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1 of 1- Richard Baker
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Celeste Holm
It has been announced today the Celeste Holm has died at the age of 95.
Celeste memorably sang ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'' with Frank Sinatra in ''High Society''.
The Reuters report here
- David Lobosco
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Re: Celeste Holm
It was sad that her last few years were filled with family, financial, and legal woes...
- Richard Baker
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Re: Celeste Holm
A point for debate here.
I've been looking at some of the obits. for Celeste.
Many nice things are said and some are quite lengthy and comprehensive. One does raise a point for possible discussion however - The London ''Telegraph'' here says ''In High Society, she and Sinatra sang one of the film’s show-stopping numbers, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Even today, it’s the movie’s best remembered song, with Celeste Holm’s lanky, patrician appeal hilariously mismatched with Sinatra’s man-of-the people pugnacity.''.
Best remembered? Well did you evah?
Very well remembered, and Frank and Celeste do indeed make an hilarious combination but the film was rich in memorable moments. If it is a measure, I suspect that ''Well Did You Evah?'' and ''Now You Has Jazz'' both have more frequent airings as clips on TV, and of course as a song ''True Love'' was the the big sales success.
What do others think?
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Thread Starter- Malcolm Macfarlane
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Re: Celeste Holm
I agree with you, Richard.
- David Lobosco
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Re: Celeste Holm
I agree with Richard - "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" is a good number but not the best from the movie. My two favorites are "Now You Has Jazz" and "Well Did You Evah". Interesting article.
- Steve Fay
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Re: Celeste Holm
Richard Baker wrote:
A point for debate here.. ....
Best remembered? Well did you evah?
Very well remembered, and Frank and Celeste do indeed make an hilarious combination but the film was rich in memorable moments. If it is a measure, I suspect that ''Well Did You Evah?'' and ''Now You Has Jazz'' both have more frequent airings as clips on TV, and of course as a song ''True Love'' was the the big sales success.
What do others think?
I was saddened to hear of Celeste's passing, and fondly recall her duet with Sinatra on "Who Want's to Be a Millionaire?" I think that song AND "Did You Evah" are the comical song masterpieces in the movie, and I also consider the latter song as possibly the best Crosby-Sinatra duet I know of. Perhaps we could agree that Celeste's part in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is the comic female vocal highpoint in the film. Her intonations and facial expressions in its presentation are hilarious!
I do have to quarrel with the reviewer's characterization of her as "patrician." Did he have her confused momentarily with Grace Kelly???? Celeste seems as common as an old shoe, especially in that song. Nothing high-toned about the character she is playing, like someone you might see walking out of a dimestore in Quincy, Illinois, and there isn't a patrician within 200 miles of there.
- Graham Pascoe
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Re: Celeste Holm
HIGH SOCIETY includes some splendid songs and scenes and I'd have to rate the Sinatra-Holm duet as less striking than the Crosby-Sinatra scene which came later, and that one is even better, I believe, that Gene Kelly's splash in singing the title song in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Admittedly, 'Well did you evah?' does contribute brilliantly to the plot and the characters and their roles therein. If I recall correctly, in one interview (possibly for the 1973 BBC Radio series THE BING CROSBY STORY) Bing credited some of the visual appeal of that duet to the choreography, which made the interplay of the two characters unforgettable. HIGH SOCIETY is a wonderful film and for me it's more enjoyable than the earlier PHILADELPHIA STORY. The Cole Porter songs really do add something extra to the story.