American musical satirist Tom Lehrer dies at 97, US media report
Lehrer's most enduring songs include The Elements, a list of the chemical elements set to the tune of I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General from The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera. Other fan favourites include The Masochism Tango, in which singer extols his beloved's violent passions with the lyrics, "I ache for the touch of your lips, dear / But much more for the touch of your whips, dear..."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘I'm hoping to be the world's youngest dirty old man': the wit of Tom Lehrer, by those who knew him
A reputation for wit is often a burden – people expect bon mots to drop constantly from your lips – but no one ever wore their reputation for wit more lightly than the great American singer-songwriter Tom Lehrer, who has died aged 97. Lehrer admirers all over the world know his witticisms from his concert recordings. 'If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worthwhile,' he said. A doctor became a specialist, 'specialising in diseases of the rich'. And Lehrer reflected on protest singers: 'It takes a certain amount of courage to get in a coffee house or a college auditorium and come out in favour of the things that everybody else in the audience is against, like peace and justice and brotherhood and so on.' But Lehrer turned his back on fame and fortune in 1960, and after 1972 he spent most of his time teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His students and close friends say he was wonderfully funny, scattering witticisms like confetti. Most of them are lost, but I've retrieved a few unknown Lehrer anecdotes. In 1943, aged 15, Lehrer applied to go to Harvard, and was accepted because he was a mathematics prodigy. His application took the form of a poem, that finished: But although I detest Learning poems and the rest Of the things one must know to have 'culture', While each of my teachers Makes speeches like preachers And preys on my faults like a vulture I will leave movie thrillers And watch caterpillars Get born and pupated and larva'ed And I'll work like a slave And always behave And maybe I'll get into Harvard … During his study there, the art historian Paul Turner (now of Stanford University) remembers a group sitting on the bank of the Charles River singing songs about their home towns, such as Chicago. Turner complained there was no song about his home town of Schenectady. Lehrer replied that there was, and sang: 'The toe bone Schenectady the foot bone, the foot bone Schenectady the ankle bone…' In 1970, a British graduate student at Harvard asked for an interview. Lehrer was inclined to refuse, but agreed because it was the young man's ticket to a job in journalism in London. He told him he was now 'on that vague borderline between adolescence and senility. I'm hoping to hang on to go from the world's oldest adolescent to the world's youngest dirty old man.' The interview did its job. The student got his job in journalism and is now the celebrated historian and member of the House of Lords Peter Hennessy. For 30 years beginning in 1972, Lehrer's working life was teaching two courses at Santa Cruz. One was a mathematics course for students whose main subject was something else – he called it 'Maths for Tenors'. The other was a course on The American Musical. It was work he loved, and his students loved him. But he was a private man, he disliked fame, and he did his best to live as though it had not happened to him. He was indifferent to money – he had enough for his needs, and no interest in acquiring more – so he put a legal instrument on his website allowing anyone to do anything they liked with his work, without paying him royalties. This is in amazing contrast with most high-profile performers, who have international legal teams to guard their intellectual property. In 2008 he was visited in Santa Cruz by Norwegian journalist Erik Meyn, who had set up a Tom Lehrer channel on YouTube without asking permission, and felt guilty about it. Lehrer explained that he didn't mind, and even insisted on paying for their lunch: 'It's the least I can do, and that's why I'm doing it.' Lehrer's copyright decision gave rise to two shows which make their cheerful way round London's theatres and occasionally further afield. One is Stefan Bednarczyk's one-man show The Elements of Tom Lehrer. The other is my play, Tom Lehrer Is Teaching Math and Doesn't Want to Talk to You, with Shahaf Ifhar as Lehrer, which includes many of his greatest songs but also tries to get to the truth about this extraordinary and enigmatic man. I think it succeeds as far as anyone has ever succeeded, which is not very far.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Hollywood nepo baby is the spitting image of her heartthrob dad... but do you know who she is?
She's the daughter of one of Hollywood's most famous heartthrobs, and fans can't get over just how much she looks like him. Ella Bleu Travolta, 25, is the only daughter of Grease and Pulp Fiction star John Travolta, and her resemblance to her famous father has only grown more striking with age. From her piercing blue eyes to that signature Travolta smile, Ella is the spitting image of John during his leading man heyday. But Ella isn't just another celebrity nepo child riding on her parents' fame. She's carving out a career of her own in music, film and fashion. Born in April 2000 to John and the late actress Kelly Preston, Ella grew up in the spotlight alongside older brother Jett and younger brother Benjamin. Tragically, Jett passed away in 2009 following a seizure during a family holiday in the Bahamas. Ella started acting when she was just a kid, and she made her big screen debut in 2009's Old Dogs, starring opposite both her parents. She later appeared in The Poison Rose in 2019 and recently wrapped filming Get Lost, a modern-day reimagining of Alice in Wonderland. However, it's music where she seems to have really found her niche. In 2022, she released her debut single Dizzy, followed by tracks No Thank You and Little Bird. The latter song is a moving tribute to her mother, who passed away in 2020 after battling breast cancer. 'Little Bird is about holding onto those pure relationships that you have with people that you lost and really just listening to yourself and staying true to that relationship with that person,' Ella told People. 'It's sort of the viewpoint of a mama bird talking to a baby bird and just not letting any other interference get in between it, because your true instincts were there all along.' She continued: 'It had been a couple years, obviously, since my mom's passing, so I could look at the whole situation and take a step back from it and see what I wanted to communicate on it and what I wanted to communicate to her and what I was feeling in general.' She's also made waves in the fashion world, landing the cover of Hunger Magazine in 2024, wearing a vintage Chanel look previously worn by Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game, per Page Six. Since then, Ella has been spotted in front rows at fashion week in Madrid and Milan, appearing alongside European royalty like Princess Diana's niece, Lady Kitty Spencer, and Princess Alexandra of Hanover, per Hola. Ella remains close with her dad as John often shares sweet birthday tributes and throwback videos with her on social media. In a recent birthday post, he called his daughter 'gracious, generous, funny, beautiful, kind, and deeply talented.' The actor also loves to celebrate Ella's accomplishments and often posts about her magazine covers and song releases.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Wednesday FIRST LOOK: Netflix tease Billie Piper's new role in hit gothic comedy as British actress joins the cast for its second season
Netflix has given Wednesday fans a first look at Billie Piper in her new role on the show, in which she will star alongside Jenna Ortega. The gothic comedy, which follows the antics of Wednesday Addams (played by Ortega), debuted on the streaming service in November 2022. It was quickly renewed for a second series in January 2023. Now, Netflix has unveiled Billie, 42, as Isadora Capri - a captivating new character at Nevermore Academy, where she serves as the school's head of music. Described as a former child prodigy, Isadora is brilliant, intense, and enigmatic. She takes a special interest in Wednesday's musical talents and also mentors fellow werewolf Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers). Billie's casting adds an intriguing layer to the series, given her background in supernatural and gothic roles, notably as Brona Croft/The Bride of Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful. The new images come after Netflix revealed the future of Wednesday beyond the upcoming series two, and fans of the chart-topping show are all saying the same thing. The American supernatural comedy series follows Jenna, 22, as the spooky Wednesday Addams. It is one in a series of takes over the years on The Addams Family, the eccentric fictional old-money clan, famously macabre and gothic in manner and look. The second series of the Emmy-winning programme, executive produced and often directed by horror icon Tim Burton, 66, is set for release in August. And now, it has been announced that not only will Wednesday be back for a third series, but a spin-off programme is currently under discussion, according to Hollywood Reporter. Fans were delighted to hear the fate of the beloved show has been secured, taking to social media to express their excitement. Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55, who plays creepy matriarch Morticia Addams, posted on Instagram confirming the news: 'When Wednesday comes a better day. 'Wednesday season three. It's official... we shall return.' One fan wrote in the comments section: 'And for many more seasons.'; 'I love this because then they can start filming soon and it won't be such a long pause between seasons! Or that's the hope!' The second series was announced in January 2023, but by the time it comes out later this year, it will have been more than two years in the making. Other users wrote, 'Season three? Hold on!', and, 'I'm excited about this.' Someone else added: 'I'll be gripping the sheets in agony waiting but please... don't let us wait three years again.' Another commenter wrote: 'Shut up. Season three?! Amazing!' One penned: 'I can't wait to see the second season, I'm waiting for it with great curiosity... and the third is already official, fantastic news!' The first series of Wednesday follows the titular troublemaker character after she is expelled and transferred to Nevermore Academy, a school for monstrous outcasts. Her cool, creepy manner and rebellious streak often see her in trouble and struggling to fit in. But after she discovers she is a psychic like her mother and applies her skills to solving a local murder case, she soon finds her stride. The programme boasts an impressive regular cast, with Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie and Narcos' Luis Guzman also starring. They feature as Nevermore headteacher Larissa Weems and Wednesday's father, Gomez Addams, respectively. The upcoming second series looks to be even more star-studded, with Lady Gaga, Joanna Lumley, Steve Buscemi, and Thandiwe Newton also joining the cast. Star Jenna and director Tim also worked together on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the 2024 sequel to the original 1988 horror film starring Winona Ryder. And they have now told all about what fans can expect from the upcoming second series and the newly announced third instalment. Scream queen Jenna, who rose to fame in slashers Scream, X and Scream VI, was embroiled in controversy in recent months for comments she made during a podcast interview. She said she spent her time on the show 'changing lines' and 'had to put my foot down' because 'everything I had to play did not make sense for the character'. Jenna said she felt terrible about this and never meant it that way, simply meaning to say she improvised a lot and was permitted to. Tim sympathised with her, feeling the comments had been interpreted in a way she had not meant. But the pair revealed that after these events, Jenna is now a producer on the show. Co-creator Alfred Gough, who made the show with Miles Millar, said this made sense, as she is already so involved in every part of the show, as well as giving notes on the script, in a way he praised. Wednesday's first series pulled in a whopping 252million viewers globally, making it Netflix's biggest English-language series of all time. Alfred has now teased a spin-off: 'It's something we're definitely noodling; there are other characters we can look at.' Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, meanwhile, added: 'There's a lot to explore in the Addams Family.' New cast member Joanna Lumley previously told Netflix news site Tudum: 'There's always something thrilling about working for Tim Burton. 'His whole mind takes him to a different world, and the world that they've created here for Wednesday and Nevermore and the family is just intoxicating. 'It's wonderful. I get to wear many, many huge wigs, one on top of the other — and lots of quite constraining clothes, so I love it.'
