Some things I didn't know about Nat King Cole
"Negroes have been exposed to many single appearances but have not been given a chance to do a regular show before now. I've been waging a personal campaign, aiming at a show of this kind. I hit a few snags here and there but I didn't give up the fight. It could be a turning point so that Negroes may be featured regularly on television."
During the one season "The Nat King Cole Show" was on the air, it had no sponsor, being run by NBC on a sustaining (network-sponsored) basis. The highly rated show had top-of-the-line production values, music by Nelson Riddle's orchestra, top-name guest stars and the personal endorsement of NBC chairman David Sarnoff (who ordered his network executives, "Find his show sponsors or heads will roll!"). Many of Cole's friends in the industry, such as Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr., out of respect for his talents and what he was trying to do, appeared for minimum salary, and often no salary at all. At the end of the season, even though no national sponsors could be found (many companies did not want to upset their customers in the South, who did not want to see blacks on television), NBC expressed its willingness to keep the show going on a sustaining basis. It was Nat who pulled the plug, remarking bitterly, "I guess Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."
When Cole and his family moved to the upscale Hancock Park area of Los Angeles in the late 1940s, they were met with considerable opposition from the residents of the previously all-white neighborhood. When sent a letter informing him that the local residents were opposed to "undesirables" in the neighborhood, he responded with a letter that said that he and his family were also opposed to undesirables, and that, if he ever saw any, his neighbors would be the first ones to know. When the neighbors finally realized - after several attempts, including legal action - that the Coles were not going to be intimidated, they accepted defeat and, ultimately, the Coles as well.
Cole was paid only $5000 for acting in "China Gate" (1957), but he received $75,000 for singing "Three Coins in the Fountain" during the opening credits.
The performances of Cole and Stubby Kaye in "Cat Ballou" (1965) are delivered entirely through song. are identified as "Professor Sam the Shade and the Sunrise Kid" in their song, but Kaye was supposed to be the Sunrise Kid and Cole was to be Professor Sam the Shade. As they sang the song, however they indicated by their body language that Kaye was the Shade and Cole was Sunrise. The tight shooting schedule, or perhaps the director's recognition of the comedic irony of the switch resulted in it being left In the final edit.
Cole had a nightly singing engagement at a Lake Tahoe nightclub during the filming of "Cat Ballou". He would commute daily between Lake Tahoe and the set in order to do both. Everyone noticed that Cole was coughing a great deal whenever he was on the set and losing weight, but most figured he was just running himself down with such a grueling schedule. Unbeknownst to them and to Cole himself, he was already very sick with lung cancer; he would pass away before the film was released. (IMDb)
During the one season "The Nat King Cole Show" was on the air, it had no sponsor, being run by NBC on a sustaining (network-sponsored) basis. The highly rated show had top-of-the-line production values, music by Nelson Riddle's orchestra, top-name guest stars and the personal endorsement of NBC chairman David Sarnoff (who ordered his network executives, "Find his show sponsors or heads will roll!"). Many of Cole's friends in the industry, such as Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr., out of respect for his talents and what he was trying to do, appeared for minimum salary, and often no salary at all. At the end of the season, even though no national sponsors could be found (many companies did not want to upset their customers in the South, who did not want to see blacks on television), NBC expressed its willingness to keep the show going on a sustaining basis. It was Nat who pulled the plug, remarking bitterly, "I guess Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."
When Cole and his family moved to the upscale Hancock Park area of Los Angeles in the late 1940s, they were met with considerable opposition from the residents of the previously all-white neighborhood. When sent a letter informing him that the local residents were opposed to "undesirables" in the neighborhood, he responded with a letter that said that he and his family were also opposed to undesirables, and that, if he ever saw any, his neighbors would be the first ones to know. When the neighbors finally realized - after several attempts, including legal action - that the Coles were not going to be intimidated, they accepted defeat and, ultimately, the Coles as well.
Cole was paid only $5000 for acting in "China Gate" (1957), but he received $75,000 for singing "Three Coins in the Fountain" during the opening credits.
The performances of Cole and Stubby Kaye in "Cat Ballou" (1965) are delivered entirely through song. are identified as "Professor Sam the Shade and the Sunrise Kid" in their song, but Kaye was supposed to be the Sunrise Kid and Cole was to be Professor Sam the Shade. As they sang the song, however they indicated by their body language that Kaye was the Shade and Cole was Sunrise. The tight shooting schedule, or perhaps the director's recognition of the comedic irony of the switch resulted in it being left In the final edit.
Cole had a nightly singing engagement at a Lake Tahoe nightclub during the filming of "Cat Ballou". He would commute daily between Lake Tahoe and the set in order to do both. Everyone noticed that Cole was coughing a great deal whenever he was on the set and losing weight, but most figured he was just running himself down with such a grueling schedule. Unbeknownst to them and to Cole himself, he was already very sick with lung cancer; he would pass away before the film was released. (IMDb)
