The Woman I Am: A Memoir by Helen Reddy

Author:Helen Reddy [Reddy, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Women, Personal Memoirs, Reddy, Helen, Singers -- Australia -- Biography
ISBN: 9781585424894
Google: GTAUAQAAIAAJ
Publisher: J.P. Tarcher/Penguin
Published: 2006-09-14T14:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25 - Starry, Starry Nights

When I thought about it, I realized that I had come along at a particularly good time in American show business history. A lot of the old stars were still alive and I was to meet and, in some cases, work with people like George Burns, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Greer Garson, and Gloria Swanson. I would always think how thrilled my parents would have been to meet some of these giants from their generation.

I became friends with Frank Sinatra because of the problems he ran into in Australia in 1974, thanks to a favored tactic of yellow journalists—provoke someone until they retaliate and then write a nasty story about them. This approach was used to great effect when Frank Sinatra visited Australia. By deftly using an American slang expression for whore—unknown in Australia—to describe Frank’s wives, a newspaper provoked a reaction and then wrote a headline about “Cranky Frankie.”

I happened to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson during the period when Frank was being denied hotel room service or fuel for his plane. Johnny couldn’t resist asking me, as an Australian, how I felt about what was going on. Although I’d never met Frank, I defended him and I told Johnny I was ashamed of the gutter standards in journalism that were giving Australia a bad reputation. Coincidentally, Frank’s daughter Tina was watching the show. She called her father in Sydney and relayed my remarks. The next day I received a dozen yellow roses from Frank Sinatra with a note saying, “If anyone ever hits you, call me.” If Frank thought you were on his side there was nothing he wouldn’t do for you.

Later that year, I was invited to perform with him and Gene Kelly at the huge Universal Amphitheatre. What a thrill! It was a fundraiser for Cedars-Sinai Hospital—my husband and I had earlier underwritten the cost of building the outpatient clinic there—and the audience was a who’s who of Hollywood. Jack Benny was the master of ceremonies for the evening and introduced me as the opening act and only female on the show. I was followed by Gene Kelly who would, for the first time “live and in person,” recreate his “Singin’ in the Rain” musical number. From above, wires had been strung across the entire stage with sprinkler hoses attached, and the stage crew was dressed in yellow slickers and hats when they came on to sweep up afterward. We all knew we were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event and Gene, ever the perfectionist, was magical. For the second half, Frank did his complete show, and as I sat there watching him, I thought back to the little girl who had gone to the pictures to see Frank and Gene in On the Town and Anchors Aweigh.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.