Milt Grant Show - LaVern Baker (Mon. 5/27/1957)

Atlantic recording artist LaVern Baker visits The Milt Grant Show on Monday, May 27th, 1957 as the show hosts Silver Spring's Northwood High School teens. LaVern lip-syncs to "Jim Dandy Got Married" (backed by the Coasters) and "Play The Game of Love" (backed by Thurl Ravenscroft), as well as picking a sweepstakes winner for a Motorola radio.
Milt Grant, 83, died 4/28/07 at his home in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Reportedly he had cancer and Alzheimers Disease. He was apparently married twice; leaving behind 3 children, a sister; and 4 grandchildren. For someone in communications, he was a secretive person who revealed little of his personal life during his few interviews. A woman who answered the phone at his privately held company in Florida, the Grant Group, would not confirm the nature of Mr. Grant's business, his age or even his death.
LaVern Baker (b. 11/11/29) In the late '60s, she fell ill after a trip to Vietnam to entertain US soldiers. A friend suggested she work as entertainment director at Subic Bay Naval Base's nightclub in the Philippines & she stayed for 22 years. In '88, she returned to the US for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary. She worked on the Dick Tracy soundtrack and appeared in Black & Blue, a Broadway musical, and released a comeback CD that sold fairly well. She died from coronary complications 3/10/97. (Source: Wikipedia)

[@Coolerators]

I watched Milt Grant while attending JEB Stuart HS in Falls Church in the 50's, and got to rate a dance contest at one of Milt's remotes at 7 Corners Mall in '61, right after I graduated. I gave the song a 70, because it "had a good beat and you can dance to it."
I thought the kids were much better dancers than on American Bandstand. Now, retired, I get to move from NJ to NC and do the shag like we used to in DC.

[@Richard234]

Yikes! I'm from the DC/MD area and remember Milt Grant. I was probably 10 or 11 at the time but his show was on my radar.

[@catchersmitt0]

Cool... you didn't get to meet Laverne Baker did you? That would have been amazing.

[@bigdancd]

Don't mean to open a can of worms, but due to the era, there were NO black kids in the audience. I know LaVern didn't like that. I met her at one of the first R & R concerts I went to in '55 and she was soo nice. I felt sorry for her and other black artists the way white artists covered their records. Being white, I always liked the black artists' versions better! Us white kids finally wised up and bought the originals! lol...

[@SandySummers]

I met Annette, Frankie, and Virginia Funicello. Any opinions on any of them? I have my own.

[@SandySummers]

Can of worms: When Annette Funicello was on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour with her tutor (she was a minor), Laverne was using the "f" word alot. The tutor asked Laverne not use that word, that there was a minor present. Laverne replied that maybe the minor was too young to be on the tour. Classless.