Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, actor, and humanitarian. His music encompasses jazz, some of it very much in the style of the crooners of the 1940s and early '50s, funk and blues. He married model Jill Goodacre in 1994. They have three daughters: Georgia Tatom (April 17, 1996), Sarah Kate (September 12, 1997), and Charlotte (June 26, 2002). He is a prime organizer and captain of the Krewe of Orpheus, a music-based krewe, taking its name from Orpheus of Classical mythology. The Krewe of Orpheus parades on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street in New Orleans on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) — the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

Early history

Harry Connick, Jr., was born Joseph Harry Fowler Connick in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 11, 1967. His father, Harry Connick, Sr., was of Irish Catholic descent and the district attorney of New Orleans for 27 years; his New York-born Jewish mother was a Louisiana Supreme Court Justice. His parents also owned a record store. Connick's musical talents soon came to the fore when he learned the keyboards at the age of three, played publicly at six and recorded with a local jazz band at 10. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis and James Booker.

Connick attended Jesuit High School and the prestigious Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. He moved to New York City to study at Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music, where a Columbia Records executive persuaded him to sign with that label. His first record for the label, Harry Connick Jr., was a mainly instrumental album of standards. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz due to extended stays at high-profile New York venues. His next album, 20, featured his vocals and added to this reputation.

When Harry Met Sally... — chart and movie success

With Connick's growing reputation, director Rob Reiner asked him to provide a soundtrack for his 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The soundtrack consisted of several standards, including "It Had to Be You", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and achieved double-platinum status in the United States. He won his first Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance for his work on the soundtrack.

Connick made his screen debut in Memphis Belle (1990), about a B-17 bomber crew in World War II. In that year, he began a two-year world tour. In addition, he released two albums in July 1990: the jazz trio album Lofty's Roach Souffle and another album of standards titled We Are in Love, which also went double platinum. We Are in Love earned him his second consecutive Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal.

"Promise Me You'll Remember", his contribution to the Godfather III soundtrack, was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. In a year of recognition, he was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Performance in a Variety Special for his PBS special Swingin' Out Live, which was also released as a video. In October 1991, he released his third consecutive multi-platinum album, Blue Light, Red Light, on which he wrote and arranged the songs. In October 1991, he starred in Little Man Tate, directed by Jodie Foster, playing the friend of a child prodigy who goes to college.

Connick was arrested in 1992 and charged with having a 9 mm pistol in his possession at JFK International Airport. After spending a day in jail, he agreed to make a public-service television commercial warning against breaking gun laws. The court agreed to drop all charges if Connick stayed out of trouble for six months.

In November 1992, Connick released 25, a solo piano collection of standards that again went platinum. He also re-released the album Eleven. Connick contributed "A Wink and a Smile" to the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack, released in 1993. His multi-platinum album of holiday songs, When My Heart Finds Christmas, was the best-selling Christmas album in 1993.

Flirtation with funk in the mid-1990s

In 1994, Harry Connick, Jr., decided to branch out, releasing She, an album of New Orleans funk that also went platinum. In addition, he released a song called "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name" for the soundtrack of The Mask, starring Jim Carrey, which is his most successful single in the United States to date. He took his funk music on a tour of the United Kingdom in 1994, an effort that did not please all of his fans, who were expecting a jazz crooner. One fan who walked out said, "We expected Frank Sinatra but we got Motörhead instead." The music was actually more reminiscent of the Meters rather than Motörhead. Connick also took his funk music to the People's Republic of China in 1995, playing at the Shanghai Center Theatre. The performance was televised live in China for what became known as the Shanghai Gumbo special.

Connick played a homicidal killer in his third film, Copycat (1995), which starred Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver. The next year, he released his second funk album, Star Turtle, which did not sell as well as previous albums, although it did reach No. 38 on the charts. However, he appeared in the most successful movie of that year, Independence Day, with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum.

Back to basics: return to jazz, 1999—current

For his 1997 release To See You, Connick recorded original love songs, touring the United States and Europe with a full symphony orchestra backing him and his piano in each city. As part of his tour, he played at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, with his final concert of that tour in Paris being recorded for a St. Valentine's Day special on PBS in 1998. He also starred in Excess Baggage opposite Alicia Silverstone and Benicio del Toro in 1997.

In May 1998, he had his first leading role in a movie in Hope Floats, with Sandra Bullock as his female lead. He released Come By Me, his first album of big band music in eight years in 1999, and embarked on a world tour visiting the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. In addition, he provided the voice of Dean McCoppin in the animated film The Iron Giant in that year.

Connick was involved in writing the soundtrack for Susan Stroman's Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not, based on Émile Zola's novel Thérèse Raquin, in 2000; it premiered in 2001. It was nominated for a Tony Award. He was also the narrator of the film My Dog Skip, released in that year.

In March 2001, Connick starred in a television production of South Pacific with Glenn Close, televised on the ABC network. He also starred in his twelfth movie, Mickey, featuring a screenplay by John Grisham that same year. In October 2001, he again released two albums: Songs I Heard, featuring big band reworkings of children's show themes, and 30, featuring Connick on piano with guest appearances by several other musical artists. Songs I Heard won Connick another Grammy for best traditional pop album and he toured performing songs from the album, holding matinees at which each parent had to be accompanied by a child.

Connick appeared as Grace Adler's boyfriend (and later husband) Leo Markus on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006. In July 2003, Connick released his first instrumental album in fifteen years, Other Hours Connick on Piano Volume 1. It was released on Branford Marsalis's new label Marsalis Music and led to a short tour of nightclubs and small theaters.

Harry Connick Jr., promo picture Only You (2004)

Connick appeared in the film Basic with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. In October 2003, he released his second Christmas album, Harry for the Holidays, which went gold and reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 album chart. He also had a television special on NBC featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Marc Anthony and Kim Burrell. Only You, his seventeenth album for Columbia Records, was released in February 2004. A collection of 1950s and 1960s ballads, Only You, went Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic and was certified gold in the United States in March 2004. The Only You tour with big band went on in America, Australia and a short trip to Asia. Harry for the Holidays was certified platinum in November 2004. A music DVD Harry Connick Jr. - "Only You" in Concert was released in March 2004, after it had first aired as a Great Performances special on PBS. The special won him an Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction. The DVD received a Gold & Platinum Music Video - Long Form awards from the RIAA in November 2005.

An animated holiday special, The Happy Elf, aired on NBC in December 2005, and had Connick as the composer, the narrator, and one of the executive producers. Shortly after, it was released on DVD. The holiday special was based on his original song The Happy Elf, from his 2003 album Harry for the Holidays. Another album from Marsalis Music was recorded in 2005, Occasion : Connick on Piano, Volume 2, a duo album with Harry Connick, Jr on piano together with Branford Marsalis on saxophone. A music DVD, A Duo Occasion, was filmed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival 2005 in Canada, and released in November 2005. He appeared in another episode of NBC sitcom Will & Grace in November 2005, and will appear in additional 3 episodes in 2006. Bug, a film directed by William Friedkin, is a psychological thriller filmed in 2005, starring Connick, Ashley Judd, and Michael Shannon. The film will be released in 2006. He is currently starring in the Broadway revival of The Pajama Game, produced by the Roundabout Theater Company, along with Michael McKean and Kelli O'Hara, at the American Airlines Theatre. It opened February 23 2006, and is scheduled to run until June 17 2006, including 5 benefit performances running from June 13 to 17.

Involvement for Hurricane Katrina Victims

NBC-sponsored benefit concert

On September 2, 2005, Harry Connick, Jr. helped to organize, and appeared in, the NBC-sponsored live telethon concert, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, for relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As a native son of New Orleans, he spent several days touring the city, attempting to draw attention to the plight of citizens stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and other places. At the concert he paired with host Matt Lauer (Today Show), and entertainers including Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kanye West, Mike Myers, and John Goodman.

Habitat For Humanity

On September 6th, 2005, Harry Connick Jr. was made honorary chair of Habitat for Humanity's "Operation Home Delivery," a long-term rebuilding plan for families victimized by Hurricane Katrina in the Big Easy and along the Gulf Coast.

Musicians' Village

Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis came up with an initiative to help restore New Orleans's musical heritage. Habitat for Humanity and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis announced December 6, 2005, plans for a Musicians' Village in New Orleans. The Musicians' Village will include Habitat-constructed homes, with a Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, as the area's centerpiece. The Habitat-built homes will provide musicians of modest means the opportunity to buy decent, affordable housing.

Benefit Albums

* 2005 Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now - track #5 "City Beneath The Sea" disc.1 (RIAA will donate 100% of its net proceeds from the sale of this CD in equal parts to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and MusiCares Hurricane Relief 2005)
* 2005 A Celebration of New Orleans Music to benefit the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund - track #3 "Good to Be Home" (All proceeds will go to the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund)

Trivia

In the cartoon series Freakazoid, the teenage characters attended "Harry Connick, Jr." High School; presumably somewhere in Washington D.C.

You can catch him in a Suncom commercial.

Discography

Albums

* 2006 Harry on Broadway, Act I -- two-disc set: 1. Broadway cast recording The Pajama Game; 2. Songs from Thou Shalt Not featuring Kelli O'Hara
* 2005 Occasion : Connick on Piano, Volume 2 -- a series of duos with Branford Marsalis
* 2004 Only You
* 2003 Harry for the Holidays
* 2003 Other Hours : Connick on Piano, Volume 1
* 2002 Thou Shalt Not -- original Broadway cast recording
* 2001 Songs I Heard
* 2001 30
* 1999 Come By Me
* 1997 To See You
* 1996 Star Turtle
* 1994 She
* 1993 When My Heart Finds Christmas
* 1992 25
* 1991 Blue Light, Red Light
* 1990 Lofty's Roach Souffle
* 1990 We Are in Love
* 1989 When Harry Met Sally... -- soundtrack
* 1988 20
* 1987 Harry Connick Jr.
* 1978 Eleven
* 1977 Dixieland Plus

Soundtrack Appearances

* 2001 South Pacific - Various Artists - #9 "Younger Than Springtime", #14 "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" and #17 "My Girl Back Home"
* 1998 Kissing a Fool - Various Artists - "Learn to Love" and "We Are in Love" (appears in the movie, not on the soundtrack)
* 1996 One Fine Day - Various Artists - #11 "This Guy's In Love With You"
* 1994 The Mask - Various Artists - #5 "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name"
* 1993 Sleepless In Seattle - Various Artists - #8 "A Wink And A Smile"
* 1990 The Godfather Part III - Carmine Coppola - #12 "Promise Me You'll Remember"

Filmography

* 2006 Bug
* 2004 Mickey
* 2003 Basic
* 2001 Life Without Dick
* 2000 The Simian Line
* 2000 My Dog Skip
* 1999 Wayward Son
* 1999 The Iron Giant
* 1998 Hope Floats
* 1997 Excess Baggage
* 1996 Independence Day
* 1995 Copycat
* 1991 Little Man Tate
* 1990 Memphis Belle

Various

* 2006 The Pajama Game (Broadway Musical)
* 2005 The Happy Elf (NBC)
* 2004 Only You: In Concert (PBS)
* 2003 Harry for the Holidays (NBC)
* 2002 Will & Grace (NBC 2002-2006)
* 2001 Thou Shalt Not (Broadway Musical) - composer
* 2001 Evening at Pops (PBS)
* 2001 South Pacific (ABC)
* 1999 The Worlds of Harry Connick Jr. (Bravo)
* 1998 Harry Connick Jr.: Romance in Paris (PBS Special)
* 1993 The Harry Connick Jr. Christmas Special (CBS)
* 1991 Cheers - TV show guest appearance

Videography

* 2005 A Duo Occasion
* 2004 Only You: In Concert (Sony Music)
* 2003 Harry for the Holidays (Columbia)
* 1994 The Harry Connick Jr. Christmas Special
* 1993 The New York Big Band Concert (Sony Music)
* 1990 Swingin' Out Live (Sony Music)
* 1990 Singin' and Swingin' (Sony Music)

External links

*Harry Connick Jr. official website
*Harry Connick Jr. website on Sony Music
*connick.com - the original fan site
*Harry Connick, Jr. Forum

*VH1 Harry Connick Jr. web page
*All Music Guide Harry Connick Jr, page
*Article on Connick's United States patent 6,348,648 for a "system and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra."