Last night, I posted a link to a commercial for Fruit Stripe Gum and made reference to the ubiquitous (for a time in New York) singer who sang for the zebra in it. Greg Ehrbar, who knows about this kind of stuff, says it's probably Mike Stewart…and the female singer is Robie Lester, who was on every kids' record that came out in the fifties and sixties. Or so it seems.
Greg also notes that in South Pacific, Bill Lee did the singing for John Kerr. I've written before here about Mr. Lee, who was heard in a heck of a lotta movies. Greg reminded me of a few in his e-mail: Bill Lee sang for Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music and for Yogi Bear in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear. What's more, his daughter Diana sang for Samantha Eggar in Doctor Dolittle, Diana Sowle in Willy Wonka and Liv Ullmann in Lost Horizon. So dubbing other actors is apparently hereditary.
Moving on to new business: Thirty-five years ago today, Richard M. Nixon resigned as President of the United States. Here's part of the speech he delivered in prime time the night before. My father thought it was the best thing he ever saw on television and was hoping the networks would make it a weekly series…