JIM PLAYS FOR HARRY POTTER NARRATOR--FAMOUS ACTOR/SINGER JIM DALE!!

I had the distinct honor of playing for one of the great actor/singer/comedians of all time at Destino Restaurant Thursday night Jan.17th--and someone I had met years before--but did not recognize him until he introduced himself when leaving. This tall distinctive man entered with his wife Julia Schafler(which I learned from googling a few things when I came home)and immediately asked to be seated near the piano--I nodded to him as it is unusual for Destino customers to make any eye contact with me or request tables in the bar--they all head for the restaurant or an initial bar drink but keep their concentration there...so I knew there was something about him that was curious and special. His wife seemed uninterested in sitting near the piano but he won the battle. Throughout their drinks and dinner he would hum or sing along with tunes I was playing whether they be standards/Broadway or Pop tunes---I would nod to him and smile to encourage him to continue--little did I know at the moment who he was-- yet I had this uncanny feeling like "I knew him"...over an hour later he rose from his seat and came to put a few dollars in my tip jar--I said "you have a nice voice"--to which he responded--"I'm a singer"--I asked him his name-- as by this time I was confident that this was just no ordinary singer. He responded "JIM DALE". Immediately the light bulb went on and I shook his hand and said "of course!--" I told him I saw him in "Barnum" years ago(the late '80's)and that he did the show with my friend Jim Fyfe from my alma mater Allentown College where we were both Theatre majors. I went backstage to see Jim Fyfe and also met Jim Dale at the same time...(note: the show was actually "Privates on Parade"--an off-Broadway musical Dale starred in that Fyfe was also a cast member in--I mistakenly said "Barnum" because that was his more identifiable show which won him a Tony award years before.) Jim Dale nodded to me that he remembers Jim Fyfe(who of course has gone on to have a great career himself)and I saw him speak with his wife about it--he took my card and exited Destino, hailing a cab for both of them. Upon arriving home I googled his name and many great links came up--Jim Dale has been the voices(Literally!--over a 170) of ALL of the Harry Potter books/DVDs and is currently the narrator for the new ABC show "Pushing Daisies". What is SO weird is last week at Destino I started playing the music for "Georgy Girl" on the piano--not singing it--because I didn't know all the words--but always liked that melody and just happened to think of it. WELL-- JIM DALE is the LYRICIST for that 1966 song which was a #2 hit and nominated for an Academy Award! (Hey there Georgy Girl!)...at 22 years old he was the first singer to be produced by Sir George Martin(the Beatles producer); so many other kudos to his career that can be found at the links that follow...hard to believe that he is 72 years young--he looks great... learn more about JIM DALE at: www.jim-dale.com , the Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Dale a recent pic of he and his wife at an opening party for the "Pushing Daisies" show at: http://www.thepiemaker.com/pushing-daisies-exclusive-jim-dale-interview-pics-from-nytvf/pushing-daisies-jim-dale-julie-schafler-5/ How Jim creates his incredible "Potter patter" at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070902/ai_n19501634 ...and another Pushing Daisies site: http://pushingdaisies.wetpaint.com/page/Jim+Dale?t=anon

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