The Nutty Professor and The Bellboy had me in stitches, and can still do it to me today. I continued to laugh at Jerry through most of the 1960s. In the late 60s and 70s, as he moved away from filmmaking into his iconic role of telethon toastmaster, he became a sober, more serious popular figure that I never quite accepted. But that change was what made him a true individual who followed what he wanted for his life, and for his career. Can’t blame anyone for that. After all, he already perfected his comedian, and that’s worth remembering in itself.
Arturo Toscanini retired from the NBC orchestra before I saw him perform live, but later on in the 1960s, NBC had showed reruns of these famed orchestra performances. I watched them as a young boy, and was riveted by the music, and by Toscanini.
After reading a recent article on him in the New Yorker, I felt a twinge of sadness about the trajectory his career went given his once immense popularity, and the passion he displayed. I remember as a child watching awestruck, and now today, as I watched him again. He was an amazing figure in classical music and in the early days of broadcast television.
The broadcast below is from 1952, when he was 85 years old. Watch it uninterrupted (11:54), and feel the heights this man took his craft. You’ll find more Youtube links to explore, should you be moved to do so. I was.
