IN MEMORIAM, BARBARA COOK

Barbara Cook, one of America's greatest talents is gone. But what a remarkable life.  She was a slender young ingenue on Broadway, who starred in such 50s musicals as Flahooley, Plain and Fancy, The Music Man and Candide. When her career went into decline she became an overweight and unemployed alcoholic. But with the help of musician Wally Harper she overcame her addiction and made a triumphal comeback concert at Carnegie Hall. Together they began a successful collaboration that lasted for 31 years. Barbara  Cook continued to perform to sold-out concert and cabaret audiences throughout the world well into her 80s. (After a concert in London, leading critic Alistair Macaulay proclaimed her"the greatest singer in the world".) If you look her up on YouTube, you will see many celebrity tributes to Barbara Cook for whom Broadway dimmed their lights on the night of August 9. Not surprisingly the naive TV networks did not recognize the immense importance of this musical legend. I tried to include her signature song "Ice Cream" from She Loves Me, but being a Luddite, I failed.  If you are not familiar with Barbara Cook, I encourage you to seek out her singing "Ice Cream" as well as many other famous songs that she delivers like nobody else in the world.