December 27

Hoagy Carmichael dies of a heart attack in Rancho Mirage, California, 1981. The composer, best known for the songs “Stardust,” “Georgia on my Mind” and “Two Sleepy People,” appeared in 14 films throughout his career, in roles not too far removed from his musical self. In To Have and Have Not (1944), he played Cricket, a piano player who accompanied Lauren Bacall while she sang “How Little We Know.” In The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), his character was named Butch and he performed “Chops Sticks” with Harold Russell (above). And, in Young Man with a Horn (1950), he tickled the ivories as Smoke and also narrated the film, which was based on the life of his friend Bix Beiderbecke. His characters were easygoing and folksy—in Carmichael’s words, the "hound-dog-faced old musical philosopher noodling on the honky-tonk piano, saying to a tart with a heart of gold, ‘He'll be back, honey. He's all man’."

"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"

If Here Comes the Groom (1951) is any indication, Jane Wyman should have made more musicals. The movie, about a foreign correspondent (Bing Crosby) having to win back his former fiancée Wyman in order to keep the orphans he's adopted, is not one of Frank Capra's best. But the film is noteworthy for one major reason—a clever performance of a playful song.

"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was a hit at the time, appearing on the Billboard charts and winning a Best Song Oscar as well. It's also rare for a post-1930 movie musical number in that it was not pre-recorded, but performed live during the filming. If that fact made the performers nervous, it doesn't show. Crosby, ever the cool showman, is matched step for step in easygoing charm by Wyman.

The winning duo would reteam a year later to apply their chemistry to "Zing a Little Zong" in the musical Just for You. Here's a gander: