Cole porter short biography
•
Cole Porter's name derives from the surnames of his parents, Kate Cole and Sam Porter. Kate's father, James Omar (known as J. O.), was an influential man both in the community and in Cole's early life. J.O. started from humble beginnings as son of a shoemaker, but his business savvy and strong work ethic made him the richest man in Indiana. Despite J.O.'s obsessive drive for making money, he took time off to marry Rachel Henton, who had several children with him.
Kate Cole was born in , and was spoiled during her youth as she was throughout her life. Kate always had the best clothes, the best education, and the best training in dancing and music. Kate's father expected to marry her off to a man with a strong business background, a strong personality, and the potential for a good career. As it is for many filial presumptions and expectations, Kate married someone who was quite the opposite -- a shy druggist from their small town of Peru, Indiana.
The couple married without the full
•
Cole Porter
American composer and songwriter (–)
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, &#;– October 15, ) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in Hollywood films.
Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes for him to practice law and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the s, and by the s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs.
After a serious horseback riding accident in , Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the s and s, but in he made a triumphant comeback with his most successfu
•
After listening to Cole Porter's delightful songs, easily some of the most sophisticated, witty, and melodious ever written for the American theater, many assume that his life was a Champagne-drenched romp through high society. This was, essentially, the view captured in Night and Day, the Hollywood bio-epic starring Cary Grant as Porter.
However, a soon-to-be released film, De-Lovely, featuring Kevin Kline as the composer-lyricist, proposes to explore well beyond such hazy or sanitized versions of the Cole Porter story. Indeed, many aspects of Porter's life simply could not be discussed in great detail during the s and s, such as his year marriage to socialite Linda Lee Thomas. Although the Porters shared deep emotional ties and loyal friendship, throughout their marriage Cole Porter preferred both long-term intimate relationships and brief physical encounters with men.
More striking, however, was Porter's medical history, which fryst vatten scrupulously documented in a biography bygd W