Wild About Harry

This a joyous find.  It’s from Nat King Cole’s short-lived (though ground-breaking) TV show in 1956, and features a tribute to the great, but little-known composer Harry Warren – along with an appearance by Warren himself, chatting with the host.

If you don’t know Harry Warren, you know some of his songs.  Probably many.  He won three Oscars for Best Song and was nominated 11 times.  He wrote the score to 42nd Street (which included “Lullaby of Broadway, that won the Oscar, “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” and the title song), as well as such other songs as (are you ready?) -- "I Only Have Eyes for You", "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Jeepers Creepers", "We’re in the Money,” “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" (which also won a Best Song Oscar), "That's Amore,"  "The More I See You" (that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had a big hit with), and "Chattanooga Choo Choo,” which became the first gold record ever.

As I said, I’m sure you know many of his songs.  And so it was great fun seeing him on the Nat King Cole TV show.

I also have a person appreciation with Harry Warren that has pretty much no connection to reality.  But the screenplay I wrote, which had finished second in the Lucille Ball Comedy Screenwriting Contest at UCLA, and which is what got me into the Writers Guild was titled, Harry Warren of the Mounties.  I honestly don’t remember why I called it that – I don’t think it was an homage to the songwriter, and was just happenstance.  But I don’t know.  And I like the connection regardless.