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JOHNNY MERCER, SAVANNAH'S TRUE NATIVE SON
The heat enwrapped us like a warm blanket as soon as we left the airport. Many a person had warned us that August is an extremely hot month in Savannah, Georgia, with a good chance for hurricanes to boot. Heat and hurricanes, however, could not dissuade us from our plan to try and find out more about one of America’s greatest lyricists, Johnny Mercer.
"Moon River", "Autumn Leaves", and also "Hooray for Hollywood", which opens the yearly Academy Awards ceremony, who doesn’t know them? The creator of these beautiful songs was not only an extremely successful lyricist, but also, because of his tremendous feel for rhythm and his Southern accent, a gifted singer and composer. Johnny Mercer has more than 1100 songs to his credit, was nominated 17 times for an Oscar and won 4 of them.
On November 18th, 1909, John Herndon Mercer, the son of affluent parents, was born in Savannah, about 3.5 hours by car from Georgia’s capital Atlanta. We soon found out he could not have been born in a better place. No traveler visiting Savannah can escape the charm of this gem on America’s East Coast. One of the first things you notice is the peculiar, intriguing mix of Southern and European influences. The old cotton warehouses on the Savannah River are remnants of a tumultuous past, while no less than 21 squares (3 have been lost) and the romantic gardens and parks reveal the fact that Savannah was founded in 1733 by the Englishman James Oglethorpe.
Savannah feels like a warm bath, not only because of the predominantly hot climate, but also because of its remarkably friendly, helpful, and hospitable inhabitants. Not surprisingly, the city has not remained unnoticed: every year, Savannah draws many millions of tourists from the US and abroad.
In addition, several film producers have found their way to this romantic city. During a tour by horse-drawn carriage, many a guide will proudly tell you that this is the bench Tom Hanks sat on when telling his life story in "Forrest Gump" (1994), and that that is the house that played such a central part in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1997). In total, more than 80 movies (including a Dutch one) have been shot in Savannah.
A visit to Savannah would not be complete without a visit to the house where Mercer was born. However, this turned out to be more difficult than expected, for the simple reason that nobody knew for sure where it was. No book or article written about him throughout the years (and there are many of them, with the number increasing every year) could help us. Even his surviving family members and friends could not give us the answer, and neither could the "Friends of Johnny Mercer" that was established in Savannah. The director of the Johnny Mercer foundation in New York wasn’t too concerned: "Why would you care what room he was born in? Savannah is Savannah".
After a thorough search, we received the answer from the University of Atlanta, where the archives are. Mercer saw the light of day in the former Telfair Women’s Hospital, which, after a thorough renovation, has now become a nursing home.
It is very close to the Mercers’ home, where Johnny lived until he was 19 years old. The current owner, an ex-dancer, is very proud to live in the famous lyricist’s former home, situated close to beautiful Forsyth Park with its impressive fountain. From this house, Mercer left for New York in 1928, aspiring to become an actor there, but becoming a lyricist instead.
In 1931, Mercer married dancer Ginger Meehan and four years later, they moved to Hollywood. There he would produce one hit after another for several movie studios (Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, RKO, and Twentieth Century Fox). In 1961, he wrote "Moon River" to Henry Mancini’s music, a song that was performed in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by the half-Dutch actress Audrey Hepburn. While writing this song, he had a river south of Savannah in mind, where he spent many summer vacations as a child: the Back River, a tributary of the Vernon River, which runs into the Atlantic Ocean. It became a gigantic, worldwide hit; resulting in Mercer’s third Oscar and leading Savannah’s city council to change the Back River’s name to Moon River one year later.
We were lucky when we visited this oft-praised river, because this time, its sign, showing Mercer's silhouette and signature, had not been "borrowed" by overzealous fans. Incidentally, we could very well imagine that this beautiful, shimmering river had been the model for Mercer's Moon River.
Not surprisingly, it was to this place that Johnny Mercer returned. Besides his house in California and an apartment in New York, he bought a house on Burnside Island around 1955, with a view of the Moon River, simply calling it "Moon River House". He may have left Savannah at a young age, but he did not forget his beloved birthplace. This was proven by the many visits to his family throughout the years (mostly by train from New York or California).
It was in Savannah where Johnny Mercer would find his final resting-place. On June 25, 1976, he passed away in Bel Air, California, a consequence of a malignant brain tumor. After his cremation, his ashes were flown to Savannah. Although for a while there was talk of spreading his ashes over the Moon River, his family ultimately decided to place them in the family grave in the Bonaventure graveyard.
Though Johnny died 28 years ago, in Savannnah he is still alive and kicking. Throughout the city there are places named after him; benches with his most famous songs engraved, "Moon River" restaurants, street names, a theatre.
The Westin hotel, built in 1999, situated on the other side of the Savannah River, honors Mercer with a beautiful stained glass window. This window, situated near the bar, carries the inscription "Midnight Sun", the song Mercer wrote in 1947 to the music of Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke. On the bar menu (which takes liberties by mentioning Mercer received 5 Oscars) the cocktails are all named after Johnny Mercer songs.
We are, however, bypassing the Mercer house on Monterey Square. Even though hoards of tourists, their cameras at the ready, are convinced that this was the famous lyricist’s house, he never actually lived here: it belonged to his great-grandfather Hugh Weedon Mercer.
The house, however, is interesting for another reason: for here, the shooting took place of the previously mentioned, highly successful movie "Midnight in de Garden of Good and Evil", directed by Clint Eastwood. It was a screen version of John Berendt’s novel of the same name, which was on the New York Times bestseller’s list for 4 years. All the songs in the movie are Johnny Mercer’s.
The movie has had quite a positive impact on the city: the number of tourists from the USA and abroad has increased tremendously, and along with that, Savannah’s revenue, good for a couple of billion dollars a year.
Savannah goes to great lengths to keep the memory of Johnny Mercer alive. Besides the "Friends of Johnny Mercer" and the foundation established by his wife Ginger, there is a permanent exhibition in the History Museum, lectures are given, schools are visited and his birthday is celebrated.
Even though he was strongly influenced by Savannah (he himself wrote "...you might say they all sprang from there...") it is remarkable that he never wrote a song about the city. In his unpublished autobiography, he remarked about this fact: ''I guess the idea intimidates me so that I've been afraid to try. If it weren't a giant hit, I'd feel I let them down".
The (mutual) love would not diminish because of it. And even though Mercer had his peculiarities (such as his unfriendly behavior when he had a drop too much and his extramarital affair with musical movie star Judy Garland), Savannah’s citizens have taken him into their hearts.
As we leave Savannah, running from hurricane Charley, we know one thing for sure: Johnny Mercer is, and always will be, Savannah’s true native son.
Maud Goulooze ©copyright 2006-2007. All rights reserved. |
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