Cabaret Singer Mary Cleere Haran 'Gravely Injured' in Florida

Stephen Holden writes in the New York Times ArtsBeat blog that 58 year old cabaret singer Mary Cleere Haran was "gravely injured in a biking accident on Thursday near Deerfield Beach, Fla., where she has been living for the last year, said a friend, Bridge McIntyre."

Mary Cleere Haran, one of the most renowned singers of “The Great American Songbook,” has garnered rave reviews from audiences and critics alike for her witty, sophisticated performances.  The San Francisco native, who has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Rosemary Clooney, evokes the charm, style and wit of 1930s movie stars like Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne, Jean Arthur and Carole Lombard.  She has performed at some of the most prominent venues in the country, including Lincoln Center, Rainbow & Stars, The Russian Tea Room, The Cinegrill in Los Angeles, The Plush Room in San Francisco and the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. Her previous critically-acclaimed shows at Feinstein’s include “Mary Cleere Haran Sings Doris Day” (2007) – recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning – and “Lullaby of Broadway: The Harry WarrenSongbook” (2005).

 
It was Haran’s love affair with classic movies of the 1930s and 1940s – most notably the black and white Warner Bros. films bursting with brassy, sassy Gold Diggers and Jazz Age Gershwin music – that sparked her love affair with American popular song.  She cites Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald,Peggy Lee and Doris Day as primary sources of inspiration, but Hollywood’s Golden Age has made an indelible impression on Ms. Haran’s singing. She also boasts an impressive list of theater credits, making her Broadway debut in The 1940s Radio Hour and appearing Off Broadway in Manhattan Music, Swingtime Canteen and Heebie Jeebies. On TV, she had a recurring role onSidney Lumet’s drama “100 Centre Street” on A&E.

In addition to her illustrious performing career, Ms. Haran is a respected writer and researcher who has brought her talents to numerous PBS specials, including Michael Feinstein’s “The Great American Songbook,” “Remembering Bing,” “Irving Berlin’s America,” “When We Were Young: The Lives of Child Movie Stars,” “Satchmo,” a documentary about Louis Armstrong, and “Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey.” She was one of a select group asked to write on Frank Sinatra’s death in The New York Times. Her CDs have been praised by Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine and The New York Times. Her most recent release is Crazy Rhythm: Manhattan in the ‘20s.