Gordon MacRae

Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986)[2] was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in theFILM versions of two Rodgers and Hammersteinmusicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), andPLAYING Bill Sherman in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and By The Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).
==Early life==
Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange in Essex Countyin northeastern New Jersey, MacRae graduated in 1940 fromDeerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and he thereafter served as a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Prior to this, he attendedNottingham High School in Syracuse, New York.
 == Career==
He made his Broadway debut in 1942, acquiring his first recording contract soon afterwards. Many of his hit recordings were made with Jo Stafford. It was in 1948 that he appeared in his first film, The Big Punch, a drama about boxing. He soon began an on-screen partnership with Doris Day and appeared with her in severalFILMS.
In 1950, he starred with Doris Day in "Tea for Two" (a reworking of "No, No, Nanette"), then in 1951, he starred again with Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay, followed by the 1953 sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon. That same year, he also starred opposite Kathryn Grayson in the third film version of The Desert Song. This was followed by leading roles in two major films of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), both films oppositeShirley Jones.
On radio, he was the host and lead actor on The Railroad Hour, a half-hour anthology series made up of condensed versions of hit Broadway musicals.[3] Many of those programs were recorded later in popular studio cast albums: most of these recordings have been reissued on CDs.[4]
MacRae appeared frequently on television, on such programs as The Martha Raye Show and The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, both on NBC. On Christmas 1958, MacRae and Ford performed the Christmas hymn "O Holy Night".[5] Earlier in 1958, MacRae guest starred on the short-lived NBC variety series, The Polly Bergen Show.
Thereafter, MacRae appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and The Bell Telephone Hour. HeCONTINUED his musical stage career, often performing with his wife, as in a 1964 production of Bells Are Ringing, also performing as Sky Masterson in the popular musical Guys and Dolls, with his wifePLAYING the role of Miss Adeleide, reprising her Broadway role.[6] In the late 1960s he co-hosted for aWEEK on The Mike Douglas Show. He also toured in summer stock and appeared in nightclubs. In 1967, he replaced Robert Preston in the original BroadwayRUN of the musical I Do! I Do!, starring opposite Carol Lawrence, who had taken over the role from Mary Martin.[citation needed]
==Personal life==
He was married to Sheila MacRae from 1941 until 1967;[7] the couple were the parents of fourCHILDREN: actressesHeather and Meredith MacRae, and sons William Gordon MacRae and Robert Bruce MacRae. Two of the children, Meredith MacRae and Robert Bruce MacRae, predeceased their mother, Sheila.
Gordon MacRae was married, secondly, to Elizabeth Lambert Schrafft on September 25, 1967, and fathered one daughter, Amanda Mercedes MacRae in 1968. They remained married until his death. He was buried at the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.[2]
==Filmography==
Feature films
Year	Title 	Role
1948	The Big Punch 	JohnnyGRANT
1949	Look for the Silver Lining 	Frank Carter
1950	Backfire 	Bob Corey
1950	The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady 	Tony Pastor
1950	Return of the Frontiersman 	Logan Barrett
1950	Tea for Two 	Jimmy Smith
1950	The West Point Story 	Tom Fletcher
1951	On Moonlight Bay 	Bill Sherman
1951	Starlift 	Himself
1952	About Face 	Tony Williams
1953	By the Light of the Silvery Moon	Bill Sherman
1953	The Desert Song 	El Khobar / Paul Bonnard
1953	Three Sailors and a Girl 	"Choirboy" Jones
1955	Oklahoma! 	Curly McLain
1956	Carousel 	Billy Bigelow
1956	The Best Things in Life Are Free	Buddy DeSylva
1978	Zero to Sixty 	Officer Joe
1980	The Pilot 	Joe Barnes
Short subjects
Year	Title 	Role
1951	The Screen Director 	Himself
1952	Screen Snapshots: Fun in the Sun	Himself
1953	So You Want a Television Set 	Himself (Cameo appearance)
==Stage Work==
*Junior Miss (1942) (Broadway) (replacement for Walter Collins)
*Three to MakeREADY (1946) (Broadway)
*Carousel (1955) (Music Hall at Fair Park)
*Annie Get Your Gun (1960) (Kansas City)
*Guys and Dolls (1963) (Milwaukee)
*Jerome Kern's Theatre (1966) (Avery Fisher Hall)
*Kismet (1966) (Columbus, Ohio)
*I Do! I Do! (1967) (Broadway) (replacement for Robert Preston)
*Milk and Honey (1972) (Columbus, Ohio)
*Paint Your Wagon (1978) (Columbus, Ohio)
==Radio appearances==
Program 	Episode 	DATE 	Notes
Stars in the Air 	Christmas in Connecticut	March 20, 1952	[8]
Lux Radio Theatre	On Moonlight Bay 	May 5, 1952 	[9]
==Discography==
This is Gordon Macrae Capitol Records
===Solo[edit]===
*"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing"
*"Easy ToLOVE"
*"Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue"
*"It's Magic"
*"Rambling Rose"
*"Love Is The Sweetest Thing"
*"Here's To A WonderfulCHRISTMAS"
*"The Merry Christmas Waltz"
*"The Secret"	
===with Jo Stafford[edit]===
*"'A' — You're Adorable"
*"Dearie"
*"My Darling, My Darling"
*"Say Something Sweet ToYOUR Sweetheart"
*"Whispering Hope"
*"Echoes"
*"There's a SmallHOTEL" (Jo Stafford album "Meet Jo Stafford")
*"When I Grow Too Old to Dream" (Jo Stafford album "Meet Jo Stafford")
===Singles===
Year	SINGLE 	Chart positions
Year	SINGLE 	Hot 100
1947	"I Still Get Jealous" 	25
1947	"At the Candlelight Cafe" 	20
1948	"Thoughtless" 	28
1948	"You Were Meant For Me" 	22
1948	"That Feathery Feeling" 	27
1948	"It's Magic" 	9
1948	"Hankerin'" 	23
1948	"Hair ofGOLD Eyes of Blue" 	7
1948	"Rambling Rose" 	27
1948	"Say Something Sweet To Your Sweetheart"with Jo Stafford	10
1948	"Bluebird of Happiness"with Jo Stafford 	16
1948	"My Darling, My Darling"with Jo Stafford 	1
1949	"The Pussy Cat Song"with Jo Stafford 	26
1949	"So In Love" 	20
1949	"A You're Adorable"with Jo Stafford 	4
1949	"Need You"with Jo Stafford 	7
1949	"Younger Than Springtime" 	30
1949	"Whispering Hope"with Jo Stafford 	4
1949	"MuleTRAIN" 	14
1949	"DearHEARTS and Gentle People" 	19
1949	"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"with Jo Stafford 	13
1949	"Echoes"with Jo Stafford 	18
1950	"Dearie"with Jo Stafford 	10
1953	"How Do You Speak To an Angel" 	30
1953	CONGRATULATIONS To Someone" 	28
1953	"C'est Magnifique" 	29
1953	"Stranger In Paradise" 	29
1954	"Face To Face" 	30
1956	"I've Grown Accustomed ToYOUR Face" 	96
1958	"The Secret" 	18
==In popular culture==
*MacRae is mentioned in the song "Oklahoma U.S.A." by The Kinks, as the song's subject daydreams of "riding in the surrey with the fringe on top" with "Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae."
Category:1921 births
Category:1986 deaths