Gordon MacRae

Gordon MacRae was a singer and actor.  He appeared in such great musicals from Rogers and Hammerstein....such as Carousel (1956) and Oklahoma (1955) with Shirley Jones.

But I especially loved the movies he co-starred with Doris Day....called By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) and On Moonlight Bay (1951). 

My mom and I went to see Gordon MacRae perform at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.  Unfortunately, he was so drunk people booed him and walked out because he couldn't perform. 

It was quite a shock for me because I was such a fan of his.  But life happens.  I don't know why....but we stayed until someone took him off the stage.  But he left such a legacy of songs and movies.....that I won't ever forget how great he was.

Now besides the above clips....there were 2 other favorites of mine that were in the movie Oklahoma... here they are.....

Gloria Grahame played Ado Annie in the movie.  Normally dubbed as a film noir siren, she was viewed by some critics to be a miscast as an ignorant country lass in a musical.  Additionally, her concern over the appearance of her upper lip led her to plastic surgery and dental operations that caused visible scarring and ultimately rendered the lip largely immobile because of nerve damage, which also affected her speech.

Gene Nelson who played Will Parker in the movie is such a talented dancer.  Unfortunately the best part of the previous clip is missing...the dancing he did with the lasso.  I can't believe that there isn't a YouTube video of that.  I guess you will have to rent the movie to experience it!