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MAX WILK
Max Wilk
Westport Ct.
I first become a Mercer fan long before I ever met him. I was working at Warner Bros
studios in Burbank, the year was 1938, and Mercer was writing brilliant lyrics for Warner
musicals, either with Harry Warren or with Harold Arlen.
There was one musical called "Garden of the Moon", and Mercer worked on some
of the lyrics (along with Al Dubin). His unmistakble talent shines through a couple of
brilliant songs. One is "I'm In Love With The Lady On The Two Cent Stamp." Check
it out; it's a great lyric. So is the second one I will never forget."The Girl Friend
of the Whirling Dervish."
I think that one goes...
"She's the girl friend of the whirling dervish
She's his best friend to his face.
But every night when there's mellow moonlight
And he's out dervishing with all his might
She gives him the runaround."
How about that? I've always loved it.
"He dreams of a Hindu honeymoon
But every night when he goes out to make an
honest rupee,
She goes out to make a lot of whoopee."
He topped it!
How much better can it get?
Well, one day, on the call sheet, they announced on one of the stages, for a picture
called "Going Places," on the set would be Mr Louis Armstrong and Miss Maxine
Sullivan. What would they be shooting? A production number called "Jeepers
Creepers."
Who do you think spent the entire day down on the stage, playing hooky from my publicity
department job, and basking in reflected glory, while Louis and Maxine recorded that great
Mercer number for posterity.
YOU BET - ME!
So I've been a Mercer fan for lo, these sixty years, right?
He's gone - but long may his lyrics live on!
....I can quote "The Lady On The Two Cent Stamp," too!
Is it any wonder I went after Johnny first - when I wrote "They're Playing
our Song." ? DeCapo 1997 - 25 years old and still going strong!
Thank you Max
for your first hand contribution to the Johnny Mercer Website. Max's book "They're
Playing Our Song - conversations with America's Classic Songwriters" was reissued
last year in soft cover.
...This book is a must read for any fan of traditional American Lyricists.. Max Wilk
has written 22 books as well as numerous television shows, musicals, plays and films...
Steve Taksler
webmaster@johnnymercer.com
http://www.johnnymercer.com
Max knows and interviewed:
"All the Things You Are" JEROME KERN
"Three Little Words" KALMAR AND RUBY
"Tea for Two" VINCENT YOUMANS
"I'm in the Mood for Love" DOROTHY FIELDS
"Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" LORENZ HART
"The Sound Of Music" RICHARD RODGERS
"This Was a Real Nice Clambake" OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
"Of Thee I Sing, Baby!" IRA GERSHWIN
"My ideal" RICHARD WHITING
"Thanks for the Memory" LEO ROBIN
"Make Sonwone Happy" BETTY COMDEN
"Lullaby of Broadway" HARRY WARREN
"Moon River" JOHNNY MERCER
"Over the Rainbow" HAROLD ARLEN
"People Who Need People" JULE STYNE
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schiin" SAMMY CAHN
"Tradition" BOCK AND HARNICK
Taking a Chance On Love" VERNON DUKE
"Wish You Were Here" HAROLD ROME
"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" BURTON LANE
"Put On a Happy Face" LEE ADAMS
"Oh, How We Danced" SAUL CHAPLIN
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" E. Y. HARBURG
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" STEPHEN SONDHEIM
"Guys and Dolls" FRANK LOESSER
"Always" IRVING BERLIN
Max Wilk
OVERTURE AND FINALE
Rodgers & Hammerstein
and the Creation of Their Two Greatest Hits
The birth of a Broadway show is a long and arduous process - as any birth is.
There are the bouts of morning sickness as backers are found, and the actors
cast. There is the inevitable growth as the songs are written, the dances
choreographed, and the sets constructed. Finally, there's the labor and delivery
as the curtain goes up, the performances start, and the applause resounds
through the air. OVERTURE AND FINALE by Max Wilk allows us in on
the process of the creation of Oklahoma and The Sound of
Music. We have the chance to hear the story through those who were
there. Two of these participants were Celeste Holm and Lauri Peters.
Oklahoma was Celeste Holm's first foray into musical theater. What a debut it
was. She had already created a name for herself as a dramatic actress playing in
William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life and John Van Druten's The
Damask Cheek. Holm stunned Rodgers and Hammerstein with her rendition of
hog calling. It won her the role of Ado Annie. Acting in a musical was a
learning experience. Celeste Holm learned to allow the audience to finish
clapping after singing. They wouldn't allow her to continue with the dialogue
after she sang "I Can't Say No".
"It was embarrassing, but it was glorious!" relayed
Celeste Holm.
Lauri Peters was a determined young actress when she auditioned for Richard
Rodgers so determined that, as she tells it, she "dressed to the
nines". Rodgers asked her to come back the next day minus the high heels
and make up. He must have liked what he saw for she was cast as Liesl, the
eldest Von Trapp daughter, in The Sound of Music. Peters remembers
the closeness of the cast and the professionalism that existed among everyone
connected with the production
"There is something timeless about the show," Peters says and
remarks how even today people tell her how much they enjoyed her singing of
"Sixteen Going on Seventeen". I understand
that, I wore out my record of the show replaying that song over and over.
There are many more memories unfolded in OVERTURE AND FINALE
from those who were in front and behind the stage. Even those who are no longer
with us are allowed to make their presence known. Max Wilk brings Mary Martin's
recollections to life so that we can enjoy them. Thank you, Max Wilk, for taking
the time to sift through the numerous stories, creating a collage that allows us
to see how two Broadway masterpieces were brought to life. From "Oh,
What a Beautiful Mornin" to "So Long, Farewell"
you can't stop reading, smiling, and enjoying the performance.
192 pages, 25 b/w
photographs, ISBN: 0-8230-8820-0
$16.95 / May 1999. BACK STAGE BOOKS, NYC
...........Sharon
Taksler
Princeton Jct, NJ May 1,1999
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