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< Welcome! ~ Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus. |
| Tom Wagner |
 Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 1:48 pm |
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Joined: 14 Dec 2007
Posts: 597
Location: Long Island, NY
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Mickey Rooney performed Santa Claus in several Rankin/Bass productions. Any thoughts on his "take"? What would you have changed if you had the role?
Happy Holidays!!! |
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| CB |
| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:57 am |
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Joined: 14 Dec 2007
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Location: HERE!
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I'll put it this way:
If not for the sensational Bravura performance of Paul Frees in his assorted character roles, I would never have made it through the first broadcast run of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" to begin with. Rooney and the rest of the Rankin/Bass' Xmas specials voice casts are simply so pale and uninteresting by comparison, as to come off like a bunch of arbitrarily conscripted "Summer Stock" Players in disposable demo soundtrack presentations of what would ultimately amount to a tour-de-force "vehicle" for the extraordinary voice talents of Mr. Frees in his prime (referring to the aforementioned "…Comin' to Town" in particular; I didn't even remember that Rooney played Santa in any of the others). Now, if they had, say, Daws Butler, June Foray, Mel Blanc, Doug Young and Bill Scott, for example - instead of the celebrity "stuntcasting" angle they took, it would have been an entirely different story altogether. And wouldn't that have been magnificent!?
As for what I might have done, the answer would be: "Nothing!" As conceived and written for that original classic TV Christmas Special, the Kris Kringle/Santa character wasn't one I could do anything legitimately "right" with, and I wouldn't have considered auditioning for it. If it were being cast in more recent times, I'd put a talent like Brian Cummings in that role: Someone who could provide a vibrant and joyously uninhibited spin on it, with spirited sincerity - not to mention the level of singing talent required to really "sell" the musical bits, rather than a "marginal" one like myself (I'd surely struggle with every phrase for editors to puzzle together, winding up with mediocre results, at best). I'll take a Misfit Villain or mystical ancient Wizard part over that type of sweet and sprightly Leading Man protagonist one, any day!
(*…on a sad side-note to this topic, I recently had to dub over tracks the ailing Mr. Rooney had initially recorded as a nostalgic "nod" to his Rankin/Bass work as Santa's voice, for a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Christmas piece. Though it would have been a nice gesture, his voice was no longer robust or recognizable enough to make any sense to an audience, nor would it have done the showbiz legend any favor to be heard sounding so poorly. Probably shouldn't have mentioned it, but I think it's a classic example of why it's important for performers to know when they really ought to "face the music" before the opportunity for a dignified final Curtain Call slips by.) |
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