Maureen McGovern - MDA's Songbird

Back then, she had no inkling of how deep her commitment to MDA would eventually become. "I dramatically discovered exactly what it means to need an organization like MDA Ñ and to receive its support," she would later say. McGovern's traumatic personal experience gave special meaning to her Telethon appearances and led to her becoming one of MDA's most highly valued celebrity volunteers.

'DISASTROUS' BEGINNINGS

McGovern began her career as a little known lounge singer who hailed from Youngstown, Ohio. "I performed in all the Holiday Inns and Ramada Inns across the great Midwest," she says. She rose to national stardom in the 1970s as singer of "The Morning After," the million-selling, Academy Award-winning song from "The Poseidon Adventure."

McGovern had a cold when she recorded this career-making song. "It took a while to make it not sound like 'The Borning After,'" she says.

Her association with the film about an overturned ocean liner, coupled with her performance of a song from "The Towering Inferno," helped her career but created a "Disaster Queen" image which she was eager to shed by the end of the decade.

By 1980, she'd be-come so disenchanted with the commercial demands of the music industry that, for a time, she went back to an earlier job working as a secretary, while also busying herself with writing and charitable work. But the lure of performance remained.

In the mid-1980s, McGovern came back with a vengeance and on her own terms, throwing the spotlight on the sophisticated songs she loves from the pre-rock 'n' roll era.

"There was such an embarrassment of songwriting riches in the '20s, '30s and '40s," she has said. "When I want to be moved by something, I listen to something by Gershwin or Cole Porter. Their songs had such passion."

STARTLING VOCAL TALENT

She's found expression for her talent in numerous recordings as well as in live concert venues ranging from London to Tokyo to New York's Carnegie Hall. She's appeared in Broadway musicals, films, TV and radio.

For vocal purity and clarity, she has few equals. Whether she's singing an immaculately beautiful "Over the Rainbow" without musical accompaniment or evoking the sounds of orchestral instruments with uncanny accuracy, she attains a degree of virtuoso vocal artistry that few can match.

McGovern's mentor, the late Mel Tormé, characterized her thus: "Maureen McGovern is, quite simply, the most glorious singer to come down the pike in several months of Sundays. Possessed of one of the finest vocal instruments in the world, a range that hasn't been matched since Yma Sumac stunned us all decades ago, and the ability to softly breathe into a lyric or 'read' the words in a clear, strong voice, perfectly in tune, she is positively daunting to the parade of soubrettes who wish they could sing like Maureen McGovern. Add the fact that she is a world-class performer."

Further praise hardly seems necessary, although it's worth noting that The New York Times calls her "the quintessential interpreter of Gershwin."

For McGovern, being a musical performer also means being a good actress. From Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" to Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I," she has worked hard to develop the stage presence and acting skills necessary to complement her singing abilities.

THE TELETHON'S DIVA

Jerry Lewis, who's enjoyed singing the occasional duet with McGovern on the Telethon, has taken to introducing her as "the Telethon's Diva."

"Shall We Dance"; On Telethon '98, McGovern and Victor Talmadge perform a classic number rom their smash stage production of "The King and I".

On the 1999 Telethon, McGovern performed a jazz version of "I'm Late" from the film "Alice in Wonderland" and Duke Ellington's "Caravan," accompanied by the piano of Lee Musiker and the orchestra. Her rendition of "Ordinary Miracles" drew a standing ovation.

"Maureen has shared her marvelous, amazing musical talents with us many times on the Telethon," Lewis says. "But that doesn't even begin to convey the depth of her involvement with MDA, which is something quite extraordinary."

A CALL FOR HELP

In 1989, McGovern learned that her niece, Carolyn, who was then only 3 years old, had dermatomyositis, one of the neuromuscular diseases covered by MDA.

The information the family received from doctors was not encouraging. The disorder, which is thought to result from a disturbance in the body's immune system, causes inflammation in the muscles and skin. Muscular weakness, pain, fatigue and loss of mobility may result.

"In the midst of this shocking news, I saw one hopeful glimmer," McGovern says. "I knew that dermatomyositis was covered by MDA. When I called MDA for help and information, I truly found out firsthand what a valuable ally MDA really is. The help and reassurance we received has been priceless.

"MDA research has helped develop several therapies to help control dermatomyositis, and MDA has helped us find the treatments that work best for Carolyn."

Carolyn received attention at MDA's clinic at Ohio State University in Columbus, directed by MDA research grantee Jerry Mendell.

"My family and I are grateful not only for the research but for the nationwide network of clinics, the support groups, the summer camp sessions for kids," McGovern says. "Dozens of people at MDA have helped my sister's family with all the kindness and dedication anyone could ask for."

"The Morning After," a song about hope, has new meaning for McGovern as a result of her niece's diagnosis.

"Now I sing it from a totally different perspective," she says. "It's a very profound song in its own little way."

A DEBT OF THANKS

Jerry Lewis loves sharing a duet with "the Telethon's Diva", even when it means doing it by live satellite hookup.

Since that diagnosis, McGovern has strived to repay MDA in any number of ways. Apart from the gift of her peerless vocal talents, she's contributed her passion and powers of articulation in the role of Telethon co-host on the pivotally important New York and Los Angeles broadcasts.

Telethon viewers will also spot McGovern in pretaped segments that help provide information about what MDA does. She's spoken about dermatomyositis at MDA meetings and events. McGovern's million-dollar voice even graces the answering machine tape at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz.

After her niece's diagnosis, she agreed to take on the official title of chairperson of MDA's Polymyositis/ Dermatomyositis Division to help educate the public about these two closely related diseases. McGovern also serves in the voluntary position of MDA national vice president.

McGovern spearheaded a very special effort to help MDA when she contributed half of her artist's royalties from every album sold of her 1997 release, "The Music Never Ends," to support MDA's programs. She participated in special MDA-related promotions, in-cluding the filming of a music video of the song, "Ordinary Miracles."

One of her favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

McGovern's latest album, "The Pleasure of His Com-pany," features 12 love songs by the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael, with piano accompaniment by Mike Renzi.

The album, which McGovern dedicated to Mel Tormé, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. Critics agree the album is McGovern at her best.