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| Mary Healy |
The versatile performer Mary Healy became very well known in America for her appearances with her husband, the comic Peter Lind Hayes. But before joining that act, she was in films and made a number of fine records as a vocalist. Today I am happy to present those recordings to you through the kindness of vocal aficionado Bryan Cooper.
The 17-year-old Healy was crowned Miss New Orleans in 1935, and began singing soon thereafter. By 1938 she was in Hollywood, and in short order had a small part in the Don Ameche-Simone Simon comedy
Josette. It wasn't long before she had a featured part in
Second Fiddle, an Irving Berlin musical which starred Tyrone Power opposite Sonja Henie, a Norwegian skater who was then having an inexplicable vogue as a film star. (The soundtrack to another of Henie's movies appeared here several years ago - Glenn Miller's
Sun Valley Serenade.)
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| Healy sings and even Edna May Oliver seems to approve |
Healy immediately began making records for Brunswick, starting with four songs from
Second Fiddle. These start off our set of 14 numbers, and all display a rich alto voice, somewhat reminiscent of Connie Boswell,
although her phrasing was much more like that of Helen Forrest.
The film studio must have had plans for her, because these and the subsequent records all bill her as a "20th Century-Fox Featured Player."
Healy sang two songs in
Second Fiddle - "I'm Sorry for Myself" and "Back to Back," but only the former was taken down by Brunswick. Luckily, Bryan has included her lively soundtrack renditions of those two songs. The film version of "I'm Sorry for Myself" is superior to the one found on 78. The latter is too lachrymose, which I doubt was Berlin's intention.
Otherwise, Healy takes on "I Poured My Heart into a Song" (sung in the film by Tyrone Power), "The Song of the Metronome" (done by a children's chorus) and "When Winter Comes" (a Rudy Vallee specialty).
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Cy Feuer (at the piano)
and Ernest H. Martin |
Cy Feuer leads the band on these 78s. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because he later became a Broadway producer, teaming up with Ernest H. Martin to stage several well-known musicals, starting with
Where's Charley? But 10 years earlier, he was making his living as a staff composer and musical director at Republic Pictures.
The orchestrations for the two soundtrack recordings were probably by one or both of the well-regarded studio craftsmen Walter Scharf and
Herbert W. Spencer.
Later in 1939, Columbia bought Brunswick, and Healy began recording for the revived Columbia label, starting with a January 1940 date, again with Feuer at the podium. This time, the four songs were from
Broadway Melody of 1940, the Fred Astaire-Eleanor Powell musical with songs by Cole Porter. Healy did not appear in the film, but nonetheless recorded "I Concentrate on You," "I Happen to Be in Love," "I've Got My Eyes on You" and "Between You and Me."
It was during this period that Healy became acquainted with Hayes. He was appearing locally with his mother, the vaudevillian Grace Hayes, who had opened a club in Los Angeles. Healy and Hayes were to marry in 1940, a union that lasted until Hayes died in 1998. Healy only passed away recently, in 2015.
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| OKeh catalog listing |
Also in 1940, Healy had a featured role in
Star Dust, a John Payne-Linda Darnell starrer, and even got to sing Hoagy Carmichael's famous tune, but no records resulted. However, Columbia did bring her into the studio in October 1941 to take down four songs: "I Hear a Rhapsody," "I'll See You Again," "What Is There to Say" and "Down Argentina Way." This time, the conductor was Perry Botkin, a durable studio musician who was Bing Crosby's music director for a time. (His son Perry Botkin, Jr. also became a well-known musician.) Columbia issued the four songs on its subsidiary OKeh.
As far as I can tell, these were the sum total of Mary Healy's solo recordings, but she soon was to achieve lasting success in her act with Peter Lind Hayes, via their radio, television, nightclub and film appearances. Thanks again to Bryan for making these recordings available to us!
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Mary Healy with Peter Lind Hayes, perhaps
from a lost musical version of Dr. Cyclops. |
26 comments:
Link (Apple lossless):
https://mega.nz/file/uZMXGaTI#0OAxJMRUHOBRZdsWatUCvWCJOxU1ozk67BNNSS_afvA
Nice compilation... thanks for sharing this.
Burt
Our pleasure, Burt.
Here are a few songs for Quarentining...
https://mega.nz/folder/ypRlXCxJ#zyYfIzZmBD6JoYHazLjfNw
Thanks, Eric!
Thank you!
Wondeful!
Somehow I missed your previous Herbert Spencer mention when it was new, but today's article pointed me toward it, and a welcome find it is -- I was very happy to download that. Thank you, Buster!
I interviewed Mr. Spencer once over the phone, in the late 1980s (not long before his death). It was for a recording liner note, in connection with his possible orchestration of some 1920s musicals (uncredited at the time, as was usual then). I didn't find out what I hoped -- his memory of that time wasn't detailed enough by then -- but it was a privilege to talk to him.
He also (without my asking) answered one point I was curious about, saying that when he worked with John Williams, he was really a copyist more than an orchestrator. That is, the orchestration was completely indicated in Williams's short score, but it needed an expert musician to transfer that information into a full score. (A division of labor made necessary given the short timeframe movie composers work under.)
Hi, JAC - Thanks for the anecdotes! I am an admirer of Spencer. I should pull out another one of the Spencer-Hagen records.
Deleted and re-posted to correct several dumb editing errors and to add a bit of information.
Thanks for this, Buster.
I was aware of Peter Lynd Hayes and Mary Healy back in the day (50+ years ago) but haven't retained any very clear impression of them after all these years later and I certainly never heard (or heard of) her vocal records. I don't recall if she sang as part of the act. She probably did but I just don't remember at all. Clearly, they worked well together. They were married for 58 years!
I made a bee-line for "I Concentrate on You," one of my favorite songs, and, sorry to say, it is the mutt of the litter.
To begin with, what *is* that intro? It certainly can't be anything Cole Porter ever wrote.
The notes are incredibly hard to hit and, to her credit, Healy hits all of them, but the result is awkward.
So, through no fault of her own, the record is off to a bad start.
And then the whole arrangement is pitched too high for the center of her voice. It is a rangy song and to make its effect, the singer has to be entirely at ease, with an insinuating manner. By forcing her to finesse so many high notes, the arrangement forces her into an almost-operatic manner. Too bad, because this song should have been perfect for her and probably was, just not in this key and in this clumsy arrangement.
She had a beautiful voice, make no doubt, but she was no "femme chirp," as they used to say. She was obviously anything but "chirpy."
If anything, she was closer to the Alice Faye category. The record executives probably didn't have any idea to do with her.
Even combined with those chugging fox trot arrangements that they insisted upon, she survives the other numbers well.
The film tracks give a better idea of her real abilities.
Just out of curiosity, I looked her up in the Internet Broadway Database and find that she played Princess Aouda in Orson Welles' ill-fated, expensive musical flop/spectacular of "Around the World in 80 Days." I assumed that Welles played Phileas Fogg but, in fact, he played "Dick Fix, a copper's knark." Others in the huge cast included Jack Cassidy and Julie Warren. Nobody has ever suggested disinterring Cole Porter's score. When it is referred to at all, it is to mention that he had been written off as a has-been until "Kiss Me Kate."
Wikipedia informs me that Peter Lind Hayes was a regular replacement for Arthur Godfrey, which is probably where I heard him as a child. He must have been a formidable diplomat to have avoided running afoul of that montrous egomaniac, even for a limited period. (I'm not a Godfrey fan, so if there was a "Arthur Sings Sondheim" album, I'd just as soon not know about it.)
Nonetheless, and despite the arrangement problems, thanks. Another hole in my vast well of ignorance plugged.
Hey, speaking of under-appreciated singers: Helen Grayco. Any obscure recordings out there? I used to have an LP of airchecks of her with her husband Spike Jones' Other Orchestra (maybe still in-print on CD?)
Another side observation: Was there ever a worse name for record label that "Okeh?" It could have been invented by Ralph of Ralph's Pretty-Good Grocery.
Much appreciated!
And yet I still managed to misspell Peter Lind Hayes' name once. I should hire a copy editor.
I enjoy shopping at Ralph's Pretty-Good Grocery. The prices are OK and the service is adequate. :)
Charlot,
Yes, the soundtrack items are the best things in this set. It is said that Cy Feuer decided to become a producer because he didn't think he was that great a musician, and perhaps he was right.
I looked for Helen Grayco's LPs, but don't seem to have them, sorry!
Ernie,
Yes, Ralph's is sorta like this place - Buster's Pretty-Good Records.
Thanks for this! I didn't see it mentioned yet, so: Mary Healy and Peter Lind Hayes are most enjoyable in the movie "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T", Dr. Seuss' sole outing in Hollywood as writer. (Ted Geisel did not enjoy the experience, and forswore the movies from that point. After he passed, his widow sanctioned all the recent feature-length adaptations, every one of them, in my opinion, pointless.) Anyway, "Dr. T" had music by Frederick Hollander, and it's terrific, and it also had Hans Conried as the titular villain, and he is hilarious. A mammoth compilation of the score recordings was released by Film Score Monthly a few years ago.
flurb - I was aware of the film, but I've never seen it. (It doesn't sound like the kind of thing my parents would have approved for me when I was five.) I'll have to seek it out!
Thanks to you both for the music!
Dear Buster, You *have* to see it! It is one of my favourite films - funny, totally mad, dreamlike, sweet and slightly clunky, full of bad, catchy music and truly spectacular design and set pieces! And Mary Healy is simply gorgeous - stunningly beautiful, and a game hoofer. I highly recommnend it! Thanks for this post - I shall listen to the discs for her sake! All the best, Nick
Nick - if two erudite and discriminating folks such as you and flurb say it is good, it would behoove me to find a copy and watch it!
The 5000 Fingers of Dr T is my all-time favorite movie musical.
Mary Healy can be heard on a radio broadcast singing one of the Cole Porter songs from Around the World. I believe four songs from the score can be heard in that broadcast.
Also, the two of them had a nightclub act in the 1950's and recorded a fair amount of material together. I think that during their engagement at the Copacabana that they performed a special kiddie matinee version of their act.
Thanks!
Dear Buster, I finally listened to your cornucopia last week - I loved it, and more important my other half did too :) Thank you again! All the best, Nick
Nick - So glad you both enjoyed it! Please forgive the delay in responding.
TPAC - I have a dub of Stardust coming up courtesy of Bryan Cooper. You may want to watch for that. Thanks for your comment; please forgive my delay in responding!
I am ashamed for having missed this. Great stuff. And I could kick myself for an earlier opportunity to hear her sing "When Winter Comes." This and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" seem like precursors to "White Christmas."
David - It's a good collection, and "If Winter Comes" is a fine song!
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