Song:Till There Was You
Album:The Music Man: Original Soundtrack
I'm sure The Partridge Family is what most folks think of when they hear the name Shirley Jones. But she had a long career before that and she won an Oscar for the 1960 film Elmer Gantry. Till There Was You was her big song in the 1962 film The Music Man. She was born Mar. 31, 1934 in Charleroi, PA. Her father owned a brewery. She sang in church and performed as a teen. Her voice teacher convinced her to go to New York and audition for Broadway agent Gus Sherman. Her parents gave her a year to make it on Broadway. One of Shirley's first auditions was for Rodgers and Hammerstein casting director John Fearnley. They signed her to a contract and she debuted in a small role in South Pacific. Her first big role was in the 1955 film musical Oklahoma. And this was followed by Carousel and April Love. Shirley won an Oscar for her performance as Lulu Bains in the 1960 film Elmer Gantry. This led to her playing Marion in the 1962 film of the hit Broadway musical The Music Man. Till There Was You was her big number at the end of the film. She also starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She appeared in other films and in the 1968 Broadway musical Maggie Flynn with husband Jack Cassidy. But her career was fading. And after turning down the role of Carol Brady in the TV sitcom The Brady Bunch, she agreed to do The Partridge Family. The show was a success and after it was cancelled, she was a regular guest star on TV until she starred in the 1979 sitcom Shirley. That show didn't last long. Since then, Shirley has continued to appear on TV usually doing guest shots or TV movies. She is still doing that. Here's Shirley Jones performing Till There Was You from the 1962 film The Music Man.
No comments:
Post a Comment