We get emails…
Hi Sharon, this was on the wall at a Cracker Barrel in St. George, Utah.
Ed Holt.
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We get emails…
Two recent reader reviews emailed to me:
Hi Sharon
Wow… I just finished your book [Sweethearts], finally, word for word. I loved it.
Read it at my Mom’s breakfast table every morning while visiting her the last 3 weeks in Nashville.
The story is not only about their romance, but about your 40 years of research.
Not many people could have done all that you did. I don’t know how you pulled it all together, there is so much data you gathered.
I appreciate the Afterward which explained the story from your standpoint. Your husband is very special and patient to put up with all the commitment, threats, and expense you had to endure for this project.
Thank you for all this work. I do hope for a few things:
– a new revised version, or followup book now that the romance is more accepted and more sources have surfaced.
– a book about your life the last 40 years
– that I get to meet you someday! …
Thanks for all that you do.
Ed Newkirk
***
and:
Sharon –
I am re-reading the 2001 version of Sweethearts and am, again, amazed and captivated by your superb use of language! Somehow you draw me into the story until I become a participant and find myself living rather than just reading it!
The principals are described in terms that make them come alive! and, thus, your readers can become truly involved with them.
You are an exceptionally gifted writer. Thank you for all the effort that must have gone into the writing of this book and the leadership you provide to the Club! Thanks to the latter, I am becoming familiar with one of Hollywood’s most fascinating eras!
Why this e-mail? I just had to compliment you!
Vivian
***
I am grateful for your kind letters. Particularly after long hours of writing or working, they really make my day!
Sharon
Beautiful tribute page to Nelson and Jeanette
One of our club members, Dorothy Jadlowiec, runs the informative website arabella-and-co.com. It’s an online magazine devoted to to the great stars of old Hollywood. She has many articles and photos featuring Nelson Eddy (and Jeanette MacDonald) and she has a wonderful Nelson tribute page called “The Baritone and His Lady”… check it out here. The tinted photo used on that page and also posted above was done by our late, great friend Vonnie Krotts.
Jeanette’s “San Francisco” played in SF Theater last month
I missed this when it was first published but it’s still a great article praising Jeanette MacDonald.
Last month was the 90th anniversary of San Francisco’s last movie palace, the Castro Theatre. Among the classic films to be screened to celebrate this was San Francisco. Sean Martinfield, a San Francisco cultural critic for the Huffington Post, wrote the following:
The Castro Theatre’s Anniversary roster of films features some of Hollywood’s greatest Leading Ladies, particularly those who are in the canon of Gay Icons…. Highest on this list of must-sees — especially if you’ve never seen it in a theatre and, specifically, the Castro — is San Francisco starring Jeanette MacDonald, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. The film features the city’s “official song” and what is still regarded as being among the most effective special effects ever created — the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Its sharp witted screenwriter Anita Loos had already created fiery successes for Jean Harlow — Red-Headed Woman, The Girl from Missouri, Riffraff — and would go on to fashion more box office hits including The Women, Susan and God, Blossoms in the Dust, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Clark Gable was at first disinterested in the project. Soprano Jeanette MacDonald, a real red-headed woman, went to work on him. Even though she was considered one of the most beautiful stars in the film industry, Gable probably agreed to sign because of the literary flare of Anita Loos and his tailor-made role of “Blackie Norton” — also, director W.S. (“one take Woodie”) Van Dyke would encourage his newly grown moustache. Young Spencer Tracy received his first Academy Award nomination for playing a priest and Douglas Shearer (brother of Norma) took his third Oscar for Sound. And the title song, “San Francisco,” written for Jeanette MacDonald by Bronislau Kaper, would secure her immortality by forever linking her to the city, aka, “Baghdad by the Bay.”….
It’s a shame that Jeanette did not record “San Francisco” at the time the film was released. Her voice was in fantastic shape and the arrangement would have replicated the vitality she displayed in the film. As it turned out, and in spite of her objections, she recorded the song for RCA in 1950 and then tried to have it suppressed. The version included the jazzier section featured in the film, just prior to the quake. Miss MacDonald hated the end results. The recording was re-released in 1967 as a 45 rpm and is now included in a wide variety of CD complications….
In May 1984, just prior to the Democratic National Convention held at Moscone Center, Quentin Kopp, a member of the City’s Board of Supervisors, proposed an ordinance to have the 1936 composition established as the city’s “Official Song” — replacing “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” — arguing that it was mushy and outdated. A lively challenge followed. Then-Mayor Diane Feinstein was on a campaign to have the cable cars refurbished in time for the Convention and was determined that she and singer Tony Bennett would enjoy a unique photo-op as the first car rolled onto the tracks. The Board of Supervisors let the public decide. At their regular Tuesday meeting, broadcast on the radio, the rival factions assembled various musicians to perform the separate songs as the public (including me!) phoned in their votes. Bronisalu Kaper’s “San Francisco” was the overwhelming favorite. Turns out, Blackie Norton was right — “This is about San Francisco!” Nevertheless, Mr. Kopp offered a happy compromise. “San Francisco” was declared the Official Song and that other tune named Official Ballad. (Note: This year, during an affectionate Valentine’s Day salute to Tony Bennett under the dome at City Hall, the 86-year-old crooner remained mute on the subject and refrained from singing.)….
M.G.M.’s San Francisco will survive the Test of Time, and is destined to be adapted to every format ever imagined. Like The City itself, Jeanette MacDonald remains a gorgeous and temperamental Diva. She will always be the “First Lady of San Francisco”.
Link to complete article.
Compare the lyrics of “Maytime” 1 & 2’s “Will You Remember”
Madeline Bayless has kindly transcribed for us the two slightly different versions of “Will You Remember.”
Here is the version from the first Maytime, a production that was scrapped after the death of its producer, Irving Thalberg:
WILL YOU REMEMBER – ORIGINAL DUET
As recorded for the first “MAYTIME”
Music by Sigmund Romberg
Lyric by Rida Johnson Young
Adapted by Herbert Stothart
Nelson:
Ah, love is so sweet in the spring-time,
When two hearts are singing in May.
No years that are coming can bring time,
To make me forget, dear, this day.
I’ll love you in life’s gray December
The same as I love you to-day.
Jeanette:
My heart, ever young, will remember
The thrill it knew, this day in May.
Nelson:
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart,
Will you love me ever?
Will you remember this day,
When we were happy in May,
My dearest one?
Jeanette:
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart,
Though our paths may sever,
To life’s last faint ember
I will remember
Spring-time, Love-time, May.
Jeanette
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweetheart,
Will you love me ever?
Nelson:
Will you remember this day,
DUET:
When we were happy in May.
My dearest one?
Jeanette:
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart,
Nelson:
Though our paths may sever,
DUET:
To life’s last faint ember,
I will remember
Spring-time, Love-time, May.
***
WILL YOU REMEMBER? – Film Version recorded
September 21st 1936 for second “MAYTIME”
Music by Sigmund Romberg
Lyrics by Rida Johnson Young
Nelson:
Ah, love is so sweet in the spring-time,
When blos-soms are fra-grant in May.
No years that are com-ing can bring time,
To make me for-get, dear, this day.
Jeanette:
I’ll love you in life’s gray De-cem-ber
DUET:
The same as I love you to-day,
My heart, ev-er young, will re-mem-ber
Nelson:
The thrill it knew,
Jeanette:
that day in May.
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart,
Will you love me ev-er?
DUET:
Will you re-mem-ber this day,
When we were hap-py in May,
My dear-est one?
Nelson:
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart,
Though our paths may sev-er,
DUET:
To life’s last faint em-ber
Will you re-mem-ber
Spring-time, Love-time, May?
Sweet-heart, sweet-heart, sweet-heart
Though our paths may sever,
To life’s last faint ember,
Will you remember
Spring-time, Love-time, May?
***
Additional comments by Madeline Bayless:
This song is very often referred to by the opening words of the refrain which is: “SWEETHEART, SWEETHEART, SWEETHEART”. That eventually leads into the true title, “WILL YOU REMEMBER”.
Maytime was the top grossing picture for 1937! It is rated as one of the best 100 films ever made! Even today it remains popular, some 70+ years after it was released in March of 1937.
An interesting sidelight, is the names given the two leading characters when this operetta was first produced. Nelson Eddy’s character was “Dick” or “Dicky Wayne” and Jeanette’s name was “Ottilie”!
In the film version, Nelson Eddy’s name is “Paul Allison”; Jeanette’s name is “Marcia Mornay.”
The operetta was set in the 1840’s and premiered on Broadway, August 16, 1917 and ran for an astounding 492 performances. It established Romberg as a premier operetta composer.
You can listen to the first “Maytime” version of “Will You Remember” at this link.
Listen: Jeanette and Nelson from their last TV appearance together
On September 25, 1957, Nelson and Jeanette performed on their second TV show together, “The Big Record.” Who knew that it would also be their last TV show together. They were in the midst of recording their “Favorites in Hi-Fi” album as well. On would have thought that their professional future together was taking off into the stratosphere again.
What stopped their plans was Jeanette’s health, which finally landed her in the hospital in December of that year. She was barely released when Isabel Eddy died. Between Nelson’s devastation over his mother and Jeanette struggling to recover her health, any plans for future work together were “temporarily” shelved. Jeanette did not even finish up her solo recordings for the “Favorites in Hi-Fi” till June 1958. The following year she had one last professional performance on the stage in “Bitter Sweet” and then retired.
Stephen Harris, who saw “The Big Record” when it originally aired on TV, writes: “What I remember about the 1957 “Big Record” is how Nelson kept stroking Jeanette’s arms during the “Sweet Mystery of Life” duet; he not only grasped her hands, but also ran his hands up and down her arms. Since they were on camera, there wasn’t much the director could do about it.”
We don’t have a video of this show but you can listen to the audio here.
We get emails…
Sharon,
I just want to thank you for continuing to supply all their internet fans with the info you do! I have loved her since I was a little girl. Those days have, of course, gone by, but my love of her talent and beauty live on………. I was thrilled to be able to record the recent marathon on TCM…. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without your help.. While I love ALL her work, I really was disappointed they didn’t show Girl of The Golden West.. It is one of my very favorites.. When she sings Shadows on the Moon, I about melt.. And I really love Who Are We To say? … I have looked and looked but have never found Shadows on the Moon available as a recording.. I have all her movies on VHS but none on DVD……… The host of TCM channel says they are often asked to show her movies even though she has been gone so long. If you are that someone who requests her movies, could you please ask them to show that movie for me? I really appreciate all your effort to bring her and Nelsons fans information which helps keep them alive in our hearts. Bless you, Theresa Haines
***
My response to Theresa and anyone else who would like to “nudge” TCM about showing more screenings of their films, doing an 8-DVD package of all the Mac/Eddy films, having me on as a guest with Robert Osborne prior to the TV film showings, having one or more of the 8 movies re-released into theaters for one day, etc., etc. is the following:
Contact the following person rather than TCM (they will refer you to him anyway) and make the requests yourself. They are used to the Mac/Eddy fans being vocal and persistent. So, keep it up! 🙂
George Feltenstein
Senior Vice President
Classic Catalogue Marketing
Warner Bros
4000 Warner Blvd
Burbank CA 91522
Phone: 818-954-6000
email: george.feltenstein@warnerbros.com
PS: When the American Film Institute (Eastern headquarters) had a week-long Mac/Eddy film festival back in 1994, they had me do talk before some of the screenings. That week culminated with the book release party for Sweethearts. I have also done this at other Mac/Eddy conventions for many years. It’s fun!
Sharon
Listen: Alternate version of “Will You Remember” from first Maytime?
Here’s an interesting alternate version of Nelson and Jeanette singing “Will You Remember” that we are assuming came from the first Maytime. The orchestration is completely different and with the addition of a mandolin as the prominent orchestral instrument.
Above, we see a shot of Nelson with a guitar, also presumably from the original Maytime since this scene doesn’t exist in the version we know and love. But Nelson’s makeup and outfit looks more like the second Maytime so …who knows?
Anyway, click on the link below to listen to this version of “Will You Remember” and let us know which version you like better by adding a Comment to this post. Enjoy!
Elsa Glass Tribute
On August 26, 2012 we lost our longtime club member, Elsa Glass, at age 89.
Elsa – a Judge by profession – and I had a long history together as researchers. Over the years we met up every so often in LA, New York or DC to compare notes and trade information. Occasionally we swapped sources for new people to interview. Elsa cared deeply about Nelson Eddy’s personal story particularly the early, formative years of his life, and planned to write a book about his early years. She wasn’t so interested in the Jeanette MacDonald influence on him – a point that we differed on. I would argue to her that Nelson’s career choices – and even remaining in Hollywood – were very much based on the status of what was happening with Jeanette. However, Elsa remained firm on focusing on Nelson only so we agreed to disagree. But happily for us, she willingly shared any information that concerned Jeanette.
For example, she turned over to me the baptismal records that proved Jeanette was born in 1903 (I already knew that but had spent a day searching unsuccessfully for any evidence of a birth certificate in Philadelphia for her.) Elsa also tipped me off that the doorman to the Lenox Apartments (where Nelson had for many years a studio in the apartment of his mentor Gertrude Evans) was willing to talk and verified that Jeanette used to stay there with Nelson as their Philadelphia hideaway in the later 1950s. I was able to interview him and verify what he had told Elsa. More shared information: Elsa informed me that she had been able to verify with her own sources the fact that Jeanette arranged for both her/Gene and Nelson/Ann to get joint divorces in the late ’50s, they did in fact do this in New York City and Nelson at the 11th hour pulled out of the deal because of Ann Eddy’s insistence to drain him financially. Elsa also told me that she interviewed several people in connection to Nelson’s Las Vegas wedding and in particular family members of the Judge who married Nelson and Ann. She reported to me that the Judge had a bad reputation for marrying intoxicated couples and had some ethics issues over the years. We discussed the fact that the man was probably well-paid to perform the ceremony, considering that it even hit the newspapers that Nelson was so out of it he started down the aisle with Doris Kenyon at his side!
Whenever we got together we each had a list of questions for each other. I don’t think she ever made a big public announcement when she verified pieces to me of the Jeanette-Nelson story. But we were friends and I wanted our readers to understand how helpful she was. Being a Judge certainly helped open some research doors that were otherwise unavailable to me or others. We all benefited from her research.
Darryl Winston, who heads up our Washington, D.C. events, was good friends with Elsa. He writes:
OMG, I am so sorry to hear the news. I called her 3 weeks ago, she seemed okay….She was a Grand Ol’ Gal, becoming more like May Robson as the years went on. I will really miss her.
I have many fond memories of Elsa. One year we gave a masked opera gala and Elsa came dressed as a gypsy. Another time Elsa came to visit me at a job. The security guard told Elsa that she could not park her car in front of the building to which Elsa replied as she got out of her car, “You just go in and tell Mr. Winston that Judge Glass is here!” Her car stayed parked in front of that building. I always called her, “JUDGIE”. Even in Elsa’s advanced years, she was an excellent driver. Many people don’t know that she was a Civil Rights crusader especially when it came to employment. One day for lunch Elsa served me and Marjorie Hadlock Nelson’s favorite meal: Yankee Pot Roast and freshly baked biscuits with honey.
Elsa also had me over to her lovely home after the Washington, D.C. club meetings for delicious home-cooked meals, and I met her family. She and her daughter Jennie joined us on both of the Mac/Eddy cruises. Elsa loved spending time with my husband Jake and my daughter Juliet and always had a warm hug for me. And she was a vital member on our Yahoo group. Bern, our moderator on that group, wrote:
elsa dik glass became a member of the group in febuary of 2004.. she was a very feisty lady with a kind side and one of nelson eddy’s biggest advocates
the first time i met elsa in person was at the lecture by joanne woodward in nyc may of 2008 i believe i found her- and introduced myself..she handed me some pencils with nelson and jeanette printed on them..i still have them..she was lovely to look at and sharp as a tack- but ever elsa. always had a wink and a nod when she disagreed with someone’s take on certain subjects about jeanette and nelson..she was a card…super intelligent- and always questioning…we met again at the dc 2008 meeting and had a marvelous time ..as the speaker spoke she would just nod with a twinkle in her eye..it was then we talked about her book on nelson eddy a career bio ..she was full of files about him done from great research..and information from folks who knew him and his work..i hope dear elsa someday will see that book come to be- with a dedication to her brilliant and tenacious workso- we shall miss our great lady- who had a wonderful mischievous laugh and always to me- a kind word.
Above photo from left to right: Elsa Glass, Cecilia Rodriguez (co-moderator of our Yahoo group) and Bernadette Schwartz (moderator) at the 2008 Washington, DC club event.
Below, Elsa and my daughter Juliet share a meal on the 2010 Mac/Eddy cruise. (Thanks to Sandy Reed for forwarding this photo and the one at the top of the page.)
Below, Elsa and daughter Jennie on the same cruise.
Jake, Juliet and I will all miss Elsa. She was a no-nonsense person who bluntly spoke her mind. She was a fighter and lived life fully despite health issues and chronic physical discomfort in later years. But there was also an emotional, sweet side to her as well. She will be greatly missed.
Sharon