05/4/2020 10:23 am  #1


The Great "What If" Thread

If Bing hadn't died when he did, or if he had recovered from his heart attack, do you think he would have continued to record? Would he have ever retired completely?

Thoughts?

Take care everyone and stay safe!

 

05/4/2020 11:18 am  #2


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

John Turner wrote:

If Bing hadn't died when he did, or if he had recovered from his heart attack, do you think he would have continued to record? Would he have ever retired completely?

He would almost certainly have continued. There had been mention of the possibility of several projects including a Road film. At one time a title Road To Tomorrow was suggested then there was mention of Road To The Fountain Of Youth.


 

 

05/4/2020 4:48 pm  #3


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

There was talk of an album of a Noel Coward tunes, of which he wrote some good ditties as well.

 

05/4/2020 8:47 pm  #4


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

There was also a planned Bob Hope duet album in the same vein as the Fred Astaire duet album.


Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven.
 

06/4/2020 2:34 am  #5


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

If they had gone through with Road to the Fountain of Youth, I hope they would have returned with Dottie as didn’t care for Joan Collins and that Dottie was pushed aside for Hong Kong, which was probably the worst of the Road movies.
Speaking of Joan, she arrived at the Midland Hotel  Manchester, where I was working, prior to lunch and asked the Head Waiter where all the men were.  Come dinner time there were a few turned up like bees around a honey pot.

 

06/4/2020 10:41 am  #6


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Thanks everyone. What we lost with such an untimely death!

     Thread Starter
 

06/4/2020 4:08 pm  #7


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

I agree what everyone else has said here, on top of that I think most artists want to work forever, or at least as long as they can do reasonably good work!

A lot of Bing's peers continued to work and be active as long as they were able, just look how long Bob Hope continued to work!
 

 

06/4/2020 7:07 pm  #8


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Bob did it for the money money money.
Bing and Bob appeared on BBC and were being paid the normal fee. Story is that Bing didn’t wish to receive the fee but Hope couldn’t get his hands on the money quick enough and because of the arrangement/agreement Bing had to accept his fee.
Think he always did his BBC appearances - wireless or TV for free.

 

07/4/2020 1:25 pm  #9


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Ron Field wrote:

Bob did it for the money money money.
Bing and Bob appeared on BBC and were being paid the normal fee. Story is that Bing didn’t wish to receive the fee but Hope couldn’t get his hands on the money quick enough and because of the arrangement/agreement Bing had to accept his fee.
Think he always did his BBC appearances - wireless or TV for free.

Bing really loved the BBC. Not heard this story before though. Thanks for sharing Ron! 

     Thread Starter
 

08/4/2020 11:23 am  #10


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Although Bing appeared on Vera Lynn’s TV show in September 1975, I’ve always thought it was a great shame that time couldn’t have been found while Bing was in the UK in July, August and September of that year, for them to go into a studio to record an album. Possibly a “themed” album with each of them singing the other’s wartime hits. Bing on “We’ll Meet Again”, Vera singing “Sunday, Monday or Always”, duetting on “Yours”...

 

21/3/2022 7:58 pm  #11


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

jeremyrose wrote:

Although Bing appeared on Vera Lynn’s TV show in September 1975, I’ve always thought it was a great shame that time couldn’t have been found while Bing was in the UK in July, August and September of that year, for them to go into a studio to record an album. Possibly a “themed” album with each of them singing the other’s wartime hits. Bing on “We’ll Meet Again”, Vera singing “Sunday, Monday or Always”, duetting on “Yours”...

That's a wonderful concept with great choices, Jeremy. Pete Moore and Ken Barnes could have come up with a lush, string laden production, as with Bing's ballads on "Seasons" . I've often wished Bing could have recorded a full version of "When The Lights Go On Again" (from that single tantalising sung line heard on his Palladium album). Vera singing "I'll Get By" and then among others, duets of "Till the End of Time"  and of course, "White Christmas" (with the rarely sung introductory verse by Bing). Ah, if only!

 

21/3/2022 8:23 pm  #12


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Bing and Vera Lynn were two of the greatest voices of the War. It would have been great to have them together. WHAT AN ALBUM it would have been.

 

21/3/2022 8:35 pm  #13


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Lobosco wrote:

Bing and Vera Lynn were two of the greatest voices of the War. It would have been great to have them together. WHAT AN ALBUM it would have been.

Yes, it quite moves me to see their onscreen TV chemistry and their brief spoken words of shared respect and implied affection before and after their warm and beyond delightful duet of "Sing" on Vera's 1975 show. I would also loved to have seen what they would have done with an album of similar contemporary songs. Vera performed many well chosen ones on her television shows of the 1960's and 1970's.
Does anyone on here have any reports as to how they related to each other offscreen? 
 

 

21/3/2022 9:37 pm  #14


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Had he survived, part of me hopes that final Road film would still not have been filmed. As a huge, long standing fan of Bob Hope's, even I have to concede for around a good fifteen years prior to 1977, he had long since been telephoning in his screen performances. The difference between the brilliantly timed sharpness of those wonderfully tight 1940's (and four road movies) comedies and then his consistant, barely off cue card turns just after The Road to Hong Kong, is massively marked.

I've no such concerns over Bing, who although being the established "straighter" and lighter comedy figure of the two, was by then still easily able to demonstrate a more laid back, looser and therefore more understated, 1970's comedic sensibility. Plus, he still possesed a more commited and disciplined approach to his on screen performances. Unless a contemporary up and coming comedy director such as John Landis and writers of the Kentucky Fried Movie/Airplane/National Lampoon school were permitted to fashion a modern, irreverent and partly abstract script (Bing had already mentioned a Monty Python/Marty Feldman approach) and to authoritatively have seen it through - with Hope's TV gag writers kept out of the way - and the man himself held in check, I really do wonder what an earth would have become of all this.

Lew Grade was to produce, which also bodes badly as he was infamous for a number of unwise 70's cinematic/TV rejections and clunky misfires - and being the man who just before filming began, withdrew the finanacing from Monty Python's "Life of Brian". Following Bing's death, Bob Hope gave a final starring movie comedy performance (and his first since 1972), where even more non-committedly, he walked through the 1986 US produced teleplay, "A Masterpiece of Murder"

I read that later, "Road to the Fountain of Youth"/"The Road to Tomorrow" was still being considered with George Burns stepping in for Bing. As we know, Burns gave a masterful 1975 Oscar Winning turn when he replaced the late Jack Benny, opposite Walter Matthau in Neil Simon's, "The Sunshine Boys"... but replacing Bing in a Road film?

On the plus side, I suppose if both Bing and Bob were up for it, much ironic comic mileage could have been made out of the increased seniority of their ages and yet still somehow managing to get caught up in all this madness. Dorothy Lamour could have been rolling her eyes and with an increased sized part from 'Hong Kong, putting both our heroes back on the straight and narrow.

However, all one for the birds … 

Last edited by Ian Kerstein (23/3/2022 2:55 am)

 

21/3/2022 10:26 pm  #15


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

I had the incredible privilege of appearing with Dame Vera Lynn on the stage of the London Palladium on the occasion of the Royal Variety Show in honour of the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1990. I should immediately state that there were quite a few other people on the stage at the same time (!), but I did stand immediately alongside her at the front of the stage as we sang a final chorus of 'We'll Meet Again"
As she took her bow, she moved a couple of steps upstage and bumped into me. As the lights went down, she briefly grabbed my hand and said, 'Sorry about that...'

 

21/3/2022 11:07 pm  #16


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Oh Jeremy what a moment! Thank you so much for relating this. I have watched this performance of hers on a number of occasions (and naturally, just now again) - and had of course never noticed this before. Just as Dame Vera was making room for Robert Hardy. You, looking very dashing in your uniform very charmingly then make a lovely, brief head bow to her as it happened. Two gracious people showing each other great respect. Were/are you services or showbiz - or both? May I ask how you become involved with the performance?

PS: Praise be to YouTube!

Last edited by Ian Kerstein (21/3/2022 11:09 pm)

 

22/3/2022 7:53 am  #17


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Ian, you ask how Bing and Vera related to each other. We have this recollection.

"As far as my memories of Bing are concerned, I could not possibly go into all the days we spent together rehearsing, but the one thing that did stick in my mind was when we had tea, he had a huge piece of fruit cake and a large lump of ice-cream with it! Probably a good combination, but not one we were familiar with"
(Vera Lynn, in a letter dated March 27, 2007 to Crosby fan Trevor Wagstaff.)

Last edited by Malcolm Macfarlane (22/3/2022 7:54 am)

 

22/3/2022 3:44 pm  #18


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

jeremyrose wrote:

I had the incredible privilege of appearing with Dame Vera Lynn on the stage of the London Palladium on the occasion of the Royal Variety Show in honour of the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1990. I should immediately state that there were quite a few other people on the stage at the same time (!), but I did stand immediately alongside her at the front of the stage as we sang a final chorus of 'We'll Meet Again"
As she took her bow, she moved a couple of steps upstage and bumped into me. As the lights went down, she briefly grabbed my hand and said, 'Sorry about that...'

I would have never washed my hands again!
 

 

23/3/2022 2:48 am  #19


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Malcolm Macfarlane wrote:

Ian, you ask how Bing and Vera related to each other. We have this recollection.

"As far as my memories of Bing are concerned, I could not possibly go into all the days we spent together rehearsing, but the one thing that did stick in my mind was when we had tea, he had a huge piece of fruit cake and a large lump of ice-cream with it! Probably a good combination, but not one we were familiar with"
(Vera Lynn, in a letter dated March 27, 2007 to Crosby fan Trevor Wagstaff.)

Oh, thanks Malcolm, that was terrific and so thoughtful of you. Where else would I find these lovely little things out? Let's hope the great lady did at some point "go into" all those rehearsing days with someone. Wonderful job by the way with "Bing". Michael has just sent me all the available back copies and "The Definitive Bing Crosby Discography". My cup runneth over.
 

 

23/3/2022 2:50 am  #20


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Lobosco wrote:

jeremyrose wrote:

I had the incredible privilege of appearing with Dame Vera Lynn on the stage of the London Palladium on the occasion of the Royal Variety Show in honour of the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1990. I should immediately state that there were quite a few other people on the stage at the same time (!), but I did stand immediately alongside her at the front of the stage as we sang a final chorus of 'We'll Meet Again"
As she took her bow, she moved a couple of steps upstage and bumped into me. As the lights went down, she briefly grabbed my hand and said, 'Sorry about that...'

I would have never washed my hands again!
 

Seconded!
 

 

28/3/2022 5:13 am  #21


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

During World War 2 Vera Lynn was such a popular singer in Australia that she even outshone Bing in 1941 and 1942 by having more hits than the Old Groaner. Her 'There'll be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover' was the top record of 1942 despite the fact that Aussies couldn't buy it. How could that be so? Because radio stations imported copies and played them to respond to listeners' requests.

 

28/3/2022 5:30 am  #22


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Oh wow! What an incredible fact. Out "hitting" Bing! Did Dame Vera ever visit your shores to perform?

 

13/4/2022 4:05 am  #23


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

Yes, in 1963 and she may have performed here in other years which my research missed.

 

13/4/2022 4:55 am  #24


Re: The Great "What If" Thread

That's good to hear. Were you able to attend, Graham? If so, do you have any particular memories of the concert?

 

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