Step up and take a look at the U.S.'s latest secret weapon. A hot missile? No, a cool cat—Earl ("Fatha") Hines, jazz pianist nonpareil.

[W]e had just opened after only 10 cliff‐hanging days in Boston . . . [and] were all doing our first show. The only cool cat among us was the remarkable director, George Abbott, who had been there many times before and looked pleased, proud and relaxed.