Tuesday, April 5, 2011
From FAME to ER to HARRY'S LAW
Paul McCrane, who created the role of Montgomery in the iconic movie FAME, has been a steadily working actor ever since. Long roles on series like ER, 24, CHAMPS and now HARRY'S LAW, have kept him in demand.
The movie FAME was released my senior year of high school just as I was beginning to fully embrace my passions for theater and creativity, who I was and who I was heading to become. That pretty much sums up the point of FAME. The soundtrack became the soundtrack of my life for the next several years. As I went off to college for four years of a music theatre degree I lived what the kids in FAME did in many ways. Eating, sleeping, breathing my passions. Figuring out who I was and if I was going to be alright with that.
A lot of people don't know that Paul McCrane also wrote the song "Is It OK If I Call You Mine" which he performed in the movie FAME. He apparently still gets checks from the soundtrack sales to this day.
In the season finale of HARRY'S LAW, he performs the song again, 31 years later.
In some ways, I'm still doing my own song and dance from 31 years ago. When I think about that, I sometimes wonder if I should grow up.
Other times, I realize I already have.
I loved hearing him perform that song again, it was a great treat in a great series!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I agree - pretty special for those of us that know the history. I love the series too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that many people remembered the origins of the song, I called several friends, and had to remind them where the song came from. Thanks for your post, it is nice to know that there is at least one other like minded person!
ReplyDeletePaul McCrane is an amazing actor, along with pretty much the entire staff on Harry's Law. I really hope this series doesn't get cancelled but chances are it will be. I'll miss watching this live on Monday nights on my iPad when I'm away from home (I am both a customer and employee of DISH Network, and DISH let's me watch all of my live TV and DVR recordings on the go over 3G or wifi with their Sling Adapter - it's pretty amazing). I doubt they'll get an additional order of episodes, but I really want to know what happens to the death row guy. :-\
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one who caught that whole thing on Harry's Law when Josh (Paul McCrane) sang Is it OK if I call you mine? It was beautiful moment in the show and brought to me, a flood of nostalgia back to 1980 and seeing him sing it in Fame and reliving my life back then (all that has happened since then)
ReplyDeleteWow. Evidently, several of us had a flood of emotion as those of us in our 40s and 50s thought back to "Fame" while we watched "Harry's Law" as adults.
ReplyDeleteI'm a married gay man from the U.S. living in Canada because my spouse is not a U.S. citizen but from Europe. So when I'm able to connect moments from my past with my present--it's bittersweet.