Saturday 9: Easter Parade

Saturday 9: Easter Parade

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is best known from the 1948 movie of the same name, but it was originally written for a 1933 Broadway play called As Thousands Cheer. In the play, a young man reads about the parade in a New York newspaper and decides to go and show his lady love off to parade goers. What's the most recent parade you attended?

A. It would have been a local Christmas parade back around 2011, I think. I was taking pictures for the newspaper. After going to loads of them to take photos for the paper, I could easily never go to another parade.

2) On Broadway, the song was performed by Clifton Webb. He'd had a busy stage career, appearing in musicals as well as plays by Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward, but when he was in his mid-50s, he was considered too old to be a leading man. Broadway offers stopped coming. He was unexpectedly cast by Otto Preminger for the film noir Laura and a new career was born. He worked steadily in Hollywood for 20 years and earned three Oscar nominations. Tell us about a time you were grateful your life took an unanticipated turn.

A. In 1983, I was unceremoniously fired from a job because I had pneumonia, but the physician's note did not specifically say I shouldn't be at work on Monday, and company policy demanded a written physician's note for Monday because so many of the employees were drunks. So they fired me even though I had a note from the previous week saying I had pneumonia. It was just an excuse, I guess. But it led me to an office job where I met my friend Leslie, who has been my friend ever since. So, I am grateful I was fired so I could meet Leslie.

3) Today he's fondly remembered by the students at UCLA who have benefited from The Clifton Webb Scholarship of the Arts. If you could give an endowment to a school or charity, what would you like it to be used for?

A. I should say creative writing, or poetry, or even journalism, but with the state of the nation at the moment, I think it should be used to study democracy.

4) According to Forbes magazine, the average American household will spend upwards of $150 on Easter dinner, candy, and decorations this weekend. Do holidays strain your budget?

A. I save up for most holidays and Easter is not one we celebrate with decorations or anything. An extra $20 for a special meal is about all we spend.

5) The biggest chocolate Easter egg was made in Italy, measured 34 feet tall and weighed a staggering 15,000 lbs. Do you think it's possible to have too much chocolate?

A. Yes. Too much of anything is not healthy.

  

6) After chocolate, the top-selling Easter candy is Peeps Marshmallow Chicks. They're so popular that they were once the subject of a Jeopardy clue. Do you often watch Jeopardy?

A. Not as much as I used to. After my husband retired, he took over the remote and he watches some car show when Jeopardy is on.

7) Jellybeans are also popular this time of year. In a 2020 poll, jellybean fans responded that cinnamon is their favorite flavor. Do you have a favorite?

A. I do not like jellybeans.

8) We've been talking a lot about sweets this morning. The only holiday that generates more candy sales is Halloween. When do you eat more candy: Easter or Halloween?

A. It used to be about even, but these days, since I don't eat much chocolate, maybe Easter, because I do like those Cadbury eggs even if they don't taste as good as they used to.

 9) Easter is considered the season of rebirth. What makes you feel refreshed or rejuvenated?

A. A hot shower and/or a good night's sleep.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.