Thanks for the information, Lizzie. I was basing my info on conjecture about what was going on at the time, but you obviously have the straight scoop.

I saw "The Phantom of the Opera" as a kid on its first time 'round, then a couple of times since. Susanna Foster had a really lovely voice, and I had often wondered what had become of her.

One singer who surprised me a bit was Nelson Eddy. Most people associated him with operettas and frothy movies with Jeanette MacDonald. Nice voice, but musically a bit of a lightweight. However, in "The Phantom of the Opera," he was given an opportunity to bear down and show what he could really do with his really fine baritone in the on-stage scenes while spooky skullduggery was going on backstage. I think if he'd wanted, he could have had a pretty good career in full blown grand opera.

But back to Elizabeth Taylor. One should never forget her historical appearance in "The Simpsons." The fact that she was going to appear on the program was publicized and ballyhooed and all kinds of people watched that particular episode. She DID actually "appear" in a sense. She recorded the voice-over for the first time Maggie speaks. Here it is:

CLICKY.

Don Firth