Mel with Ella Fitzgerald at the 1976 Grammy Awards. His adoration of "The First Lady of Song" is palpable, and Torme always lamented that they never made an album together. This is as close as we'll get. Keep your eyes peeled for crowd shots of 1) a beefy Conan O'Brien lookalike, 2) Marvin Hamlisch and Gladys Knight grooving (separately) and 3) clueless, glassy-eyed disco chicks. It's cut out on this version, but Ella and Mel get a standing ovation before AND after they perform. They also graciously give a nod to the band. And then poor Mel mis-reads "Chick Corea" as "Chuck"... just before Corea wins the Grammy...
Mel appears on the sadly short-lived "Great American Dream Machine" in 1971(?) performing "Route 66"...
Mel scats (in a tribute to Ella)...
Goofy slapstick with Mel in an appearance on "Night Court" (the main character, Judge Stone, played by Harry Anderson, was obsessed with Torme)...
We might as well add Mel's buddy, Buddy Rich, here... this is Jerry Seinfeld discussing the infamous tapes of Rich berating his band (in an unintentionally hilarious fashion) after a set:
And now, Buddy and Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaugnessy in a drum battle. Host Johnny Carson was no slouch behind the drums himself. Rich used to say that Carson could do unconventional things with his hands due to years of practicing magic tricks.
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