The Morning Delivery

Creative MLB Promotional Giveaways For 2013

With baseball fans beginning to look at the countdown clock   for the official start of opening day, fans are also taking a closer look at their respective teams' promotional schedule to see which games will offer giveaways and commemorative items, such as bobble heads, t-shirts, caps, etc., usually to the first 10-15,000 fans to pass through the gates.

The way promotional items have become such a common fixture at major league ballparks, it's hard to imagine there was a time when giveaways were strictly unheard of.

The game-changer came when Bill Veeck assumed ownership of the Cleveland Indians in 1946. In fact, before the unconventional Veeck landed in Cleveland, foul balls that were deposited in the stands were promptly collected by stadium personnel.

In his entertaining and smartly written book, ``Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick'' author Paul Dickson chronicles many of the innovations ushered in by Veeck, including ``Ethnic nights'',`` Free Nylon Stockings'', ``Bat Day'', ``Kids get autographs on the field'', ``Exploding Scoreboards'', ``Showers in the Bleachers'', ``Ivy on the Walls at Wrigley'', ``Circus Night'', Livestock giveaways, Nurseries for infants staffed with real nurses, women's rest rooms so lavish that one was named "Hall of Femme,"  Be the manager night, early morning games for shift workers during World War II, and zany giveaways, such as chocolate covered ants, were just some of the thousands of promotions ``Sport Shirt Bill'' as he was affectionately called, employed during his tenure with the St Louis Browns, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.

Echoing just how influential Veeck was in originating special promotions, Dickson told me, ``his influence is everywhere today and in all sports. Veeck was also the man who invented the idea for a sponsor covering all or most of the cost of a giveaway."

So in keeping with the imaginative spirit of Veeck, I looked over many of the special promotions being offered by different MLB clubs to see which teams came up with some of the more creative promotional giveaways of the year.

Here, then, are some that caught my eye:

• With the wind to your backs and the sun shining warmly upon your face, the Chicago White Sox will celebrate a ``Halfway to St. Patrick's Day''  on September 14th  at U.S. Cellular Field against the Cleveland Indians in which the first 20,000 fans (21 and older) will be given White Sox green caps. The evening will conclude with a dazzling fireworks display.

• The American League champion Detroit Tigers will continue with all the pyrotechnics they provided fans last year with 18 post-game firework extravaganzas (courtesy of Pepsi) during the 2013 season at Comerica Park. In addition to the firework displays, the Tigers have planned 35 giveaways during the 2013 season. Two particular noteworthy dates include: April 6th against the New York Yankees, the Tigers will be giving away 10,000 American League Championship Banners to celebrate winning their 11th American League Pennant last year. And on May 25th against the Minnesota Twins, the first 10,000 fans will be given a 1968 45th anniversary commemorative coin. In 1968, the ``Year of the Pitcher'', the Tigers won their third World Series, defeating the St Louis Cardinals in seven games behind the dazzling pitching of Cy Young Award winner and American League MVP Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich who won all three of his complete games and was named the World Series MVP.

• Cleveland Indians' fans, disappointed over last year's campaign, will have plenty to be excited about this year, as GM Chris Antonetti and President Mark Shapiro had a busy off-season, first with the signing of former Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, followed with the signing of ex-Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher. Other new additions include: Drew Stubbs, Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw and Trevor Bauer via trade and the signing of free agents Mark Reynolds, Brett Myers and Michael Bourn.  And to add to the drama of the new facelift, the Indians on August 10th , compliments of Progressive Insurance, will be giving away replicas of the Indians Hall of Fame plaque of slugger Rocky Colavito, who spent five glorious seasons in Cleveland, where he became the first Indian to crack more than 40 home runs in two seasons. In addition, the Indians will tip their caps to their all-important 10th man in the lineup, John Adams, who enters his 40th season pounding his drums in the bleachers. Adam's first game with the drums began at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on August 24, 1973. Responding through an email, Adams says over the last 39 seasons, he's only missed 38 games, truly an incredible testament to his undying dedication to the Indians. A rare breed indeed.

• Hoping  to marry both the popularity of garden gnomes with the celebrity status of left-handed pitcher Wade Miley, who had a spectacular rookie season (16-11, 3.33 ERA), the Arizona Diamondbacks will be giving away Wade Miley Garden Gnomes, courtesy of Sanderson Ford to the first 20,000 fans on April 27th against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Garden gnomes are figurines, resembling human creatures, usually sporting a pointy hat, which originated in 19th century Germany, where they became known as Gartenzwerg (literally "garden dwarf").

• With about 1.9 million Hispanics, representing 30 percent of the state's population, Arizona has the sixth largest Hispanic population in the nation. To take advantage of  this growing demographic, the D-Backs and Univision KTVW-TV Channel 33 will pass out Luchador masks (called Lucha Libre) to the first 15,000 fans at the July 27th game against the San Diego Padres, followed by Luchador Capes (courtesy of Circle K) on September 15th against the Colorado Rockies. Lucha Libre is a term for professional wrestling in Mexico and other Latin American countries. The wrestlers often wear colorful masks.

• Fresh off having captured their 7th world championship in team history (2nd in the Bay area), San Francisco Giant fans, at least the first 40,000 through the gates on April 7th, in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, will feel like champions themselves, when fans (courtesy of AAA) receive replica World Series rings (made of medal) on the same day the Giants receive their rings in a special pre-game ceremony. 

Later in the month, on April 20th against the San Diego Padres, to celebrate clinching the NCLS in the driving rain, the first 20,000 fans at AT & T Park will receive World Champions Umbrellas compliments of Coca-Cola/Raley's, which features color photos of the Giants soaked filled game when they secured their 22nd National League pennant.  Other novel features at AT & T Park during the season, includes presenting the first 20,00 fans with stylish orange, black, white and grey plaid fedoras on August 24th and on September 7th-Orange Sombrero (to the first 20,000 fans) presented by State Farm to celebrate Fiesta Gigantes when the team wears the 'Gigantes' logos jerseys
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• The Seattle Mariners on April 26th against the Angels at Safeco Field will offer (to the first 20,000 fans) the first ever ``Beard Hat Night'' This must have fashion accessory is a ski cap, with faux facial hair.  The Mariners will follow that up on the very next day with ``Bat Night'', not the miniature bats, but a full-size Louisville Slugger, to be distributed to all kids 14 and under.

For a variety of logistical and security reasons, the Mariners have been unable to present a fireworks show since moving to Safeco Field in 1999.  That will change this year as the Mariners have finally managed to work through the obstacles and are happy to announce they will be offering 3 spectacular post-game firework displays during the 2013 season.

• In tribute to the popular switch hitting Coco" Crisp, the Oakland A's on June 2nd  at O.co Coliseum against the Chicago White Sox will be giving away ( to kids only) 5,000 Coco Crisp Cereal Bowls, compliments of Chevrolet. The well-traveled center fielder, born Covelli Loyce Crisp, who previously served tours of duty with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals, first earned the nickname ``Coco'' from his sister who loved to rib him that he resembled one of the  characters on the Cocoa Krispies cereal box. The nickname became a permanent fixture in the lineup card when he began playing AA baseball.

• As if the Washington Nationals season wasn't entertaining enough last year, being the first Washington-based team to advance to the post-season in 79 years before losing to the St Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, the Nats' this year will entertain fans with four post-game concerts (June, 8th, July 6th, August 31st, and September 21st).  The scheduled performers for these free post-game concerts have yet to be announced.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
February 25, 2013

Super Bowl 47: Feats, Facts, and Historic Firsts

The opening kickoff of the Super Bowl is so near, I can almost hear ESPN’s Chris Berman (``The Swami’’) in my ear, saying:  ``"Tick…tick....tick tick tick….’’

On Sunday, February 3, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, this year’s home team, take to the field in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

Not that this annual clash needs any added buildup, but Super Bowl 47 will feature a historic family feud in that it marks the first time in Super Bowl history that brothers (Baltimore’s John and San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh ) lock horns as opposing head coaches.

CBS officially kicks off its coverage at 6:30 PM, ET live on the CBS Television Network.  Super Bowl XLVII, will be the network’s 18th Super Bowl broadcast overall. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the action, and will be joined by analysts Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots, serving as sideline reporters.
Both NFL.com and SuperBowl.com will link to Super Bowl on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports’ live stream of Super Bowl XLVII, which will include a host of unique and interactive online and social features.

Of particular note is that during the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLVII, fans will be able to vote for the Super Bowl XLVII MVP on NFL.com, either online or on web-enabled mobile devices. The fan vote counts as 20 percent of the overall vote, with the remaining 80 percent determined by the media.

In addition to the Super Bowl coverage and analysis on CBS and at NFL.com, ESPN [See complete Super Bowl coverage ] will offer more than 120 hours of TV and radio programming throughout Super Bowl with more than 35 ESPN commentators (hosts, analysts, reporters and contributors) in New Orleans –as well as an star-studded analyst team of former players and coaches with a combined 18 Super Bowl rings in 28 appearances, including Hall of Famer Steve Young, SB XXIX) and Ravens (Trent Dilfer, SB XXXV) as well as Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka, winner of Super Bowl XX in New Orleans and a former coach of the 49ers’ Jim Harbaugh.

So before the Ravens and 49ers exchange blows on Sunday evening before millions of energized and anxious fans worldwide, this might be the perfect time to review some feats, facts, and historic firsts about Super Bowl Sunday.

• To date, 3,581,385 have attended Super Bowl games. The largest crowd was 103,985 at Super Bowl XIV (Jan. 1980), which was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

• Player shares in 2013 include: $88,000 to each member of the winning team; $44,000 to each member of the losing team.

• The Vince Lombardi trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces, and is valued in excess of $25,000. The words Vince Lombardi and Super Bowl XLVII are engraved on the base along with the NFL shield.

• For this year’s Super Bowl, American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress Beyoncé will perform at halftime. In Super Bowl I, the halftime entertainment consisted of the Universities of Arizona and Michigan Bands.

• The Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI halftime show last year featuring Madonna was watched by an average of 112.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl halftime ever, surpassing Michael Jackson’s halftime performance in 1993.

• Tom Brady’s 127 pass completions over five Super Bowl games is an NFL record

• Joe Montana threw the most touchdown passes (4 games) in Super Bowl history with 11 perfect strikes.

• Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris rushed for a league record 354 yards over 4 Super Bowl games.

• Minnesota, Denver, Buffalo and New England have all lost 4 Super Bowls.

• San Francisco scored 8 touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIV (Jan. 1990) over Denver, the most by any team in Super Bowl history.

• Buffalo turned the ball over 9 times in Super Bowl XXVII (Jan. 1993) against Dallas, the most in Super Bowl history.

• 23 NFL head coaches have won Super Bowls with more than one team.

• 18 individuals have won Super Bowls both as a player and as a coach.

• 14 Fathers and Sons have reached the Super Bowl.

• 22 sets of brothers have reached the Super Bowl.

• 6 NFL head coaches led their team to the Super Bowl in their first season, the last being Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts in 2009.

• Based on Nielsen record figures, Super Bowl XLV (Feb. 2011) was watched by 162,900,000 viewers on FOX, the most in Super Bowl history.

• The oldest winning coach in Super Bowl history was Tom Coughlin, 65, in Super Bowl XLVI (Feb, 2012); while the youngest was Mike Tomlin, 36, in Super Bowl XLIII (Feb. 2009)

• The ticket prices for Super Bowl I (Jan. 1967) in Los Angeles were $6, $10, and $12

• The ticket prices for XLVI (Feb. 2012) in Indianapolis were $600, $800, $900, and $1,200.

• On average, 10,000 tweets were sent per second during the final three minutes of the New York Giants' 21-17 defeat of the New England Patriots last year in Super Bowl XLVI, according to a Twitter spokesperson.

• More than 2.1 million people turned on the live Internet stream of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5, 2012, according to an NBC spokesperson.

• Super Bowl XLVII will be the 10th Super Bowl held in New Orleans since 1970, putting the city into a tie with South Florida for the most by any single location.

• There were 338 credentials issued to media at Super Bowl I in Los Angeles; last year in Super Bowl XLVI, there were 5,156 accredited members of the media, the most in the history of the game.

• The use of Roman numerals to designate Super Bowls began with game V (Jan. 1971), won by the Baltimore Colts over the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13.

• The price of a 30-second commercial for Super Bowl I in 1967 was $42,000.  This year, by comparison, for Super Bowl XVII, a 30-second commercial will run $3,800,000.

• According to a new survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation, conducted by BIGinsight, more than 179.1 million people will watch the game Sunday, February 3, the most in the survey’s nine-year history and up from an estimated 172.5 million last year.

• The NRF survey additionally found nearly three-quarters (74.0 percent) of those watching the game will buy wings, pizza, chips, soda. Additionally, 3.9 million households will buy new furniture items, such as entertainment centers, chairs and couches, while 7.5 million will buy decorations.

• Americans will consume 1.23 billion chicken wings during the Super Bowl this year, a 1 percent decline from last year, according to the National Chicken Council.

• Mexico will be the largest supplier of avocados for the Super Bowl, according to the Henry Avocado Corp.

• According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, $93.90 million was wagered on the Super Bowl last year in the state of Nevada.

• There are approximately 22,000 hotel rooms in downtown New Orleans and another 37,000 in the metropolitan area; and all are but officially sold out, according to the NFL.

• According to the New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, approximately 150,000 tourists will have stormed New Orleans for Super Bowl 47 this year.

• According to an economic study conducted by the University of New Orleans, Super Bowl 47 will have a $432 million impact on the city.

Source: NFL

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
January 30, 2013

 

The Abraham Lincoln Reading List: Recommendations and Suggestions

Abraham Lincoln, champion of national unity, trailblazer of the Civil War, and emancipator of slaves, is certainly no stranger to the silver screen.

According to ``Abraham Lincoln on Screen: Fictional and Documentary Portrayals on Film and Television’’ (2nd edition) By Mark S. Reinhart, there have been more than 300 fictional and documentary portrayals of Lincoln on film and television.

Now another has been added to the Lincoln canon, only this one is already being hailed as a strong Oscar contender.

Steven Spielberg’s motion picture epic ``Lincoln’’ starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Mr. Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln , scheduled to hit the theaters nationwide November 16th will undoubtedly spark spirited discussions and lively debates about our country’s 16th commander in chief.  Was Lincoln the most revered U.S. president of all time? Was he really the Great Emancipator?

As even the most casual reader knows, these questions and many others are hotly debated in a voluminous number of books written about Mr. Lincoln; with new ones popping up like toasters.

According to Bowker’s Books in Print database, in 2010, there were 2,140 books written about Lincoln, which doesn’t include video and audio books.  As of November 12, 2012, the number of books about Lincoln (which includes biographies, autobiographies, histories, titles on specific topics, etc) has jumped to 2,515. The only other U.S. president which comes close to having that many books written about them is George Washington at 1,347.

A Footnote: A spokesperson from Bowker’s also informs me, since 2010, President Obama has leaped ahead of John F. Kennedy.  In 2010, there were 502 books written about Mr. Obama; that number has soared to 929 as of November, 2012. JFK has 784 books written about him.

Interestingly, Theodore Roosevelt (the 26th president of the United States) continues to outpace his fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the 32nd U.S. president) in the number of books written about him. There are currently 658 books written about TR, followed by FDR at 547.

So if Spielberg’s new creation inspires film goers to engage in more serious reading about the ``Rail Splitter’’, which books should they read? Since the film is based on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln, ``Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’’, which covers the final four months of his life; that probably would be a great start.

But what about other equally compelling biographies which attempt to peel away the saintly image and iconography surrounding Mr. Lincoln?

To help us with such a tall order, I reached out to some scholars and historians, who in addition to offering book recommendations, shared their favorite Abraham Lincoln anecdotes. 

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1.) James M. McPherson, the George Henry Davis '86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University. He is the bestselling author of a number of books on the Civil War, including Battle Cry of Freedom , which won the Pulitzer Prize ; For Cause and Comrades, which won the prestigious Lincoln Prize ; and Crossroads of Freedom.

Favorite Abraham Lincoln Biography:  ``Lincoln''  By David Herbert Donald 

Favorite Lincoln Anecdote: ``Perhaps one of my favorite stories about Lincoln is the dramatic midnight ride of three miles from the Soldiers Home (his summer White House) north of Washington to the War Department on September 23, 1863, for an emergency meeting with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, and others officials, where they decided to transfer the 11th and 12th Corps of the Army of the Potomac to Chattanooga to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland after its loss of the battle of Chancellorsville.  This decision led to the Union victory at Chattanooga two months later, that opened the route to Atlanta and ultimate victory in the war.''

2.) Louis P. Masur, Professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University and author of ``Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union’’ (2012)

Favorite Lincoln Books:

• Richard Current, ``The Lincoln Nobody Knows’’

• David Herbert Donald, ``Lincoln’’

• Garry Wills, ``Lincoln at Gettysburg’’

• Douglas Wilson, ``Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln’’

• Doris Kearns Goodwin, ``Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln ‘’

• James M. McPherson, ``Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution’’

• Merrill D. Peterson, ``Lincoln in American Memory’’

Favorite Lincoln Anecdote: ``On April 4, 1865 Lincoln traveled to Richmond, the defeated capital of the Confederacy. He brought his son Tad, who turned 12 that day. They walked through throngs of people, up a hill, to the Confederate White House. He sat in Jefferson Davis' chair. The war was nearly over. All he said was, "I wonder if I could get a drink of water."

3.) Donald A. Ritchie, Historian of the U.S. Senate and author of a number of books, including: ``Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps'', ``Press Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents'' and ``Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932’’ (American Presidential Elections).

Favorite Lincoln Books: ``Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era'' by David Herbert Donald and Richard Hofstadter’s `The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It’’, which includes a chapter on Lincoln.

Favorite Lincoln Anecdote: ``At the White House, Lincoln astutely left his door open to correspondents.  He would talk to them at all hours of the day or night, although according to custom they could attribute nothing to him directly.  One Canadian reporter expressed surprise over his easy entry into the president’s office.  ‘Yes,’ Lincoln replied, ‘this ready means of access is, I may say, under our form of government, the only link or chord which connects the people with the governing power; and, however unprofitable much of it is, must be kept up.’”

4.) Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and author of ``The Civil War as a Theological Crisis ‘’(University of North Carolina Press, 2006); and ``America's God, from Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln’’ (Oxford University Press).

Favorite Lincoln Books: Allen Guelzo, "Redeemer President" ; Richard Carwardine, "Lincoln:  A Life of Purpose and Power ; and Stewart Winger, "Lincoln, Religion, and Romantic Cultural Politics."

Favorite Lincoln Anecdote: ``I think this one is pretty well attested and (as I remember) came from Lincoln himself.  So Lincoln tells his friends about two Quaker women who were discussing the great conflict, and one says "I believe that the South will win this war."  The second:  "Why dost thou believe that?"  Answer:  "Because Jefferson [Davis] is a praying man."  Reply:  "But so is Abraham a praying man.'  Reply:  "Yes, I know, but God will think he is joking."

5.) Glenn W. LaFantasie, a Richard Frockt Family Professor of Civil War History in the Department of History at Western Kentucky University and author of ``Gettysburg Heroes: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground'' and ``Gettysburg Requiem: The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates.''

Favorite Lincoln Books: David Herbert Donald's ``Lincoln'' and Benjamin Thomas's ``Abraham Lincoln:  A Biography''

Favorite Lincoln Anecdote: ``It's very hard to choose a favorite anecdote, since there are so many good ones.  But one fact most people aren't aware of is that he was a fairly good carpenter, and some of the furniture he and his father built today still survive in small numbers.

Abraham Lincoln Fast Facts

• Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination.

• Lincoln was the only president to receive a patent, for a device which would enable steamboats to maneuver over sand bars and navigate in extremely shallow waters. He received Patent No. 6469 on May 22, 1849.

• Lincoln was the first president to have worn a beard while in office, perhaps because Grace Bedell, an 11-year old from Westfield N.Y., wrote a letter to Lincoln, suggesting his chances of winning the presidency would be greatly improved if he let his ``whiskers grow. ‘’ The original letter from Bedell can be found in the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library.

• At 6’ 4’’ Lincoln was the tallest U.S president.

• Lincoln's hat size was 7 1/8. His shoe size is listed as between 12 and 14.

• Lincoln weighed approximately 180 pounds.

• Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen colonies and the first president born in Kentucky.

• Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress, establishing the U.S. Department of Agriculture on May 15, 1862.

• Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, with the first one being celebrated on November 26, 1863.

• Lincoln vetoed or pocket vetoed only seven bills during his presidency.

• Lincoln was never photographed with his wife Mary, or with his family.

• There are about 130 different original photographs taken of Abraham Lincoln.

• One of Lincoln’s favorite books from the bible was Psalms; his favorite poem was ``Mortality’’ (1828) by William Knox.

• On November 9, 1863, Lincoln attended and sat in the presidential box at Ford's Theatre to see ``The Marble Heart’’ starring John Wilkes Booth.

• Abraham Lincoln died without a will. His estate, worth approximately $85,000, was divided into thirds: a third for his widow (Mary Todd), and a third for each of his sons.

• As a lawyer, Lincoln argued one case before the United States Supreme Court: In 1849, Lincoln argued in front of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney and the associate justices of the Supreme Court in the case of Lewis v. Lewis.

• The carriage used by the Lincoln’s on the night of the assassination is on display at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana; The Chicago History Museum acquired the bed (from the Petersen Boarding House across from Ford’s Theatre) where Lincoln died.

• On May 30, 1859, Abraham Lincoln purchased the German language newspaper in Springfield, the Illinois Staats-Anzeiger for $400. He sold the newspaper on December 6, 1860.

• The last direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the great-grandson of the 16th President, passed away on December 24, 1985. He was 81 and died in a nursing home in Saluda, about 45 miles from Richmond, Virginia.

• The Lincoln Penny was first issued in 1909 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's 100th birthday, making it the first coin to display a U.S. president.

• Abraham Lincoln's salary as president was $25,000 a year

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
November 12, 2012

Abraham Lincoln Online Resources to Keep in Mind:

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

• Abraham Lincoln Research Site

• The Lincoln Institute

• Searchable Database of Lincoln Speeches (Abraham Lincoln Association)

• Book Review (The New York Times) of ``Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’’ By Doris Kearns Goodwin; published  November, 2005

• Film Review of Steven Spielberg’s ``Lincoln’’ published by The Boston Globe  November 8, 2012

A Brief Survey of Rare Birds or Most Creative Halloween Costumes for 2012

As we rapidly approach the time of the year when Halloween bashes will be in full swing, I thought I would take a brief look of what the fashion craze is this year?

It’s really quite staggering the number of shops across the country which cater to costumes.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010 estimates), there are 1, 634 costume rental and formal wear establishments across the nation.  And according to the National Retail Federation, 35.7 percent of Americans look to a retail store for costume ideas. What's more, seven in 10 Americans (71.5 percent) will get into the haunting Halloween mood, up from 68.6 percent last year, the most in NRF’s 10-year survey history.

NRF’s survey also points out that the average person this year will spend $79.82 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $72.31 last year, with total Halloween spending expected to reach $8 billion; and nearly six million adults planning to dress as a witch, and 3.2 million as vampires.

So let’s take a brief tour around the country to see what’s trending.

1.) At Ricky's NYC, an edgy, ultra-hip beauty shop specializing in unique fashion accessories (with a number of stores located throughout Manhattan), their top 10 Halloween costumes for adults are as follows:

• Catwoman

• Sexy Flash

• Smurfette

• Captain Jack Sparrow

• Big Bird

• Red Riding Hood

• Burlesque Babe

• Parisian Showgirl

• Snow White

• The Huntsman

2.) Straight from the first presidential debate, ``Big Bird'' has been an eye-catcher at Mallet Pharmacy & Costume  in Madison Wisconsin, so much so that the owners of the store have even shipped yellow feather wigs to NPR in Washington, DC. In addition to Big Bird, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney masks have also been popular.

As of yet, no requests for a Clinton Eastwood mask with any empty chair attached to the customer.  NFL replacement ref costumes, however, according to the shops owners, `` have flown out the door.''

Other popular items at Mallet's include:

• Shades of Grey, (Grey clothes, grey wig and grey makeup) are also popular for "50 shades of grey."

• Super heroes, including Teenage Ninja Turtles still are top on boys list followed by Harry Potter and Basic Black Robes with a Scary Mask.

• Girls are still interested in Princesses, Witches and Animal Costumes.

• The classics are still strong! Adults still make Zombies their number one choice followed by vampires.

3.) Massachusetts may not be considered a swing state, but the Garment District in Cambridge, Ma., has been rocking it with a variety of politically themed costumes, including Barack Obama and Mitt Romney masks, elephant and donkey mascot costumes, and other politically correct accessories.

The owner informs me they had a Big Bird on order – that’s been a popular political-themed request this year; and at least one creative customer put together a “workout Paul Ryan” costume using items from their store.

For the nonpartisans, other popular items at the Garment District include: Gotye, Hunger Games characters, Snow White characters, and superheroes – especially The Avengers or the new Dark Knight-style Batman.  In addition, the “classics” are still going strong –including pirates, Star Wars characters, zombies, and vampires.

4.) At Costume World Dallas , the most popular costume of the year is Kia Dancing Hampsters.
Also popular are:

• Grapes costume – add helmet and a gun or sword- Grapes of Wrath

• Any pig mask or ears tail. Nose of a pig – add wings- Swine Flu

• Any bug kit or bug accessories- add wings- Flu Bug

• Priest set with wig with curlers- Holy Roller

• 18th century with cow bell or any bell and skeleton makeup- you are a dead ringer! 

5.) At Beyond Costumes in Yonkers, the owners tell me they have received tons of requests for Big "Yellow" Bird since the debate. Other popular costumes include: many of the super heroes, including Avenger's, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Iron Man. Also doing well are Batman, Batwoman, and Catgirl from Dark Knight Rises.

Some of the more artistic costumes, according to the stores owners, have involved creative futuristic styles, mixing shiny body suits and capes with platinum wigs and giant wings, more of a Lady Gaga inspiration. Also taking classic Halloween costumes such as Frankenstein and putting a modern twist to it.

6.) Sword & Stone in Burbank Calif., is a costume shop which for the most part caters to film and commercial clients. Since they supply costumes to Capitol One for their "what's in your wallet" campaign, they have received some interest in the Visigoth outfits. And according to store owner, Tony Swatton, they have also received inquiries about sexy gladiator costumes for women.

7.) At Gene’s Costumes in Kensington, MD, while there are plenty of political masks and some celebrity masks like Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, The "Governator" and Uncle Sam in stock, Gene’s most popular this year, much like other years, involve Decades like '70's and 80's and 20's,  pirates, superheroes, Renaissance costumes, vampires and zombies.

8.) At Backstage Inc., in Washington D.C., their top 10 most popular costume include:

• Lincoln and Vampires
• Zombies
• Boardwalk Empire
• Renaissance
• Fairy Tale
• Super Heroes
• Steampunk
• 70’s
• Asian themed (the theme of D.C.'s drag event this year
• Skin Suits

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
October 22, 2012

Preparing for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

 

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing St. Edward's Crown at her coronation on June 2, 1953

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Britain will be ablaze in lavish festivities this weekend, marking the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II ascending to the throne.

Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip were actually not in England, but on a safari in Kenya when she learned her father, George VI died on February 6, 1952.

Under British tradition, the monarch succeeds automatically on the death of his or her predecessor. The coronation is simply a public declaration of their new position. Patrick Allitt, a native of Derbyshire, England and Professor of U.S. History at Emory University, believes since the weather is traditionally so ``beastly’’ in February, the government most likely decided to postpone the ceremony until the summer. 

The coronation for Queen Elizabeth took place on June 2, 1953, with some 8,000 invited guests, including prime ministers and heads of state present as she took the oath of office to serve her people as queen.

Though there is usually a gap between the succession and the public coronation, that wasn’t always the case.  Early British tradition held that a monarch was not really king until he was crowned. Harold II (1066) for example, was crowned on the same day of Edward the Confessor’s burial, while Henry I was crowned just three days after the death of his brother, William Rufus in 1100.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 was revolutionary in that it marked the first time television cameras were allowed inside Westminster Abbey.  53 percent of the adult population of Great Britain (over 19 million) reportedly viewed the procession-and 56 percent (over 20 million)-viewed the Coronation Service, leaving only 12 percent of the adult population who showed no interest in listening of viewing the coronation.

Allowing television cameras to capture the coronation was in fact merely an extension of technological innovations surrounding other such pomp and pageantry. The coronation of her father, George VI (1937) was recorded by cinematography for the first time; and the first coronation photographs were taken at the public ceremony of George V, Elizabeth’s grandfather, in 1911.

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was the 38th in the present Abbey church and the 50th to have taken place in Westminster.

The ceremony at the coronation has hardly changed over the last 1,000 years, though there have been a few modifications. The preliminary walk to the abbey was abandoned by Charles I in 1625; while the banquet in Westminster Hall was dropped by William IV in 1831.  Elaborate embellishments, meanwhile, were made beginning in 1660, when swords were added; one of them was lost in subsequent years and was replaced with another one in 1678. A Bible was added to the ceremony in 1689 and ``Zadok the Priest’’ was an anthem composed by George Frideric Handel specifically for the coronation of George II in 1727.

59 years ago, June 2, 1953, Elizabeth walked into the Abbey at the end of a procession of 250, pausing first at Theatre, located between the Choir and Sanctuary. There were three chairs used during the ceremony by the Sovereign-the Chair of State: the Throne, and King Edward's Chair, holding the Stone of Scone, first used for the coronation of Edward II in 1308.

A rite known as the ``Recognition’’ was presided over by the Archbishop who presented the Queen to the congregation and asked if they were willing to do homage and service. All roared in unison: `` God Save Queen Elizabeth’’ with the sound of trumpets smothering the air.

The oath followed and the presentation of the Bible, and then the communion service began. After the Creed, the Queen took her place in King Edward's Chair, dressed in an unadorned white gown, waiting to be anointed.  She was invested with the royal robes and ornaments:  the Jewelled Sword, the Armills (gold bracelets of sovereignty and wisdom), the Orb and Sceptre and the Coronation Ring. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, raising high the heavy crown of Edward the Confessor, solemnly lowered it  on to the Queen's head, while everyone rose to their feet.

All shouted, ``God Save the Queen’’, with trumpets blaring and the guns of the Tower of London firing a Royal Salute.

The Queen and Prince Phillip then made their way to St. Edward's Chapel where the Queen was festooned in her Royal Purple Robe, while the heavy St. Edward's Crown was replaced by the lighter Imperial State Crown.

To end the ceremony, the newly crowned Queen moved with her great procession through the Abbey to the West Door to the sounds of the National Anthem and the pealing of bells.

The coronation parade included the Queen's magnificent carriage surrounded by a phalanx of horse guards, sultans, prime ministers, heads of state and military troops from throughout the Empire and Commonwealth.  Later in the evening, Prime Minister Winston Churchill introduced the Queen's coronation day speech on radio and television. ``Let it not be thought the age of Chivalry belongs in the past. Here at the summit of our worldwide community is a lady, the Queen.’’

When the parade ended, Elizabeth, only 27 years old, with her family beside her, stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony, waving to the euphoric crush of people (despite the heavy rain) as jet planes of the Royal Air Force blazed across the Mall in tight formation.

In a pre-recorded Coronation message later that evening, the Queen addressing the 16 independent countries in which she is head of state, counseled her subjects to guard freedom and practice tolerance, ``so we can go forward together in peace.’’ ``Throughout all my life’’ the Queen said in her moving radio broadcast, `` and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.’’

A Footnote: Queen Elizabeth made history a few years later when she delivered her first televised Christmas speech in 1957. The royal Christmas radio broadcast was a long established tradition which was first inaugurated by George V in 1932.

Though Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was carried off splendidly without any embarrassing blunders, there have been a few mishaps and minor calamities at other coronations in British history. 

William the Conqueror’s coronation (1066), for example, was spoiled by the massacre of his new Saxon subjects. In 1599, Elizabeth I complained that the holy oil was too greasy and had a foul smell.

In addition, in 1727, Queen Caroline was forced to borrow jewels since George I had given the rest to his mistresses. George IV, meanwhile, had some unsolicited theatrics at his coronation in 1821 when his estranged wife demanded to be let in the church right in the middle of the ceremony.  Queen Victoria during her coronation in 1838 was in agonizing pain, or so she claimed, when the archbishop clumsily pushed the ring on her wrong finger; and in 1937, King George VI recalled the archbishop was juggling the crown on his head so much that he never did find out if it was put on his head the wrong way.

Despite plenty of optimism at the time of Elizabeth’s coronation with British journalists speaking of a new ``Elizabethan age to come’’, the early part of her reign was in fact marked by severe economic challenges and financial hardships.  Europe was beginning to recover economically, especially Germany which was quickly becoming a dangerous competitor. In addition to the European recovery, the Eastern economies of Japan, Hong Kong and Korea, were producing televisions, radios, refrigerators and computers at mad clips, representing a formidable threat to the UK.

Aside from their economic challenges, Britain’s railways, mines, shipyards and cotton mills desperately needed upgrading and a fresh infusion of investment, while there was a public clamor at home for new hospitals, schools and badly needed housing.

Finally, Elizabeth’s reign witnessed the collapse of the Empire in quick succession.  Britain withdrew from Malaya and Ghana in 1957, Nigeria in 1960, Sierra Leone and Tanganyika  in 1961, Uganda, Jamaica and Trinidad in 1962, Zambia and Aden in 1964. Britain had already withdrawn from India in 1948 before Elizabeth ascended to the throne.

Elizabeth II or Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born to the Duke and Duchess of York on April 21, 1926.  Her sister, Margaret Rose was born in 1930. The unexpected abdication of her uncle, Edward VII, brought her father, Albert Frederick Arthur George to the throne as George VI. She married her distant cousin, a naval officer, Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former Prince of Greece and Denmark ), in November, 1947 with the first of their four children, a son,  Prince Charles born a year later in 1948.

On April 21, 2006, Queen Elizabeth at age 80 became the third oldest person to hold the British crown.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
June 1, 2002

 

50 Years Ago, Britten's War Requiem Premieres

 

All that is left of St. Michael's Cathedral, Coventry, England in 1940 after heavy German bombardment during the Battle of Britain.

English conductor and organist Meredith Davies (center left) and English composer Benjamin Britten (center  right) at Coventry Cathedral preparing for the premiere of Britten's 'War Requiem', for which they shared the conducting duties. (Photo by Erich Auerbach/Getty Images)

***

50 years ago, May 30, 1962, Benjamin Britten’s ``War Requiem’’ premiered at St. Michael's Cathedral,  Coventry, England. Even before this historic performance, it was universally acclaimed a masterpiece.

In the Requiem, Britten combines words of the liturgical Missa pro Defuntis (Mass for the Dead) in Latin with nine anti-war poems by William Owen, who was considered the most distinguished of 'the poets of protest' in the 1914 war. Owen was killed in France on November 4, 1918-just a week before the Armistice-fighting in the Company of the Second Lancashire Regiment. He was 25.

With the war nearing its end, Owen wrote what turned out to be his last piece of writing, a letter to his Mother on October 31: "It is a great life. I am more oblivious than alas! yourself, dear Mother, of the ghastly glimmering of the guns outside, and the hollow crashing of the shells. . . Of this I am certain: you could not be visited by a band of friends half so fine as surround me here.''

Owen considered war to be the ``failure of Christianity’’, views corresponding with Britten’s Christian humanism, including his pacifism, which led him to register as a conscientious objector during World War II.

In reciting Owens’s poems, this profound lament for the war dead arranged by Britten are sung by the solo tenor and baritone, accompanied by a chamber orchestra; while the solo soprano and chorus are accompanied by the full orchestra.  A distant boys' chorus, accompanied only by organ, appears in selected parts of the text to underscore somber conditions of incorruptibility and innocence.

Britten conducted the first performance with a solo trio, which consisted of Galina Vishnevskaya, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau and Peter Pears. Britten regarded the three solo singers as fitting representatives of the countries that bore the brunt of the global conflict: England, Germany and Russia.

A Footnote: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the legendary German baritone, who performed at the premiere of Britten’s Requiem in 1962, died recently (May 18, 2012) at the age of 86: [See Guardian obituary  ]

The War Requiem gained even more international acclaim when it was performed in London at Westminster Abbey on December 6, 1962. By the end of 1963, it had been performed in a number of major cities around the world, including Berlin, Boston, Paris, Perugia and Prague. Such a strong impression did the Requiem make that the Decca gramophone recording sold over 200,000 sets in only five months.

Britten was commissioned to write a Requiem for the rededication of St. Michaels Cathedral, which had been shattered beyond repair during the Second World War, when factories located in this industrial heartland of the Midlands, suffered merciless bombardment by the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain on November 14, 1940, causing the ancient wooden beams supporting the cathedral to collapse amid the steady rain of incendiary shells.  The only remaining relic from this medieval parish church was its walls which were kept as a reminder of the destructive nature of war. Also surviving after the bombing had stopped, among a sea of thousands of dead Britons in the rubble from surrounding neighborhoods, was the cathedral’s single tower.

St. Michaels dates back to 1043, when it was founded as a Benedictine community by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his wife Codiva.  The cornerstone for the new cathedral was designed by the Scottish architect, Basil Spence, which was laid by Her Majesty the Queen on March 23, 1956, with the official consecration of the building taking place on May 25, 1962.

After the war, it was decided to rebuild the church with a new design.

Though the War Requiem was intended as a reflective lamentation for the dead during the Great War-juxtaposed with Owen’s poetry—it is in fact a sorrowful howling for all wars: past, present and future; whether it be the battle of the Somme or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The UK lost 887,748 soldiers in World War I, 383, 683 in World War II; and since the Second World War, 3,473 UK troops have gone to their graves in different theaters of operation around the world, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Edward Benjamin Britten, the son of Robert Victor Britten, a dentist, and Edith (who sang in an amateur chorus) and the youngest of four children, was born at 21 Kirkley Cliff Road, in a house facing the North Sea on St. Cecilia Day (patroness of musicians) in the Suffolk town of Lowestof, southeast of Norwich on November 22, 1913.

This aspiring child prodigy began composing at age 5; by age 14 he had written 10 piano sonatas, 6 string quartets, 3 suites for piano, an oratorio and dozens of songs.  Soon after graduating from London's Royal College of Music in 1933 where he studied composition with John Ireland and Frank Bridge and piano with Arthur Benjamin and Harold Samuel, he was offered a position writing music for the documentary films being produced by the British Post Office. The eager young English composer wrote scores for 18 documentary films and one feature, ``Love from a Stranger'', a 1937 mystery thriller starring Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone.

In 1937, Britten crossed paths with the English tenor Peter Pears; the two formed an intimate relationship lasting 40 years. Pears melodious operatic voice inspired a number of works by Britten. 

His international reputation, meanwhile, took shape beginning in 1945 with ``Peter Grimes'', an opera which was performed at the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1948.  This was followed with ``The Rape of Lucretia'' (1946), an opera in two acts, ``Albert Herring'' (1947), a comic opera, a recomposition of ``The Beggar's Opera'' (1948) and a children's piece, ``The Little Sweep’’ (1949).  Also meeting with critical acclaim was his opera based on Henry James's ``The Turn of the Screw’’ (1954) which made its way to the New York City Opera.

Among his choral works, the most celebrated include: ``A Ceremony of Carols'', ``Les Illuminations,'' for solo voice and orchestra; ``Spring Symphony'' and ``Symphony for Cello and Orchestra.’’

Britten’s most stinging setback came in 1951 when he was commissioned to compose an opera for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. ``Gloriana'' (1953), was ruthlessly assailed by critics and was arguably the English composer’s least successful effort.

Taken together, Britten produced almost 100 compositions, ranging from full scale operas to musical compositions for children.  His interest in providing children with a strong musical education was evident with ``The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'' a musical composition originally commissioned for an educational documentary film called ``The Instruments of the Orchestra’’ which received additional notoriety when it was used by Jerome Robbins for his ballet, ``Fanfare.’’

Music historians attribute Britten’s pacifism to his association early in his life with the poet, W.H. Auden, considered to be one of the most important influences on his life, who also provided Britten with the text for his first major song cycle, ``Our Hunting Fathers’’ (1936).

``Death in Venice’’ based on the novella by Thomas Mann would be the last of Britten's 15 operas and stage pieces in 1973. Critics point out this work revealed his most public statement yet concerning his life long relationship with Peter Pears.

Because of his resistance to the war, Britten fled for the United States between 1939 to 1942, spending most of his time in Brooklyn Heights, New York at 7 Middagh Street in a brick house owned by George Davis, a magazine editor who was married to Gypsy Rose Lee.

While in the United States, Britten completed a violin concerto, an operetta (Paul Bunyan), his first symphony (Sinfonia da Requiem), and his first string quartet.  What’s more, ``Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge ‘’ (1937) was performed by orchestras in Toronto, New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

The most enthusiastically received of Britten's new compositions performed in the United States was the Violin Concerto, with Olin Downes  of The New York Times, describing it as "sometimes very simple, often very brilliant, [but] nevertheless so expert that the violin is never covered when it is intended to show forth, while at no time does the writing appear impractical or ineffective."

So uncomfortable with other British artists making concerted sacrifices during the war (William Walton, for example, was reportedly driving an ambulance; Lennox Berkeley was a fire-watcher; Edmund Rubbra and Alan Bush had joined the army), while he was still plying his trade and drawing a handsome salary on foreign soil, that Britten returned to England in 1942 and applied for registration as a conscientious objector. He was soon granted exemption from military service in return for writing music for the British Broadcasting Corporation's propaganda broadcasts.

After the war, discouraged his homeland had only two opera companies, Britten founded the English Opera Group in 1947; and later in collaboration with Peter Pears and the librettist Eric Crozier, created the annual Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, (Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England), which in addition to providing a much needed venue for opera performances, also included readings of poetry, literature, drama, lectures and exhibitions of art.

So warmly received was his ``War Requiem’’, that in July, 1964, Britten traveled to Aspen, Colorado to receive the newly established Aspen Award by Robert Anderson of the Institute of Humanistic Studies at Aspen.

Suffering from a defective heart valve, Britten underwent an operation on May 7, 1973 at the National Heart Hospital, which left him an invalid. Lingering helplessly for three years, England’s greatest composer since Henry Purcell in the 17th century, died on December 4, 1976 at his country home in Aldeburgh England, twelve days after his 63rd birthday and just six months after Queen Elizabeth granted him a life peerage when he became Baron Britten of Aldeburgh.

He was buried in the graveyard of Aldebrugh Parish Church. A service of Thanksgiving for his life and work was held in London, at Westminster Abbey on March 10, 1977.

Upon hearing the news of his death, the New York Philharmonic issued a statement echoed by its principal conductor Leonard Bernstein, stating: ``Britten’s creative output has greatly enriched the history of music.’’ Aaron Copland, considered the most influential friend to Britten during his time in the United States, told The New York Times in its obituary of the English composer that ``He [Britten] wrote some of the best music of our period and was undoubtedly England’s most distinguished and gifted living composer.’’ In the same obituary, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, observed that Britten had provided a ``link with the great Elizabethan tradition, which is reflowering today, largely thanks to him.’’

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
May 30, 2012

 

20 Years Ago, Johnny Carson Bids a ``Heartfelt Goodnight!’’

On October 1, 1962, Groucho Marx introduced Johnny Carson as the new host of the Tonight Show.

Source: AP

Johnny Carson shakes hands with the show's announcer Ed McMahon during the final taping of "The Tonight Show" in Burbank, Ca., Friday, May 22, 1992,

****

20 years ago, May 22, 1992, Johnny Carson, age 66, after serving as the Tonight Show host for 30 years, including 4,531 shows, while interviewing approximately 24,000 guests, tapes his final show at the NBC studios in Burbank Calif.

``I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight’’ was Carson’s final words before fading deep into the night.

He was succeeded by Jay Leno on May 25, 1992.

The crowned ``King of Late Night’’, except for a brief appearance celebrating Bob Hope’s 90th birthday in 1993 and hand delivering a top 10 list to David Letterman in 1994, never again popped up on any television show either as a guest or host of a special presentation.

Carson,  not quite 37, a shy Midwesterner and known only to a modest television audience as host of the ABC quiz game show, ``Who Do You Trust’’,  began his miraculous run on October 1, 1962 with guests Tony Bennett, Rudy Vallee, Joan Crawford, Groucho Marx, and a rising comedy writer, Mel Brooks,

A Footnote: Among the personalities, who turned down offers by NBC to replace Jack Paar, included:  Bob Newhart, Jackie Gleason, Joey Bishop, and Groucho Marx.

Carson lived up to the grand billing he was given in the 26 weeks between Jack Paar’s last show and his debut on the Tonight show, which paid him just a shade over $100,000 a year.  During Carson’s first week, fan mail reportedly flew in at a rate of 12,000 letters a week, a rate never witnessed before in NBC’s entire television history.  During its first six months, the program averaged over seven million viewers; and by the time he passed the baton to Leno, the Tonight Show audience had leaped to 15 million, generating approximately 17 percent of the network's total profit, making it one of the biggest money makers in network history.

A Footnote: Carson’s single biggest audience came on Dec. 17, 1969, when Tiny Tim, an American singer and ukulele player, married 17 year-old  Vicki Budinger  or ``Miss Vicki’’ before an estimated 58 million viewers.

Jack Paar, Carson’s predecessor, told the Saturday Evening Post in a December 1962 interview that ``Carson is a natural wit. He’ll do well.  I recommended him personally to the network.’’

But not all greeted this tall skinny comedian’s entry into late night television with such enthusiasm.  “He [Carson] exhibits all the charm of a snickering small boy scribbling graffiti on a public wall’’ wrote John Horn of the New York Herald Tribune,  demonstrating “no apparent gift for the performing arts.”

From the outset, Carson wanted no part of his predecessor’s signature combativeness and emotional tension which he brought to the Tonight Show from 1957 through 1962, opting instead for a more good natured genial approach without lobbing hand grenades to his guests. ``I have no intention of being Mike Wallace’’ Carson told the Saturday Evening Post in 1962.
 
Under his 30-year supremacy, Carson earned six Emmy Awards, was the recipient of the Friar's Club Entertainer of the Year (1965, 1969), the Harvard Hasty Pudding Club Man of the Year in 1977, a Peabody award winner in 1985, winner of People's Choice Awards in 1987, inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1987, received the American Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award (1992), the same year he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President H.W. Bush, along with the 1993 Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, while hosting the Academy Awards five times (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1984).

No one was more surprised of America’s national treasure announcing his retirement in May, 1991 than his long time friend and second banana, Ed McMahon.  Big Ed said in his book: `` For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times’’ that he had no warning Johnny was planning on shutting it down for good.  ``I don’t think he told anyone except his wife Alex, that he had decided to quit’’ McMahon wrote. So unprepared was the network for the retirement bombshell that NBC asked Carson’s sidekick to remain on the show for six additional months after the host departed. McMahon respectfully declined.

According to a Gallup poll, 10 years after Carson stepped down, four out of 10 or 39 percent of Americans considered Carson to be their favorite late-night talk show host of all time, well ahead of David Letterman with 20 percent followed by Jay Leno with 16 percent.

Johnny Carson was one of the highest paid entertainers in television history, earning an estimated $2, 380 per minute of airtime.

Carson died with his family at his side at 7:00 a.m. on January 23, 2005 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from emphysema. He was 79.

48 hours after his death, the $49.99 DVD set, ``The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection: His Favorite Moments from The Tonight Show’’ was the bestselling DVD on Amazon.com.

John William Carson, the second of three children, was born on October 23, 1923 in Corning, Iowa. The family moved to Norfolk Nebraska in 1933 when Carson was eight years-old. After serving three years in the navy beginning in 1943 during World War II and earning a B.A. degree in English at the University of Nebraska (1949), he launched his radio career in Lincoln Nebraska at KFAB (later in Omaha at WOW); in 1951, he moved to Los Angeles, where landed a job as a staff announcer at KNXT-TV, a year later in 1952, he segued into a Sunday afternoon comedy show ``Carson’s Cellar’’ with a budget of $25.

So impressive was this young Nebraskan in his television debut that a number of high profile comedians landed on his show, including Fred Allen, Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Red Skelton and Jerry Lewis.

The clear game changer in Carson’s career came in August, 1954, when he filled in for Red Skelton on his CBS show, delivering a hilarious opening monologue on the economics of television, resulting in rave reviews from television critics, which also caught the eye of CBS executives who offered him a half hour show in prime time, ``The Johnny Carson Show.’’ The show, which tore through seven directors and eight writers, never took hold, running for only 39 weeks in 1955. 

Beginning November 18, 1957 and up until he was tapped as Paar’s successor, he hosted an ABC game show, (along with announcer Ed McMahon), ``Who Do You Trust’’, which was based on a interview game show ``Do You Trust Your Wife’’? with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, which ran on CBS from January 3, 1956 through March 26, 1957.

A Footnote:  Carson filled in briefly for Jack Paar as a guest host on "The Tonight Show" in 1958; he also performed in nightclubs and in the Broadway comedy "'Tunnel of Love" before succeeding Paar permanently.

Except for entertaining a select group of friends on occasion, after the Tonight Show, Carson lived his remaining years in seclusion in his $12 million Malibu home while making occasional excursions on his 125-ft. yacht.

Outside of the NBC studios, Carson often made news with his stormy marriages, first with Joan Wolcott Carson  (1949-63), then Joanne Copeland Carson  ( 1963-72), followed by Joanna Holland Carson  (1972-83).  The fact that his first three wives had such similar first names, led to a running joke within the industry that the only reason the Tonight Show host married these particular women was so that this shameless penny pincher wouldn’t have to change the initials on his monogrammed bath towels. Carson married a fourth time on June 20, 1987 to Alexis Maas Carson.

Upon his death, Carson was survived by his wife, Alexis ; two sons, Chris and Corey; his brother, Richard; and his sister, Catherine. Another son, Richard Wolcott Carson, known as `` Ricky’’, died in a car accident in 1991 after his car plunged 100 feet down an embankment in Cayucos, Calif. He was 39.

Beginning in  August, 1971  with Carson taking Monday’s off, along with taking frequent vacations, the popular host had his share of guest hosts over the years. According to JohnnyCarson.com, Joey Bishop hosted a record 177 times, followed by Joan Rivers with 93.

The papers of Johnny Carson, which were acquired by the Library of Congress in 1996 from the Carson Production Company , includes approximately 47, 600 items consisting exclusively of the records of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," arranged chronologically by date as aired from October 1970 to May 1992, with a gap in the 1976 files.

Records for each show include cue cards, chronologies, outline, scripts, and broadcast standards acceptability reports, an assortment of correspondence and other materials.

In addition, The Library's Motion Picture Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division archives NBC and other broadcasting materials and recordings, including approximately 30 Jack Paar shows; 1,500 David Letterman shows, from NBC and CBS; 1,000 Jay Leno shows; and 750 Conan O'Brien shows, as well as a sound recording of excerpts from the early years of Carson's reign.

-Bill Lucey
May 22, 2012
[email protected]

176 Years Ago, Edgar Allan Poe Marries His 13-Year Old Cousin

 

The Edgar Allan Poe Memorial Grave in Baltimore, MD. Photo Credit: Anthony Washington
***

 

176 years ago, May 16, 1836, Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13 year-old cousin, Virginia Eliza Clemm in the parlor of their Richmond boardinghouse overlooking the Virginia State Capitol. Poe was 27 years old.  Virginia was the daughter of his father’s sister. Poe first met Virginia when she was 8 years-old after moving in with her mother Maria (his aunt) in Baltimore, Maryland.

The marriage was conducted by the Reverend Amas Converse, editor of the Southern Religious Telegraph. The couple reportedly honeymooned in Petersburg, Virginia.

Some historians argue one of America’s most celebrated poets, may have married his young cousin much earlier, on September 22, when he took out a marriage license certificate for Virginia and himself. The marriage document was co-signed by his friend, Thomas Cleland who verified Virginia Clemm was 21 years old. There is no hard evidence, however, that a private ceremony was ever conducted in September, 1835, so it remains mere speculation.

Because of her young age, the young couple apparently slept in different bedrooms until she turned 16 and only then began a normal married life.

Imagine,  today, if a 13 year-old girl (never mind a blood relative ) married a well known public figure of Poe’s stature; how their scandalous marriage would have been splashed over every tabloid in the country with each salacious detail of the nuptials reported on every 24/7 cable network?

Such was not the case in ante-bellum America.  Women in the South, in particular, tended to marry younger than other sections of the country; and first-cousin marriages wasn’t considered uncommon at the time.  Cousin marriages, in fact, were perfectly legal in all States prior to the Civil War. Not until the 1880’s did the social stigma attached to cousin marriages become prevalent, which led 13 states and territories to pass cousin marriage prohibitions. And the age of consent to marry was well under 16 until social purity reformers kicked off a campaign in 1885 to petition legislators to raise the legal age of consent to at least 16. The advocacy campaign paid big dividends, with almost all states raising the age of consent to 16–18 by 1920.

Though the marriage may not have been frowned upon in social circles or scorned by his contemporaries, Poe was still self-conscious of his bride’s young age.

Kent P. Ljungquist, a literary critic and a leading authority on the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe, informs me: ``He [Poe] spoke ambiguously of Virginia's age when the subject came up. He writes to her with an emotional intensity, but evidence suggests that she was "cherubic" and child-like in her appearance at the time of the marriage in Richmond. The early stage of their relationship may have been more like an innocent brother-sister relationship.’’

Since Poe’s own mother died at such a young age, (Edgar was only 2) Virginia's sweetness and innocence, along with her gift for singing was for Poe, many scholars reason, a representation of the young and beautiful mother he was deprived of.

``His [Poe’s] general response to women,’’ Ljunsquist wrote in an email, `` was to idealize them and to refer to them as spiritual presences or beings.’’

Virginia and Edgar were star-crossed lovers.

After breaking a blood vessel while singing, the first sign of tuberculosis, Virginia died in 1847 at age 24 (the same age as Edgar’s mother and from the same illness) after a long painful illness. Poe, emotionally distraught over Virginia’s death, leaped into a series of destructive relationships with other women, developed ``a lesion of one side of the brain’’ and on a trip to Baltimore, was found lying in a gutter, rambling and hallucinating.  Rushed to Washington College Hospital (now Church Hospital) in an unconscious state, he died four days later after never regaining consciousness on October 7, 1849 at age 40, just two years after losing Virginia. The cause of Poe’s death was never determined.

Born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts, January 19, 1809, his parents were traveling actors. After his father David Poe abandoned his family and his mother died of tuberculosis on December 8, 1811 in Richmond Virginia, when Edgar was only two, he was taken in (but never officially adopted) by John Allan, a Virginia planter.

A Footnote: Poe was one of three children but all were raised by separate families.  His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe also became a poet before dying at a young age (his literary work was never preserved), and his sister Rosalie Poe later in life taught penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school.

Edgar attended the University of Virginia from February 14 to December 15, 1826, but never graduated after lapsing into wild drinking binges and gambling recklessly, running up debts as high as $2,000.

Flat broke, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, registering as "Edgar A. Perry.’’ Restless, he had his stepfather arrange for his discharge who arranged to have him appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied from 1830 to 1831. Poe would eventually be dismissed from West Point for ``neglect of duty.’’

Poe’s first volume of poems appeared in 1827 when he was 18-years old; two years later, a second volume appeared  with fresh poems, revealing classical influences from  Milton and other characters from classical literature, including the Bible. By 1831, he published his first short stories, some dealing with dark gruesome themes, such as “The Bargain Lost," about a devil devouring the souls of Plato, Aristophanes, Catullus, Hippocrates, Quintilian, and Terence. Poe’s development into the American Gothic genre (he later became known as the ``father of the horror genre’’) became all the more evident with the publication of two other stories in 1839: "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher.’’

 
Poe introduced his detective hero, C. Auguste Dupin in his short story, `` The Murders in the Rue Morgue’’ in Graham’s Magazine in 1841, which many literary scholars single out as the first detective story.

"The Raven,’’ the poem that made Poe a household name was published in 1844, and during the last five years of his life, literary scholars argue, Poe wrote his two best pieces of criticism, "The Philosophy of Composition" and "The Poetic Principle.’’

Before establishing himself as preeminent poet and author, Poe worked as a literary critic for a number of publications, including  the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond ( 1835-36); Burton's Gentle man's Magazine, Philadelphia, (1839-40); Graham's Magazine, (1841-42); The New York Evening Mirror, (1844-45); and briefly as editor and proprietor of The Broadway Journal, (1845-46). 

The reason for so many stints at different publications is attributed to Poe’s predilection for engaging in verbal clashes with editors and falling in and out of destructive drinking binges.

Poe was buried alongside his young wife Virginia in Baltimore, Maryland at the Old Western Burial Ground (today, the Westminister Burying Ground) in an unmarked grave in the very rear of the gravesite. In November 1875, his remains were dug up and moved to another more widely visited section of the graveyard at the southeast corner of Greene and Fayette Streets. This move was done in order to accommodate the flood of tourists and Poe admirers who wanted to visit his gravesite.

-Bill Lucey
May 16, 2012
[email protected]

163 Years Ago, Bloody Riots Break Out at Astor Place

163 years ago, May 10, 1849, a theatrical riot, one of the bloodiest public disturbances in the antebellum period, broke out at the Astor Place Opera House in New York City at 13 Astor Place in which several people were killed and many more wounded.

To understand the cause of the riot it is necessary to put the environment of the city in proper historical context.

 In 1849, the United States and especially in New York City, bitter feelings toward the British over the Revolution and the War of 1812 were still fresh in public memory.  In American minds, British actors represented the tyranny of aristocracy; and the New York Irish, in particular, loathed the British for their repressive measures against the Irish in their homeland, and in general, resented their wealth and pompous upper class snobbery.

This pent-up animosity and class warfare, which had been brewing for some time between the upper class and the poor and neglected, reached its tipping point on the night of May 10, 1849.

The protagonists of this class warfare pitted American Shakespeare actor, Edwin Forrest against William C. Macready, a British actor, also a Shakespearean actor, who publicly expressed contempt for American audiences. The two couldn’t have been more different. While Macready played to a refined polite upper class audience at New York’s Astor Place Theater, Forrest preferred working audiences at the Bowery Theater, which predominantly catered to immigrant groups, including the Irish, Germans, and Chinese. Astor Place, moreover, was a luxurious Opera House, requiring a dress code, including kid-gloves (especially for Italian operas), while charging patrons a $1 a ticket, four times the price of what other New York theaters were charging.

The hostility between these two belligerent thespians weathered a stormy history.  When in London, Forrest was often booed and jeered by theatergoers hired by Macready, while Forrest usually returned the favor, such as in Edinburgh, when he booed Macready himself during one of his performances. 

Their ongoing feud was well known among theatergoers, representing a welcome source of entertainment.

When Macready went on an Ameican tour in 1848, Forrest followed suit and the two continued to exchange insults when their paths crossed. On  his scheduled trip to New York City, the working class saw a perfect opportunity to vent their animosity toward this uppity Englishman. Most of the working class were organized in various clubs and gangs, especially the Irish or the Bowery B’hoys led by Tammany Hall's Captain Isaiah Rynders -who turned up in such large numbers it could have easily been mistaken for a military police battalion.

During the performance of May 7, 1849, these groups discharged a number of verbal attacks, such as `huzzah for native talent’’ and ``three groans for the English bulldog’’ while hurling rotten eggs, potatoes and chairs.

Enraged, Macready decided to head back to England, but stayed only because a group of petitioners begged him to stay; among the group of petitioners, which published their letter in the New York Herald on May 9, 1849, were Herman Melville, Washington Irving, Cornelius Mathews, Evert Duyckinck and 43 other prominent citizens.

A Footnote: Melville lived in a house on Fourth Avenue, near the corner of 11th Street, three short blocks from the Opera House, and less than a five-minute walk.

To counter this petition signed by Melville and other prominent residents, leaders of the Native American Party posted handbills all over the city, asking: ``WORKING MEN, SHALL AMERICANS OR ENGLISH RULE IN THIS CITY?, while New York City gangs posted placards calling for their supporters to the ``English Aristocratic Opera House’’ pressing them to`` burn the damned den of the Aristocracy.’’

The theater refused to sell tickets to the threadbare scruffy patrons who tried to enter.  Some managed to sneak in anyway and let loose a battery of stinging insults toward Macready as soon as the curtain was raised. They were quickly arrested.  But the real trouble was only beginning. An angry mob estimated between 10-15,000, which had gathered outside, began heaving rocks and smashing windows.  With an unarmed police force, New York City Mayor Caleb Smith Woodhull had little choice but to call in the National Guard with orders to fire at the crowd if necessary. 

At first, the militia just fired in the air, but as stones continued to be thrown in their direction-they fired a spray of bullets directly into the crowd until they dispersed. By the time it was over, 22 people (at least by some estimates) were killed and more than 100 wounded.

The New York Herald on May 11, 1849, wrote the following firsthand account of the riot: ``The house itself was filled to the dome. A great portion of the assemblage in the theater consisted of policemen who had been distributed all over the house in detached parties.  Macready’s appearance was a signal for a great explosion of feeling. Hisses, groans, shouts of derision assailed him, intermingled with loud cries of ``Out with him!’’, ``Out with him!’’

The Astor Place riots were significant from a social perspective in that it woke people up to the class combat rupturing the city that needed to be addressed. As The Philadelphia Public Ledger wrote:``There is now in our country, in New York City, what every good patriot hitherto had considered it his duty to deny-a high and a low class.’’

The New York Herald in its editorial "Mobocracy’’, took a more militant stand in suggesting that mobs ``must be not only encountered, but crushed into utter and helpless impotency," while Horace Greeley's New York Tribune argued the reason for the riot were due to economic hardship, most notably high unemployment, poverty, and discouraged immigrants feeling left out of the American dream.

Dennis Berthold, writing in the journal ,``American Literature’’ (September, 1999) noted that ``The Astor Place riot gave credence to conservative warnings about mobs, anarchy, and "Red Republicans," and forced theoretic democrats to confront the reality of class conflict in America.’’

After the dust had finally settled, the most substantial consequence of the Astor Place riots were the reforms put into operation for the poorly trained and often unarmed police department.  Beginning in 1853, officers were given uniforms and in 1857, the state legislature created the Metropolitan Police for the city of New York, Brooklyn (which was independent from New York at the time) and Westchester County.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
May 10, 2012

 

188 Years Ago, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Premieres

 

 

188 years ago, May 7, 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven, conducts the premiere of the Ninth Symphony at the Karthnerthor Theater in Vienna, sharply at 7 p.m. The symphony was based entirely upon his memories of sound.

Would this musical mastermind have any way of knowing when he began composing this work (along with Missa Solemnis) in 1818 that it would become his most famous piece, at least to the ears of the audiences in western culture?

In breaking with tradition, the Ninth Symphony (no. 9 in D major) presents the chorus joining the orchestra in the final movement, an adaptation of Friedrich von Schiller’s ``Ode to Joy.’’  It has been said the Ninth Symphony was the seminal work which influenced Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner.

Because of Beethoven’s total deafness, the real direction of the orchestra during the premiere became the responsibility of Austrian composer, conductor, and violinist, Michael Umlauf with Ignaz Schuppanzigh serving as the principal violinist.

With this historic concert representing Beethoven’s first appearance directing an orchestra in public since 1812, heightened anxiety set in prior to the premiere, even more so when scheduling difficulties resulted in only two full rehearsals with young boys of the chorus struggling to hit the high notes.  Beethoven himself coached the soloists with Umlauf assisting.

A Footnote: Beethoven considered premiering the Ninth not in Vienna, but in Berlin. When rumors began to circulate that such a move was being planned, a petition was quickly set in motion (most likely by Count Moritz Lichnowsky, an Austrian aristocrat, brother of Prince Karl and close friend of Beethoven). The petition, signed by some of Austria’s most distinguished musicians and patrons, was published in Vienna’s Allegmeine Musikalische Zeitung and the Vienna Theater-Zeitung, all of whom urged the German composer to introduce his Ninth Symphony on Austrian soil. After such an outpouring of support, Beethoven bent to the wishes of the popular will.

Despite the unease, the Ninth was a smash success. After the performance, the crowd exploded into thunderous cheers; Caroline Unger, the Austro-Hungarian contralto, who made her first signing debut in the Ninth, (including Missa Solemnis), turned the deaf composer around to face the audience so he could witness for himself the wild cheers and handkerchiefs waving throughout the theater.

The theater was filled to capacity that night; the only empty box, that of the Austrian emperor, Francis I who was out of town despite receiving a personal invitation from Beethoven. Most of the published reviews of the Ninth abounded with enthusiastic admiration. According to a review from Allegmeine Theater-Zeitung (May 13, 1824): ``Imagine the highly inspired composer, the musical Shakespeare, to whom all means of his arts are readily available at the slightest nod, how he glowed from devotion and how in the innermost belief in the holy work of redemption, he sings the praise of God and the hope of Mankind. Then one has, perhaps, a slight notion of the impact of this Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei!”

In addition to conductor Michael Umlauf, Caroline Unger, and Ignaz Schuppanzigh, the list of performers included:  58 members of the string section, 24 violins, ten violas, 12 cellos, 12 basses with the choir consisting of approximately 90 voices.

Harold C. Schonberg, the former New York Times music critic once wrote that the Ninth represented everything the ``Romantics thought to be the essence of Beethoven-a defiance of  form, a call for brotherhood,  a titanic explosion, a spiritual experience.’’

Beethoven’s immense body of work includes: nine symphonies; a dozen pieces of "occasional" music, seven concerti for one or more soloists and orchestra, (four shorter works that include soloists accompanied by orchestra), an opera (his only opera) Fidelio; two masses and a number of shorter works. His piano compositions were equally impressive:  32 piano sonatas and numerous shorter pieces, including arrangements of some of his other works, while works with piano accompaniment include 10 violin sonatas, 5 cello sonatas, and a sonata for French horn, as well as numerous liede.

Beethoven additionally wrote his fair share of chamber music. In addition to 16 string quartets, he wrote five works for string quintet, seven for piano trio, five for string trio, and more than a dozen works for various combinations of wind instruments.

Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, age 57; his funeral was held three days later with Franz Schubert and Carl Czerny serving as torchbearers. The funeral march from the A-flat-Major Sonata, Opus 26,filled the air as the procession passed.

Franz Grillparzer, an Austrian writer and chief poet, delivered the funeral oration, which included the following words: ``The harp that is hushed! Let me call him so! The thorns of life had wounded him deeply, and as the castaway clings to the shore, so did he seek refuge in thine arms. O thou glorious sister and peer of the Good and the True, thou balm of wounded hearts, heaven born Art! He was an artist-and who shall arise to stand beside him?...He who comes after him will not continue him; he must begin anew...''

 Bill Lucey
[email protected]
May 7, 2012