STAR FRIENDS: FRANK SINATRA AND NAT KING COLE

Nat King Cole was an enormously popular crooner, earning $4,500 a week in Las Vegas in 1956. He headlined at the whites-only Thunderbird Hotel, where he wasn't allowed to venture beyond the showroom and the cook's resting area behind the kitchen. Cole's road manager was given a room in the hotel because he was white, but the high-paid feature attraction had to find other accommodations. He regularly stayed in a rooming house on the West Side.

 
Frank Sinatra was a great fan of Cole's. While performing at the Sands, Sinatra noticed that Cole almost always ate his dinner alone in his dressing room. Sinatra asked his valet, a black man named George, to find out why. George explained the facts to Frank. "Coloreds aren't allowed in the dining room at the Sands."

 
Sinatra was enraged. He told the maitre d' and the waitresses that if it ever happened again, he'd see that everyone was fired. The next night, Sinatra invited Cole to dinner, making his guest the first black man to sit down and eat in the the Garden Room at the Sands....

THE EARLY YEARS OF FATS WALLER

Before the world knew him as “Fats,” the jovial jazz virtuoso with a grin as wide as his stride piano style, Thomas Wright Waller was just a boy growing up in the vibrant, music-soaked streets of Harlem, New York. Born on May 21, 1904, to Adeline, a church organist, and Edward Waller, a Baptist lay preacher, young Thomas was surrounded by both discipline and melody—a combination that would shape his life in unexpected ways.

From the age of six, Thomas was drawn to the piano like a moth to flame. He played the reed organ at his father’s open-air sermons, absorbing the rhythms of gospel and the structure of classical music. His mother, a talented musician herself, introduced him to the works of J.S. Bach, while his grandfather, Adolph Waller, a respected violinist from Virginia, added another layer of musical heritage to the boy’s upbringing. 

But Harlem in the early 1900s was more than just church music—it was becoming the beating heart of Black artistic expression. As the Harlem Renaissance began to bloom, so did the young Waller’s curiosity. He was captivated by the sounds spilling out of clubs and rent parties, where jazz was being born in real time. Despite his father’s disapproval—he called jazz “music from the Devil’s workshop”—Thomas couldn’t resist the pull. 

By his early teens, he was working in a grocery store to pay for music lessons, and soon dropped out of DeWitt Clinton High School to pursue music full-time. His first steady gig was as an organist at Harlem’s Lincoln Theatre, and it wasn’t long before he caught the attention of James P. Johnson, the legendary stride pianist who became his mentor. Johnson introduced him to the world of rent parties, where Waller’s infectious energy and dazzling technique quickly made him a favorite. 

The nickname “Fats” came early—an affectionate nod to his size, but also to his larger-than-life personality. He was already composing, performing, and charming audiences with a mix of virtuosity and humor that would become his trademark. By the time he was 20, he had written his first hit, “Squeeze Me”, and was well on his way to becoming one of the most beloved figures in American music. 

In those early years, Waller wasn’t just learning music—he was living it, absorbing the pulse of Harlem, the discipline of classical training, and the improvisational spirit of jazz. His story is one of joy, rebellion, and genius, all wrapped in the rhythm of a piano that never stopped swinging....

VERA-ELLEN AND HER DANCING INSTRUCTOR

 Famed MGM dancing instructor Joan Bayley died in 2022 - just shy of her 102nd birthday. Before she died, she gave an interview, which detailed her relationship with the beautiful and talented Vera-Ellen. When asked about Vera-Ellen,  Joan Bayley who worked with the Hollywood dancer on White Christmas if she was a nice girl. “Yes, she was,” replied Joan. “She was not an exciting personality, but she was friendly and sweet.”

I expressed my opinion that Vera-Ellen’s dancing is not my favorite, as something feels missing in her dancing. With exceptions, she never seems to fully put it together. To this, Joan replied,

“Her body was part of it. She was just so thin, it was distasteful to look at. Because, the femurs that go like this, she didn’t have enough muscles or flesh to fill in this part, so there was always this big space, you notice? her legs went like that. There was always that a big space (between her legs), she had these little fat cheeks, she hated it, she would even would suck in … Sometimes you see it on the screen that she would suck in.

“I would do always do a ballet barre with her in the morning, and I’d say to her, “Did you have breakfast?” She would say, “I had coffee.” Lunch would come; she wouldn’t eat lunch. She had a Frenchman who would come and give her French lessons. While we were all eating lunch she was in her trailer, having French lessons. And I’d say, what are you having for dinner? Steak and salad … And the steak was probably as big as my thumb. That woman could dance though...

DICK HAYMES: THE TROUBLED CROONER

In the golden age of crooners, Dick Haymes’s voice was velvet. Born in Buenos Aires in 1918 to a rancher father and a musically inclined Irish mother, Haymes seemed destined for the stage. By the 1940s, he was one of America’s most beloved vocalists, rivaling Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. His duets with Helen Forrest and Judy Garland lit up wartime radios, and his performances in musicals like State Fair made him a Hollywood darling.

But behind the spotlight, Haymes’s life was a symphony of heartbreak.

He never served in World War II — not out of defiance, but because he was technically an Argentine citizen. This led to public backlash and even a deportation scare. The press painted him as unpatriotic, and the stain lingered.

His personal life was a carousel of marriages and divorces. He wed six times, including to screen legends Rita Hayworth and Joanne Dru. Each union brought glamour, but also turbulence. Haymes battled alcoholism, and as the 1950s ushered in television and rock ’n’ roll, his style fell out of favor. The man who once filled concert halls now struggled to fill a lounge

Financial woes mounted. He declared bankruptcy, and at one point, was arrested for unpaid child support. The crooner who sang of dreams and devotion was drowning in legal battles and loneliness.

Yet, in the twilight of his life, Haymes found a flicker of redemption. He toured Europe, where audiences still revered his voice. Though he never reclaimed his American stardom, he sang until the end — a voice weathered by time, but still rich with emotion.

Dick Haymes died in 1980, aged 61. His legacy, like his life, is bittersweet: a reminder that fame is fleeting, but artistry endures...

HOLLYWOOD URBAN LEGEND: JERRY SEINELD

URBAN LEGEND: Was Jerry Seinfeld offered over $100 million to do a 10th season of Seinfeld?

ANSWER: Yes he was!

Jerry Seinfeld turned down an offer from NBC that would have made him $110 million for a tenth season of the show.

Jerry said that this was because any kind of comedy is funny only upto a certain level. A one hour standup comedy might be the best thing you've ever thing, but extend it just by 5 minutes and it could be the worst experience of your life.

 
Jerry and Larry wanted to end the show at the point where it was still being loved and was making people laugh all over the globe, and they thought that Season 9 was the perfect time to do that.

FORGOTTEN ONES: CAROLINE MCWILLIAMS

Does anyone remember Caroline McWilliams?  Born on April 4, 1945, shee was an actress best known for her portrayal of Marcy Hill in the television series Benson from 1979 to 1981. McWilliams had also appeared in nine episodes of its parent-series Soap, as Sally. She was a regular on the CBS soap Guiding Light (as Janet Norris) for several years and appeared in a short-term role (as Tracy DeWitt) on the NBC soap Another World. She also had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210 playing the mother of Jamie Walters' character, Ray Pruit. McWilliams' television appearances spanned every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s. She was also on such shows as Kojak, Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., Hill Street Blues, Night Court, St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey, Sisters (two episodes), Home Improvement, Murphy Brown and Judging Amy, among others.

She was married in 1982 to Michael Keaton, with whom she had a son, Sean, born in 1983. She and Keaton divorced in 1990, but in addtion to the son, they also have two grandchildren. She largely retired from acting by 2003, but she remained involved in various charities.  Caroline McWilliams died from multiple myeloma at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 11, 2010, at the age of 64. She is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills.

Caroline only appeared in two Hollywood films - White Water Summer (1987) and Mermaids (1990), but her countless television appearances showed her charm and talent, and she should be remembered...

WHAT A CHARACTER: SHELDON LEONARD

Sheldon Leonard said in an interview that he only agreed to play Nick the bartender in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) so he would have money to buy baseball tickets.

Leonard was born in New York City's lower Manhattan, studied acting at Syracuse University and, after graduating, landed a job on Wall Street. Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, he found himself unemployed and resolved to become a professional actor on the stage. The road was hard, since it took him five years to first appear on Broadway in "Hotel Alimony" (1934). While this production was universally slammed by the critics, the next plays he appeared in, "Having Wonderful Time" (1937) and "Kiss the Boys Goodbye" (1938), were unqualified successes, the former running for 372 performances.

Movie offers followed, and from 1939 he became one of Hollywood's most recognizable screen tough guys, the names of his characters evocative of the roles he played: Pretty Willie in "Tall, Dark and Handsome" (1941), Slip Moran in "Lucky Jordan" (1942), Lippy Harris in "Jinx Money" (1948), Jumbo Schneider in "Money from Home" (1953) and, famously, Harry the Horse in "Guys and Dolls"(1955).

Having had his fill of acting in those kinds of parts, Leonard began a new career as a television producer in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most successful TV producer/directors of the 1950s and 1960s. Four of his productions (all on CBS)--"Make Room for Daddy," "Gomer Pyle: USMC," "The Dick Van Dyke Show") (which won 21 Emmy Awards during its run) and "The Andy Griffith Show"--were rated in the Top Ten. He had a further success with "I Spy," championing the cause of racial equality over the (initial) objections of the network by being the first series to have an African-American (Bill Cosby) in an equal co-starring dramatic role with a white actor.

 
In 1992 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, after receiving five Emmy awards for his producing/directing efforts. In 1995 he received a lifetime membership into the Director's Guild of America. Accepting the honor, he quipped, "Giving a lifetime membership to a guy 88 years old--big f***ing deal!"

Leonard also has the distinction (along with author Mickey Spillane) of being one of the first two Miller Lite spokesmen. Using his trademark accent, he told the audience, "I was at first reluctant to try Miller Lite, but then I was persuaded to do so by my friend, Large Louis." One of his last acting roles was a guest appearance on the TV series Cheers, in which he played Sid Nelson, the proprietor of "The Hungry Heifer", Norm Peterson's favorite eating establishment.

Leonard died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on January 11, 1997, at age 89...