A Bluer Christmas Than Usual.

I had originally planned to write this article about two weeks ago.
Before the shootings in Connecticut.
I happen to be in Connecticut right now.
About fifteen minutes away from where the event occurred.
And what I'm going to write about certainly seems a lot more trivial in light of that event.
But it kind of loosely ties in, so I'm going to proceed with it anyway.

A few weeks ago, the radio stations began trotting out the usual standard upbeat
Christmas music, which I've always enjoyed.
The kind which now seems rather tasteless to listen to now, since the shootings.
But then, I was particularly glad to hear Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas", and
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas", and "The Little Drummer Boy"
I was glad, but I was also sad.
Because I've come to realize that the only time anyone is aware that Bing Crosby ever
existed is around Christmastime.
He has been pidgeonholed and marginalized.
Probably the greatest entertainer of the last century is now somebody who most people
under the age of thirty-five have never heard of.
This is, in its own way, tragic.
On the plane ride in from Detroit, I sat next to a very nice, conservatively dressed
young woman of about thirty.
She was erudite, literate, very well-spoken, and hadn't the slightest idea who Bing Crosby was.
She didn't even know from "White Christmas".
So imagine what all those young slobs out there don't know.
For the other uninformed, Bing was so great.
On so many levels.
He was an Oscar winner for his acting.
He invented a style of singing called "crooning", where he literally made love to the microphone, thereby making love to any female within hearing distance.
Before Bing, everybody sang at you.
Bing sang to you.
He had THE most pleasing voice I have ever heard.
He was a great jazz and scat-singer.
Artie Shaw, the great clarinetist and bandleader, who people stopped being aware of about fifteen years ago, referred to Bing as the worlds first hip white man.
Bing was funny.
He made a series of "Road" pictures where he was teamed with Bob Hope, who people are just starting to forget.
The two of them were hilarious together, and the films were innovative in that they all broke the fourth wall.
It's been said that Bing's popularity may have waned when rumors began that he beat his kids, contrary to his image of a light and breezy guy.
But the under forty crowd doesn't even know that he HAD kids to beat.
What are we talking about?
They don't even know that he existed!
If you happen to be one of those who have never heard of Bing, I command you to take advantage of YouTube.
He's there a-plenty.
Watch him do a live performance of the song "Dinah" with the Mills Brothers.
I know.
Who are the Mills Brothers?
Find out! This is getting tiresome.
Or watch him and Louis Armstrong sing "Now you has Jazz" from the movie "High Society"
If you don't know Louis Armstrong, heads will roll.
Go to YouTube and get a sense of history.
You will be better for it.
So, along with the dead in Newtown, I am also mourning Bing Crosby.
He died thirty-five years ago, but unfortunately, he is now completely dead.

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperback, "Mark Rothman's Essays" is still available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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