Horst Buchholz

The Library of Congress has today announced its annual list of 25 films that will be included in the National Film Registry.

Der Volksmund sagt: 'Lachen ist die beste Magazin' oder auch 'Lachen ist gesund'. Inspiriert von diesen kleinen Lebensweisheiten widmet sich Hellmuth Karasek in seinem neuen Buch dem gepflegten Thema Witz. Am Samstag Abend war er damit zu Gast im Schlosspark Theater Berlin.

Original cast albums are wonderful things. They preserve the music, lyrics and orchestrations of shows for other generations and allow today's teens to enjoy the craftsmanship of Rodgers and Hart and Vincent Youman. They also allow someone who was only six years old when the original production of FANNY played on Broadway to fall in love with Harold Rome's remarkable score on black vinyl and later on CD. This is music that is filled with gems, but the special moment that most aficionados tend to recall is William Tabbert's soaring rendition of the title tune. His singing of the plaintive lyric, 'Here's a boy with no heart to give Fanny... Not worth the tears you'll cry, Fanny, oh Fanny, goodbye' is so stellar that it remains in peoples' minds more than half a century later. The production ran for almost 900 performances but most people who remember Tabbert's singing never saw the show. It's the cast album that echoes in their ears and resonates in their hearts.