700 turn out to honor Frankie Laine
TOM MORROW
Staff Writer
The special birthday tribute last Friday afternoon for legendarycrooner Frankie Laine at the Museum for Making Music in Carlsbaddrew more than 700 people, and being the trouper he is, Frankiewent throughout the museum shaking as many hands as he could.
Ol’ pal Jerry G. Bishop brought his KPOP radio broadcast to themuseum, playing some of Frankie’s hits and interviewing the88-years-young singer. Whenever he wasn’t making a speech, he wassigning autographs.
To accommodate the crowd of fans, museum director Carolyn Grantdivided the tribute into two 30-minute segments. Carlsbad good guyJack McClendon contacted a number of Frankie’s old friends fortelephone tributes. Among them were: Jerry Vale, Gene Pitney, TonyMartin and Cyd Charisse, Jack Jones, Keely Smith, Kay Starr, MitchMiller, Peter Marshall, Ralph Young (of Sandler and Young),astronaut Wally Schirra, Betty White, L.A newsman George Putnam,and Jay Leno.
“When I was a boy I was watching the Beatles on the Ed SullivanShow when my mom came in the room and said ‘The Beatles are O.K.,but they’re no Frankie Laine!’ ” Leno laughed.
There was a film tribute to Frankie from Dick Clark, Patti Page,Lou Rawls, Pat Boone, and Maria Cole (Nat King Cole’s widow).
In the audience Friday were: movie producer Jimmy Marino,composer/musical directors Benny Holman and Sammy Nestico.
Longtime L.A radio personality Chuck Cecil came with specialgreetings from singers Jo Stafford, Patti Andrews, and ConnieHaines.
In addition to the usual government resolutions, the San DiegoPadres baseball club presented Frankie with his own Padres jerseywith the number “88” and his name.
“It is a myth that anyone can be a self-made person,” Frankietold the audience. “Everyone needs help to succeed. I have beenhelped by many great people.”
He then became choked-up with emotion and concluded, “I can’ttalk anymore.”
Frank, your music speaks for all of us.
Happy birthday!
NO GRAVY? -- Vista’s Rick Hiscox tells me I missed the keyingredient for Yorkshire pudding when I ran Susie Coker’s recipe onSunday -- the gravy!
“Yorkshire Pudding is all about gravy,” Rick insists. “Withoutbeing smothered in gravy, a YP is just a boring old piece of stuff,but smothered in gravy they are a thing of beauty. My wife, nor my80-year-old mother, would never even consider making a roastwithout having yorkies. Our family has always made them inindividual muffin pans and we fight over the last YP andgravy.”
They’re sounding better all the time.
FROM MARS -- “I didn’t realize my neighbor wore a denture plateuntil it came out during conversation.” -- Neal Mars, Oceanside
Notes for Tom Morrow can be e-mailed to tmorrow@nctimes.com,faxed to (760) 757-2072, or call (760) 901-4074. Find his previouscolumns on the Internet at www.nctimes.net.
4/4/01