Cyril Ritchard

He was best known for playing Captain Hook in the televised Jule Styne "Peter Pan"--although Dataloungers probably know him bestas the Wolf singing along with Liza in the "Little Red Riding Hood" musical song "Ding-a-Ling (I Feel So Christmas-ey.)"

Wasn't Basil Rathbone in that, too, OP? And Anna Maria Alberghetti? I saw it when I was little.

"Ding-a-Ling (I Feel Sho Chrishmash-ey.)"

Speaking of Anna Maria Alberghetti

[quote] ultranelly superqueen

He was married to a Madge.

Brilliant performer! Thanks for this thread. I look forward to more clips... although, like so many others of his era, most of his work was live and, therefore, lost to us.

Here's a great example of his ultranelliness.

Thanks, OP. That was new to me. That has to be by far Porter's worst song. And I worship Cole. Wasn't Mineo the star of Alladin?

Aladdin

Huge queen very taken with himself. Probably the model for Jack Buchanan in Band Wagon.

Great performer. Saw him multiple times in Sugar. He and Morse were fabulous.

I remember him from Peter Pan.

He was divine in that!

R8, check this out.

His look at the fan is double take perfection.

How funny, just Monday at a used record store I bought a box set of LPs of Cyril Ritchard narrating Alice in Wonderland. I can't wait to listen to it.

I would love to see outtakes of r7.

HELEN HAYES (whispering to Mildred Natwick): "Miss Thang is just a [italic]mess[/italic] today!"

OP is wrong. He was not British. He was Australian--listen to his accent and you can tell.

All hail the queen!

The Oldest Chrous Boy in London

He was married to a woman, and they had a child together, for whatever that's worth.

That bizarre attempt at a Cockney accent at r19 is undercut by his rolled "r's" and perfectly articulate double "t's." He just can;t stop himself from pronouncing them poshly: "I'm Cyrrril the scourge of the stage!"

Played a straight rapist in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Blackmail

I wish Liza had sung the "Ding-a-Ling" song in her later years, with those exact same gestures and dance moves.

Who's the slimiest slime in the book? Captain Hook! Captain Hook!

"Captain Hook's Waltz," from the 1960 videotaped version of Mary Martin's "Peter Pan." (It had been broadcast live in 1955 and 1956.)

His Captain Hook made me tingle as a baby gay. Those thighs!

This is a terrific song, but his hammy performance kind of ruins it.

He was certainly one of a kind. He was very dismissive of his singing abilities ("I have four notes, and two of them are good"), but he actually sings pleasantly if not beautifully--he doesn't speak-sing, at least (a la Harrison and Hepburn).

I love how, in OP's video, they use Japanese motifs to evoke Peking.

His Wiki. He lived at the Langham, 135 CPW for those of you in NYC.

I get a very Rex Harrison to the gayest power vibe from him.

I always thought it was odd that Harrison was a total heterosexual dog. Never a whisper of the gay about him. Just his whole attitude, bearing and career.

R4, that is always what I think of first when I hear her name.

bump for campy old queens

R19: "At auditions I've got into all positions." I'll bet!

Look up John Murray Anderson's "Almanac" on Youtube, it has a lot of fun songs by Ritchard as well as Hermione Gingold (See - Somebody's Sending Me Flowers)

"And Her Mother Came, Too." Creepy song title.

thrtyrtyr