Early history
Harry Connick, Jr., was born Joseph Harry Fowler Connick in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 11, 1967. His father, Harry Connick, Sr., was of Irish Catholic descent and the district attorney of New Orleans for 27 years; his New York-born Jewish mother was a Louisiana Supreme Court Justice. His parents also owned a record store. Connick's musical talents soon came to the fore when he learned the keyboards at the age of three, played publicly at six and recorded with a local jazz band at 10. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis and James Booker.
Connick attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans. He moved to New York City to study at Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music, where a Columbia Records executive persuaded him to sign with that label. His first record, Harry Connick Jr., was a mainly instrumental album of standards. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz due to extended stays at high-profile New York venues. His second album, 20, featured his vocals and added to this reputation.
When Harry Met Sally...—chart and movie success
With Connick's growing reputation, director Rob Reiner asked him to provide a soundtrack for his 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The soundtrack consisted of several standards, including "It Had to Be You", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and achieved double-platinum status in the United States. He won his first Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance for his work on the soundtrack.
Connick made his screen debut in Memphis Belle (1990), about a B-17 bomber crew in World War II. In that year, he began a two-year world tour. Not content with that, he released two albums in July 1990: the jazz trio album Lofty's Roach Souffle and another album of standards titled We Are in Love, which also went double platinum. We Are in Love earned him his second consecutive Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal.
"Promise Me You'll Remember", his contribution to the Godfather III soundtrack, was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. In a year of recognition, he was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Performance in a Variety Special for his PBS special Swingin' Out Live, which was also released as a video. In October 1991, he released his third consecutive multi-platinum album, Blue Light, Red Light, on which he wrote and arranged the songs. In October 1991, he starred in Little Man Tate, directed by Jodie Foster, playing the friend of a child prodigy who goes to college.
Harry Connick, Jr., was arrested in 1992 and charged with having a 9mm pistol in his possession at JFK International Airport. After spending a day in jail, he agreed to make a public-service television commercial warning against breaking gun laws. The court agreed to drop all charges if Connick stayed out of trouble for six months.
In November 1992, Connick released 25, a solo piano collection of standards that again went platinum. He also re-released the album Eleven. Harry Connick, Jr., contributed "A Wink and a Smile" to the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack, released in 1993. His multi-platinum album of holiday songs, When My Heart Finds Christmas, was the best-selling Christmas album in 1993.
Flirtation with funk in the mid-1990s
In 1994, Harry Connick, Jr., decided to branch out, releasing She, an album of New Orleans funk that also went platinum. In addition, he released a song called "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name" for the soundtrack of The Mask, starring Jim Carrey, which is his most successful single in the United States to date. He took his funk music on a tour of the United Kingdom in 1994, an effort that did not please all of his fans, who were expecting a jazz crooner. One fan who walked out said, "We expected Frank Sinatra but we got Motörhead instead." The music was actually more reminiscent of the Meters rather than Motörhead. Connick also took his funk music to the People's Republic of China in 1995, playing at the Shanghai Center Theatre. The performance was televised live in China for what became known as the Shanghai Gumbo special.
Connick played a homicidal killer in his third film, Copycat (1995), which starred Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver. The next year, he released his second funk album, Star Turtle, which did not sell as well as previous albums, although it did reach No. 38 on the charts. However, he appeared in the most successful movie of that year, Independence Day (movie), with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum.
Back to basics: return to jazz, 1999—current
For his 1997 release To See You, Connick recorded original love songs, touring the United States and Europe with a full symphony orchestra backing him and his piano in each city. As part of his tour, he played at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, with his final concert of that tour in Paris being recorded for a St. Valentine's Day special on PBS in 1998. He also starred in Excess Baggage opposite Alicia Silverstone and Benicio del Toro in 1997.
In May 1998, he had his first leading role in a movie in Hope Floats, with Sandra Bullock as his female lead. He released Come By Me, his first album of big band music in eight years in 1999, and embarked on a world tour visiting the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. In addition, he provided the voice of Dean McCoppin in the animated film The Iron Giant in that year.
Connick was involved in writing the soundtrack for Susan Stroman's Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not, based on Émile Zola's novel Thérèse Raquin, in 2000; it premiered in 2001. It was nominated for a Tony Award. He was also the narrator of the film My Dog Skip, released in that year.
In March 2001, Connick starred in a television production of South Pacific with Glenn Close, televised on the ABC network. He also starred in his twelfth movie, Mickey, featuring a screenplay by John Grisham that same year. In October 2001, he again released two albums: Songs I Heard, featuring big band reworkings of children's show themes, and 30, featuring Connick on piano with guest appearances by several other musical artists. Songs I Heard won Connick another Grammy for best traditional pop album and he toured performing songs from the album, holding matinees at which each parent had to be accompanied by a child.
Connick appeared as Grace Adler's boyfriend (and later husband) Leo Markus on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2004. In July 2003, Connick released his first instrumental album in fifteen years, Other Hours Connick on Piano Volume 1. It was released on Branford Marsalis's new label Marsalis Music and led to a short tour of nightclubs and small theaters.
Harry Connick Jr., promo picture Only You (2004)
Connick appeared in the film Basic with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. In October 2003, he released his second Christmas album, Harry for the Holidays, which went gold and reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 album chart. He also had a television special on NBC featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Marc Anthony and Kim Burrell. Only You, his seventeenth album for Columbia Records, was released in February 2004. A collection of 1950s and 1960s ballads, Only You, went Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic and was certified gold in the United States in March 2004. The Only You tour with big band went on in America, Australia and a short trip to Asia. Harry for the Holidays was certified platinum in November 2004. A music DVD Harry Connick Jr. - "Only You" in Concert was released in March 2004, after it had first aired as a Great Performances special on PBS. The special won him an Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction. The DVD received a Gold & Platinum Music Video - Long Form awards from the RIAA in November 2005.
An animated holiday special, The Happy Elf, aired on NBC in December 2005, and had Connick as the composer, the narrator, and one of the executive producers. Shortly after, it was released on DVD. The holiday special was based on his original song The Happy Elf, from his 2003 album Harry for the Holidays. Another album from Marsalis Music was recorded in 2005, Occasion : Connick on Piano, Volume 2, a duo album with Harry Connick, Jr on piano together with Branford Marsalis on saxophone. A music DVD, A Duo Occasion, was filmed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival 2005 in Canada, and released in November 2005. He appeared in another episode of NBC sitcom Will & Grace in November 2005, and will appear in additional 3 episodes in 2006. Bug, a film directed by William Friedkin, is a psychological thriller filmed in 2005, starring Connick, Ashley Judd, and Michael Shannon. The film will be released in 2006. He is currently starring in the Broadway revival of The Pajama Game, produced by the Roundabout Theater Company, along with Michael McKean and Kelli O'Hara, at the American Airlines Theatre. It opened February 23, 2006, and is scheduled to run until June 11, 2006.
Involvement for Hurricane Katrina Victims
NBC-sponsored benefit concert
On September 2, 2005, Harry Connick, Jr. helped to organize, and appeared in, the NBC-sponsored live telethon concert, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, for relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As a native son of New Orleans, he spent several days touring the city, attempting to draw attention to the plight of citizens stranded at the New Orleans Convention Center and other places. At the concert he paired with host Matt Lauer (Today Show), and entertainers including Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kanye West, Mike Myers, and John Goodman.
Habitat For Humanity
6 September 2005, New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr. is made honorary chair of Habitat for Humanity’s “Operation Home Delivery,” a long-term rebuilding plan for families victimized by Hurricane Katrina in the Big Easy and along the Gulf Coast.
Musicians' Village
Main article: Musicians' Village
Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis came up with an initiative to help restore New Orleans's musical heritage. Habitat for Humanity and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis announced December 6, 2005, plans for a Musicians' Village in New Orleans. The Musicians' Village will include Habitat-constructed homes, with a Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, as the area's centerpiece. The Habitat-built homes will provide musicians of modest means the opportunity to buy decent, affordable housing.
External links
Article, including 2 video clips at msnbc.msn.com
Musicians' Village/New Orleans at habitat.org
Benefit Albums
2005 Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now - track #5 "City Beneath The Sea" disc.1 (RIAA will donate 100% of its net proceeds from the sale of this CD in equal parts to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and MusiCares Hurricane Relief 2005)
2005 A Celebration of New Orleans Music to benefit the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund - track #3 "Good to Be Home" (All proceeds will go to the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund)
Discography
Albums
2005 Occasion : Connick on Piano, Volume 2
2004 Only You
2003 Harry for the Holidays
2003 Other Hours : Connick on Piano, Volume 1
2002 Thou Shalt Not (original Broadway cast recording)
2001 Songs I Heard
2001 30
1999 Come By Me
1997 To See You
1996 Star Turtle
1994 She
1993 When My Heart Finds Christmas
1992 25
1991 Blue Light, Red Light
1990 Lofty's Roach Souffle
1990 We Are in Love
1989 When Harry Met Sally... (soundtrack)
1988 20
1987 Harry Connick Jr.
1978 Eleven
1977 Dixieland Plus
Soundtrack Appearances
2001 South Pacific - Various Artists - #9 "Younger Than Springtime", #14 "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" and #17 "My Girl Back Home"
1998 Kissing a Fool - Various Artists - "Learn to Love" and "We Are in Love" (appears in the movie, not on the soundtrack)
1996 One Fine Day - Various Artists - #11 "This Guy's In Love With You"
1994 The Mask - Various Artists - #5 "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name"
1993 Sleepless In Seattle - Various Artists - #8 "A Wink And A Smile"
1990 The Godfather Part III - Carmine Coppola - #12 "Promise Me You'll Remember"
Filmography
2006 Bug
2004 Mickey
2003 Basic
2001 Life Without Dick
2000 The Simian Line
2000 My Dog Skip
1999 Wayward Son
1999 The Iron Giant
1998 Hope Floats
1997 Excess Baggage
1996 Independence Day
1995 Copycat
1991 Little Man Tate
1990 Memphis Belle
Various
2006 The Pajama Game (Broadway Musical)
2005 The Happy Elf (NBC)
2004 Only You: In Concert (PBS)
2003 Harry for the Holidays (NBC)
2002 Will & Grace (NBC 2002-2006)
2001 Thou Shalt Not (Broadway Musical) - composer
2001 Evening at Pops (PBS)
2001 South Pacific (ABC)
1999 The Worlds of Harry Connick Jr. (Bravo)
1998 Harry Connick Jr.: Romance in Paris (PBS Special)
1993 The Harry Connick Jr. Christmas Special (CBS)
1991 Cheers - TV show guest appearance
Videography
2005 A Duo Occasion
2004 Only You: In Concert (Sony Music)
2003 Harry for the Holidays (Columbia)
1994 The Harry Connick Jr. Christmas Special
1993 The New York Big Band Concert (Sony Music)
1990 Swingin' Out Live (Sony Music)
1990 Singin' and Swingin' (Sony Music)
