‘Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane fancies himself a crooner of the old school — a Frank Sinatra wannabe.
And so the New York Pops was thrilled when MacFarlane, who’s hosting next year’s Oscars, agreed to perform at a centennial tribute to the great songwriter Sammy Cahn on March 8 at Carnegie Hall.
“Come Fly With Me: The Songs of Sammy Cahn” is nearly sold out, due in part to MacFarlane’s popularity.
But the “singer” canceled his appearance in August, though the Pops announced it only this week.
And for that he’s earned the wrath of the Widow Cahn, a woman who, I can assure you, is not to be toyed with.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, Tita Cahn is on the warpath, and the price of coffins is gonna rise!
Cahn is a fierce protector of her husband’s catalog, which includes such standards as “Time After Time,” “High Hopes” and “All the Way.”
She isn’t buying this “scheduling conflicts” stuff — especially since she had her doubts about MacFarlane’s singing abilities in the first place.
When she heard he pulled out, her “southern Italian blood began to boil,” she says.
“Please tell Mr. MacFarlane that Tita Cahn said he can f – – – off,” she wrote in an e-mail to MacFarlane’s assistant.
“I’d rather have 26 Oscar-nominated songs and four Oscar winners sung by a real singer, not by a thoughtless rich kid to whom the word commitment means nothing.”
When I spoke to her yesterday, she was still blasting away: “Seth MacFarlane is brilliantly talented, but he’s a dilettante. He reproduces the notes, but he doesn’t emotionally connect to the songs. He’s not a crooner.”
MacFarlane responded: “One of the things I love about America is that we can always approach a conflict with a rational, measured perspective . . . Scheduling conflicts like this arise all the time in entertainment, and while I sincerely regret not being able to participate (and remain a colossal fan of Sammy Cahn’s work), I think there may have been a more civilized way of handling this issue than a rage-filled rant to the press.
“But if that’s how we’re doing this, let me quote Admiral James T. Kirk: ‘CAAAAHHHHNNNN!!!!’ ”
MacFarlane’s withdrawal may cause the Pops to cancel the tribute to Sammy, who died in 1993.
On Monday, the Pops announced that MacFarlane would be replaced by Ryan Silverman, a talented Broadway performer but hardly a headliner.
But on Wednesday, Cahn received a cryptic e-mail from the Pops:
“Due to Seth MacFarlane’s cancellation . . . we have made the very difficult decision to take the program in a different direction.”
Dan Dutcher, spokesman for the Pops, said, “Programs and artists are subject to change.” Asked if the Pops was still planning to honor Sammy Cahn, he said: “We don’t know yet.”
Cahn says she contacted two friends who know the catalog inside and out — Jack Jones and Steve Tyrell. Both would be delighted to take part in the show.
But so far, she says, she’s heard nothing from the Pops.
Unless the evening is a salute to her husband, she says, she may forbid the use of his songs. “The circumstances will determine my attitude.”
Cahn isn’t afraid to put her foot down where her husband’s work is concerned. She shelved a Broadway-bound musical called “Robin and the Seven Hoods” because she didn’t think the script was strong enough.
As for the Pops, Cahn says, “They put all their eggs in the Seth MacFarlane basket. But he’s hosting the Oscars. He’s powerful. He can do whatever he wants. Do you think it matters to him that he canceled a little concert at Carnegie Hall? They had no backup plan.”
MacFarlane, she adds, “needs to learn that a pro is a pro. You can’t hurt other people and cause a centennial celebration of a major songwriter to be canceled because it doesn’t suit your schedule.”
Ain’t that a kick in the head!