Gordon MacRae

Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel (1956), and played the leading man opposite Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and its sequel, By The Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).

Early life Albert Gordon MacRae was born on March 12, 1921, in East Orange, New Jersey. His father was descended from Clan MacRae. MacRae attended Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York, where he was active in the Drama Club. He later attended and graduated in 1940 from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and thereafter served as a navigator in IX Troop Carrier Command in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

Career Singer MacRae was a baritone. Winning a contest enabled him to sing at the 1939 New York World's Fair with the Harry James and Les Brown orchestras. In 1946, his fifteen-minute variety show Skyline Roof also featured emerging musical talent, including the accordionist John Serry Sr. MacRae was also the host and lead actor on The Railroad Hour, a half-hour anthology series made up of condensed versions of hit Broadway musicals. The programs were later released as popular studio cast albums, most of which have been reissued on CD.

In 1946, he was in the revue Three to Make Ready, He appeared frequently on television, on such variety programs as The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. He also appeared on drama shows such as Lux Video Theatre.

During Christmas 1958, MacRae and Ford performed the Christmas hymn "O Holy Night". Earlier in 1958, MacRae guest-starred on the short-lived NBC variety series The Polly Bergen Show.

He starred in the television musical The Gift of the Magi (1958). Thereafter, MacRae appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and The Bell Telephone Hour.

Later career MacRae guest starred on McCloud. He had supporting roles in the films Zero to Sixty (1978) and The Pilot (1980). They met on the set of a play and it was "love at first sight." The couple were the parents of four children, including actresses Heather and Meredith MacRae. Sheila later married television producer Ronald Wayne. He was buried at the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Filmography

+Feature filmsYearTitleRoleNotes 1948 The Big Punch Johnny Grant 1949 Look for the Silver Lining Frank Carter 1950 Backfire Bob Corey 1950 Tony Pastor 1950 Return of the Frontiersman Logan Barrett 1950 Tea for Two Jimmy Smith 1950 Tom Fletcher 1951 On Moonlight Bay William Sherman 1951 Starlift Himself 1952 About Face Tony Williams 1953 By the Light of the Silvery Moon William Sherman 1953 El Khobar / Paul Bonnard 1953 Three Sailors and a Girl "Choirboy" Jones 1955 Oklahoma! Curly McLain 1956 Carousel Billy Bigelow 1956 Buddy DeSylva 1978 Zero to Sixty Officer Joe 1980 Joe Barnes(final film role) +Short subjectsYearTitleRoleNotes 1951 The Screen Director Himself 1952 Screen Snapshots: Fun in the Sun Himself 1953 So You Want a Television Set Himself

Stage work Junior Miss (1942, Broadway, replacement for Walter Collins) Three to Make Ready (1946, Broadway) Carousel (1955, Music Hall at Fair Park) Annie Get Your Gun (1960, Starlight Theatre) Bells Are Ringing (1961, Columbus, Ohio) Guys and Dolls (1963, summer stock tour) Bells Are Ringing (1964, summer stock tour) Jerome Kern's Theatre (1966, Avery Fisher Hall) Kismet (1966, Columbus, Ohio) Oklahoma! (1967, summer stock tour) I Do! I Do! (1967, Broadway, replacement for Robert Preston) Golden Rainbow (1969, summer stock tour) Milk and Honey (1972, Columbus, Ohio) Paint Your Wagon (1978, Columbus, Ohio)

Radio Marion Hutton, Mel Tormé and MacRae on The Teentimers Club radio show (1947)MacRae replaced Frank Sinatra on a radio program in 1943, but he soon had to leave for military service. In 1946, he was the "singing emcee" of The Teentimers Club, a Saturday morning program. From 1945 to 1948 he also hosted and performed on The Gordon MacRae Show for the CBS radio network.

Discography

Solo albums

Gordon MacRae Sings (1950) Gordon MacRae Sings with Walter Gross’ Orchestra (1952) Gordon MacRae Sings Operetta Favorites (1955) Romantic Ballads (1955) The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956) Cowboy's Lament (1957) Motion Picture Soundstage (1957) This Is Gordon MacRae (1958) Gordon MacRae in Concert (1958) The Seasons of Love (1959) Songs for an Evening at Home (1959) Our Love Story (1960) Hallowed Be Thy Name (1961) If She Walked Into My Life (1966) Only Love (1969)

Albums with Jo Stafford Kiss Me Kate (1949) Sunday Evening Songs (1950) Memory Songs (1956) Whispering Hope (1962) There's Peace in the Valley (1963)

Singles