References to Movie Stars in Lyrics of Musicals

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 8:13am

The threads on Hollywood stars on the off-topic board got me to thinking of how many references there were to movie stars in the lyrics of musicals. Quite a few. Here are some I've come up with. Perhaps others can add to the list.

Valentino- Homesick Blues (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
Autograph Song (Hazel Flagg)
The Great Lover Tango (Irene revival)
Mary Astor- The Truth (Little Me)
Fred Astaire- Do It the Hard Way (Pal Joey)
James Cagney- Broads Ain't People (Let It Ride)
Gina Lollobrigida- Italy (Ankles Aweigh)
Mae West- They Couldn't Compare to You (Out of This World)
Clara Bow - Chop Suey (Flower Drum Song)
Sandra Dee- I'm Blue Too (Henry, Sweet Henry)
John Wayne- Masculinity (La Cage aux Folles)

[tazber]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 8:26am

Shirley Temple - I'm Still Here (Sondheim)
Sophie Tucker - Roxie (Ebb)
Charlie Chaplin - Not Since Chaplin (Yeston)
(Sarah)Bernhardt - Sign It (Comden & Green)
Lauren Bacall - Rainbow High (Rice)
Robert Goulet - Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love (Kleban)
Clara Bow - The Picture Show (Black)

Updated On: 12/7/14 at 08:26 AM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 9:47am

"You're the nose on the great Durante." ("You're the Top" from Anything Goes)

"I cook like Betty Crocker and look like Donna Reed." ("Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors)

[anmiller07]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 9:52am

Ginger Tigers and Fred Astaire - Land of Lola from Kinky Boots.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 10:10am

Clara Bow comes back a 3rd time (at least) in "Picture Show" in BONNIE AND CLYDE.
Popular girl, and easy to rhyme.

[Nydiva2]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 10:12am

All from The Butler's Song from "So Long 174th Street" (a/k/a "Enter Laughing"). Sung by the brilliantly hilarious George S. Irving:

Dolores Del Rio
Greta Garbo
Fay Wray
Sonia Henie
Myrna Loy
Joan Crawford
Mae West
Irenne Dunn
Joan and Constance Bennett

and many, many more. Watch it yourself; it's on YouTube (search for The Butler's Song); it's hysterical!

[The Other One]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 11:03am

"Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from GREASE mentions Sandra, Annette, Troy Donahue, Sal Mineo, Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and the intro to "Beauty School Dropout" refers to Debbie Reynolds.

Rock popped up earlier in a song from BAJOUR called, I think, "Words, Words, Words" and Doris was referred to in "What Do We Do, We Fly" from DO I HEAR A WALTZ?

"Drop That Name" from BELLS ARE RINGING mentions too many people to mention. Jose Ferrer, Lucille Ball, Vivien Leigh, Roz Russell, Anthony Quinn, Elia Kazan...too many to mention!

"I Want It All" from BABY mentions Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Donna Reed. (Donna McKechnie, too, although she is not exactly a movie star.)






Updated On: 12/7/14 at 11:03 AM

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 11:06am

The show "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" name-drops left and right, because its meta-plot is about the fictional movie star Marty Short (a persona played by actual stage and screen star Martin Short) doing his autobiographical one-man-show, becoming incapacitated and necessitating another star to take over the show.

[tt24]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 11:40am

'All to Pieces' from Violet (and of course, other songs in the score) immediately come to mind. Gene Tierney, Eva Gardner, Cyd Charisse, the list goes on...

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 11:59am

Tuesday Weld - Ain't Got No from "HAIR"

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 12:00pm

Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin and Clara Bow are mentioned in the lyrics for "Chop Suey" in the movie version of FLOWER DRUM SONG.



Updated On: 12/7/14 at 12:00 PM

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 12:02pm

Mae West is also mentioned in Anything Goes from Anything Goes, correct?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 12:02pm

Troy Donahue is mentioned in "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" from A CHORUS LINE.

Though technically not a "movie star" so was Robert Goulet

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:10pm

It's not from a musical, but I've always closely associated Puttin' on the Ritz with the theatre and it makes a reference to Gary Cooper. Updated On: 12/7/14 at 01:10 PM

[gleek4114]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:12pm

- National tour version of the Addams Family: "Was rehab right for Charlie Sheen?"

- In Honeymoon in Vegas I remember they mention Celine Dion and Elvis.

- Also in "Sandra Dee" from Grease they mention Elvis.

- Hedwig mentions Farrah Fawcett.

- Next to Normal: "I ain't no Frances Farmer kind of find for you!"

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:14pm

Anna Sten is also referenced in Anything Goes

[gleek4114]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:33pm

^ Mae West as well!

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:41pm

promisespromises2 already said that one.

[Feste]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:45pm

Little Shop of Horrors - ".. and I cook like Betty Crocker, and I look like Donna Reed."

"..tooling around like I was James Dean."

[EarnYourPauses]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 1:50pm

SMILE - Madonna and Teri Garr

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 2:28pm

Anything Goes - "You're the top, you're Garbo's Salary... you're the nose on the great Durante... you're the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire"

Applause - "I feel part Tijuana, part Boston; partly Jane Fonda and partly Jane Austen but alive" (But Alive), "With her falsies, leading Lew Ayers astray" ("Who's that Girl?", and "She got up early and pulled a Shirley MacLaine" (She's No Longer a Gypsy)

Saturday Night - "Look what's coming Valentino" and "You can start with a bagel and end up with Conrad Nagel on the screen", among others ("In the Movies")

Pal Joey - Zip "I've interviewed Leslie Howard, I've interviewed Noel Coward," "Zip, Rip Van Winkle on the screen would be smart
Zip, Tyrone Power will be cast in the part," in addition to the song's subject "Miss [Gypsy Rose] Lee"

The Truth About Ruth: The Musical Memoirs of a Bearded Lady, which played at the Actors Playhouse in 1994 had a wonderful song called "You're Unique" (lyrics by Peter Morris, music by Brad Ellis); I wish I could find the lyrics as they were very good and included references to at least one 30s movie star (can't recall but I think one was George Brent)

Garbo and Deitrich are mentioned in "The Most Beautiful Girl" from Jumbo

"I am unworthy of your love, Jodie, Jodie" - Assassins

Mack and Mabel is full of references to movie stars (besides Mabel Normand, of course) especially "Movies were Movies"

Debbie Reynolds is mentioned in "Why do the Wrong People Travel Travel Travel" from Sail Away












Updated On: 12/7/14 at 02:28 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 2:46pm

"It's You" from DAMES AT SEA is a name-dropping song a la "Drop that Name". (Different dramatic context, but same result.)

"The Legacy" from ON THE 20TH CENTURY refers mostly to stage figures, but some of them were film stars as well.

"Conga!" from WONDERFUL TOWN refers to "Mitzi Green", a film star as a child.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 7:04pm

I just heard Brad Pitt's name in Honeymoon in Vegas...

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 7:07pm

Marilyn Monroe in Blood Brothers.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 12/7/14 at 7:40pm

Think of Meryl Streep - Fame