Dear Readers,
An April assortment of Italian Connections for you: AKA (also know as) Harry Warren, made melodic music genius, Salvatore Guaragna, a virtual American Musical “Storia Segreta” for over half a century. Far and world wide George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Jerome Kern are known as the creators of some of Hollywood’s top songs.
But the man who truly should be called “Mr. Hollywood Musical” is Salvatore Guaragna, aka Harry Warren, whose career spanned the whole era of great Hollywood movie musicals. After a successful career as composer for many Broadway hits Harry Warren was brought from New York by Warners to write the music for the first big film musical 42nd Street.
The movie went over so well that he spent the next seven years at the studio. Then 20th Century-Fox employed him for five years, followed by a similar period by MGM. He won three Academy Awards, had more songs on the radio program “Your Hit Parade” than Irving Berlin, and from 1932 to 1957 wrote the scores for more musical films than any other composer.
“Harry Warren” was the youngest of eleven kids, born of Calabrian parents, baptized Salvatore Guaragna shortly after his birth on Christmas Eve, 1893 and raised in New York. Like the better known Irving Berlin, both were self-taught pianists who began their music careers by plugging songs on Tin Pan Alley. Warren published his first song, “Rose of the Rio Grande,” in 1922.
He spent the rest of the decade working as a successful New York song plugger, building his reputation as his own songs gained in popularity. In Hollywood a new industry was being forged - talking pictures and musicals grew increasingly popular in Depression-scarred America. Many songsmiths, including “Harry Warren”, were recruited from Tin Pan Alley. Warren’s call came from Darryl E. Zanuck, head of production at Warner Bros.
Enticed by a lucrative $1,500 a week contract, Warren abandoned any thoughts of becoming a composer for the theater, and along with lyricist Al Dubin and director/choreographer Busby Berkeley who popularized the “backstage musical”, their hit film, “42nd Street,” saved Warner Bros. from financial ruin.
“Harry Warren” used to refer to himself as “Harry Who?” after years of hearing that response when people were told Warren wrote the music for standards such as “42nd Street,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “The More I See You,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “An Affair to Remember,” “You’ll Never Know,” “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “That’s Amore,” “You’re My Everything” and scores of other perennials for four Broadway shows and an astounding 81 motion pictures.
“Harry Warren” died in 1981 at the age of 87. In his last years, “Harry” preferred the company of his old Italian American buddies like Nick Perito, Perry Como’s longtime conductor and arranger, pianist Joe Marino, and composer Gene De Paul, and liked to reminisce about his childhood in Brooklyn Heights.
He was proud of his Italian background, and said his family instilled in him his love for Italian opera, especially Puccini. He also recalled his years of singing in the boy’s choir at a local church. The songs of Salvatore Guaragna, a.k.a. “Harry Warren” still generate royalties, and have been recorded by many contemporary artists. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s climatic meeting on top of the Empire State Building in “Sleepless in Seattle” is played out against Warren’s melodic “An Affair to Remember.”
His last major hit, “That’s Amore”, written for the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis film “The Caddy”, was featured prominently in 1987’s “Moonstruck.”
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Amanda Dobrov, 13, enjoys reading her “nonna” Teresa Bardini’s copy of L’Italo-Americano newspaper each week. Amanda attends the International French School at 150 Oak Street in San Francisco and has been studying Italian the last couple of years. Amanda’s teacher, Signora Stefania escorted eight budding Italophiles to Verona during a recent school break.
Following are highlights from Amanda Dobrov’s stay in Italy, left untranslated, so that adult readers can read them to the “bambini” in their lives and perhaps ignite a passion to learn more about all things Italian: “Con la mia classe di italiano siamo andati a Verona, Italia. Abbiamo vissuto in una casa tipica italiana, per due settimane.
E andavamo a scuola per tre ore ogni giorno! Durante queste due settimane abbiamo visto molto! A Verona abbiamo visitato l’Arena, il Teatro Romano, il Duomo, la statua di Giulietta e ancora di più! Verona, noi abbiamo imparato, è una città vecchia romana e medioevale. Allora quando camminiamo sulle strade possiamo vedere delle rovine romane e medioevali. Siamo andati a Venezia durante il Carnevale! Tutti portavamo delle maschere.
Quando siamo andati a Piazza San Marco c’era tantissima gente, era difficile camminare! Dopo abbiamo attraversato il Canal Grande in una gondola, eravamo otto in una piccola gondola! Avevo paura! Mi è piaciuto molto questo viaggio a Verona e non vedo l’ora di ritornarci!” Well done. “Grazie” to Amanda Dobrov.
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A Basilicata Biscuit recipe, with pepper but no sugar, usually enjoyed with a glass of wine. “Grazie” to signora V.A. Pepper Taralli: 5 cups flour; 3/4 cup olive oil; 1teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground); 1 teaspoon anise seeds (or fennel seeds); 1/4 cup dry white wine (more if needed). Into a large bowl combine all ingredients to make a medium soft dough.
Knead on a floured surface until smooth, then cover with a damp towel to prevent the dough ball from drying out and forming a crust. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then with your hands roll out the dough into the pencil-shaped strips and form into rings 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for approximately 40 minutes or more in the oven at 400 degrees until lightly browned. Cool before serving. Make 5 dozens.
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