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November 24, 2006
Betty Comden Exits, Stage Right
The Party's Over
It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
and taken the moon away
It's time to wind up
the masquerade
Just make your mind up
the piper must be paid
The Party's Over
The candles flicker and dim
You danced and dreamed
through the night
It semed to be right
just being with him
Now you must wake up,
all dreams must end
Take off your makeup
The Party's Over
It's all over, my friend
The Party's Over
The candles flicker and dim
You danced and dreamed
through the night
It seemed to be right
just being with him
Now you must wake up,
all dreams must end
Take off your makeup
The Party's Over
It's all over, my friend
Singin' In The Rain, On The Town, and so much more... a seminal writer in my movie love... truly a big part of the soundtrack of my life.
She wasn't young, so the shock isn't great. But she and her partner, Adolph Green, performed live into their 80s, touring with their lives and music. Part of the reaction was, “why are these two still fighting so hard to be the performers they never quite were?” And the other part was, “Look at how brave they are and how truly great their life’s work has been.”
The voices behind two of the uber-musicals of all time I mentioned above, plus The Band Wagon, Wonderful Town, and many others, their music and lyrics float in my head at some point pretty much every day. If I hear the name Moses, I immediately flash on “Moses Supposes His Toes-es Are Roses.” How many mornings have I thought, “I feel like I’m not out of beeeeeed yeeeeet,” sung in a baritone I can only dream of matching? And I have never walked the streets of New York without remembering that The Bronx is up and The Battery’s down.
Like Kubrick, Wilder, Lumet, Chayefsky, Fosse, Porter, and the Termite Terrace crew, Comden & Green are part of my early years of movie love.
And even as late as 1991, they contributed the “Mamushka” (the dance of brotherly love) to The Addams Family, my most memorable Raul Julia moment aside “He’s A Funny Guuuuuy” from Mazursky’s Moon Over Parador.
Thanks.
Posted by poland at November 24, 2006 11:09 AM
Comments
Also worth remembering: Their songs for the Broadway musical "On the Twentieth Century." I was fortunate enough to catch the original production -- and Kevin Kline's incredible Tony-winning supporting performance -- years ago. And I still have the original cast album, even though I haven't had a working turntable for years.
Of course, I fully realize that, after saying that, if bicycle bob were still around, I'd be the target of nasty remarks about my liking show tunes...
Posted by: Joe Leydon ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 24, 2006 12:11 PM
Joe, did I see you on MSNBC yesterday?
Posted by: Blackcloud at November 24, 2006 12:59 PM
Blackcloud: Yes. But trust me, those stories about me and Britney Spears aren't accurate. We're just good friends.
Posted by: Joe Leydon at November 24, 2006 02:47 PM
How much of the movie Singin' in the Rain was Comden and Green, how much was Donen, how much was Arthur Freed and how much was Gene Kelly?
Honestly, I could never understand the provenance of that movie.
Anyway, regards to Betty Comden, whose music will live forever.
Posted by: Wrecktum at November 24, 2006 04:09 PM
Wrecktum: I raised the same questions in my chapter on Singing' in the Rain in my book -- and, more recently on my blog when the film was named Top Musical of All-Time by AFI. My guess: All of the above.
Posted by: Joe Leydon at November 24, 2006 04:23 PM
I absolutely Love showtunes and Love Betty; I just don't like Musicals unless they are on a stage. I don;t know why I don;t like movie musicals--they just seem to lose something when they aren't live (except for SPinal Tap).
Posted by: Lota at November 24, 2006 05:21 PM
LOL, Joe.
Singin' is so great there's glory enough for everyone to bask in. And when you're involved in something like that, bask you should; you've earned it. The music plays forever.
Posted by: Blackcloud at November 24, 2006 06:16 PM
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