Interesting story about Victor Herbert

“How did Natoma Avenue get its name?”

by Abby Lindros

This street, near Santa Barbara’s West Beach, is named after what has been called the “first American grand opera.” In 1909, composer Victor Herbert approached San Francisco attorney Joseph Redding to come up with a theme for a new opera. The result was Natoma: The Maid from the Mountains, an opera in three acts set in Santa Barbara in the early 1800s, when Alta California was under Spanish governance.

Victor Herbert, an Irish native, became one of this country’s greatest composers of light operas. His best-known works were Babes in Toyland, made famous by a film version with Laurel and Hardy, and Naughty Marietta, the movie that made stars out of the romantic duo of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.

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Nelson Eddy’s “Dancing Lady” to air on TCM tonight!

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Midnight Eastern time, 9 pm on the west coast, catch Nelson’s one number in this 1933 Clark Gable-Joan Crawford starrer. When people wonder how/why Nelson and Clark Gable became friends, this was the original connection. In later years, Nelson mentioned Joan Crawford (pictured with Nelson above) to one of his lady friends, recalling a Hollywood party in which Crawford stripped naked and danced on a table! Welcome to Hollywood, Nelson!

Shirley Temple turns 80 this week…

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SAN FRANCISCO—Shirley Temple Black quietly celebrated her 80th birthday this week after breaking her arm in a fall at her suburban San Francisco home.

Rick Ross, her Los Angeles-based attorney, says the former child star is doing fine. She turned 80 on Wednesday.

Black was the top box-office draw in the U.S. from 1935 to 1938. Her best-known films include “Curly Top” and “Little Miss Marker.”

After retiring from the big screen, she held a number of diplomatic posts, including U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

Black lives in the San Francisco suburb of Woodside.

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Mac/Eddy fans will remember that Shirley made her radio debut with Nelson Eddy on the Gulf Radio production of “The Blue Bird” – in which they sang “Silent Night” together...and a crazy woman in the audience stood up and pointed a gun at Shirley.

You can visit Shirley’s website here.

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