Tag: Hall of Fame
Irving Berlin
November 2008 IRVING BERLIN If there ever was a person in the world of popular music who exemplified the American dream, it was Irving Berlin. Arriving on American shores with his Russian immigrant parents when he was four years old, and forced by the time he was ten years old to sell newspapers to help […]
Nancy LaMott
October 2008 NANCY LaMOTT Nancy LaMott, who died in her early forties, was called “the greatest cabaret singer since Sinatra.” In her brief career, she touched many hearts with the purity of her voice and her simple, honest approach to a lyric. Whether live or on record, backed by a piano or full orchestra, her […]
Donald Smith
June 2008 DONALD SMITH Mabel Mercer enchanted a young Donald Smith, who soon was not only a fan, but a tireless advocate. His devotion expanded to include the music she is renowned for. Accordingly, he has been, for decades, Cabaret’s “Pied Piper,” leading others to the music he cherishes. Founder and guiding spirit since 1985 […]
Margaret Whiting
June 2008 MARGARET WHITING “Moonlight in Vermont,” “That Old Black Magic,” “My Ideal,” “It Might As Well Be Spring”— Margaret Whiting made these and many more songs into enduring hits during her long singing career. Signing at age 18 with Johnny Mercer’s then-new Capitol Records, she went on to become one of the nation’s top-selling […]
John Wallowitch
May 2008 JOHN WALLOWITCH John Wallowitch was a classical pianist before he became an accompanist and a performer at Greenwich Village’s legendary cabaret spot, The Duplex. In the decades following, his convivial personality as an entertainer endeared him to cabaret audiences everywhere. A prolific and waggish songwriter with well over a thousand numbers penned during […]
Julie Wilson
May 2008 JULIE WILSON A vocalist for more than a half century, Julie Wilson played leads in Broadway and London musical theater. But since the days of her long-term roost at St. Regis Hotel’s Maisonette in the 1950s, she has been the quintessential cabaret performer. She quickly established the persona of a femme fatale with […]
Barbara Carroll
April 2008 BARBARA CARROLL In her eighties, Barbara Carroll is a lioness on the keyboard who remains at the peak of her form. Every spring and fall for a quarter-century, Barbara—majestically tall, slim and stylish—held forth singing and playing at the piano of the Carlyle Hotel’s upscale Bemelmans Bar. More recently, as elegant and as […]
Mabel Mercer
April 2008 MABEL MERCER The name Mabel Mercer is synonymous with cabaret. From her supper club origins in Paris, she had the cream of society’s elite at her feet. Any night might find The Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson, Cole Porter, the legendary Bricktop, American millionairess “Joe” Carstairs, and similar newsworthy figures in her […]
Elaine Stritch
April 2008 ELAINE STRITCH Another octogenarian, Elaine Stritch is as hot a performer as ever, possibly more so. With so many awards and accolades (Tony Award, Emmy Awards) for her work in films, the theater and television, cabaret folk may have to share our adoration of Stritch with others, but there’s no denying when she […]
