If I Ruled the World: The Video

4/8/2013

The other day, I wrote about my favorite performer, Harry Secombe. I mentioned that he had appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to sing two songs, one of them "If I Ruled the World," the huge hit from the musical Pickwick (based on Dickens's novel), which he was starring in, then on Broadway. This is a video of that performance -- not just the song, but almost the full scene, from November, 1965. As you might imagine, for purely personal reasons, having nothing to do with history or relevance to others, it's one of my favorite videos. But it's a total pleasure for all, anyway. It's the full company from the show, and features Roy Castle as his valet, Sam Weller.

By the way, Castle, like Harry Secombe, got a Tony nomination for his role. Interestingly, when the musical got revived by the Chichester Festival 30 years later, with Secombe re-creating his starring role, Castle also appeared in the production, though this time as Sam's father, Tony Weller. (Secombe became great friends with Castle, and his graciousness show at the end, in his exchange with Ed Sullivan.)

Anyway, here's the performance. As I mentioned previously, Pickwick has been mistaken for a political candidate during a local election and is impressed to make a speech. Totally out of his depth, his valet first gives him some advice. Some of the dialogue has been changed so as not to confuse the viewing audience. Instead of calling out, "We want Slumkey," the public calls for Pickwick.

13 Comments

David Moore link

4/23/2013 06:49:52 pm

That was really wonderful. I'm mildly embarrassed to say I only knew Seacombe from 'Oliver.' Now I need to seek out more. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Robert Elisberg

4/24/2013 01:13:06 am

Thanks very much. No reason in the slightest to be even mildly embarrassed. As I noted, "Oliver!" is what he's probably most-known for to American audiences today. Very different in England, where he was quite beloved, also did lots of stage work, many recordings, several popular BBC documentary-style series, and got knighted.

What I left out is that he's written a couple of very enjoyable autobiographies, and an entertaining semi-autobiographical novel, "Twice Brightly." Probably the easiest thing for people to seek out are recordings of "The Goon Show" on radio, the forefather of Monty Python. I'll bet some are on YouTube.

4/24/2013 05:05:49 am

That's where some of my embarrassment come in. I'm a big Peter Sellers fan. I've always heard about 'The Goon Show' but haven't really listened or watched.

I'll definitely seek out more on The Goons and Secombe. Thanks!

4/24/2013 06:23:56 am

Ah, okay, I'll grant you some mild embarrassment.

Do seek out the Goon Shows -- and while there's some video things the Goons did, avoid them at the beginning because the brilliance of the Goons was the use of radio. One of the greatest jokes I've ever heard would not work on television. It's from an episode called, "The Search for Napoleon's Piano," where the characters have to break into the Louvre, saw off the legs of the piano and sail it across the Channel to England.

Not all the episodes are equal in quality, so if the first one you listen to doesn't grab you, listen to a few.

By the way, as a Sellers fan that you are, I have a suspicion that The Goon Show was very dear to Peter Sellers's heart. In the mid-70s, 15 years after the radio show went off the air and long after he was a very big movie star, Sellers returned to record "The Last Goon Show of All" with Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. And from what I've read, it went so well that they were going to do another, but he passed away before they could.

"The Last Goon Show of All" was released on LP, which I have, but I believe it may also have been taped and is on YouTube -- again, listen to the earlier ones first.

Jim Connor

2/13/2015 07:35:41 am

It's taken 50 years for me to see this! What a treat. I played the Hot Toddy Seller (in Act I) and the Major Domo (in the second act). What a beautiful show when we first started out -- and before it was mangled out of town. At the end of the song I am in the funny hat and cape to Harry's right (left on screen). Thanks so much.

2/13/2015 08:52:20 am

Dear Jim, Again, thanks for this note, as well. That's fascinating to hear about them mucking up "Pickwick" out of town. It helps explain what I always found bewildering. It was so successful in London and even pre-Broadway, breaking house records. And then it hit Broadway to mediocre reviews at best. (My folks had seen it in London, the same year they saw "Half a Sixpence" there, and as much as they enjoyed the latter, they liked "Pickwick" even more. So, to screw around with it out of town is a shame. But how wonderful that you got to be in it and finally see the clip -- and yourself -- after all this time. I'm glad to have posted it. (And by the way, I re-watched the video and saw you there. Impossible to miss, almost front and center.) By the way, that "funny hat" and cloak is nearly identical to what Harry Secombe wore as Mr. Bumble in the movie of "Oliver!"

2/18/2015 06:57:43 am

This really was a treat for me. That Sunday at the Ed Sullivan Show was a grind. We were there from 8am to 9pm. The first color show from New York. Just a note about Harry. He was having some throat trouble when we were running in New York, and since I had my back to the audience during If I Ruled the World, I sang his high notes while he mimed. Today they would have just had it recorded and played that. But the show was absolutely delightful when we opened in San Francisco, and then it was decided it needed to be "americanized" -- this is Dickens, remember! When "Business Is Booming" was cut (the opening number) it must have been really bewildering for the audience. Anyway, thanks so much for posting this.

2/18/2015 10:05:24 am

Dear Jim, thanks again. It's interesting about lip-syncing because as you may recall (or not...) in Harry Secombe's other segment on the Ed Sullivan Show that night, he did a comic bit about lip-syncing to a warped record.

You might also want to do a search on my site for the "Four Musketeers," a musical he starred in a few years later. I tell some stories, have a couple of song links, mention meeting him backstage -- and tell about how he had a bad throat and had to lip-sync two songs!

Actually, rather than search for them, here are the two links --

http://www.elisbergindustries.com/blog/the-four-musketeers

http://www.elisbergindustries.com/1/post/2013/11/all-for-four-and-four-for-all.html

2/21/2015 03:11:43 am

And thank you again for the links . . . and bringing back memories of long ago. Michael Darbyshire remained a friend after he returned to London following Pickwick's deminse. He was a record collector and would send me the West End albums (and I would send the Broadway ones), so I did have The Four Musketeers. Regretfully lost through the years and many moves. Unfortunately Michael passed before my first trip to London. He was a wonderful performer and a very nice gentleman. It is such a pleasure to be able to chat with you and thanks again for reviving the memories.

2/21/2015 03:27:12 am

Dear Jim, Again thanks for all your comments here. Given how well "Pickwick" did on the road during its pre-Broadway tour, even breaking house records at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in L.A., do you have any recollection why they felt a need to "fix" what had been a hit show? (And who was "they"? Mainly David Merrick, or the director, or...??)

By the way, you may know (I don't recall if I mention it in the articles here you read), that they revived "Pickwick" in the early 1990s at the Chichester Festival, with Harry Secombe re-creating his role. And it was such a big hit they took it back to the West End, and then on tour throughout England for several years. They released a CD, which is wonderful. Harry Secombe is still in rich voice, though a bit more "textured." 20 minutes more music than what's on the original cast album. And Roy Castle plays Sam's father in this one! They "smoothed" out most of the performances, less Cockney. The only big thing I miss is the original Anton Rodgers as Jingle.

2/24/2015 07:16:45 am

If only I had total recall (which I don't) for 50 years ago! But some things I do remember vividly. When the show opened in San Francisco, it was virtually the same as the London production (with the exception of a new number for Charlotte Rae's character). One critic said it was David Merrick's Christmas card to New York. (I wonder if Merrick ever sent Christmas cards?)
Trouble started in LA. Since we were on a pre-Broadway tour, the company could rehearse during the day. Wonderful Peter Coe would give notes on the previous night's performance. He taped the show for his remarks. It was bizarre for me to hear "Business Is Booming" at 10 o'clock in the morning. I do have a recording of the number (thank God!) from the sound system of the Music Center.
Changes must have been authorized by the Merrick office I suppose. Anyway, we did what we were told. A number would be cut a song rehearsed and put in that night. The next day that would be thrown out and part of the original number restored. It was a mess. Peter left during the LA run for other directorial assignments, so I guess the rehearsals were done by the stage managers, Ian, and Gillian. (Her direction for us in the "World" number was: "act with your backs" . . . Bah.
I don't believe that Merrick was any too fond of Pickwick. His interest was with the Mary Martin International Company of "Hello, Dolly!" (My partner was a dancer with that show. We crossed paths in Cleveland where I got to see Dolly and he got to see Pickwick.)
I can't remember when "they" finally stopped fiddling with the show -- Detroit, maybe? When we opened for a month in Washington DC just prior to Broadway, the reviews were very good and I think we were sold out. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as we thought.
But Walter Kerr's review when we opened on Broadway probably sealed the show's fate.
When we got to NY, I finally had a billing dispute settled. My name appeared on the posters in front of the theatre, but not in Playbill. A small victory at least.
The show was a financial hit, earning back its investment before opening in NY.
So there are really good memories about it, and some not so good.
I was in London when the revival was on, but didn't get to see it. I do regret that. Harry was a delight, as were all the Brits. Anton was brilliant doing "Bit of a Character." I do get nostalgic when I listen to the original cast, and sorry that there wasn't a Broadway recording.
We were paid for one; RCA was interested, but Harry was under contract with Phillips, so Mercury was supposed to do the album. But Mercury pulled out and after the reviews RCA was no longer interested.
Thanks for letting me get all this out of the recesses of my brain. Maybe it's been a bit enlightening and entertaining for you. It's good to know that Pickwick had such a loyal fan.

2/24/2015 09:04:34 am

P.S. I forgot to mention that as kid, I'd written to Harry Secombe when the show hit Broadway, and I still have the letter where he mentions the upcoming recording on Mercury. So, that fits perfectly with your spot-on memory.

And yes, I had the Burns-Mantle theater yearbook which listed the hits and flops of each year, and it had "Pickwick" as hit, despite only 56 performances on Broadway, because (as you noted) it had made its money back during the pre-Broadway tour. I remembering reading that that was part of the reason David Merrick closed the show when Harry Secombe oddly got the mumps before Thanksgiving -- he had his profit and decided to quit while he was ahead, rather than (alas) risk word of mouth growing during he Christmas season...the perfect time for Dickens and "Pickwick."

I didn't realize that Anton Rodgers was in the Broadway production. I'm glad to know that. As I wrote in my piece, my folks adored him in the West End production, and my dad still mentions him when I brought this up the other day. Much as they loved the show and Harry Secombe first, he always stood out for them.

2/24/2015 08:55:24 am

Dear Jim -- Wow, thanks, what a terrific reminiscence. If fills in a lot of gaps (unfortunately...) of how such a wonderful show got transformed. I'm guessing that Charlotte Rae played Mrs. Bardell, and that the song you refer to is "I'll Never Be Lonely Again," a duet with Harry Secombe that replaced the wonderful "Look Into Your Heart." I have the sheet music to the former, and it's a perfectly nice pop tune-type, just not the great, soaring ballad of the latter. (Side note: she was in the same sorority as my aunt at Northwestern, and I got to meet her a couple years go back and got to mention that, which shocked her. Alas, I forgot she had been in "Pickwick" -- well, something to mention next time...) Thanks much, again.

If I Ruled the World: The Video

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