Happy Birthday Cole Porter

Dead, but not forgotten

In the spirit of last night’s Tony Awards…which I paid no attention to…I would like to say, “Happy Birthday Cole Porter.” Sure, he has been dead since 1964 and most of you may not have even heard of him. To be offensively brief, Cole Porter was arguably one of the most successful Broadway/Hollywood songwriters and composers of his time. Like you, I knew next to nothing about this multiple Tony Award winner. However, one serendipitous trip to Peru, Indiana, changed all that…

My 9th Grade English Teacher and I went to Peru, Indiana, to understand why its considered…”The Circus Capital of the World.” But, in addition, we ended up experiencing the life and times of Cole Porter.

Peru, Indiana…the childhood home

If being the Circus Capital of the World was not enough fame for the small town of Peru, Cole Porter also happened to grow up there. And, believe it or not, you too can stay in Cole Porter’s childhood home.

Peru, Indiana, is too small to have any regular hotels for an overnight stay. So, the only in-town option is a Bed & Breakfast. The B&B that we found just happened to be Cole’s childhood home. I do not have much to say about his home. There is clearly a ceiling to the excitement for Cole Porter’s house. But, it was here that we became aware of his Peru legacy.

Museums are not just for Circuses

As I said, we were there to investigate the Circus legacy of Peru. However, at the local museums, there was always a section dedicated to Cole. At one of these museums, we found some fairly interesting Cole Porter artifacts…

One of the museums had a restored old piano actually belonging to Cole. Furthermore, you were allowed to play it. Among his many talents, my 9th Grade English Teacher is also an accomplished pianist (well, compared to me maybe). He sat down and tickled the ivories…bringing back the spirit of Peru’s greatest composer.

And, if that’s not enough excitement, the museum also had Cole Porter/Don Corleone’s car…

That’s Cole Porter’s 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood. Cole used to buy a Cadillac every year. Usually, he gave his previous year Cadillac away to friends or family. This particular Cadillac was rented by the movie crew of “The Godfather” to be Don Corleone main ride.

Wrap It Up

OK, enough said. I will not bore most of my readers with further fun facts on Cole Porter. But, darn it. My 9th Grade English Teacher and I had a totally unexpected discovery on our Circus Trip. Furthermore, you are now a better person for learning a little bit about Cole Porter. Happy Birthday Cole Porter. To everyone else, have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed reading “Happy Birthday Cole Porter” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks

If you want to learn more on the circus-side of Peru, here you go https://travelingwithpt.com/trying-to-explain-peru-indiana/

If you want to attend this summer’s circus festival, here you go https://www.perucircus.com/