COLE PORTER : A BIOGRAPHY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK William McBrien | 459 pages | 05 Dec 2000 | Random House USA Inc | 9780679727927 | English | New York, United States Cole Porter : A Biography PDF Book Cole Porter: A Biography. Quantity must be 1 or more. This allowed him to live his days and nights as a wealthy American in Paris, a socialite with climbing status, and still be considered a "war hero" back home, an 'official' story he encouraged throughout the rest of his life. They married on December 19, and lived a happy friendship, a mostly successful public relationship, but a sexless marriage until Linda's death in George Clooney Facts. Porter died in at Lindbergh went through" became "flying too high with some guy in the sky is my idea of nothing to do". Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics, as well as the music, for his songs. The stunning, thought-provoking first novel by a lost giant of American literature The New Yorker June, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He preferred the piano, and was soon practicing for two hours every day. His work continues to stand as the epitome of sophisticated, civilized detachment in the popular song form. He died in California in , having written more than songs. World War I was still in progress, and he sent home untrue reports that he had joined the French Foreign Legion. Gay composer Cole Porter had many men in his life, but very few women — and none like his wife, muse and patron, Linda Lee Thomas. The aftereffects of his injuries would force Porter to endure more than 30 operations and years of pain. In he went to France and distributed foodstuffs to war-ravaged villages. The Destiny of Nathalie X. Among the first of these compositions was the song called "I Concentrate on You". The fact that Linda's ex-husband was abusive and Cole was gay made the arrangement even more palatable. Porter contributed songs to various stage shows and films and in composed a ballet, Within the Quota, which was performed in Paris and New York. Never-before-seen letters shine light into Porter's ongoing relationships with Ballets Russes star Boris Kochno, architect Ed Tauch, choreographer Nelson Barclift, director John Wilson, and longtime friend Ray Kelly, whose children still receive half of the childless Porter's copyrights. While an undergrad at Yale University, Porter wrote the fight song "Bulldog," as well as other pieces for student productions; his output during these years totaled approximately songs. Print Cite. The man who paid all of Cole's bills, his grandfather J. New York: Alfred A. Some of these Yale connections were helpful when he started his career on Broadway. Cole Porter : A Biography Writer The lines, "I Never cared for those nights in the air or the fair ordeal Mrs. While Cole practiced, he and his mother would parody popular tunes on the piano in order to increase Cole's patience with such long practice sessions. Other famous songs have come from Cole Porter musicals or revues that failed miserably, but made up their exposure via sheet music and recordings from popular singers like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Class valedictorian of Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts - an elite prep school. After this point, he had one major production, Kiss Me Kate , which was based on the Shakespeare classic Taming of the Shrew. Citron, Stephen. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. He was one of the greatest contributors to the Great American Songbook. Although Porter was often photographed in the arms of beautiful women and was married for 34 years to one wife who conceived and miscarried, [1] it is the current consensus that he was homosexual. In , Cole was involved in a horse riding accident and fractured both of legs. Cole reportedly enjoyed the movie's wildly fictional account, and he had the privilege of seeing movie superstar Cary Grant play a well-hyped heroic and straight version of himself. At Yale — he wrote music and collaborated worked with others on lyrics for the scores of several amateur shows presented by his fraternity social club at colleges and universities and the Yale Dramatic Association. Porter's first play on Broadway featured a former ballet dancer, actor Clifton Webb. California, constituent state of the United States of America. Subscribe Now. Cole Porter: A Biography. They married on June 29, , at Newport, Rhode Island. Also in he married the wealthy socialite someone who keeps company with well-respected people Linda Lee Thomas. Most students soon knew him for the fight songs he would write, many of which continue to be Yale classics. Learn More in these related Britannica articles:. He began playing violin and piano at age six. Kate's father expected to marry her off to a man with a strong business background, a strong personality, and the potential for a good career. The couple married without the full consent of J. I like everything as long as it's different. New York: Oxford University Press, Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Charles Schwartz's account of Cole Porter is the most revealing, comprehensive, and objective biography to date of an extraordinarily talented and fascinating man. Cole was very skeptical of this production but eventually lent his hand to the production and it became very successful, eventually spawning a moderately successful movie. Their financial status and social standing also made them ideal candidates for marriage -- as a business contract, not for passion. He was hospitalized for two years, confined to a wheelchair for five years and endured over 30 operations to save his legs over the next 20 years. New York: Alfred A. Where did Cole Porter go to university? Retrieved December 20, The Grammy- and Academy Award- nominated singer- songwriter's haunting, lyrical memoir, sharing the story of an Interweaving the life and the music, McBrien shows us a man whose genius as a composer flowered in deceptively simple melodies that were thought to be completely modern but today are considered ingenious, complicated, and steeped in the nineteenth-century tradition of lieder; a composer whose craft concealed complicated solutions to musical problems while it enchanted his audiences. Also, do you participate in your community? He began violin study at the age of six and piano at eight; he composed an operetta in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan at 10 and saw his first composition , a waltz, published a year later. The album features Cole Porter songs sung by popular musicians of the s and s. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Fact Title. Worcester Academy McBrien reveals the private Porter: his privileged Indiana youth he composed his first song at ten. His teacher taught him about the relationship between words and meter, and between words and music in songs. McBrien takes us into Porter's seemingly conventional marriage to reveal his complicated emotional life--the lost, privileged man who had a wild, irrepressible talent to amuse but at first find couldn't find his voice; the man who married "the most beautiful woman in the world," the very social, very southern Linda Lee Thomas, but who preferred his own sex. A review of a recent Porter biography recounts that in his later years, the composer kept "breaking appliances so he could lure cute repairmen into his lair". Ray Goetz , the brother-in-law of Irving Berlin , on several Broadway plays, as Goetz was an established producer and lyricist. Walter Winchell , the newspaper columnist and radio personality, promoted the song, which was later banned by many radio stations because of its content. They conducted elaborate games including treasure hunts through the canals and arranged spectacular balls. Cole Porter : A Biography Reviews This allowed him to live his days and nights as a wealthy American in Paris, a socialite with climbing status, and still be considered a "war hero" back home, an 'official' story he encouraged throughout the rest of his life. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. While an undergrad at Yale University, Porter wrote the fight song "Bulldog," as well as other pieces for student productions; his output during these years totaled approximately songs. Gavin Stevens, the wise and forbearing student of crime and of the folk ways of He was in the hospital for months, but his mental and physical health waned. Ariana Grande Facts. They married on June 29, , at Newport, Rhode Island. Santa Monica, California, U. When they met, she had already received the largest divorce settlement at the time from a man who abused her. Howver, perhaps because of his father's trivial role in Cole's upbringing, other reports circled that he was actually buried between his mother Kate and his wife Linda. For those interested in the poets, politicians, patricians, and places Cole knew in the next two decades, they were fairly well documented. Now in paperback! The first novel by the author of acclaimed national bestseller The Sunday Wife, now reissued Charlemagne was an extraordinary figure: an ingenious military strategist, a wise but ruthless leader, a cunning politician, and Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of After this he studied composition music writing briefly with the composer Vincent d'Indy in Paris, France. Next Story. He preferred the piano, and was soon practicing for two hours every day. Porter's own life matched that of his songs for urbanity, wit, and elegance, and in New York, Hollywood, and on the Continent he was an arbiter of taste and fashion and part of the glamorous international set of the Twenties and Thirties.