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107-569: The DeCastro Sisters began as a Cuban flavored trio and were protegees of Carmen Miranda . They eventually became more Americanized in their performances and added comedy. The biggest hit single for the group was " Teach Me Tonight ", in 1954. The song reached No. 2 in the United States, and the follow-up, "Boom Boom Boomerang", reached No. 17. The three original DeCastro Sisters — Peggy, Cherie and Babette — were raised in Havana , Cuba, in

214-722: A Canadian in England, Ferguson avoided the union's ban on American musicians. In 1969, he moved to Oakley Green , a hamlet on the outskirts of Windsor , near London. He had two houses while he was in the UK, the final one a three-story house by the River Thames . That same year, Ferguson signed with CBS Records. He started a sixteen- to eighteen-piece big band with British musicians playing jazz rock. The band got attention for its version of " MacArthur Park " by Jim Webb. Ferguson's band made its North American debut in 1971. In 1970 he led

321-863: A Cuban version of the Andrews Sisters . They emigrated to Miami in 1942, where they were seen by an agent from General Artists Corporation (now ICM) and booked into the Copacabana in New York with the Will Mastin Trio featuring Sammy Davis Jr. As their careers progressed their act became more flamboyant, and they worked across the country, including at the Palladium in Hollywood, where they sang with Tito Puente 's band and made their first recordings. In 1946, they provided several of

428-488: A Fox musical with William Bendix and Vivian Blaine in supporting roles. The film was poorly received; according to The New York Times , "Technicolor is the picture's chief asset, but still worth a look for the presence of Carmen Miranda". In her Miami News review, Peggy Simmonds wrote: "Fortunately for Greenwich Village , the picture is made in Technicolor and has Carmen Miranda. Unfortunately for Carmen Miranda,

535-553: A barber shop. Her mother followed in 1910 with their daughters, Olinda (1907–1931) and Carmen, who was less than a year old. Although Carmen never returned to Portugal, she retained her Portuguese nationality. In Brazil, her parents had four more children: Amaro (1912–1988), Cecilia (1913–2011), Aurora (1915–2005) and Óscar (born 1916). She was christened Carmen by her father because of his love for Bizet 's Carmen . This passion for opera influenced his children, and Miranda's love for singing and dancing, at an early age. She

642-545: A charity concert organized by Brazilian First Lady Darci Vargas and attended by members of Brazil's high society . She greeted the audience in English and was met with silence. When Miranda began singing "The South American Way", a song from one of her club acts, the audience began to boo her. Although she tried to finish her act, she gave up and left the stage when the audience refused to let up. The incident deeply hurt Miranda, who wept in her dressing room. The following day,

749-474: A contract with Odeon Records , making her the highest-paid radio singer in Brazil at the time. Miranda's rise to stardom in Brazil was linked to the growth of a native style of music: the samba . The samba and Miranda's emerging career enhanced the revival of Brazilian nationalism during the government of President Getúlio Vargas . Her gracefulness and vitality in her recordings and live performances gave her

856-630: A culturally homogeneous way. When Miranda's films reached Central and South American theaters, they were perceived as depicting Latin American cultures through the lens of American preconceptions. Some Latin Americans felt that their cultures were misrepresented, and felt that someone from their own region was misrepresenting them. Down Argentine Way was criticized, with Argentines saying that it failed to depict Argentine culture. Its lyrics were allegedly replete with non-Argentine themes, and its sets were

963-678: A family mansion that was seized by Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution and is now used as the Chinese Embassy. Their mother, Babette Buchanan, was a Chicago-born Ziegfeld Follies showgirl who married the wealthy Cuban aristocrat Juan Fernandez de Castro, owner of a large sugar plantation in the Dominican Republic, where first daughter Peggy was born. De Castro later developed radio and television in Cuba with David Sarnoff , who

1070-404: A fatal heart attack . Miranda was 46 years old. Her body was found at about 10:30 a.m. lying in the hallway. The Jimmy Durante Show episode in which Miranda appeared was aired two months after her death, on 15 October 1955. The episode began with Durante paying tribute to the singer, while also indicating that her family had given permission for the performance to be broadcast. A clip of

1177-795: A fusion of Mexican, Cuban, and Brazilian culture. The film was later banned in Argentina for "wrongfully portraying life in Buenos Aires". Similar sentiments were voiced in Cuba after the debut of Miranda's Weekend in Havana (1941), with Cuban audiences offended by Miranda's portrayal of a Cuban woman. Reviewers noted that an import from Rio could not accurately portray a woman from Havana, and Miranda did not "dance anything Cuban". Her performances were arguably hybrids of Brazilian and other Latin cultures. Critics said that Miranda's other films misrepresented Latin locales, assuming that Brazilian culture

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1284-412: A fusion septet, in 1986. This smaller ensemble, which featured multi-reed player Denis DiBlasio, gave Ferguson the freedom explore in a less structured format. High Voltage recorded two albums, produced by Jim Exon, his manager and son in law. To mark his 60th birthday in 1988, Maynard Ferguson returned to a large band format and to more mainstream jazz. That then led to the formation of Big Bop Nouveau,

1391-527: A glamorous version of the traditional dress of a poor black girl in Bahia : a flowing dress and a fruit-hat turban. She sang " O Que É Que A Baiana Tem? "; which intended to empower a social class that was usually disparaged. Producer Lee Shubert offered Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris on Broadway after seeing her perform in 1939 at Rio's Cassino da Urca. Although she

1498-575: A hectic touring schedule. The commercial success included adding a guitarist and an additional percussionist to his band's line-up. In mid-1976, Ferguson performed a solo trumpet piece for the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Montreal, symbolically "blowing out the flame". Ferguson became frustrated with Columbia over the inability to use his working band on albums, and to play jazz songs on them. His contract with Columbia ended after

1605-494: A line of Miranda-inspired turbans and jewelry in 1939, and Bonwit Teller created mannequins resembling the singer. Her tutti-frutti hat from The Gang's All Here (1943) inspired the United Fruit Company 's Chiquita Banana logo the following year. During the 1960s, tropicália filmmakers in Brazil were influenced by Miranda's Hollywood films. In 2009 she was the subject of São Paulo Fashion Week and

1712-672: A negative image of Brazil. Members of the upper class felt that her image was "too black", and she was criticized in a Brazilian newspaper for "singing bad-taste black sambas". Other Brazilians criticized Miranda for playing a stereotypical "Latina bimbo". In her first interview after her arrival in the US in the New York World-Telegram , she played up her then-limited knowledge of the English language: "I say money, money, money. I say twenty words in English. I say money, money, money and I say hot dog!" On 15 July, Miranda appeared in

1819-499: A nine-piece band featuring two trumpets, one trombone, three reeds and a three-piece rhythm section which became his standard touring group for the remainder of his career. Later, due to the increasing responsibilities being placed on the trumpet players, the baritone sax position was replaced by a third trumpet player. The band's repertoire included original jazz compositions and modern arrangements of jazz standards, with occasional pieces from his 1970s book and even modified charts from

1926-426: A replacement, but she declined. After completing "Jackson, Miranda, and Gomez", a song-and-dance number with Durante, she fell to one knee. Durante later said, "I thought she had slipped. She got up and said she was outta breath. I told her I'll take her lines. But she goes ahead with 'em. We finished work about 11 o'clock and she seemed happy." After the last take, Miranda and Durante gave an impromptu performance on

2033-597: A result of kidney and liver failure, on August 23, 2006, at the Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California . Although his principal instrument was the trumpet, Ferguson frequently doubled on other brass instruments, most notably the relatively uncommon valve trombone . Several recording sessions with bandleader Russell Garcia included a four-trombone ensemble in which Ferguson played only valve trombone. Publicity shots and album covers from

2140-406: A series of commercially successful albums with large groups of session musicians , including strings, vocalists, and guest soloists. The first of these albums was Primal Scream , featuring Chick Corea , Mark Colby, Steve Gadd , and Bobby Militello . The second, Conquistador (1976) yielded a No. 22 pop single, " Gonna Fly Now " from the movie Rocky , earning him a gold album. He maintained

2247-661: A series of pieces named after featured soloists. When Kenton returned to a more practical 19-piece jazz band, Ferguson continued with him at third chair with numerous solo features. Notable recordings from this period that feature Ferguson include "Invention for Guitar and Trumpet", " What's New? ", and " The Hot Canary ". In 1953, Ferguson left Kenton and spent the next three years as principal trumpet for Paramount Pictures . He appeared on 46 soundtracks, including The Ten Commandments . He also played on several other non-Paramount film soundtracks, usually those with jazz scores. Ferguson can clearly be discerned on several soundtracks from

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2354-633: A short film, Tutti Frutti , by German photographer Ellen von Unwerth . Two years later, Macy's wanted to use Miranda to promote a clothing line. Other products influenced by her stardom are the Brazilian fashion brand Malwee's "Chica Boom Chic" collection for women, and the Chica Boom Brasil company's high-end Carmen Miranda line, which includes Miranda-themed bags, wall clocks, crockery and placemats. Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006)

2461-463: A show. Although the marriage was brief, Miranda (who was Catholic) did not want a divorce. Her sister, Aurora , said in the documentary Bananas Is My Business : "He married her for selfish reasons; she got very sick after she married and lived with a lot of depression". The couple announced their separation in September 1949, but reconciled several months later. Miranda was discreet, and little

2568-483: A son, Bentley, who predeceased his parents. Kim Ferguson managed Ferguson's career for 15 years in the 1970s and 80s with husband and producer, Jim Exon. Wilder Ferguson is married to jazz pianist, film composer and former Big Bop Nouveau member Christian Jacob. Lisa Ferguson is a writer and film maker living in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, Ferguson had two granddaughters, Erica and Sandra. Ferguson died as

2675-558: A straight part with only one singing number. The innovation is not a success, but the fault is the director's not Carmen's." In If I'm Lucky (1946), her follow-up film for Fox when she was no longer under contract, Miranda was again fourth on the bill with her stock screen persona firmly in evidence: heavily accented English, comic malapropisms , and bizarre hairstyles recreating her famous turbans. When Miranda's contract with Fox expired on 1 January 1946, she decided to pursue an acting career free of studio constraints. Miranda's ambition

2782-498: A tie shop at age 14 to help pay her sister's medical bills. She then worked in a boutique (where she learned to make hats) and opened a successful hat business. Miranda was introduced to Josué de Barros, a composer and musician from Bahia, while she was working at her family's inn. With help from de Barros and Brunswick Records , she recorded her first single (the samba "Não vá Simbora") in 1929. Miranda's second single, "Prá Você Gostar de Mim" (also known as "Taí", and released in 1930),

2889-637: A toll on her health. Miranda performed at the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in April 1955, and in Cuba three months later before returning to Los Angeles to recuperate from a recurrent bronchial ailment. On 4 August, she was filming a segment for the NBC variety series The Jimmy Durante Show . According to Durante, Miranda had complained of feeling unwell before filming; he offered to find her

2996-465: A young woman, Miranda designed clothes and hats in a boutique before making her debut as a singer, recording with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Miranda's 1930 recording of "Taí (Pra Você Gostar de Mim)", written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba . During the 1930s, Miranda performed on Brazilian radio and appeared in five Brazilian chanchadas , films celebrating Brazilian music, dance and

3103-458: Is by way of being an artist and her numbers give the show its one touch of distinction." On 1 June 1942, she left the production when her Shubert contract expired; meanwhile, she recorded for Decca Records . Miranda was encouraged by the US government as part of Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy , designed to strengthen ties with Latin America. It was believed that performers like her would give

3210-642: Is known about her private life. Before she left for the US, she had relationships with Mario Cunha, Carlos da Rocha Faria (son of a traditional family in Rio de Janeiro) and Aloísio de Oliveira , a member of the Bando da Lua. In the US, Miranda maintained relationships with John Payne , Arturo de Córdova , Dana Andrews , Harold Young , John Wayne , Donald Buka and Carlos Niemeyer. During her later years, in addition to heavy smoking and alcohol consumption, she began taking amphetamines and barbiturates , all of which took

3317-781: Is playing on a scratched record) and eating a banana he plucks from his turban. Miranda played Carmelita Castilha, a Brazilian showgirl on a cruise ship, with her costumes and performances bordering on self-parody. In April 1953, she began a four-month European tour. While performing in Cincinnati in October, Miranda collapsed from exhaustion; she was rushed to LeRoy Sanitarium by her husband, Dave Sebastian, and canceled four following performances. Desiring creative freedom, Miranda decided to produce her own film in 1947 and played opposite Groucho Marx in Copacabana . The film's budget

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3424-405: Is very capable in a dual role, and Miss [Alice] Faye is eye-appealing but it’s the tempestuous Miranda who really gets away to a flying start from the first sequence". The New York Times article said, "Whenever one or the other Ameche character gets out of the way and lets [Miranda] have the screen, the film sizzles and scorches wickedly." Years later, Clive Hirschhorn wrote: " That Night in Rio

3531-682: The DownBeat Readers' Poll for best trumpeter. In 1992, he was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Maynard Ferguson plays a special solo trumpet piece as part of the closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, the XXI Olympiad, 1976. In 2000, Ferguson was initiated as a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi at the Gamma Xi Chapter (University of Maryland at College Park). In 2006, he

3638-479: The High School of Montreal when he was fifteen to pursue a music career, performing in dance bands led by Stan Wood, Roland David, and Johnny Holmes. Although trumpet was his primary instrument, he also performed on other brass and reed instruments. He took over the dance band formed by his saxophonist brother Percy, playing dates in the Montreal area and serving as an opening act for touring bands from Canada and

3745-720: The Pérez Prado Orchestra on the LP Havana 3 A.M. , recorded in February and March 1956. In 1956, he joined the Birdland Dream Band, a 14-piece big band formed by Morris Levy as an "all-star" line-up, to play at Levy's Birdland jazz club in New York City. Although the name "Birdland Dream Band" was short-lived and is represented by only two albums over the course of a year, this band became

3852-507: The 1950s showed Ferguson with his 'quartet' of trumpet, valve trombone, baritone horn , and French horn . Recordings of the latter two are rare; the French horn vanished in later years, but the baritone horn appeared on the 1974 album Chameleon . He switched to the combination valve/slide Superbone and flugelhorn on all but his last recorded album. Ferguson designed the Firebird and

3959-490: The 1960s, Ferguson's band performed less frequently. He began to feel musically stifled and sensed a resistance to change among his American jazz audiences. According to an interview in DownBeat , he was quoted as saying that if the band did not play "Maria" or "Ole," the fans went home disappointed. He began performing with a sextet before shutting down his big band in 1966. After leaving his long-time recording contract and

4066-592: The Andrews Sisters in producing and recording three Decca singles. Their first collaboration was on radio in 1945, when Miranda appeared on ABC's The Andrews Sisters Show . Their first single, "Cuanto La Gusta", was the most popular and reached number twelve on the Billboard chart. " The Wedding Samba ", which reached number 23, followed in 1950. After Copacabana , Joe Pasternak invited Miranda to make two Technicolor musicals for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer : A Date with Judy (1948) and Nancy Goes to Rio (1950). In

4173-506: The Birdland Dream Band era; this format proved to be successful with audiences and critics. The band recorded extensively, including albums backing vocalists Diane Schuur and Michael Feinstein . Big Bop Nouveau toured the world extensively; in 2005 it embarked on a tour of eight months playing an average of two hundred shows a year. The group was tour managed by Memphis legend Ed Sargent, and mixed by audio mogul Mike Freeland. Although in later years Ferguson's playing occasionally lost some of

4280-564: The Brazilian press criticized her as "too Americanized". Weeks later, Miranda responded to the criticism with the Portuguese song " Disseram que Voltei Americanizada " ("They Say I've Come Back Americanized"). Another song, "Bananas Is My Business", was based on a line from one of her films and directly addressed her image. Upset by the criticism, Miranda did not return to Brazil for 14 years. Her films were scrutinized by Latin American audiences for characterizing Central and South America in

4387-538: The Casino Legends Hall of Fame as Las Vegas Living Legends. Cherie continued to perform and sang "Teach Me Tonight" on the 2004 PBS special My Music: Moments To Remember . Babette died of cancer on January 10, 1992. Olgita died of asthma on February 14, 2000. Peggy died of lung cancer on March 6, 2004, in Las Vegas , at the age of 82. Cherie, the only sister to appear on every recording, film, TV and stage appearance, died of pneumonia on March 14, 2010, at

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4494-690: The Rockies . The film, which grossed about $ 2 million, was one of the year's ten most-successful films at the box office. According to a Chicago Tribune review, it was "senseless, but eye intriguing ... The basic plot is splashed over with songs and dances and the mouthings and eye and hand work of Carmen Miranda, who sure would be up a tree if she ever had to sing in the dark". In 1943, she appeared in Busby Berkeley 's The Gang's All Here . Berkeley's musicals were known for lavish production, and Miranda's role as Dorita featured " The Lady in

4601-712: The Rowan Jazz Program in training young jazz musicians. In 2000, he was given an Honorary Doctorate Degree by Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, and created the Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies under the direction of Denis DiBlasio in their College of Performing Arts. The Sherman Jazz Museum in Sherman, Texas opened in 2010 and houses the extensive memorabilia of Ferguson's estate. Maynard Ferguson band alumni regrouped for

4708-741: The Sahara. It was the DeCastros who told Darin that he should record one of the featured songs in his act, "Mack the Knife"; Darin thought it was just a nightclub number, but he later took their advice. The DeCastro Sisters appeared on most major TV shows including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Perry Como Show . They also made numerous film shorts including Universal's Swingin' and Singin ' with Maynard Ferguson and Riot in Rhythm with Harry James . At various times Peggy and Babette took leave from

4815-657: The Superbone. Trumpeter Rajesh Mehta bought this trumpet while living in Amsterdam and played the Firebird from 1998 until 2011 when he had American trumpet maker George Schlub create the Orka-M Naga Phoenix trumpet for him. The Superbone was another hybrid instrument, a trombone with additional valves played with the left hand. Ferguson incorporated Indian instruments and influences in his music. Ferguson

4922-535: The Tutti-Frutti Hat ". A special effect made her fruit-bedecked hat appear larger than possible. By then she was typecast as an exotic singer, and under her studio contract she was obligated to make public appearances in her ever-more-outlandish film costumes. One of her records, "I Make My Money With Bananas" seemed to pay ironic tribute to her typecasting. The Gang's All Here was one of 1943's 10 highest-grossing films and Fox's most expensive production of

5029-489: The U.S. During this period, he came to the attention of American bandleaders and began receiving offers to go to the U.S. In 1948, Ferguson moved to the United States, intending to join Stan Kenton 's band, but it no longer existed, so Ferguson played with the bands of Boyd Raeburn , Jimmy Dorsey , and Charlie Barnet . The Barnet band included Doc Severinsen , Ray Wetzel , Johnny Howell, and Rolf Ericson . Ferguson

5136-538: The World's Fair". Her fame grew quickly, and she was formally presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at a White House banquet shortly after her arrival. According to a Life magazine reviewer: Partly because their unusual melody and heavy accented rhythms are unlike anything ever heard in a Manhattan revue before, partly because there is not a clue to their meaning except the gay rolling of Carmen Miranda's insinuating eyes, these songs, and Miranda herself, are

5243-536: The act and were replaced by a cousin Olgita, so Cherie was the only sister who was part of every appearance and recording that the group ever made. In 1988, they made a comeback at Vegas World in Las Vegas , Nevada . In 1997, they were part of KTLA's 50th anniversary broadcast in Los Angeles and headlined at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel 's Cinegrill. Three years later, they were inducted in

5350-427: The age of 87. Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha GCIH , OMC (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaʁmẽj miˈɾɐ̃dɐ] ), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. As

5457-767: The age of four. At nine years old, he heard a cornet for the first time in his local church and asked his parents to buy one for him. When he was thirteen, he soloed with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. He was heard frequently on the CBC, notably featured on a "Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz" written for him by Morris Davis . He won a scholarship to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied from 1943 to 1948 with Bernard Baker. Ferguson dropped out of

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5564-564: The band on The Simon Dee Show from London Weekend Television. Ferguson moved to New York City in 1973, then relocated to Ojai, California less than two years later. He replaced the British band members with American musicians while reducing membership to twelve: four trumpets, two trombones, three saxophones, and a three-piece rhythm section. Albums from this period include M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's and Chameleon , recorded in 1973 and 1974 in New York. Ferguson took advantage of

5671-543: The bill with Noël Coward when he made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn in 1954, which had one of the most star-studded and publicized opening nights of any show in the town's history. Coward would watch their act every night while waiting to go on himself. They were part of another historic engagement in 1959, when they joined the Las Vegas debuts of George Burns as a solo act and a young singer named Bobby Darin at

5778-642: The bird and animal voices for Walt Disney's animated Song of the South , including the Oscar-winning " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah ". They appeared on screen with Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx in the 1947 film Copacabana , the same year that they joined Bob Hope and Cecil B. DeMille on the live premiere broadcast special launching KTLA in Los Angeles, the first telecast west of the Mississippi. The sisters were introduced by Hope and sang "Babalu", which

5885-492: The box-office appeal of the backstage musical, Doll Face (1945), in which she was fourth on the bill. Miranda played Chita Chula, billed in the show-within-the-film as "the little lady from Brazil"—a cheerful comic sidekick to leading lady Doll Face ( Vivian Blaine ) with one musical number and little dialogue. A New York Herald Tribune review read, "Carmen Miranda does what she always does, only not well"; according to The Sydney Morning Herald , "Carmen Miranda appears in

5992-482: The burgeoning jazz education movement by hiring musicians from colleges with jazz programs, such as Berklee College of Music , North Texas State University and the University of Miami . He performed for young audiences and gave master classes in colleges and high schools. This strategy helped him develop an audience that sustained him for the rest of his career. In 1975, Ferguson began working with Bob James on

6099-627: The cemetery. Miranda is buried in São João Batista Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro. In 1956 her belongings were donated by her husband and family to the Carmen Miranda Museum , which opened in Rio on 5 August 1976. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, Miranda has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at the south side of the 6262 block of Hollywood Boulevard . Miranda's Hollywood image

6206-493: The core of Ferguson's performing band for the next nine years. The band included Mike Abene , Jaki Byard , Bill Chase , Ronnie Cuber , Frankie Dunlop , Don Ellis , Joe Farrell , Dusko Goykovich , Tony Inzalaco , Rufus Jones , Willie Maiden , Ron McClure , Rob McConnell , Don Menza , Lanny Morgan , Wayne Shorter , and Joe Zawinul . Those who were both arrangers and performers included Herb Geller , Slide Hampton , Bill Holman , and Don Sebesky . In 1959, Ferguson

6313-684: The country's carnival culture. Hello, Hello Brazil! and Hello, Hello, Carnival! embodied the spirit of these early Miranda films. The 1939 musical Banana da Terra (directed by Ruy Costa) gave the world her "Baiana" image, inspired by Afro-Brazilians from the north-eastern state of Bahia . In 1939, Broadway producer Lee Shubert offered Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris after seeing her at Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The following year she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way with Don Ameche and Betty Grable , and her exotic clothing and Lusophone accent became her trademark. That year, she

6420-719: The end of his main club gig, Ferguson moved his family to the Hitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York in November 1963 to live with Timothy Leary , Ram Dass , and their community from Harvard University. He and his wife Flo used LSD, psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs . They lived at Millbrook for about three years, playing clubs and recording several albums. Ferguson was mentioned in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , which detailed

6527-557: The episode was included in the A&;E Network 's Biography episode about the singer. In accordance with her wishes, Miranda's body was flown back to Rio de Janeiro. The casket was covered with the flag of Brazil ; the Brazilian government declared a period of national mourning. About 60,000 people attended her memorial service at the Rio de Janeiro town hall, and more than half a million Brazilians escorted her funeral cortège to

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6634-567: The film and has little dialogue. Despite MGM's efforts to change Miranda's persona, her roles in both productions were peripheral, watered-down caricatures relying on fractured English and over-the-top musical and dance numbers. In her final film, Scared Stiff (1953, a black-and-white Paramount production with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ), Miranda's appeal was again muted. Returning full-circle to her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way , she had virtually no narrative function. Lewis parodies her, miming badly to " Mamãe eu quero " (which

6741-449: The film's release, according to Cinearte magazine, "Carmen Miranda is currently the most popular figure in Brazilian cinema, judging by the sizeable correspondence that she receives". In her next film, Estudantes (1935), she had a speaking part for the first time. Miranda played Mimi, a young radio singer (who performs two numbers in the film) who falls in love with a university student (played by singer Mário Reis ). She starred in

6848-407: The first production MGM wanted to portray a different image, allowing her to remove her turban and reveal her own hair (styled by Sydney Guilaroff ) and makeup (by Jack Dawn ). Miranda's wardrobe for the film substituted elegant dresses and hats designed by Helen Rose for "baiana" outfits. She was again fourth on the bill as Rosita Cochellas, a rumba teacher who first appears about 40 minutes into

6955-442: The first sound documentary on the subject) and three songs in A Voz do Carnaval (1933), which combined footage of street celebrations in Rio with a fictitious plot providing a pretext for musical numbers. Miranda's next screen performance was in the musical Hello, Hello Brazil! (1935), in which she performed its closing number: the marcha "Primavera no Rio", which she had recorded for Victor in August 1934. Several months after

7062-569: The footage from both cities because the singer had no dialogue with the other cast members. Down Argentine Way was successful, grossing $ 2 million that year at the US box office. The Shuberts brought Miranda back to Broadway , teaming her with Olsen and Johnson , Ella Logan , and the Blackburn Twins in the musical revue Sons o' Fun on 1 December 1941. The show was a hodgepodge of slapstick, songs, and skits; according to New York Herald Tribune theater critic Richard Watts Jr., "In her eccentric and highly personalized fashion, Miss Miranda

7169-473: The musical numbers "ap[e] the tawdry dullness" of genuine Paris revues and "the chorus girls, skin-deep in atmosphere, strike what Broadway thinks a Paris pose ought to be". Atkinson added, however, that "South American contributes the [revue's] most magnetic personality" (Miranda). Singing "rapid-rhythmed songs to the accompaniment of a Brazilian band, she radiates heat that will tax the Broadhurst [theater] air-conditioning plant this Summer". Although Atkinson gave

7276-443: The next co-production from the Waldow and Cinédia studios, the musical Hello, Hello, Carnival! (1936), which contained a roll call of popular music and radio performers (including Miranda's sister, Aurora ). A standard backstage plot permitted 23 musical numbers and, by contemporary Brazilian standards, the film was a major production. Its set reproduced the interior of Rio's plush Atlântico casino (where some scenes were filmed) and

7383-446: The nickname "Cantora do It". The singer was later known as "Ditadora Risonha do Samba", and in 1933 radio announcer Cesar Ladeira christened her "A Pequena Notável". Her Brazilian film career was linked to a genre of musical films that drew on the nation's carnival traditions and the annual celebration and musical style of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's capital at the time. Miranda performed a musical number in O Carnaval Cantado no Rio (1932,

7490-465: The outside world seriously. She left for New York on the SS Uruguay on 4 May 1939, a few months before World War II . Miranda arrived in New York on 18 May 1939. She and the band had their first Broadway performance on 19 June 1939 in The Streets of Paris . Although Miranda's part was small (she only spoke four words), she received good reviews and became a media sensation. According to New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson , most of

7597-509: The outstanding hit of the show. When news of Broadway's latest star (known as the Brazilian Bombshell) reached Hollywood , Twentieth Century-Fox began to develop a film featuring Miranda. Its working title was The South American Way (the title of a song she had performed in New York), and the film was later entitled Down Argentine Way (1940). Although its production and cast were based in Los Angeles, Miranda's scenes were filmed in New York because of her club obligations. Fox could combine

7704-909: The policy a favorable impression with the American public. Miranda's contract with 20th Century Fox lasted from 1941 to 1946, coinciding with the creation and activities of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs . The goal of the OCIAA was to obtain support from Latin American society and its governments for the United States. The Good Neighbor policy had been linked to US interference in Latin America; Roosevelt sought better diplomatic relations with Brazil and other South American nations, and pledged to refrain from military intervention (which had occurred to protect US business interests in industries such as mining or agriculture). Hollywood

7811-601: The production doesn't do her justice, the overall effect is disappointing, but still she sparkles the picture whenever she appears." Greenwich Village was less successful at the box office than Fox and Miranda had expected. Miranda's third 1944 film was Something for the Boys , a musical comedy based on the Broadway musical with songs by Cole Porter and starring Ethel Merman . It was Miranda's first film without William LeBaron or Darryl F. Zanuck as producer. The producer

7918-676: The psychedelic scene. In 1967, as the Millbrook experiment was ending, Ferguson moved his family to India and taught at the Krishnamurti -based Rishi Valley School near Madras. He was associated with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning 's Boys Brass Band, which he founded and helped teach for several years. While in India, he was influenced by Sathya Sai Baba , whom he considered as his spiritual guru. As

8025-548: The range and phenomenal accuracy of his youth, he always remained an exciting performer, touring an average of nine months a year with Big Bop Nouveau for the remainder of his life. Ferguson died on August 23, 2006. In 1973, Ferguson settled in Ojai, California , where he lived to the end of his life. His first marriage was to singer Kay Brown . His marriage to Flo Ferguson (in 1956) lasted until her death on February 27, 2005. Ferguson had four daughters: Kim, Corby, Lisa, and Wilder and

8132-487: The release of the album Hollywood (1982), produced by bassist Stanley Clarke . During that time, he recorded an instrumental version of the Michael Jackson song " Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough "; the song would later be used by Rede Globo as the theme song of Vídeo Show , which ran on the network between 1983 and 2019. Ferguson recorded three big band albums with smaller labels before forming High Voltage,

8239-543: The revue a lukewarm review, he wrote that Miranda made the show. Syndicated columnist Walter Winchell wrote for the New York Daily Mirror that a star had been born who would save Broadway from the slump in ticket sales caused by the 1939 New York World's Fair . Winchell's praise of Carmen and her Bando da Lua was repeated on his Blue Network radio show, which reached 55 million listeners daily. The press called Miranda "the girl who saved Broadway from

8346-453: The set for the cast and technicians. The singer took several cast members and some friends home with her for a small party. She went upstairs to bed at about 3 a.m. Miranda undressed, placed her platform shoes in a corner, lit a cigarette, placed it in an ashtray and went into her bathroom to remove her makeup. She apparently came from the bathroom with a small, round mirror in her hand; in the small hall that led to her bedroom, she collapsed from

8453-567: The spiritual and yoga studies he pursued in India. Ferguson brought charisma to a musical genre that is often seen as cold and cerebral. His obituary in The Washington Post stated: Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement. In a (high school) world often divided between jocks and band nerds, Ferguson crossed over, because he approached his music almost as an athletic event. On stage, he strained, sweated, heaved and roared. He nailed

8560-424: The studio's third effort to activate the "Latin hot blood", Fox was called "Hollywood's best good neighbor" by Bosley Crowther . During the week it was released, the film topped the box office (surpassing Citizen Kane , released a week earlier). In 1942, 20th Century-Fox paid $ 60,000 to Lee Shubert to terminate his contract with Miranda, who finished her Sons o' Fun tour and began filming Springtime in

8667-494: The time, including the Martin and Lewis films Living It Up and You're Never Too Young . He still recorded jazz, but his Paramount contract prevented him from playing in jazz clubs. This was sometimes circumvented by appearing under aliases such as "Tiger Brown" or "Foxy Corby". Although he enjoyed the steady income, he was unhappy with the lack of live performance opportunities and left Paramount in 1956. Ferguson played with

8774-487: The upper registers like Shaq nailing a dunk or Lawrence Taylor nailing a running back – and the audience reaction was exactly the same: the guttural shout, the leap to their feet, the fists in the air. We cheered Maynard as a gladiator, a combat soldier, a prize fighter, a circus strongman – choose your masculine archetype. Ferguson was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003. In 1950, 1951, and 1952, Ferguson won

8881-538: The value to Brazil of Miranda's tour, announced that the Brazilian government would pay for the band's transportation on the Moore-McCormack Lines between Rio and New York. Vargas believed that Miranda would foster ties between the northern and southern hemispheres and act as a goodwill ambassador in the United States, increasing Brazil's share of the American coffee market. Miranda took the official sanction of her trip and her duty to represent Brazil to

8988-665: The year. It received positive reviews, although The New York Times film critic wrote: "Mr. Berkeley has some sly notions under his busby. One or two of his dance spectacles seem to stem straight from Freud." The following year Miranda made a cameo appearance in Four Jills in a Jeep , a film based on a true adventure of actresses Kay Francis , Carole Landis , Martha Raye , and Mitzi Mayfair ; Alice Faye and Betty Grable also made brief appearances. In 1944 Miranda also starred with Don Ameche in Greenwich Village ,

9095-560: Was Irving Starr , who oversaw the studio's second-string films. According to Time magazine, the film "turns out to have nothing very notable for anyone". By 1945, Miranda was Hollywood 's highest-paid entertainer and the top female taxpayer in the United States, earning more than $ 200,000 that year ($ 2.88 million in 2020, adjusted for inflation). After World War II , Miranda's films at Fox were produced in black-and-white, indicative of Hollywood's diminishing interest in her and Latin Americans in general. A monochrome Carmen Miranda reduced

9202-511: Was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton 's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent, his versatility on several instruments, and his ability to play in a high register . Ferguson was born in Verdun (now part of Montreal ), Quebec, Canada. Encouraged by his parents, he started playing piano and violin at

9309-422: Was a backdrop for some of its musical numbers. Miranda's stardom is evident in a film poster with a full-length photograph of her and her name topping the cast list. Although she became synonymous with colorful fruit hats during her later career, she began wearing them only in 1939, and contrary to popular belief, they were never made from real fruit. Miranda appeared in the film Banana da Terra that year in

9416-457: Was a collaboration with Brazilian composer Joubert de Carvalho and sold a record 35,000 copies that year. She signed a two-year contract with RCA Victor in 1930, giving them exclusive rights to her image. In 1933 Miranda signed a two-year contract with Rádio Mayrink Veiga , the most popular Brazilian station of the 1930s, and was the first contract singer in Brazilian radio history; for a year, in 1937, she moved to Rádio Tupi . She later signed

9523-525: Was a guest with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein , performing Symphony No. 2 in C "Titans" by William Russo . In 1961, Ferguson composed the theme music for the 1961–1962 ABC adventure drama television series Straightaway . His 1961 album "Straightaway" Jazz Themes contained the music he composed for the series. As big bands declined in popularity and economic viability in

9630-487: Was a representation of Latin America. During the war years, Miranda starred in eight of her 14 films; although the studios called her the Brazilian Bombshell, the films blurred her Brazilian identity in favor of a Latin American image. According to a Variety review of director Irving Cummings ' That Night in Rio (1941, Miranda's second Hollywood film), her character upstaged the leads: "[Don] Ameche

9737-483: Was asked to help, and Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox participated. Miranda was considered a goodwill ambassador and a promoter of intercontinental culture. Although Miranda's US popularity continued to increase, she began to lose favor with some Brazilians. On 10 July 1940, she returned to Brazil and was welcomed by cheering fans. Soon after her arrival, however, the Brazilian press began criticizing Miranda for accommodating American commercialism and projecting

9844-644: Was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in 1909 in Várzea da Ovelha e Aliviada, a village in the northern Portuguese municipality of Marco de Canaveses . She was the second daughter of José Maria Pinto da Cunha (17 February 1887 – 21 June 1938) and Maria Emília Miranda (10 March 1886, Rio de Janeiro – 9 November 1971). The family's emigration to Brazil was already scheduled; however, upon finding herself pregnant, Carmen Miranda's mother preferred to wait for her daughter's birth. In 1909, her father emigrated to Brazil and settled in Rio de Janeiro, where he opened

9951-652: Was divided into about ten investors' shares. A Texan investor who owned one of the shares sent his brother, David Sebastian (23 November 1907 – 11 September 1990), to keep an eye on Miranda and his interests on the set. Sebastian befriended her, and they began dating. Miranda and Sebastian married on 17 March 1947 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills , with Patrick J. Concannon officiating. In 1948, Miranda became pregnant, but miscarried after

10058-522: Was educated at the Convent of Saint Therese of Lisieux . Her father did not approve of Miranda's plans to enter show business; her mother supported her, despite being beaten when her father discovered that his daughter had auditioned for a radio show (she had sung at parties and festivals in Rio). Miranda's older sister, Olinda, developed tuberculosis and was sent to Portugal for treatment; the singer worked in

10165-602: Was featured on Barnet's recording of " All The Things You Are " by Jerome Kern . The recording enraged Kern's widow and was withdrawn from sale. In January 1950, Kenton formed the Innovations Orchestra, a 40-piece jazz orchestra with strings. After the folding of the Barnet band, Ferguson was available for the first rehearsal on January 1. One of the Orchestra's recordings was named "Maynard Ferguson," one of

10272-470: Was filmed by a Paramount newsreel cameraman and is the only surviving footage of the original three-hour show. In 1954, the more Americanized DeCastro Sisters were signed by a small country label, Abbott Records, and their first release featured "It's Love" as the A-side, backed by a Sammy Cahn - Gene DePaul song, "Teach Me Tonight", which had been suggested at the last minute by their bass player. The label

10379-460: Was hailed as a talented performer, her popularity waned by the end of World War II . Miranda came to resent the stereotypical "Brazilian Bombshell" image she had cultivated and attempted to free herself of it with limited success. She focused on nightclub appearances and became a fixture on television variety shows. Despite being stereotyped, Miranda's performances popularized Brazilian music and increased public awareness of Latin culture. In 1941, she

10486-494: Was interested in performing in New York, she refused to accept the deal unless Shubert agreed to also hire her band, the Bando da Lua. He refused, saying that there were many capable musicians in New York who could back her. Miranda remained steadfast, feeling that North American musicians would not be able to authenticate the sounds of Brazil. Shubert compromised, agreeing to hire the six band members but not paying for their transport to New York. President Getúlio Vargas , recognizing

10593-401: Was not the first trumpeter to play in the extreme upper register (which had been employed by performers such as Cat Anderson ), but he could play high notes with full, rich tone, power, and musicality. In interviews he said that his command of the upper registers was based mostly on breath control, something he discovered in his youth in Montreal. He attributed the longevity of his technique to

10700-570: Was often a guest at their home and was also in charge of a planned project under the Batista regime to build a canal through Cuba, which never materialized. De Castro purchased a co-op apartment at The Dakota in Manhattan, where Cherie Dawn DeCastro was born on September 1, 1922. Youngest daughter Babette was born back in Havana. The De Castro Sisters, always strongly chaperoned, began their singing careers as young girls and patterned themselves as

10807-632: Was presented with Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award at its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio. He had been initiated as an honorary member of the Fraternity's Xi Chi Chapter at Tennessee Tech University in 1976. The "Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies" at Rowan University was created in 2000, the same year Rowan bestowed Ferguson with his only Honorary Doctorate degree. The institute, under direction of Ferguson's friend Denis Diblasio, supports

10914-498: Was pushing "It's Love", but Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randall turned the record over and "Teach Me Tonight" soon became a hit, peaking at No. 2 on the charts and selling more than five million copies. Several more recordings followed, including "Too Late Now", "Boom Boom Boomerang", "Snowbound For Christmas", "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming", and numerous albums on a variety of labels including RCA Victor, ABC-Paramount, Capitol, and 20th Century-Fox. Now major headliners, they shared

11021-406: Was that of a generic Latina, blurring distinctions between Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, and Mexico and samba, tango and habanera music. It was stylized and flamboyant; she often wore platform sandals and towering headdresses made of fruit , becoming known as " the lady in the tutti-frutti hat ". Her enormous, fruit-laden hats were iconic visuals recognized worldwide; Saks Fifth Avenue developed

11128-462: Was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave her hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Miranda is considered the precursor of Brazil's 1960s Tropicalismo cultural movement. A museum was built in Rio de Janeiro in her honor and she was the subject of the documentary Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business (1995). Miranda

11235-471: Was the quintessential Fox war-time musical – an over-blown, over-dressed, over-produced and thoroughly irresistible cornucopia of escapist ingredients." On 24 March 1941, Miranda was one of the first Latinas to imprint her hand- and footprints on the sidewalk of Grauman's Chinese Theatre . Her next film, Week-End in Havana , was directed by Walter Lang and produced by William LeBaron . The cast included Alice Faye , John Payne , and Cesar Romero . After

11342-446: Was to play a lead role showcasing her comic skills, which she set out to do in Copacabana (1947, an independent production released by United Artists starring Groucho Marx ). Although her films were modest hits, critics and the American public did not accept her new image. Although Miranda's film career was faltering, her musical career remained solid and she was still a popular nightclub attraction. From 1948 to 1950, she joined

11449-453: Was voted the third-most-popular personality in the United States; she and her group, Bando da Lua, were invited to sing and dance for President Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1943, Miranda starred in Busby Berkeley 's The Gang's All Here , which featured musical numbers with the fruit hats that became her trademark. By 1945, she was the highest-paid woman in the United States. Miranda made 14 Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. Although she

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