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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/36491/full/36491/at-96-tony-martin-still-crooning/ <br /><br /> <b>At 96, Tony Martin still crooning</b> <br /> Friday, January 9, 2009 | by dan pine <br /><br /><p>When Tony Martin sings Cole Porter classics like "Begin the Beguine," he has an unfair advantage over other crooners: He actually knew Cole Porter.<br /><br /> "I met him at MGM Studios," Martin remembers. "He was doing a musical and they took me on stage. I sang a couple of his songs for him."<br /><br /> Memories of Old Hollywood come naturally to Martin, for decades a big star in the entertainment business and fit as a fiddle today at age 96. So fit he's still performing live, accompanied by a pianist. He plays Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco.<br /><br /> "I do all the good standards," he says. "People don't have to guess about it."<br /><br /> The local dates are a true homecoming for Martin, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. Though this may come as a surprise to his fans, Martin is Jewish, born Alvin Morris to Polish immigrants.<br /><br /> "I went to Sunday school and was bar mitzvahed," Martin says from his Los Angeles home. "I tried to learn Yiddish, but I wasn't home enough."<br /><br /> That's because he caught the performing bug early on as a member of the jazz band at Oakland Technical High School. He played saxophone while future bandleader Woody Herman sat next to him in the woodwind section. <br /><br /> His parents wanted their son to become a lawyer, sending him to St. Mary's College in Moraga. But Martin had stars, not torts, in his eyes, and he headed for Hollywood the first chance he got.<br /><br /> Among his most impressive credits, he was a featured performer with George Burns and Gracie Allen on their radio show in the 1930s. Allen, he says, was "an adorable lady and always funny." Martin also co-starred with the Marx Brothers in one of their later films, "The Big Store." His favorite memory: hanging out on the set jamming with Harpo.<br /><br /> He was in more than 30 films -- mostly musicals -- alongside stars like Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland and Lana Turner. "They're all gone now," he says wistfully, "but I think of them all and I thank God for them."<br /><br /> However his favorite leading lady was dancer Cyd Charrise. After his short-lived marriage to actress Alice Faye, he and Charrise married in 1948, staying together 60 years until her death last year.<br /><br /> "We had a very happy existence," Martin adds. "We had an admiration society: I thought she was a fantastic dancer, and she loved the way I sang."<br /><br /> So did a lot of other people. Martin had several big hits, including "To Each His Own," "Domino" and "I Hear a Rhapsody."<br /><br /> He may be the last of his generation still working. How does he stay in shape? "My drinking is a minimum," he says. "I don't take drugs and listen: I love to play cards. That's fun."<br /><br /> Though in remarkably good health, Martin doesn't go on extended tours anymore. As he describes it, when he feels like being active, he does a show or two. But once he's on that stage, the years seem to magically melt away.<br /><br /> "It's a whole new existence when I go to work," Martin says. "I love audiences. I enjoy singing for people."<br /><br /> <br><br /><br /> <b>Tony Martin</b> performs 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Hotel Nikko's Rrazz Room, 222 Mason St., S.F. Tickets: $50. Information: (415) 866-468-3399 or <a href="http://www.therrazzroom.com">http://www.therrazzroom.com</a>.<br /><br /> </p>

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