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Ethel Merman is not to everyone's taste. But like her or not, she's a legend. And like her or not, this video is a special treat. It's difficult to say which of Merman's shows would be considered her #1 classic -- but fighting for the top spot would be Annie Get Your Gun. And here is Ethel Merman on a Sesame Street Christmas special singing from Annie -- no, not "Get Your Gun, the other one. Just plain Annie. And like her or not, this is an absolutely charming rendition of "Tomorrow." It's made all the more fun by her interaction with the residents of the street, all glum, needing a pick me up. And if you look closely, one of those residents is the great Imogene Coca (speaking of Sid Caesar, as we were the other day, since she was his female lead on Your Show of Shows). But the real treat is what Merman says to her as she passes by and says, "Imogene. What's the matter?..." I'll leave the rest of the line for you to hear for yourself. And by way, the woman next to Imogene Coca who she refers to as "Leslie" is Tony-winner Leslie Uggams. What I also find fascinating about this is that Merman does the near impossible -- she gives the song a somewhat new interpretation that works really well. It doesn't come across the way most people sing it, like the innocent hope of a child, but as a wistful song of survival by someone knowing who's been through the wars. And it all comes, not tomorrow, but now...
5 Comments
Shelly Goldstein
3/5/2014 09:59:09 am
This is simply charming!
Robert Elisberg
3/5/2014 10:05:45 am
I thought it would be up your alley. It's so rare to see a "different" interpretation of that song (no matter how small), and what a surprise and treat to see it come from Ethel Merman. But I love her wandering around chatting, as well. And how can one not love, "Imogene. What's the matter? You look like an idiot." Who knows where in the world that came from -- written or ad-libbed -- but what a hoot.
Douglass Abramson
3/5/2014 11:03:56 am
Well, you managed to get a response from the dim recesses of my memory with that clip; so I braved the internet to find out why. The clip wasn't actually on Sesame Street. It's from A Special Sesame Street Christmas. Produced for CBS in 1978 by Bob Banner Associates (The Jimmy Dean Show/Perry Como Christmas Specials), with virtually no input from Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop). It aired on Friday, December 8; five days after CTW's Christmas Eve on Sesame Street premiered on PBS. My memory had conflated the two and I didn't remember the PBS airing. In my defense, Oscar was the plot motivator in both; and I was six.
Robert Elisberg
3/5/2014 12:46:40 pm
Thanks for the specifics. I was aware that it might not have been precisely from the daily show, but since I didn't know the exact story behind it, I thought it was best to just say it was from Sesame Street, because it was -- just not the daily show. But I could have been more clear. I'll go back and edit it.
Douglass Abramson
3/5/2014 01:16:44 pm
I'm just weird that recognizing what a Sesame Street episode verses a Sesame Street special looks like. To most people Sesame Street is Sesame Street. Clarification isn't needed. I was more shocked by the fact that there were two brand new Sesame Street Christmas specials on two separate channels in less than a week! Leave a Reply. |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 
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