Elisberg Industries
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like
Decent Quality Since 1847

Tomorrow Today

3/5/2014

5 Comments

 
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!

Reply
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.

Reply
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.

Reply
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.

Reply
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!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Elisberg Industries gets a commission if you click here before shopping on Amazon.
    Picture
    Follow @relisberg

    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



    Picture
           Feedspot Badge of Honor

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Audio
    Audio Land
    Books
    Busienss
    Business
    Chicago
    Consumer Product
    Education
    Email Interview
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Fine Art
    Food
    From The Management
    Health
    History
    Huffery
    Humor
    International
    Internet
    Journalism
    Law
    Los Angeles
    Media
    Morning News Round Up
    Movies
    Music
    Musical
    Personal
    Photograph
    Piano Puzzler
    Politics
    Popular Culture
    Profiles
    Quote Of The Day
    Radio
    Religion
    Restaurants
    Science
    Sports
    Technology
    Tech Tip
    Theater
    The Writers Workbench
    Tidbits
    Travel
    Tv
    Twitter
    Video
    Videology
    Well Worth Reading
    Words-o-wisdom
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2023
Contact Us    About EI    Chicago Cubs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like