Hugh Martin: The Boy Next Door

by Martin, Hugh; Feinstein, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780615365077
• ISBN10: 0615365078
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-19
• Publisher: Trolley Pr

Summary

Hugh Martin: The Boy Next Dooris an enchanting jaunt through the Golden Era of Broadway and the MGM musicals. This firsthand account captures the energy and excitement of those special times, with eyewitness tales of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and dozens more. Hugh recounts the origins of some of America's most beloved songs, including the perennial favorite, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Martin also reveals some secrets that only he could know: the truth about his composition partner Ralph Blane, his addiction to the infamous Dr. Feelgood, Max Jacobson; how he was instrumental in turning Gene Kelly from a performer to a choreographer during the staging of Best Foot Forward; and what it was really like to be part of the MGM musical production machine. As Hugh enters his 96th year, this could be America's last chance to hear these stories from a living source. They are full of his signature charm, grace, musicality, and poeticism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
The Palace	p. 3
Memories of Birmingham	p. 9
Manhattan Fever	p. 25
South America, Take It Away	p. 35
Decisions, Decisions	p. 39
Watershed at 522 Madison Ave	p. 43
Those Dirty Chesterfield Singers	p. 51
Shangri-La on the Hudson	p. 57
I Like the Theater, but Never Come Late	p. 63
Hooray For What!	p. 65
Sing for Your Supper	p. 73
It Was a Very Good Year	p. 83
The Martins	p. 95
On a Roll	p. 101
The 1940s	p. 109
Pre-Howard Hughes RKO	p. 117
Best Foot Forward	p. 125
Three Bombs	p. 151
California, Here We Come!	p. 155
A Maverick at Metro	p. 157
The Arthur Freed Unit	p. 165
Best Foot Forward (Déja Vu All Over Again)	p. 171
Hooray for Hollywood!	p. 177
More Stars Than There Are in Heaven	p. 183
Entr'acte	p. 190
Meet Me in St. Louis	p. 193
My Sister Ellen	p. 199
Trouble in Paradise	p. 203
See Here, Private Martin!	p. 215
I'm Tired of Texas	p. 223
We Who Are About to Die Go to Musicals	p. 231
The S.S. Sea Tiger	p. 233
The Forty and Eights	p. 237
Saved by the ôClangö	p. 243
Ciney, Belgium	p. 251
I Love Paris in the Summer When It Sizzles	p. 257
Back Where I Started	p. 263
Hits And Misses	p. 269
Dr. Feelgood	p. 285
Look for the Silver Linings	p. 287
A Mixed Bag of Musicals	p. 297
A Star Is Born	p. 303
The Crash	p. 315
Three Overwhelming Experiences	p. 323
High Spirits	p. 329
Explain Elaine	p. 343
Sugar Babies	p. 349
Winding Down	p. 355
Michael Feinstein	p. 363
The Member of the Wedding	p. 367
Entr'acte My Music/My Favorite Prayer	p. 374
Beethoven & Bach, Piccaso & Braque, Harnick and Bock	p. 375
Postlude	p. 393
Index	p. 397
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