Irish America
Irish America
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” Maybe she had too many gifts: she was a great beauty with a quick intellect; she could act, sing and, with little effort, was “discovered” and groomed for Hollywood stardom. In the early 1950s, she was a newcomer at 20th Century Fox, deemed so promising, she landed a plum showcase – a presenter at the 1952 … [Read more...] about Constance Smith: A Hollywood Tragedy
This story is about Rita and Mel and a Christmas song — no, make that "The Christmas Song." "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose." Rita O’Donnell was just 15 years old and a sophomore at Coughlin High School in 1940 when she got a call from her older sister, Aileen, who was dancing as a member of the Rockettes at Radio City Music … [Read more...] about The Back Story to Mel Tormé’s Classic Christmas Song
No Christma-a-as! No Christma-a-as!” Such was the town crier’s chant in the streets of 17th-century Dublin when Ireland felt the hammer blow of Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan iron fist. Garlands of greenery were pulled down and publicly burned. Revelry was forbidden. Priests were imprisoned. But the Irish people found ways to celebrate their most loved holiday despite the … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Night of Cakes
