Hollywood – John Lithgow had stage fright. No theater novice, he had finished his Tony Award-nominated run in the hit musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” – and had been inducted into Broadway’s Theater Hall of Fame – just weeks earlier.
But Lithgow knew that the audience he now faced would be merciless if he bombed.
“I was terrified,” Lithgow said of the kids’ concert he did in Santa Monica, Calif., in March. It was a test-run for songs the former “3rd Rock From the Sun” star would record a few days later for his new children’s CD, “The Sunny Side of the Street.” Would 100 preschoolers and toddlers sit still for Tin Pan Alley and Depression-Era novelty songs? Just in case, Lithgow had an acoustic guitar at the ready.
“You know, like a fire extinguisher,” he said, speaking by phone from the set of his new NBC sitcom, “20 Good Years.” “I thought, if I have to, I’ll just sing, oh, ‘The Rooster Song.’ ”
Instead, Lithgow’s boundless enthusiasm and gift for drollery wowed the crowd. Now, with the release of his CD in August, he’s hearing reports that parents and kids are singing along to “boop-boop-a-
doop,” “inka dinka doo” and other retro fare.
“I told (the producers) it should sound anarchic,” crowed Lithgow, who gave kid-friendly tweaks to lyrics in “Ya Gotta Have Pep,” “Be Human” – songs from Betty Boop cartoons – and other tracks.
An original by Lithgow is in the mix, too: “I’m a Manatee” (“I’m every bit as wrinkled as my granatee, no difference between my face and fanatee …”). It’s from Lithgow’s children’s book of the same name. Yes, Lithgow is also a best-selling children’s author.
So, does this hit stage, film and TV actor need a second career as children’s entertainer? Hardly. He just can’t help it.
“It’s so much extravagant fun,” he said. “The more I’ve done this material, the more fun it’s gotten and it’s just drawn me more and more into it.”
It began with his 1996 kids’ concert video – just Lithgow, his guitar and sense of humor. He’s twice narrated his own version of “Carnival of the Animals” for New York City Ballet’s performance to Saint-Saens’ score – and played the elephant too.
Branching out into nonfiction in 2004, he penned a “Lithgow Palooza” book series with creative play tips for all occasions. He recently partnered with an educational software company to create “Books by You,” a story-writing activity for ages 8 and up.
“But the No. 1 priority is delighting kids,” he said. “If they learn something between the lines, even if they’re not aware of it, that’s all to the good.”
It seems unlikely that this Renaissance man with a funny bone will run out of ideas, not with a 17-month-old granddaughter.
“She’s a little bit oblivious right now, but pretty soon she’ll become a fan. Then, predictably, she’ll get bored and mortified” – a phase his own offspring went through, Lithgow said, laughing. As adults, “they still think I’m a little bit mad, but they appreciate what I do.”
