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Actor eddie bracken12/8/2023 ![]() ![]() “I got all the screams, I was the teen idol,” Boone said with a chuckle. With three records, Boone was the headliner while newcomer Presley served as the warm-up act. They were booked to perform a sock hop at Brooklyn High School in October 1955. He has long credited Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle for playing his records and helping him gain popularity.Ĭleveland is also where Boone met his friend Elvis Presley. Northeast Ohio holds a special place in Boone’s heart. He had been married for nearly five years to Shirley, the vocalist daughter of country music legend Red Foley and singer Judy Martin. “I was the youngest ever to have his own variety show with all the major stars coming on and singing with me - while I was still in college at Columbia University,” Boone recalled. On television, he was the host of “The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom,” a weekly variety program that ABC broadcast from New York. Two months before visiting Akron, he had filmed the musical “Mardi Gras” with French actress Christine Carere. That last song was the title track of a 1957 movie musical in which he had starred opposite Shirley Jones. 1 hits at “Ain’t That a Shame,” “I Almost Lost My Mind,” “Don’t Forbid Me,” “Love Letters in the Sand” and “April Love.” Girls shrieked and swooned as he greeted the crowd and sang his hit song “Love Letters in the Sand.” Then he and his wife ducked into the hotel.īoone, who was 24 years old, was a media sensation.īy that time, he had recorded such No. “Bill” Power, advertising manager for Chevrolet, waited with a microphone, the singing star breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the television cameras and radio microphones, and joked: “And you people in front of your radios and TV sets, move back, too.” Spread out a little.”įinally reaching the platform where W.G. ![]() “Please look around and be sure a small child isn’t next to you,” he told the audience. It was a rush hour Manhattan subway mob and a World Series throng rolled into one.”īoone, riding with his wife, Shirley, was worried that someone might get hurt as giddy fans pressed around the convertible. “And when Pat Boone came - the last of three Soap Box Derby celebrities to be paraded Saturday to the hotel - the crowd was an explosive thing. “It built up into a big crowd, then a mass and finally a living blanket of humanity covering the sidewalks and street in front of the Sheraton Hotel. 16, 1958: “It started with a handful of bobby soxers hopefully clutching autograph books and giggling at whatever girls giggle at. The procession inched toward a platform in front of the hotel where the stars were introduced one by one to the cheering throngs.īeacon Journal reporter William Schlemmer described the chaotic scene Aug. “It was just magnificent, and it stands out in my memory,” said Boone, 87, chatting Friday by telephone from his home in Beverly Hills, California. It was exhilarating and a little bit frightening. Teen idol Pat Boone, Western star Guy Madison and comic actor Eddie Bracken couldn’t believe the huge turnout. Spectators flooded streets, jammed sidewalks and crowded windows. The triumphant arrival of celebrity guests for the 1958 All-American Soap Box Derby looked like an epic scene from a Cecil B. The sea of humanity barely parted as Akron police officers escorted three Chevrolet convertibles down South Main Street in a slow parade toward the Sheraton Mayflower Hotel. He made numerous radio broadcasts during this era, notably on The Eddie Bracken Show.Tens of thousands of people swarmed downtown Akron to catch a glimpse. Due to the popularity of these films, Eddie Bracken was a household name during World War II. In the 1940s, director Preston Sturges cast Bracken in two of his best-loved films, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, opposite Betty Hutton, and Hail the Conquering Hero. The military drama, co-starring Richard Cromwell, opened to much fanfare but closed after 14 performances at the 46th Street Theater. In 1936, Bracken pursued success on Broadway with his starring run in the Joseph Viertel play So Proudly We Hail. He had performed in a short film series called The Kiddie Troupers (one of many Our Gang-like series) prior to that, but that film was his big break. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940 film adaptation. + Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken (Febru– November 14, 2002) was an American actor.īracken was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. ![]()
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