Gordon MacRae

For the hockey player, see Gord McRae.

Gordon MacRae
Born	Albert Gordon MacRae March 12, 1921(1921-03-12) East Orange, New Jersey, United States
Died	January 24, 1986(1986-01-24) (aged 64) Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Spouse	Sheila MacRae, nee Stephens (1941-67) Elizabeth Lamberti Schrafft (1967-86)
Children	Heather MacRae Meredith MacRae

Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986)^[1] was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956) and films with Doris Day like Starlift.

Early life

Born Albert Gordon MacRae^[1] in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1940 and served as a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Prior to this, he attended Nottingham High School in Syracuse, NY.^{[citation needed]}

Career

He made his Broadway debut in the mid-1940s, 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 several films.

In 1951, he starred with Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay, followed by the sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon in 1953. 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 opposite Shirley Jones.

On radio, he was the host and lead actor on The Railroad Hour, a one-hour anthology series made up of condensed versions of hit Broadway musicals.

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 holiday hymn "O Holy Night".^[2] 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. He continued 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, his wife playing the role of Miss Adeleide, reprising her Broadway role.^[3] In the late 1960s he co-hosted for a week on The Mike Douglas Show. He also toured in summer stock and appeared in nightclubs. In 1967, he replaced Robert Preston in the original Broadway run of the musical I Do! I Do!, starring opposite Carol Lawrence, who had taken over the role from Mary Martin.

In the 1970s, he portrayed a murderer on the popular TV series McCloud and played a supporting role in what turned out to be his last film, the 1979 motion picture The Pilot.

Death

In 1986, MacRae died at Bryan Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of 64; he had been undergoing treatment for cancer of the mouth and jaw as well as pneumonia.^[4]

Personal life

He was married to Sheila MacRae from 1941 until 1967;^[5] the couple were the parents of Heather MacRae and Meredith MacRae. He married Elizabeth Lamberti Schrafft^[1] on September 25, 1967, and they remained married until his death.^[6]

He was close friends with Shirley Jones and was the godfather of her son Shaun Cassidy.^{[citation needed]}

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.."

Filmography

Feature films:

• The Big Punch (1948)
• Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
• Backfire (1950)
• The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
• Return of the Frontiersman (1950)
• Tea for Two (1950)
• The West Point Story (1950)
• On Moonlight Bay (1951)
• Starlift (1951) (cameo)
• About Face (1952)
• By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
• The Desert Song (1953)
• Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
• Oklahoma! (1955)
• Carousel (1956)
• The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)
• Zero to Sixty (1978)
• The Pilot (1980)

Short subjects:

• The Screen Director (1951)
• Screen Snapshots: Fun in the Sun (1952)
• So You Want a Television Set (1953)

Discography

Solo "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" "Easy To Love" "Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue" "It's Magic" "Rambling Rose" "Love Is The Sweetest Thing"

with Jo Stafford "'A' — You're Adorable" "Dearie" "My Darling, My Darling" "Say Something Sweet To Your Sweetheart" "Whispering Hope" "Echoes"

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Gordon MacRae at Find a Grave
2. ^ ""O Holy Night," Tennessee Ernie Ford and Gordon MacRae". clevelandclassicmedia.blogspot.com. http://clevelandclassicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/12/o-holy-night-tennessee-ernie-ford-and.html. Retrieved November 25, 2010. 
3. ^ at the Grady Gammage Auditorium in Phoenix, Arizona - theater in the round
4. ^ Gordon MacRae Dies: Star of Movie Musicals from The New York Times
5. ^ Milestones: Aug. 4, 1967 from Time magazine
6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534286/bio

External links

Biography portal

• Gordon MacRae at the Internet Movie Database
• Gordon MacRae at the Internet Broadway Database
• Biography from Starpulse
• Gordon MacRae, That Old MacRae Magic by Frances Ingram from ClassicImages.com

Persondata
Name	Macrae, Gordon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 12, 1921
Place of birth	East Orange, New Jersey, United States
Date of death	January 24, 1986
Place of death	Lincoln, Nebraska, United States