RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN WITH ED SULLIVAN
{SEGMENTS FROM "TOAST OF THE TOWN" AND "THE ED
SULLIVAN SHOW"} (TV)
Summary
This cluster of segments from Ed Sullivan's Sunday-night variety series features interviews with composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, as well as performances of Rodgers's music. The first clip comes from a from March 27, 1955, celebration of the long-running Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" Sullivan explains that alumni of different companies of the show have moved on to many other musical venues, and he introduces performances by some of them. Barbara Cook sings "Many a New Day," and John Raitt and Florence Henderson harmonize on "People Will Say We're in Love." Next, Celeste Holm, who originated the role of Ado Annie, sings "I Cain't Say No." At Sullivan's urging, Holm also performs another Rodgers and Hammerstein number, "A Fellow Needs a Girl" from "Allegro," which the host calls a request from ailing Senator John Kennedy. Next, to illustrate the success of "Oklahoma!" around the world, Richard Collett sings "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" in Swedish, after which Henderson returns to perform "Be Kind to Your Parents" from her current show, "Fanny," with young Gary Wright. Sullivan chats briefly with Hammerstein and Rodgers, who discuss the upcoming motion picture of "Oklahoma!" and the way in which the two collaborate. Rodgers then conducts the orchestra in the title song to "Oklahoma!" which is sung by Raitt, Holm, Henderson, Cook, Collett, and the chorus. The following segment comes from a February 5, 1956, Sullivan offering that highlights the Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration "Pipe Dream," adapted from a novel by John Steinbeck. The composer and lyricist use several performances from the musical to illustrate the ways in which music can serve a story. First, Judy Tyler sings "Everybody's Got a Home But Me," after which William Johnson performs "The Man I Used to Be." The male "bums" chorus then performs "A Lopsided Bus," and Tyler and Johnson team up for "All at Once You Love Her." In the next segment, from January 18, 1959, Pat Suzuki performs "I Enjoy Being a Girl" from "Flower Drum Song," and in an April 18, 1965, clip the young performers who play the Von Trapp children in the film version of "The Sound of Music" recreate "So Long, Farewell." The final clips are from the November 22, 1970, Ed Sullivan tribute to Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl. Sullivan speaks briefly of the composer's "first project for the 1970s," "Two by Two," and introduces the musical's star, Danny Kaye, who discusses the composition of the song "You" and performs it for the audience. Rodgers joins Kaye and Sullivan onstage, and Sullivan introduces a finale in which the stars of the tribute sing "Climb Every Mountain." They include John Davidson, Herschel Bernardi, Johnny Mathis, the Lennon Sisters, Jeannie C. Riley, Minnie Pearl, Cass Elliot, and Shirley Jones.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: Sunday
- RUNNING TIME: 1:10:14
- COLOR/B&W: Color and B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:68725
- GENRE: Music/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Composers; Lyricists; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Musical revues, comedies, etc. - Excerpts
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1948-1971
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Richard Rodgers … Composer, Conductor
- Martin Charnin … Lyricist
- Hammerstein, Oscar, II … Lyricist
- Ed Sullivan … Host
- Hammerstein, Oscar, II … Guest
- Richard Rodgers … Guest
- Herschel Bernardi … Performer
- Charmian Carr … Performer
- Angela Cartwright … Performer
- Duane Chase … Performer
- Barbara Cook … Performer
- Richard Collett … Performer
- John Davidson … Performer
- Cass Elliot … Performer
- Nicholas Hammond … Performer
- Florence Henderson … Performer
- Celeste Holm … Performer
- William Johnson … Performer
- Shirley Jones … Performer
- Kym Karath … Performer
- Danny Kaye … Performer
- Lennon Sisters, The … Performers
- Johnny Mathis … Performer
- Heather Menzies … Performer
- Minnie Pearl … Performer
- John Raitt … Performer
- Jeannie C. Riley … Performer
- Pat Suzuki … Performer
- Debbie Turner … Performer
- Judy Tyler … Performer
- Gary Wright … Performer
- John F. Kennedy
- John Steinbeck