Annette Warren, the “secret” singing voice of Ava Gardner and Lucille Ball in such films as the MGM classic “Show Boat,” and a nightclub, TV and recording star whose career spans the past 70 years, will make a long-awaited return to New York at the age of 94, with a special performance of her new one-woman show, “I Ain’t Done Yet” at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 PM. The show traces her illustrious life with songs and stories from her beginning in Cleveland, through her successes in New York, London and Los Angeles. She will be accompanied on piano by Grammy and two-time Emmy winner John McDaniel.
Warren, a classically-trained pianist as well as singer, was discovered in the early 1940’s by arranger and vocal coach Phil Moore, who recorded her for the Black and White label. She also gained the attention of composer Meredith Willson, and was soon traveling back and forth between New York and L.A., singing in clubs and on radio with increasing success, receiving a radio contract with RCA. She appeared at such clubs as One Fifth Avenue, the St. Regis Maisonette, the Blue Angel, the Bon Soir, and Ye Little Club.
In 1948, she was hired by Paramount to dub the singing voice of comedienne Iris Adrian in the Bob Hope film “The Paleface,” which began a new facet of her career. This was followed by two films dubbing songs for Lucille Ball, “Sorrowful Jones” and “Fancy Pants”. She also did all of the female voices for the UPA animated version of the Frankie and Johnny story entitled “Rooty Toot Toot,” which received an Oscar nomination as Best Short. In 1951, she read that MGM was looking for someone to record the songs for Ava Gardner in “Show Boat,” and she won the job over such competition as Dinah Shore, Ginny Simms and Lee Wiley, who had all auditioned. Her renditions of “Bill” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” were considered definitive, and Barbra Streisand later acknowledged Warren’s version of the latter song as one of her inspirations for her “Broadway Album”.
She had her own local TV show, “Annette Warren Time” on CBS, recorded an album and several singles for ABC Paramount, and replaced Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Peachum in the long-running off-Broadway production of “The Threepenny Opera” with Lotte Lenya, Jerry Orbach, Ed Asner and Beatrice Arthur.
In 1958, Warren married legendary jazz pianist Paul Smith, temporarily putting her career on hold to raise their four children, but continuing to occasionally record and perform, including the acclaimed duo-piano Capitol album with Smith entitled “His and Hers”. Resuming her career full time, she recorded an additional series of albums and also joined the show “Hollywood’s Secret Singing Stars,” with such other movie dubbers as India Adams, Betty Wand and Jo Ann Greer. More recently, she has performed several sold-out shows at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood.
Fresh Sound Records recently released a two-CD compilation of her rare recordings from the 1940’s and 50’s and she is currently busy completing a brand-new album for release in March.
John McDaniel is well-known to TV viewers for his six years as bandleader on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” for which he also wrote the theme song and received five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Music Direction. He arranged music for the Tony Awards in 1997, 1998 and 2000 and was the supervising Musical Director and/or arranger for such Broadway shows as the 1994 revival of “Grease,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Catch Me if You Can,” Boy George’s “Taboo,” and the 1999 revival of “Annie Get Your Gun” with both Bernadette Peters and Reba McEntire, for which he won a Grammy as producer of the Original Cast Album. He also conducted the smash revival of “Chicago,” the 1993 reunion concert of “Company” at Lincoln Center, and the U.S. tour of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Starlight Express”. He has recorded numerous albums including “Patti Lupone Live!” for RCA Victor, “The Maury Yeston Songbook” with Betty Buckley, Sutton Foster and Christine Ebersole, and three solo albums of his own.
Warren’s protégé, rising opera star Aaron Blake, who makes his Metropolitan debut the night before as Gastone in “La Traviata,” will make a special guest appearance.
Feinstein’s/54 Below is located at 254 W. 54 St. The phone for tickets and reservations is 646-476-3551.