of Cardiology, University of Nis, Serbia, said: “When we listen to music we like then endorphins are released from the brain and this improves our vascular health. There is no ‘best music’ for everyone – what matters is what the person likes and makes them happy.”
She said other studies examining the impact of music suggested there might be some types of music which were less good for the heart – with heavy metal more likely to raise stress levels, while opera, classical and other types of ‘joyful’ music were more likely to stimulate endorphins.
See? We always knew that our enjoyment of Jeanette and Nelson is good for us, has uplifted us and made us feel better. I can’t tell you how many emails and letters I’ve received over the years from people who experienced personal tragedy, illness or loss and found their way back to a normal life again by watching their films or listening to their music.
The study shows that in the best of all possible worlds, one would listen to their favorite music PLUS do some exercise.
So put on your favorite Mac/Eddy film or CD and get to it! And enjoy 🙂
For those of you who collect the early Mac/Eddy Today magazines, we are pre-releasing today the next three volumes. They will be shipping in early May 2014 and in honor of their being published, all the Mac/Eddy Today compilation books are on sale today.
This means that all the magazines are now available either still in original magazines or in the book compilations with their color covers; no more xerox copies needed to complete your collection!
You can click on each book cover above to see the new release. Or see all 15 volumes of books at this link.
Jeanette MacDonald recommended that this recipe be served with her Baked Beans.
Jeanette MacDonald’s Hot Boston Brown Bread
2 cups sour milk
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup graham or whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup raisins
Combine dry ingredients. Mix together milk, molasses and raisins. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Divide batter, pour into two buttered one-quart pudding molds filling 2/3 full. Cover tightly. Place in pan filled with boiling water (enough water to reach halfway up the mold.) Steam about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Add more water as needed to keep water at proper level. Remove molds from water. Undercover and set in 300 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 20-30 minutes to dry off. Remove from molds and serve hot with butter.
Updated August 2013! Maytime and other titles now available for instant streaming!
Here comes the next generation of high-tech!
At amazon.com you can now purchase and instantly download the last Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy MGM film, “I Married an Angel.” Amazon Instant Video allows you to download the movie to two devices.
There now are several ways to enable instant streaming right onto your television, as long as said gadget enables Amazon streaming. Or, with a proper HDMI cable – and depending on whether you download to a smart phone, an iPad or other kind of tablet (or laptop) you also have the option of plugging the cable in from your device into a television or monitor and watching it directly on your “big screen”!
Maytime is now also available and the direct link for it is here.
A few of the solo films are also available for instant download; you can see the updated list of everything that’s available at this link.
I always think every Los Angeles meeting is the “best ever” but each one seems to top the last one…and perhaps the June 23, 2013 Birthday Bash for Jeanette and Nelson was the most spectacular of all.
For the last two years, our club member Madeline Bayless has been writing special spoken/audio/visual presentations that are given at our Los Angeles meetings by Linda Tolman. We nicknamed them the Master Class series because each one addresses a particular area of interest in the lives of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Seeing the presentations in person with everyone else was always a delight and complete surprise for me; Madeline wanted no spoilers in regards to the subject matter.
But this one was an utter shock – once Linda stepped up to the podium and began speaking, within a minute or two I knew what the topic was. And I couldn’t believe it…because it took a lot of courage on Madeline’s part to share this information.
Prior to the meeting, Linda Tolman told me she had at long last talked Madeline into covering this particular topic. So, first off, let me give Linda a huge Thank You for helping Madeline to see why this needed to be presented.
Thankfully we have a video of this event but even that doesn’t capture the raw emotion, shock and awe when the Big Reveal came. This was a brave, bold undertaking by Madeline Bayless – who by nature is a private person. Yes, I could use some of her data and direct quotes but not name her or provide details of her connection to the Nelson/Jeanette story. I thank her from the bottom of my heart for deciding to share with you tangible “proof” that the Jeanette-Nelson love affair was real. In addition, she decided also to share the fact that she was one of my “anonymous” sources…and she elaborated some on the fact that her father worked at MGM in the sound department and that, on the side, he built Nelson’s home recording equipment. Her brother James was the person who saw Nelson and Jeanette together while he was at Nelson’s home installing the home equipment. Her father was famous and innovative; he left MGM just before Nelson and Jeanette to be an executive at a new company – Capitol Records. Because Nelson was a family friend and business associate over the years, Madeline was aware of the Nelson-Jeanette relationship from the very beginning. And for those of you who wonder about their hideaway home known as “Mists” – well, Madeline went with her father to meet Nelson there so she can personal verify its existence and the fact that Nelson used it as a haven away from the house that he technically lived in with Ann Franklin. These are just a few of the bombshells that were revealed during the presentation.
I have told many of you that there are sources that walk among you who have first-hand knowledge of what went on in the lives of Jeanette and Nelson. They were there and witnessed some of it in person.
To read more about Madeline’s connection to the story, check out the Master Class page. You can also watch the video presentation at that link. You can also read the full transcript here; in the interest of time, it was cut down a bit in the spoken version by Linda.
Here is a photo of Jeanette wearing the charm bracelet from the film Sweethearts.
You can also see it in the scene in which she and Nelson rush onto the stage for their radio broadcast; she is wearing a hat and holding a muff. In addition, here is a candid shot (recently obtained by Maria Escano) dated June 18, 1938 – Jeanette’s 35th birthday, and you can see that she’s wearing the bracelet here on her right wrist.
In her presentation Madeline used source material that some of you may be familiar with from the book Sweethearts. Other information came from her own personal knowledge.
As requested, I will indeed devote a lengthy magazine article to the subject of Jeanette’s charm bracelets – with charms given to her by Nelson Eddy. Yes, I said “bracelets.” She had three sterling silver ones as well as the special gold one. If you’re wondering where the clock charm is that was mentioned in the book Sweethearts – the first charm that Nelson Eddy bought for her because she showed up late at his concert – it’s on one of the silver bracelets, as you can see here. Two of the sterling silver bracelets are now owned by Linda Tolman. (When I was first told the story of the clock charm – Nelson’s very first gift to Jeanette – back around 1970 or so, my source said that Jeanette arrived late at Nelson’s Los Angeles concert at 8:40 pm. However, Linda has since corrected me; she purchased the bracelets in 2008 and found that Jeanette apparently walked in at 8:23 pm as evidenced by the time noted on the face of the clock charm.)
Happily for us, three charm bracelets are “in the family” and serve as physical proof of the stories I was told decades ago about these charms and bracelets given to Jeanette by Nelson…long before either Madeline or Linda ever added these priceless pieces of jewelry into their collections.
As a postscript, the “tree of life” charm I also learned about was large and actually on its own bracelet (not a small charm on another bracelet as I had initially surmised.) While no one we know owns it, we do have a photo of Jeanette wearing it (it dangles from her right wrist):
Getting back to the Master Class #4 video, you can hear a few people clapping at the end of it but most were silent – stunned, excited and unbelieving that the actual gold charm bracelet was sitting right there in front of them. For me, it was a highly personal and emotional moment while attempting to thank Madeline for sharing the bracelet and some of her personal story. To have her come forward and say yes, it’s true; I was there and by the way, here’s some proof of it – well, I was just so relieved and grateful that we could have that moment together with all of you. As you know by now, I keep my sources secret when asked to do so – even when it would be far easier on me not to honor those promises. So, I want to give Madeline another huge Thank You for letting everyone share in this experience.
I’m not sure one can get the full impact felt by the audience on the video. Afterwards, people lined up to study the bracelet up close. I wanted to share some of the written comments from our Yahoo group members:
You should have heard the gasps in the room and the silence afterwards as we eagerly awaited the bracelet to appear. And then, there it was. Plain and simple you could see in those charms the hand of Nelson Eddy and the love for Jam. I think I got the biggest kick out of the pair of boxer shorts with the heart-shaped padlock. Kudos Nelson! But to also have their photos on it? Priceless. – Patrice Messina (who also took the photo of the gold charm bracelet pictured above)
patrice you are so right.. breathless… and then when sharon spoke and became so emotional after all these years ..there was not a dry eye in the house yours truly included i had to kiss madeline to thanks her and did hold the box the bracelet was in .. my god what an experience..and yes nelson incarnate in those charms his love and his sense of humor too – bern
When Linda unveiled the bracelet it was like a shining light from above with the words “The Truth Shall Set You Free.” Love that quote and it so applies. – Cecilia
Thanks to all of you who attended as it was such a special meeting as they all are but this one was “over the top.” Never expected to see such a treasure…..it is awesome. – Mary Lynn Grana
Linda and Madeline, thank you so much for sharing what you know and especially the bracelet. – Anne B
oh linda thank you so much.. my god- im so glad these precious items are in the loving hands of folks who appreciate and love our sweethearts- and keep tender care of them…i cannot thank you enough for sharing this with us ..i still remained stunned after madeline’s presentation and your great delivery of it.. it was hard to get through…if you noticed there was a stunned audience after the gold bracelet was revealed and i must say that this bracelet also fits into the beautiful puzzle that was the love of j and n…the famous clock….i was so honored to be able to attend and to see these items that for me- and all hold such dear places in our hearts…thanks again no words left…bern
I want to also thank some of the gals from our Yahoo group who gathered up pertinent photographs that showed Jeanette wearing her birthday gift from Nelson both onscreen and off. Their detective work helped make this article about the bracelet more complete.
Once again, the link to the Master Class page is here. But if you would like to share any comments or communication to either Madeline or Linda about the presentation, please do so here in the “comments” section.
Let me close here by saying that there are others who might be reading this who still have information that can be shared; some of you have requested anonymity as Madeline did. Some have contacted me, others have not. If you know something, at this late date please re-think your silence; it is so much more rewarding and a relief to share it now with those who care while you’re still here to enjoy the experience. Back then it was important to keep their secrets; today it is important to validate who they were and what they endured in their private lives while still bringing joy to all of us with their careers.
Having just returned from both the south and west coasts, I have brought together all remaining original glossy magazines of the earlier issues from each location. We have between 4-20 issues left of the following: Journals #50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 60.
When they’re gone, they’re gone. If you try to order one that has sold out, you will see its status as “out of stock.”
My daughter Juliet is currently working on putting together new compilation books for all journals from #50-61. At the time those books are released (possibly before the end of this month), the xerox copies will also be pulled from our store.
Until they sell out, you can get any of the original early issues noted above at 50% off – only $10 each. If you’re a collector, obviously the original magazines are preferable. No coupon code is needed for the closeout price; see the available selection at this link.
Again, this is a last call – get them now while you can!
