Who is ...?
Who is the young blonde man who was singing and dancing in this movie? I am not referring to Gary Gray, but to another, older young man.
shareCarleton Carpenter (sp?!) was the one who was gaga for Jane Powell's character and sung and danced with Debbie Reynolds. He had to've been about two feet taller than that little shrimp, but their performances together were golden.
Moon River, wider than a mile...
Carleton Carpenter remains friends with Debbie Reynolds to this day. He has worked with her extensively over the years, helping to shape and style her live nightclub act and other endeavors, working mostly behind the scenes in various artistic capacities. Their version of Abba Dabba Honeymoon was one of my favorite songs as a child, and gave rise, with its popularity in this film, to a curious example of 1950s American slang.
shareI just had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Carpenter this past weekend in Florida. I have been doing a production of Hello Dolly for the past month and the woman who played Dolly is a friend of his. She met him in college and they stayed friends. Anyway, she invited him to come see our show because he once played the role of Corneilus Hackel (the role played by Michael Crawford in the movie version) in serveral productions of the show. He has acted with Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman. It was amazing to talk with him and hear his stories about working with Carol, Ginger, Ethel and Debbie and a lot of other people. He is 81 years old and still working. It was really thrilling as I have always loved Two weeks With Love (I even have Abba Dabba Honeymoon on my IPod) and just being able to talk to him one on one was incredible. He is also just a really nice man.
shareI enjoyed his tap dancing in the sequences I've seen from this movie. He is now 94.
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