In 1935, after penning such timeless classics as "Stardust", "Up A Lazy River", "Washboard Blues", and "Georgia On My Mind", Indiana composer/pianist Hoagy Carmichael got married, moved to Hollywood (where his songs had already found their way into a number of movie soundtracks) to work for Paramount, and began writing songs for movies in addition to his independent work. An attractive, down-home performer with a strong bent for acting, it was only natural that he'd get in front of the camera as well, first appears performing in 1937 in Topper playing and singing his “Old Man Moon” with Cary Grant & Constance Bennett a la Dooley Wilson in Casablanca in 1942, or Hoagy himself in To Have And Have Not in 1944. He appeared regularly in a number of films in the 1940s and early ‘50s, as did a lot of his compositions. After 1955 he migrated to television (he was a regular on Laramie from 1959-63. Four of his songs in particular--“Georgia On My Mind”, “The Nearness Of You”, “Stardust” and “Body And Soul”--have remained in heavy use in film scores to the present.
For our final matinee, Ken has selected a fine assortment of Carmichael numbers associated with those Hollywood years, including both his own compositions and other gems he performed in such films as To Have And Have Not (1944), Canyon Passage (1946), The Best Years of Our Lives, Young Man With A Horn (1950), and Las Vegas Story (1952) among others.