young at heart

I had heard about this documentary and that it was critically acclaimed but didn't pay much attention to it. But last night on PBS's Independent Lens, it knocked my socks off! I haven't laughed as much or been moved to tears so quickly. The people in this chorus have such incredible energy and dedication! They put us all to shame!

their story

When Bob Cilman and Judith Sharpe organized the Young@Heart (Y@H) in 1982 all of the members lived in an elderly housing project in Northampton, MA called the Walter Salvo House. The first group included elders who lived through both World Wars. One of our members had fought in the Battle of the Somme as a 16 year old and another, Anna Main, lost her husband in the First World War. Anna was a stand-up comic who at 88 told jokes that only she could get away with. She sang with us until she was 100. We celebrated her 100th birthday with a parade downtown. We actually had to reschedule the parade for a year later when her family informed us that we had the date wrong and she was only 99. This initial group also included Diamond Lillian Aubrey who came on our first two European tours and wowed the audiences with her deadpan version of Manfred Mann’s “Doo Wah Diddy”. In later years she appeared “on stage” via video, performing the Stone’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.

Read more here.

Y @ H receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Korein Foundation and the City of Northampton.

They're coming to LA as part of the UCLA Live series from December 2-5, 2010. Act quickly if you want to go. I guarantee that it will sell out.

The Walker George documentary "Young@Heart" played nationwide on Independent Lens on PBS last night in most communities. If you get cable or digital stations, you can still catch it today and tonight in Los Angeles. Other areas of the country can still watch it as well. Please check the local listings to see when the film will be playing on your PBS station. Click here for a listing of stations and times.

Here's the trailer to the documentary. It's worth watching. It will make your day - I gurarantee it!

Click here for the link to You Tube. There are other great clips to watch!