April 27: Jack Klugman, Coretta Scott King, Anouk Aimée...and MORE!

Happy April 27th, 2016!
April 27 is the 118th day of the year. There are 248 days remaining until the end of the year.
 I have not written over the past several days. A dear friend of mine passed on. It is difficult. I'm holding on to the good times. I'm trying to focus on all the gifts she gave to me over the years. There were so many. She lives in my heart and will continue to do so until I take my last breath. She epitomized everything that show business is about...both on stage and off. I will forge on and do the best I can. That's all that any of us can do. All the other mishegoss doesn't matter.
As I sat down to begin my blog this AM, I was listening to Teresa Eggertsen-Cooke (who we will be seeing tonight at the Metropolitan Room) singing Send in the Clowns. It is so appropriate right now. My heart aches. Goodnight my friend.
I was also saddened to hear about the passing of Madeleine Sherwood. I loved her in The Flying Nun, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

Sandra Church, from left, Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman in the original 1959 production of “Gypsy,” the musical inspired by Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir.

Last night, I needed a diversion. I found it in Hillary Kole's INCREDIBLE The Judy Garland Project at the Iridium. Thank you, Avi Duvdevani for inviting me to join your party. It was just what the Dr. ordered. Hillary, you are amazing!
Now, let's celebrate the gems of April 27th. A lot happened on this date. In 1974, ten thousand march in Washington, D.C., calling for the impeachment of U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Happy birthdays to Jack Klugman, Coretta Scott King and Ulysses S Grant. What an odd threesome born on the same April day. Klugman began his career in 1950. He later moved on to television and film work with roles in 12 Angry Men (1957) and Cry Terror! (1958). During the 1960s, he guest-starred on numerous television series. Klugman won his first Primetime Emmy Award for his guest-starring role on The Defenders, in 1964. He also made a total of four appearances on The Twilight Zone from 1960 to 1963. He also played opposite Ethel Merman in Gypsy.
Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an

Casey Kasem

American author, activist, and civil rights leader, and the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1953 until his death in 1968. Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. King was an active advocate for African-American equality. King met her husband while in college, and their participation escalated until they became central to the movement. In her early life, Coretta was an accomplished singer, and she often incorporated music into her civil rights work.
Anouk Aimée (French pronunciation: ​[anuk ɛme]; ) is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years she studied acting and dance besides her regular education. Although most of her films were French, she also made a number of films in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions.

Judy Carne

Casey Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, music historian, radio celebrity, voice actor, and actor, known for being the host of several music radio countdown programs, most notably American Top 40, from 1970 until his retirement in 2009, and for providing the voice of "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise from 1969 to 1997, and again from 2002 until 2009.
Sandy Dennis was born on April 27, 1937 in Hastings, Neb. She won back-to-back Tony's in '63, '64, and an Oscar in 1967.
Judy Carne, was an English actress best remembered for the phrase "Sock it to me!" on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Happy birthday, to the great great playwright August Wilson.whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Each is set in a different decade, depicting the comic and tragic aspects of the African-American experience in the 20th century.

Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton is a Scottish-born recording artist and stage and screen actress with dual UK-USA nationality. Easton first came into the public eye as the focus of an episode in the first British musical reality television programme The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.

Notable Transitions on This Date

Edward R. Murrow (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio broadcasts for the news division of the Columbia Broadcasting System during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States. During the war he assembled a team of foreign correspondents who came to be known as the Murrow Boys.

Today in 1947: Yankee Stadium hosts "Babe Ruth Day" to honor the baseball star. An autographed ball from 1926.
George M. Cohan's Running for Office opened on Broadway (1903).
Choreographer Jack Cole born (1914).
The revue Tickets Please! opened on Broadway (1950).
Revival of West Side Story opened on Broadway (1960).
So Long 174th Street opened on Broadway (1976). 

Anna Kendrick (with Daniel McDonald) made it to Broadway in 1998 at the age of 12, in a revival of “High Society.” She was nominated for a Tony Award

Happy New Year opened on Broadway (1980)
Revival of Sweet Charity starring Debbie Allen opened on Broadway (1986)
Starmites opened on Broadway (1989)
High Society opened on Broadway (1998)
Revival of The Music Man opened on Broadway (2000)
The Wedding Singer opened on Broadway (2006).

President Kennedy spoke at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on this date in 1961 before the American Newspaper Publishers Association. Kennedy asked the press for their cooperation in fighting Communism by applying the same standards for publishing sensitive materials in the current Cold War that they would apply in an officially declared war.

This transcript contains the published text of the speech, not the actual words spoken.





In Other Entertainment News
Just wanted to send this with an update on the

Judy Garland Museum's 2016 Wizard of Oz Festival. Click HERE
In addition, They've updated their website with Festival information and paypal buttons which allow for the purchase of tickets.
In future weeks, I will send you some articles and new news stories!

David Friedman is giving this concert to benefit the gorgeous Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport, CT.
David at the piano, and a group of wonderful singers, all from Connecticut.

An intimate evening of my songs.
For tickets, call the number at the bottom of the poster.
Unwritten, Celebrating 21st Century Female Singer-Songwriters.

Experience a diverse collection of 21st century songs written by outstanding artists such as Adele, Annie Lennox, Sara Bareilles, Susan Werner, Meghan Trainor and Tracy Chapman. The program reflects the voices of women in their early 20’s as well as those in their 60’s, and every decade in between, opening a window to the hearts and minds of contemporary women. Performances are on May 7, 19 and 20, and additional details are included on the flyer below. Call Don’t Tell Mama at 212-757-0788 (after 4 pm) to make reservations, or reserve online at donttellmamanyc.com (make sure to select the correct date for performance you want to attend).

Lee Roy Reams

Legendary Broadway star, Lee Roy Reams, will make his Feinstein's at the Nikko debut with his one-man show, Song and Dance Man, on Thursday, June 9 at 8 p.m. (Read MORE)

Thank you, to all of the artists mentioned in this blog for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!

With grateful XOXOXs ,

 

 

Check out my site celebrating the legacy of Dolly Gallagher Levi!

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.  FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!   

        

American Popular Song Society Presents Annual Songwriter's Showcase Hosted by Award Winning Songwriter Tom Toce

Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!

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Keeping Entertainment LIVE!
 

TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY

Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com

PLEASE CELEBRATE WITH US Friday, May 6th AT DON'T TELL MAMA NYC


Don't Tell Mama Presents...

Wendy Scherl returns in What Do You Do All Day?  Directed by the incredible Helen Baldasarre with great musical direction by Matthew Martin Ward. Wendy is an amazing vocalist with a rangy and rich sound. “This is someone to watch!” Go see her, you can thank me later.
- Sue Matsuki   In “What Do You Do All Day”, Wendy Scherl shares anecdotes and song about the numerous hats she wears every single day as a wife, a mother of two boys and two dogs, a short order cook, a daughter, a house manager, a chauffeur and Cabaret Singer! Her show is both touching and real, theatrical and funny!
This show WILL sell out! So reserve today and be a part of his star studded audience!
You will truly be amazed by what this full-time executive director of a family of four accomplishes every day!  Wendy will wow you with both her choice of material and her talent!
After graduating from Northwestern University with a BA in Theatre, Wendy performed in numerous
regional theatre productions around the country, including some of her favorite productions: Hair (The official 20th Anniversary Production in Chicago), Grease (numerous roles), Annie (Grace), The Pajama Game (Babe), and Godspell.  

$20.00 Cover/Two Drink Minimum Cash Only Reserve at 212-757-0788 (after 4PM or through me)

$5.00 OFF COVER OF ALL MAC MEMBERS
Richard Skipper Celebrates is the publicist for Wendy Scherl and What Do You Do All Day? at NYC's Don't Tell Mama. For press reservations, interview requests, or more information, contact Richard Skipper at Richard@RichardSkipper.com or 845-365-0720

Check out Wendy's Interview with Sue Brender HERE