That's Entertainment! Page #5

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Fred would need...

to create a classic number.

Dancing in the Dark

from The Band Wagon.

Fred Astaire was and is a unique talent.

There'll never be another like him...

and that's what I love

about our profession.

'Cause every so often

an artist comes along...

who's impossible to compare

with anyone else.

Here's another

of my favorite dancing partners. ;

Donald O'Connor.

MGM seemed to acquire talent

the way you and I pick up paper clips:

By the handful.

When I was at the studio...

we were up to our ears in tenors,

baritones, tap dancers, pianists...

and they were all good.

But this set belonged pretty much

to one star...

and one star alone.

I only wish we'd had a chance

to work together.

Well, she was not only a lovely actress,

with a beautiful face and figure...

but she could also sing and dance

and even handle comedy.

And if that wasn't enough,

she was dynamite in the water.

Of course I'm talking about

Ms. Esther Williams.

A champion swimmer...

Esther was working as a model

in a Los Angeles department store...

when MGM talent scouts discovered her.

The studio built a special swimming pool

for her on the backlot...

and starred her in a film called

Bathing Beauty.

The rest is history.

MGM featured Esther in a series

of spectacular productions.

During her career, she swam...

opposite some of

MGM's most popular leading men.

Some of them even got their hair wet.

Like Howard Keel...

Fernando Lamas,

whom she would later marry...

Van Johnson...

Peter Lawford...

Ricardo Montalban...

even Tom and Jerry.

Jimmy Durante...

and Red Skelton.

As her fame grew...

so did the size and population

of her swimming pools.

Esther no longer could simply climb up

a diving board and jump in.

Now, she had to be presented like Venus...

rising from the sea.

In the ranks of great musical stars,

there have been singers, dancers...

musicians, even ice-skaters.

But MGM saw to it

there was only one Esther Williams.

Eat your heart out, Mark Spitz.

People say that performers

are overly affectionate with one another.

And that may be true.

I don't have to apologize

for the way I feel...

about a young lady that

I worked with here at MGM.

I love her.

And she's a big hit

right now on Broadway...

as she was here in Hollywood.

She never stops.

Miss Debbie Reynolds.

I made my first movie for MGM

back in 1950.

Remember Three Little Words?

Fellows, can we borrow your piano

just a minute?

Of course, the real stars were

Fred Astaire and Red Skelton...

but see that funny-looking kid

coming down the steps?

Look out, Hollywood. Here I come.

I wanna be loved by you alone

I wanna be loved by you, just you

And nobody else but you

I wanna be loved by you

Alone

Carleton Carpenter and I only did

this one number in the picture.

But it certainly helped our careers.

Even though the voice wasn't mine...

MGM brought in the song's originator,

Helen Kane, to sing the vocal.

And make you my

I wanna be loved by you, just you

And nobody else but you

I wanna be loved by you

When I first reported at the studio...

MGM was celebrating its 25th anniversary.

They had converted the biggest

sound stage on the lot into a restaurant.

They only served one meal, but it was

a lunch that old-timers still talk about.

The studio used to boast that it had

more stars than there are in the heavens.

And that day, they weren't kidding.

The first time I met the king,

Clark Gable...

he looked down at me and said,

"Hello, beautiful."

And I nearly fainted.

This place was the land of giants,

and I was a small fry.

But like any other young hopeful,

I was determined...

that somehow and someday

I'd measure up.

In the early 1950s...

MGM was entering

a new era of motion pictures...

with more star power...

than virtually every other studio

in Hollywood combined.

I've gotta hear that beat

I've gotta hear those drums

And even when it comes to the man

When I feel that I might fall

I always stall and play it smart

Till I hear that beat

I've gotta hear that beat

That certain beat in my heart

Ann Miller, the best tap dancing lady

on the lot.

Annie's talents and Busby Berkeley's

imaginative direction...

were a perfect combination

in Small Town Girl.

Be my love

For no one else can end

A truck driver from Philadelphia became

the most sensational new voice...

in motion pictures.

Mario Lanza. He made only a few films.

AndThe Toast of New Orleans

with Kathryn Grayson was one of the best.

Just fill my arms

The way you've filled my dreams

The dreams that you inspire

With every sweet desire

Be my love

And with your kisses set me burning

One kiss is all I need to seal my fate

And hand in hand

We'll find love's promised land

There'll be no one but you for me

Eternally

If you will be

my love

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Don't you know everyone

wants to laugh?

Donald O'Connor in Singin' in the Rain...

in my opinion, the funniest

musical number ever done.

They'll be standin'in lines

For those old honky-tonk monkeyshines

Or you could study Shakespeare

and be quite elite

And you can charm the critics

and have nothin' to eat

Just slip on a banana peel

The world's at your feet

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Don't you know everyone wants to laugh?

My grandpa said, "Go out

and tell 'em a joke

"But give it plenty of hoke"

Make 'em roar, make 'em scream

Take a fall, butt a wall, split a seam

You start off by pretending

you're a dancer with grace

You wiggle 'till they're giggling

all over the place

And then you get a great big

custard pie in the face

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Don't you know... All the

My dad

They'll be standing in lines

For those old honky-tonk monkeyshines

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Don't you know

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Make 'em laugh

Cotton Blossom

Cotton Blossom

The showboat's coming.

Come on, mule. Git.

Show Boat, one of the best musical films

MGM ever made.

It starred Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel,

Marge and Gower Champion...

Joe E. Brown, William Warfield

and A va Gardner.

See! The show boat!

That's old Captain Andy's

"Cotton Blossom"

Will you go?

Are you coming to the show?

'Twill be delightful

Right, right, rightfully they say

There's not another show

Such a wonderful show

Captain Andy has gathered a troupe in the

greatest of dramas and jolly comedies

Stephen Baker,

the handsomest leading man

And beautiful Julie La Verne as well!

Cotton Blossom, Cotton Blossom

Captain Andy's floating show!

Thrills and laughter, concert after

Everybody's sure to go!

Leave the lumber in the sawmill

Leave the cotton on the stalk

Make believe

our lips are blending

In a phantom kiss

or two, or three

Might as well make believe

I love you

For to tell the truth

I do

OI'man river

That ol'man river

He must know somethin'

But don't say nothin'

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