"Be a Clown" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1948 film The Pirate . The song was performed twice in the film: first by Gene Kelly and The Nicholas Brothers and then at the end of the film by Kelly and Judy Garland. [1]
The song "Make 'Em Laugh" in the film Singin' in the Rain is very similar to "Be a Clown". [2] Both films were Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions and starred Kelly, who appeared in (but did not sing) the "Make 'Em Laugh" segment of the latter film, in which the song was performed by Donald O'Connor.
Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the clown character "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
David L. Lander was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley. He also served as a goodwill ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charisse. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".
"Temptation" is a popular song published in 1933, with music written by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed.
"You'll Never Know", sometimes referred to as "You'll Never Know " in later years, is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Mack Gordon. The song is based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris.
The Day the Clown Cried is an unfinished and unreleased 1972 Swedish-French drama film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It is based on an original screenplay by Joan O'Brien and Charles Denton, from a story idea by O'Brien, with additional material from Lewis. The film was met with controversy regarding its premise and content, which features a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.
The Pirate is a 1948 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. With songs by Cole Porter, it stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with costars Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, The Nicholas Brothers, and George Zucco.
"Make 'Em Laugh" is a song first featured in the 1952 MGM musical film Singin' in the Rain, performed by Donald O'Connor as the character Cosmo Brown. Written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, the song is closely based on Cole Porter's "Be a Clown" from the Freed-produced 1948 MGM musical film The Pirate, in which it was sung by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. In the song, Cosmo explains that he loves making people laugh, and quotes back to the inspiring words of a man named Samuel J. Snodgrass, his dad and his grandpa.
"Wild Thing" is a song written by American songwriter Chip Taylor and popularized by the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded and released by the American rock band the Wild Ones in 1965, but it did not chart. The Troggs' single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1966. Their version of "Wild Thing" was ranked at number 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has also been performed by many other musicians.
"Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea" is a popular song. The music was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was published in 1947, and was further popularized in the 1948 movie Romance on the High Seas, where it was sung by Doris Day accompanied by the Page Cavanaugh Trio. The lyrics deal with a person who is through with love and therefore metaphorically wants to throw everything away in a box into the sea.
"Almost Like Being in Love" is a show tune with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It was written for the score of their 1947 musical Brigadoon. The song was first sung by David Brooks and Marion Bell, in the Broadway production. It was later performed in the 1954 film version by Gene Kelly.
"If I Loved You" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.
Laugh, Clown, Laugh is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young. The movie was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced by Irving G. Thalberg for MGM Pictures. The film was written by Elizabeth Meehan, based on the 1923 Broadway stage production Laugh, Clown, Laugh, by David Belasco and Tom Cushing, which in turn was based on a 1919 play Ridi, Pagliaccio by Fausto Maria Martini. The theme song "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" was composed by Ted Fiorito (music) and Lewis and Young (lyrics).
"April Showers" is a 1921 popular song composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva.
Invitation to the Dance is a 1956 dance anthology film consisting of three distinct stories, all starring and directed by Gene Kelly. It was the first film Kelly directed on his own, after co-directing three films with Stanley Donen.
"Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" is a song composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Phil Silvers, called, originally, "Bessie (With The Laughing Face)". It was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1944. Many, perhaps most, people—including, for a time, Sinatra himself—wrongly assume or assumed the song was composed specifically for Sinatra's wife or daughter, each named Nancy; the adjustment in name indeed was inspired by Sinatra's daughter.
"Twelfth Street Rag" is a ragtime musical composition published by Euday L. Bowman in 1914.
"Sonny Boy" is a song written by Ray Henderson, Buddy De Sylva, and Lew Brown. It was featured in the 1928 part-talkie The Singing Fool. Sung by Al Jolson, the 1928 recording was a hit and stayed at #1 for 12 weeks in the charts and was a million seller.
Across the Alley from the Alamo is a song written in 1946 by Joe Greene, which has become a jazz standard. Greene's whimsical lyrics, concern a Navajo Indian and his pinto pony. The pair have an easygoing life until they take a walking vacation along a railroad track and are never seen again.
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It was first released in November 1967, in a version by Judy Collins on her album Wildflowers. The following month, Cohen's own version was issued on his debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen.