Ukuleles in film and tv

[mikelz777]

I just saw this the other day on The Odd Couple - Oscar's Surprise Party.

 

[KohanMike]

I just saw this the other day on The Odd Couple - Oscar's Surprise Party.

In 1980 I was working at Paramount as an assistant prop master on a TV pilot produced by the Happy Days team, starring Al Molinaro, with Lyle Waggoner. A couple days into rehearsals, the producers told everyone to relax for a couple of hours while they reworked the script. After about 20 minutes, Al brought out a ukulele and played, then the casting director, an ex-hoofer, got up and started doing a soft shoe tap routine. Then Lyle took out a harmonica and accompanied in excellent fashion. They went on for about 20 minutes.

As soon as they were done, I made a beeline to Lyle sitting in the audience bleachers and said that I've been trying to learn how to play harmonica for a few years, but couldn't figure out the instructions for placing my tongue. He said he'll show me the same way his teacher showed him. He took my hand, put the fleshy side in his mouth and played it like it was a harmonica. That was it, I got it.

 

[TimWilson]

He said he'll show me the same way his teacher showed him. He took my hand, put the fleshy side in his mouth and played it like it was a harmonica. That was it, I got it.

Wow! I can't even imagine! 🤣 But I love it!

Movie "Wild Hogs" - William H. Macy playing ukulele in camping scene

Turns out that our man Bill is a major aficionado! I saw an article last year called "William H. Macy thinks ukuleles can save the world" that I think a lot of you will relate to. The broader context is that people turn to ukes in times of trouble, first noted in the 1918 flu epidemics (actually spanning three full years - ring any bells?), and of course, repeated in 2020, 2021, and 2022 (that's the bell 🤣).

(There's Bill with a Martin C1K.)

A little snippet:
Macy wasn’t always a ukulele player – he grew up with a guitar. It wasn’t until after filming “Boogie Nights” in the mid 1990s when director Paul Thomas Anderson held an impromptu talent show to celebrate – with the caveat that you had to do something you’d never done before. Macy picked up a Martin ukulele at a nearby Guitar Center, and though he didn’t win (“I’m still pissed about that,” he joked) he also “never picked up a guitar again.”

I also noted that he keeps at least 8 ukes just in his office! A man after our own heart. 😊

 

[ukulelebrain]

Wow, I never realized how many times ukuleles have popped up in film and TV! Thanks for sharing this example from 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.' It's always interesting to see how different instruments are used to set the mood and tone of a scene. As someone who is going to film school in Prague, I'll have the opportunity to study the art of film scoring and how music can enhance the emotions conveyed on screen. It's amazing how the simple strumming of a ukulele can completely change the way a scene is perceived. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for more ukulele appearances in the media now.