It's fun to watch two performers who really enjoy what they're doing. I had no idea Ms. Valente was a dancer. She looks like she's having a great time dancing with a great dancer.
Caterina Valente is remarkable. 'All-round entertainer' usually means someone who can do several things not very well. She disproved that definition. Her unassuming but endearing personality united her skills. 89 in January!
Eleanor was a brilliant dancer who matched Astaire in their unforgettable performances. This routine was mild compared to what she was capable of. Caterina was a great singer. Two superbly talented ladies that are a sheer joy to watch.
I agree. She could also have continued on Broadway after leaving the movies. If Lauren Bacall could "sing" on Broadway, Ellie certainly could have as well.
This clip is delightful! What amazes me is that I had assumed that her career was curtailed because she couldn't sing... but here she sings quite well, particularly considering that she was exactly 50 years old at the time!
Perry Como's variety show was in ratings trouble from a new sitcom, so unfamiliar names were rounded up to freshen it. Eleanor Powell had not been on TV for ten years, but she had made a big comeback in Vegas and New York cabaret. Her appearance caused a stir and she was asked back a few weeks later. She sang extended medleys of her old hits and got Perry and other guests to join in- demonstrating that she need never have been dubbed at MGM. Few things were an accident with Ellie. 'Follow in My Footsteps' is from 'Broadway Melody of 1938', one of three movies in which she co-starred with Buddy Ebsen. Which rival CBS series was carving up NBC's Como? 'The Beverly Hillbillies', starring Buddy Ebsen. And where did Ellie live for years? Beverly Hills.
Was für ein Auftritt !! So schade, dass Frau Valente in Deutschland meistens nur auf: "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe" reduziert wurde. Sie konnte einfach alles. Singen, ´zig Instrumente spielen, TANZEN (und wie!!!!), sie ist ein Sprachgenie und bei all´ ihrem Können immer ein liebenswerter und bescheidener Mensch geblieben. Dafür lieben sie ihre Fans auch heute noch. Bei mir sind es mittlerweile 52 Jahre. Alles Gute für Sie, liebe Caterina. Sie haben mein ganzes Leben bereichert - und dafür kann ich Ihnen eigentlich nicht genug danken. Für mich sind und bleiben sie die GRÖSSTE !
Ich bin ja erst 48,aber Caterina Valente war mehr nur als ein kleines Sternchen. Sie war ein Weltstar und das kam in Deutschland nie so richtig raus. Trotzdem für mich eine der ganz großen. Thx for showing
I'm 67. My son, when he was little, and I always watched the Perry Como Christmas specials. He was small enough to curl up in my lap. Those were good days when TV was clean and entertaining. Thank you for your uncle. His name is familiar. Did he do any other shows?
TX day after Christmas 1962. Highlights: Eleanor Powell medley with guests "Broadway Rhythm", "Lady Be Good", "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'", "Rosalie" and "You Are My Lucky Star". (Don't suppose she did 'Lady Be Good' with the dog.) Also a medley of songs from Miss Powell doing her seated tap dance and getting Perry and everybody else to join in. Is there a tape somewhere?
Ellie looks better here than on Danny Thomas's show, her television debut ten years earlier. And this clip again gives the lie to the charge that she could not sing. Her voice has a New England rasp, a little like Ethel Merman, that might have become as distinctive as Fred's way of delivering a lyric. But Mayer at MGM wanted all his ladies' songs to sound like operetta, i.e. like Jeanette MacDonald or Grace Moore. Hence the constant use of 'ghost singers' such as Marjorie Lane, who had dubbed this number in 'Broadway Melody of 1938'. Ellie had to do occasional guest shots because Glenn Ford had left her nearly broke after they divorced in 1959. Her son says they sat in a 22-room mansion in Beverly Hills eating beans.
TRINYKELLY: The song is called Follow in My Footsteps, a song Eleanor danced and sang to in her film "Broadway Melody of 1937." Eleanor dances with George Murphy and Buddy Epsen when she performs this song in the movie.
I’m guessing you found out since your post was a year ago but just in case you didn’t, it’s Follow in My Footsteps. Eleanor Powell, George Murphy and Buddy Ebsen danced to it in Broadway Melody of 1938. Wish they would’ve let Eleanor Powell sing it in the movie.
