Documentary: Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?*

Did Somebody Drop His Mouse is a 45-minute promo film which was used to show the behind-the-scenes activities in the production of Son Of Schmilsson. It's not exactly top quality camerawork, but Nilsson did a narration, Ringo's in it, there's the old folks choir singing "I'd Rather Be Dead", etc.

The film used to be available on YouTube in five pieces, but someone took the first piece down. At least I can't find it now. Here's parts 2-5:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

 

I have a particular nostalgic feel for his "Harry" album. I was a junior in high school when this came out and spent many nights in my bedroom listening to it. I liked his cover of Mother Nature's Son, and side 2 with I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City and Mr. Bojangles. I don't think I've ever heard a better version of Mr. Bojangles.

 

DSDHM was never shown anywhere,as it never got beyond a rough cut,and was then abandoned,and eventually foregotten until someone at BMG found the raw footage in a vault,sometime in the early 90's.---If you've ever seen the print that circulates,it's pretty obvious that was never finished....

 

It's pretty raw, I agree, and I figure clearances would be a cyclopean hurdle, but I'd love to see this in some higher-grade state.

 

Me too,but I'm afraid we're not gonna get much better.And since Harry STARTED to narrate it,he can't exactly finish it....

 

I was denied access because it "contains material owned by Sony Music".

What a bunch of losers...

 

Considering we're talking about an artist who never played live, the possibility exists for a LOT of filmed material of him at his artistic peak to be put out - for one, we've basically got full-length showcases for the sequence of his four albums from the early 70's,

The Point! (yes, I know this HAS been released on DVD, thoguh not with the oiginal Hoffman narration, as far as I know)
Nilsson Schmilsson (BBC TV Special)
Son Of Schmilsson (The "Mouse" doc, as above)
A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night (again, a BBC doc exists of these sessions)

Add to these his various appearances on TV in the late 60's (Beat Club, The Ghost & Mrs Muir, Playboy After Dark, The Smothers Brothers show etc.) and that's quite a trove - doubtless there'll be clips on the main documentary, but there's the possibility of a bonus DVD par excellence, if they can get/afford the necessary licences/clearance.

 

HARRY is the last of the "old-style" Nilsson albums and is a special record. I trust you've heard the DCC CD.

 

...Not as much as you'd think in the main film...We can only hope for bonus stuff,but I really wouldn't count on it.....

 

What is that about?

 

I'm sure the producers of this film are just happy they finally got the financing to release it at all...To pay to clear the stuff for bonus features is probably not in the cards...much as we all wish otherwise.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhr3zbAvljg



From Wikipedia:

I sadly and grudgingly agree (hence my comment about being able to afford clearances) - I seem to recall an interview with someone (Tobler? Platt?)
in a music magazine a while back, who detailed the typical costs of licencing performance clips of artists and the quoted figures were scary. Given that, we're lucky to get any archive music DVD's of non-mainstream artists, as I really have to wonder how they make any money at all, once you take off the upfront licencing costs.

 

Blast!

 

Oh, OK. Well you learn something new everyday. Never ever performed live, huh? Strange. Wonder why. Did he ever talk about that in an interview?

 

He didn't tour, but he performed the occasional song live. He played several times at Beatlefest (I saw him), and he sang "Without You" with Ringo's All Starr Band in Vegas in 1992.

 

Whoa. I didn't know that. Were you there? Details? Any video or photos available?

Harry was in rough shape by 1992. I can't imagine him performing "Without You" live at that time. If anyone has additional information about this, please do tell.

 

I wasn't at the Ringo show, but I saw him play a few times at Beatlefest backed by the house band Liverpool. He usually did "You Can't Do That," but he did "Without You" at least twice.

He also had a bit in which he would "prove" that any Beatles song could be turned into "Give Peace a Chance." An audience member would name a Beatles song, and he and the band would start that song but then segue into "Give Peace a Chance": "Michelle, ma belle, all we are saying is give peace a chance..."

Audio of the Ringo show is out there. I don't know about video.

 

Mine's pre-ordered. Finally!

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Nilsson...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1283187503&sr=8-1

From Amazon:

Product Description
Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? is a wildly entertaining, star-studded documentary that tells the story of one of the most talented and versatile singer-songwriters in pop music history and the man The Beatles dubbed their favorite American musician. The Grammy® Award-winners Everybody s Talkin and Without You ... the quirky Coconut ( Put de lime in de coconut... )... the whimsical Me And My Arrow, and the poignant One ( ...is the loneliest number )... these recordings are all the work of Harry Nilsson. The documentary, which Ain t It Cool News said, is everything a great documentary needs to be, reveals his spirited relationship with John Lennon and close bond with Ringo Starr, as well as Harry the legendary bad boy party animal who was at the same time a devoted husband and father. Director John Scheinfeld brings added emotion and intimacy to the story with over 50 Nilsson recordings, rare or never-before-seen film clips, home movies and personal photos. To this are added compelling interviews with top music and movie personalities who knew Harry well. They include Micky Dolenz, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Al Kooper, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, The Smothers Brothers, Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, Robin Williams, Brian Wilson and many others. As film critic Leonard Maltin noted, Who Is Harry Nilsson? is a vivid portrait of a gifted man...what a great reminder of his talent. The DVD also contains 93 minutes of Bonus Material Deleted Scenes, Extended Sequences, an Alternate Ending and more.

 

CD Universe also has it up for pre-order too.

 

And Macca does that now ! (with A Day in the Life)

 

93 minutes of bonus footage! Sounds great.

 

I wonder if Harry lives in the alternate ending.

 

I bet he would like that joke!

 

My childhood friend's father was born in Brooklyn of a Norwegian family and knew Nilsson growing up. From that wonderful father I heard Nilsson's music and heard about him long before I knew he was famous. Then the "for grownups" cartoon The Point was aired on TV and I was so envious and impressed. I remember it was shown at 10pm, and carried a "warning" thing before airing - making it all the more interesting to a kid.