Goodbye to Harry Belafonte.

The Harlem-born singer was 96.

From the NYT obituary:

Did you know that Alan Arkin co-wrote "The Banana Boat Song"?

Before he was an actor, he was a member of the folksinging group "The Tarriers," and before Harry Belafonte had a big hit the the song, it belonged to The Tarriers:



From Arkin's IMDB biography:

He was born Alan Wolf Arkin on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York. His family were Jewish emigrants from Russia and Germany. In 1946, the Arkins moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, California. His father, David I. Arkin, was an artist and writer, who worked as a teacher, and lost his job for merely refusing to answer questions about his political affiliation during the 1950s Red Scare. His father challenged the politically biased dismissal and eventually prevailed, but unfortunately it was after his death....

[Alan Arkin] sang in a college folk-band, and was involved in a drama class. He dropped out of college to form the folk music group The Tarriers, in which Arkin was the lead singer and played guitar. He co-wrote the 1956 hit "The Banana Boat Song"...

50 years ago today: "It is the excitement of becoming – always becoming, trying, probing, failing, resting and trying again – but always trying and always gaining."

The most memorable line of LBJ's inaugural address on January 20, 1965.

Later, at the gala, the performers were:

Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, who danced a pas de deux from “La Corsaire,” the Ballet Folklorico, Alfred Hitchcock, Bobby Darin, Carol Channing, Woody Allen, Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews performing a duet, Harry Belafonte, Ann Margret, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Johnny Carson, and Barbra Streisand.

Other celebrities present:

Peter, Paul and Mary, The Brothers Four, Mike Nichols, Elliot Gould, Bobby Darrin, Jerry Herman, David Merrick, Sophie Loren and Carlo Ponti, John Reardon, Gregory Peck, and Allen Sherman.

Dances danced: the Jerk, the Frug, the Watusi, and the Monkey.

LBJ and Lady Bird aren't dancing the Jerk, Frug, Watusi, or Monkey in that picture, but they are dancing, and "LBJ was the first president since George Washington to dance at his own Inaugural Ball."

A firstier first involving Lady Bird on that inauguration day is: "Mrs. Johnson was the first President’s wife to hold the Bible at the swearing-in ceremony."

"Harry? Harry? Harry?"

"This is your wake-up call."

I love the way the newsfolk handle it.