Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy: Mac/Eddy meeting, June 25, 2023

A luncheon honoring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Guest speakers include 1) James Hanan, discussing Kathryn Grayson and others who knew them. 2) Blythe Kearney, whose grandmother Mary Blythe (of the Barrymore family) was a lifelong friend of Jeanette's, from their high school years onward. Over the years and when Blythe was a child, Jeanette came to visit her grandmother in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Blythe discusses her quality time with Jeanette. On one trip, Nelson accompanied Jeanette and they stayed together incognito at the Princess Martha Hotel. Blythe enjoyed a day trip with the two of them at nearby Sunken Gardens. In her late teens, Blythe told Jeanette she knew about her relationship with Nelson all these years, and asked Jeanette how her husband Gene dealt with it. This is a lengthy interview but very insightful. 3) Former news correspondent/producer Anne Kaestner introduces her guests, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, daughter of Dale and Roy Rogers; and Nelson's godson Bob Rush, son of Nelson's longtime manager Art Rush. Bob brought for display some of Nelson's sculptures given to his family. Anne annotates Nelson's funeral newsreel footage, identifying Bob Rush and his family and others walking in the procession, and also discusses a phone conversation she had with Nelson's wife, Ann Eddy. 4) "The Three Amigas" (Leslie, Ellen and Mary Lynn) discuss their recent trip to Lake Tahoe and locating what still remains there of the original location filming of "Rose Marie". (c) 2024 by Sharon Rich. All rights reserved. NOTE: The original Nelson funeral newsreel footage with sound can be watched here: • Nelson Eddy Funeral - ...