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| Irving Berlin´s last years | |
| Posted by: tmwctd 03:01 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| Am I the only one who would be interested in a book or a movie about Irving Berlin´s last years (basically from about 1970 to this death 1989)? I have heard so many divergent stories about those years when he stuck to his home, growing bitter about the end of his songwriting career. Katharine Hepburn spent two charming afternoons with him where they reminisced about old times. Then again there are so many stories about him denying people using his songs. Like telling Tommy Tune : "Too many people are singing my songs." |
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| re: Irving Berlin´s EARLY years | |
| Posted by: Amiens 11:49 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
| In reply to: Irving Berlin´s last years - tmwctd 03:01 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| Speaking of Irving Berlin, I wonder if anyone else saw or remembers a sweet show that The Roundabout produced at the Laura Pels about a dozen (or more?) years ago called The Tin Pan Alley Rag, written by Mark Saltzman? The play covers Berlin's pre-World War 1 beginnings in show business and also tells the parallel story of Scott Joplin's rise to fame, ultimately imagining a meeting between the two composers. Though more a play than a musical, there were numbers by both men, comparing their different takes on ragtime music, perhaps rather simplistically. Details are hazy in my mind, but I do remember enjoying the production. | |
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| re: Irving Berlin´s last years | |
| Posted by: Berrygirl49 (motherstrawberry@hotmail.com) 05:58 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
| In reply to: Irving Berlin´s last years - tmwctd 03:01 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| My perception of Berlin is that he was dismayed at the devolution, if you will,of the culture that once embraced his work and now ignored him. As I age, I understand this keenly. I met Berlin one Christmas Eve after John Wallowitch led a small group singing White Christmas in front of his house. We were invited in for a brief visit...he spoke to us all individually, kissed me and said the serenade was the best present he ever got. His songs were, well, his. He was not obliged to give permission to use them. Jimmy Breslin wrote a nasty column one Christmas Eve about Berlin not granting him permission to use Always. Shame on you, Jimmy! |
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| re: Irving Berlin´s last years | |
| Posted by: tmwctd 01:49 am EDT 10/13/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Irving Berlin´s last years - Berrygirl49 05:58 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| What was his saying - something like feeling like a shop owner where no customer shows up anymore? I have read somewhere about the Christmals serenade you mentioned which shows his sweet side. Sometimes he seems to have granted permission to his songs easily, sometimes he refused for no obious reason at all. Tune ended up using "Shakin´ the Blues Away" instead of "Steppin' Out With My Baby", both Berlin songs... |
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| re: Irving Berlin´s last years | |
| Posted by: Gustave 08:51 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Irving Berlin´s last years - Berrygirl49 05:58 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| Soon after Berlin's death in 1989, Laurence Bergreen published a biography-- As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. It's been a long time since I read it, but as I recall, it has substantial coverage of Berlin's later years. Gustave | |
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| re: Irving Berlin´s last years | |
| Posted by: tmwctd 01:41 am EDT 10/13/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Irving Berlin´s last years - Gustave 08:51 pm EDT 10/12/23 | |
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| Thanks Gustave. I own both Berggren´s book as well as the one by Berlin´s daugther. But I have come across so many stories (like the one I mentioned about Tune) that often seem to contradict each other. | |
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| Mary Ellen Barrett's book, A Daughter's Memoir is fantastic (n/m) | |
| Posted by: FIG 10:35 am EDT 10/13/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Irving Berlin´s last years - tmwctd 01:41 am EDT 10/13/23 | |
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| Link | Irving Berlin, A Daughter's Memoir |
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