"Be a Clown" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1948 film The Pirate. The song was performed twice in the film: first by Gene Kelly and The Nicholas Brothers and then at the end of the film by Kelly and Judy Garland.[1]

The song "Make 'Em Laugh" in the film Singin' in the Rain is very similar to "Be a Clown".[2] Both films were Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions and starred Kelly, who appeared in (but did not sing) the "Make 'Em Laugh" segment of the latter film, in which the song was performed by Donald O'Connor.

References

  1. ^ Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #21 - All Tracks UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  2. ^ Adams, Cecil. "Aren't the show tunes "Be a Clown" and "Make 'Em Laugh" suspiciously similar?". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on 2001-01-23. Retrieved 2009-02-11.


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