My fascination for old movies received a positive jolt on TCM the other night with the showing of Buck Privates starring the Andrews sisters and Abbott and Costello.  I had forgotten just how much fun this 1941 film generated, but I learned that it was the biggest hit of 1941 by several million, and I could see why after watching it with intense interest.  Of course, Abbott and Costello were very popular with their comedy routines, but the Andrews sisters win the center of my attention.
     Patty, Maxene and LaVerne are still considered by many critics as the greatest singing group of all time.  They danced around in their own special style, very often in uniforms as these were the World War 11 years.  Their big hit, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, made its debut in this film.  The Andrews Sisters, who performed with stars like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, were extremely popular with servicemen as they made numerous visits to entertain the troops during the war years.  Sadly, LaVerne passed away in 1967, putting an end to the legendary trio.  However, Patty and Maxene reteamed to star on Broadway in their highly successful and acclaimed 1974 musical, Over Here.
     The three-hour Tony Award show went well, according to my desires, with less talk and more music.  Also, hit shows from days gone by also received a lot of well-deserved attention, with two top prizes going to stars in musical revivals.  Catherine Zeta-Jones won Best Actress for her starring role in A Little Night Music and Douglas Hodge was awarded the Tony for his performance in La Cage aux folles.  Catherine turned in a fine job singing Send in The Clowns, and earned a big laugh when she wound up her thank you speech by giving special thanks to the man she sleeps with every night, her husband Michael Douglas who was sitting in the front row.  Several years ago, she had a starring role in the movie version of Chicago, winner of an Academy award for best picture.
     La Cage, Tony winner for best musical revival, received a lot of well-deserved attention, and the cast gave a long, entertaining performance of one of its many interesting numbers at the opening of the show.  I enjoyed seeing the musical almost 30 years ago, and it still has great appeal.  A movie version, The Birdcage, had a somewhat different approach, but it was still very good.  Host Sean Hayes, a star in the revival of Promises, Promises, did a good job of moving the show along without too much conversation.
     As always, I have enjoyed seeing many great old movies on TV, including New Moon with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.  Several  films with those great stars were perhaps the biggest hits of the 1930s, and fans would line up for blocks to get in to the theaters. They made some hits of their own, including Jeanette's famous San Francisco with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, and Nelson's Rosalie, when he played a West Point cadet in love with Eleanor Powell, still considered the greatest tap dancer ever by some critics.
     Nelson Eddy very graciously dedicated a song to me and my wife when we went to see his act at a famous Chicago night spot.  He learned that we had just been to see a version of The Music Man, starring Forrest Tucker, and he beautifully sang Till There Was You, perhaps my favorite show tune of all time.  Nelson had a really good show, which opened when an attractive young comedian came on stage, and he said, "Do you know me, I'm Nelson Eddy,"  And she replied, "No, but my grandmother does."  And that drew plenty of laughs!
     Here and there: Father's Day brought me a flood of gifts from my generous children, including CD's of A Little Night Music and Memphis, winner of a Tony for Best Musical, plus a DVD of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, with Howard Keel and Jane Powell, from daughter Shelley, and a DVD of Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side from son Lance.  As to birthdays of the famous in June, beautiful, talented actress Jane Russell (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Marilyn Monroe) was 89 and funny lady Joan Rivers, whom I used to know many years ago, was 77.
     (Jack Ledoux is a drama critic, columnist and freelance writer who has been published around the world for more than 50 years.  He welcomes your comments at jackled@aol.com).