Did They Mention The Music?

Henry Mancini, arguably the best-known film composer of his time, was born April 16th, 1924 (today) in Cleveland, Ohio.  Some of his most well-known titles include:  Moon River, The Pink Panther Theme, Peter Gunn, Baby Elephant Walk, Two for the Road, Days of Wine and Roses, and Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet.

Henry Mancini Mix
Henry Mancini Website
NY Times Entry

Bogie & Bacall (and Malabar Farm)

I will freely admit that I am neither a Bogart nor a Bacall fan but the fact that their nuptials took place in Ohio is fascinating to me. It's strange yet charming to imagine these two movie stars in their glitzy heyday getting married on a farm very near to where I grew up in a most unobtrusive part of the Midwest.  The farm in question is Malabar Farm, which was established by Bogart's long-time friend and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Louis Bromfield. After establishing himself as a writer in NYC and spending a decade in France with his family, the Renaissance Man Bromfield decided to return to his native Ohio to set up a farm implementing sustainable farming practices.  Bromfield has since come to be recognized as a pioneer in organic and sustainable farming in the United States.  He was awarded the Audubon Medal for Conservationism in 1952 and in 1980 was posthumously inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame.

"Ohio is the apothesis of Americanism. The middle west begins with Indiana, the east with Pennsylvania, the south with Kentucky, and, surrounded by these sits Ohio, one of the richest spots on earth. Its contribution to music, art, literature and the theatre is far greater than any two states in the nation."

—Louis Bromfield

"We eked out every last drop of Midwestern air and sky— of farm and cooking smells—boxer dogs." -- Lauren Bacall 

Bogie and Bacall, 65 years later in Ohio
To Have and Have Not:  Vanity Fair article with Bacall
Newsreel of Bromfield and Malabar Farm

First Fun Fact Friday

Portman with her parents, Avner and Shelley

I'm now dedicating Fridays to little factoids regarding Ohio, which require no elaboration.  First up, Natalie Portman's (the most recent best actress Oscar winner) parents met at a Jewish student center at The Ohio State University.  Her mother is a Cincinnati native.

Jewish Virtual Library Entry

I am the band

For whatever reason (let's leave that for my future psychoanalyst to uncover), I'm not a huge fan of female musicians but one of the few that I do enjoy and respect is the pretty, tough and confident rocker Liz Phair.  While listening to her music today, I decided to do a little research on her motivations and background and whaddya know, she spent a good deal of her formative years in Ohio.  

Liz Phair was born on April 17, 1967, adopted by John (physician and AIDS researcher) and Nancy (instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago) Phair and spent her early childhood in Ohio. In 1976 the family, which includes an older brother, relocated from Cincinnati to the posh Chicago suburb of Winnetka where Phair grew into a creative adolescent who wrote songs at the family piano but displayed a rebellious streak.  She left Winnetka to attend the quirky liberal Oberlin College in Ohio, where she studied art history and studio art. At Oberlin, she became fascinated with underground indie rock and eventually became friends with guitarist Chris Brokaw, who would later join the alt-rock outfit Come. 


The effect of Oberlin on Phair's music 
(from Contemporary Musicians | 2004 | Brennan, Carol; Gibner, Jason |
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning.) :  Oberlin, like other isolated outposts of middle-class intellectual rebellion, bred bands like other schools breed keg parties; Phair's art studies were supplemented by her informal education in the local music scene. "Oberlin is a really indie rock type of college," Phair told Annette Petruso of Detroit's Metro Times. "It was very much left of center, intellectual and scrawny. Those are the three really good markers of guyville. All of my boyfriends were guyville. They still sort of are." Her first album (Exile in Guyville) was full of songs inspired by this phase of her life. "I was really just trying to impress a bunch of guys," Phair noted of her early musical ambitions. "I am not the band wife. I am the band."  
Liz Phair revisits 'Guyville'In classic Phair fashion, Oberlin grad performs during Fall BreakLiz Phair on Tavis SmileyCinco de Mayo - Liz Phair

Soap Heartthrobs

As I continue my quest to catch up on all things '70s and have been viewing episodes of Soap on Netflix (thanks to Alycia's suggestion), I discovered that the two heartthrobs in this hilarious and sometimes poignant parody of daytime television were played by Ohioans.  Peter Campbell, the tennis pro that slept with every woman that entered the little Connecticut town's country club was played by 'Galahad with a gun' Robert Urich, who grew up in Toronto, Ohio.    Danny Dallas, the somewhat dim-witted but sweet and charming son of Mary Campbell who has gotten in too deep with the mob, was portrayed by Ted Wass of Lakewood, Ohio.  I doubt that either actor's upbringing had much bearing on their portrayals in this series but it did at least affect Urich's overall career.


I think my longevity has a lot to do with where I come from – a blue-collar town in Ohio – and how I was raised: to work hard and respect other folks. -- Robert Urich

Baby, I Love Your Way

Apparently, there's just something about Ohio women when it comes to English rock veterans. While Eric Clapton is raising his young family in a Columbus suburb, Peter Frampton (of Frampton Comes Alive) has been raising his in the affluent Cincinnati suburb Indian Hill.  Frampton grew up in Beckenham, Kent, England and attended Bromley Technical School where his father was an art teacher and David Bowie was a classmate (more about Bowie later since he too has ties to Ohio).  At the age of seven he taught himself to play the banjolele, by the age of ten he was in a band, at the age of 16 he was chosen 'The Face of 1968' by the UK Press, at 26 he was named Rolling Stone's 'Artist of the Year' for his biggest-selling live record in history and at the age of 60 he is still creating new music.

Frampton on living in Cincinnati (excerpted from Bankrate.com interview):

"My wife comes from Cincinnati. When all is said and done, I go off for two weeks and then I'm home for one week. I have a daughter at Kent State, I have a son who lives with his mother in Miami. I have a daughter at a local college. I have a 7-year-old with me. We made a family pact, that we would spend all 12 of her school years in one place. Also, I researched it: Cincinnati consistently has the top five school districts in the nation. I didn't go to boarding school. My wife didn't either -- we both went to public school. Now, when we lived in L.A., we had to put them in private school. You have to there, it's just too bad. I hope Arnold can fix that up!"

Show Me The Way

Peter Frampton official website

Thank You Mr Churchill album

Frampton Biography

Peter Frampton & Tina Elfers

Frampton's Frustration over Obama sign theft

The King of Cool

While driving from Schio (my comment on its similar spelling to Ohio greatly amused my friend Ilaria) to Vicenza to catch a train to Venice, my compatriots played American music such as CCR (I think to keep me comfortable) and old Italian ballads. One song that resulted in the whole car singing was Volare, which my friend's father (with his customary good-natured wicked little smile) said that all visitors to Italy must learn. I apparently experienced a moment of amnesia and didn't mention that it was an Ohioan that made this song popular in America. Evidently the song was originally named "Nel blu dipinto di blu" ("In the blue, painted blue"), was the signature song of Domenico Modugno and is the only foreign-language song to have been awarded Record and Song of the Year Grammys. Yet, most Americans are most familiar with the version sung by the King of Cool, Dean Martin. Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti (June 7th, 1917) in Steubenville, Ohio to Italian immigrant parents. Little Dino only spoke Italian until he went to school, which he left in the 10th grade because he thought he was smarter than the teacher. Before becoming the world renowned crooner, comedian and Rat Packer that we know, he delivered bootleg liquor, was a speakeasy croupier, blackjack dealer, steelworker and welterweight boxer. For anyone who knows anything about the history of Ohio, none of those vocations should be a surprise.

I've never given the man a fair shake though due to his associations to a couple of my least favorite entertainers (Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis) but have been happily surprised recently by the wry humor displayed in his popular celebrity roasts and find it oddly satisfying that 'The King of Cool' hails from my home state.

Biography from All Movie Guide

Groovy Dean Martin website

Dean Martin's Volare

Dino and fellow Ohioan, Doris Day, singing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'

Dean Martin Fan Center (Steubenville, Ohio)

Dean Martin Festival

Orson Welles roasting Dean Martin (with other Ohioans Bob Hope and Paul Lynde)