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01-21-2020 06:00 PM
I happened to be checking the TCM schedule for tomorrow. There was a movie titled "Whistling in the Dark". I checked out what actors were in the movie. And the name Rags Ragland caught my eye and I wanted to know more about him.
This is what I found.
After returning from an alcoholic bender with Orson Welles in Mexico in 1946, Ragland was scheduled to revive his New York nightclub act with friend Phil Silvers at the Copacabana. He began experiencing pain in his abdomen and was hospitalized. Good friend Frank Sinatra called in a specialist, but the doctors determined that Ragland's liver and kidneys were destroyed from years of alcohol abuse. After falling into a coma, he died, three days before his 41st birthday, of uremia. Silvers and Sinatra were by his bedside. Many Hollywood celebrities attended Ragland's funeral – Sinatra sang at the service and Silvers delivered the eulogy.
In a gesture of friendship and respect, Sinatra left the set of his movie It Happened in Brooklyn, flew to New York, and unexpectedly showed up to take Ragland's spot with Silvers at the Copacabana debut (Silvers had decided to continue because he had signed a contract, stating "the show must go on"). Sinatra and Silvers did the routines they had performed during their USO tours. The show brought down the house. It ended with Silvers saying in tears, "May I take a bow for Rags." The audience was silent, crying in tribute to Ragland.
I had seen Rags Ragland in other movies but had no idea he died right before his 41st birthday.
01-21-2020 06:03 PM - edited 01-21-2020 06:10 PM
The close bonding of the friendships is touching. So sad to learn about passing at a young age as the result of alcoholism.
I have recorded the film and looking forward to it.
01-21-2020 06:05 PM
That is a fascinating piece of entertainment history, @drizzellla -- thanks for posting it!
01-21-2020 06:49 PM
Thanks for your research about Rags Ragland, a man who passed at a young age. I am not surprised at Frank Sinatra's doing what he did for a friend. While he may have had a negative reputation for some, he helped many people quietly and without fanfare. I also loved Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko and watched that show regularly, it was so funny.
Thanks for this information , I'm glad Rags had people who cared and did right by him in the end.
01-22-2020 06:11 AM
This is a lovely post. I never heard of this gentleman. And it is wonderful to read of such kindness among fellow performers.
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