Did Singer slip...

 Did Singer Slip...





     This one combines a couple of things that Greg really loved. One is the absurdity of pulp newspaper headlines and the other is anything connected to Rogers and Hammerstein. Of all the men who handled the demanding scores of Dick Rogers, Greg had one he held above the others. Above Alfred Drake and John Raitt, both excellent on a Broadway stage and the orginal leads in Oklahoma and Carrousel. His main man was Gordon MacRae who was Billy Bigelow and Curly in the fine film versions of Dick and Oscar's masterpieces. MacRae had a successful career under the footlights and even took the lead in the rare Tea for Two that only Greg knew by heart. Not only was Gordon a powerful baritone but he was extremely handsome and made the ladies swoon when he made personal apprearances. In the mid 1950's he even had a TV show that never did justice to the man's true talent which was putting warmth into a sentimental song. MacRae battled booze also and went through some of his dough drinking but he was married to his first wife for a Hollywood lifetime (16 years). By 1967 MacRae was on wife two and was doing some gigs in the very toney Waldorf Astoria Empire Room. In the audience was Yankee manager Ralph "the Major" Houck who was a tough guy, World War combat vet and overall asshole. Gordon MacRae was singing and charming the gals and Houck's Missus was digging the cut of his jib. After the show he danced with Mrs. H and humorless Ralph got jealous and popped him one in the jaw. Both sides claimed it was a slip, not a punch. The scandal hungry New York Post made it a big deal and ran the headline "Did singer slip or did Houck belt him one?" Greg loved the New York pulp bullshit and often repeated the headline just for fun. He always blamed Houck and called him a prick with ears, all the while defending his hero singer and pal of the beloved Dick and Oscar.






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