harry GIVES THANKS
FOR FAMILY, MUSIC AND HIS FAVORITE CORNBREAD DRESSING
Afew months ago, Harry Connick Jr. gave his daughter Kate a life lesson. “She was telling me her workload [as a fashion designer] was overwhelming,” he says. His advice: Take it one small piece at a time. “Don’t look at what you have to do in its entirety, and it keeps you from feeling stressed.”
But sometimes, he says, it’s good to look at the big picture. Especially around Thanksgiving. “If we have our health, we need to take a step back and realize the ability to do our work and live our lives is an incredible gift,” he says. “Sometimes it looks like a grind, but it’s not really a grind.”
Take his upcoming stage show,
Harry Connick Jr.—A Celebration of Cole Porter, which will put him on a Broadway stage eight times a week, Dec. 7–29. The Grammy and Emmy winner, who has sold 30 million albums worldwide since the 1980s, is front and center in a production that encompasses film elements, choreography and a full orchestra. He conceived it, wrote the script and directs. That may sound like a grind to some, but it’s something Connick, 52, has been gearing up for much of his life.
The splashy production coincides with his just-released album, True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter, his first in four years and his 30th overall. Both projects will breathe new life into the legendary composer’s songbook, as Connick puts his signature touch on Porter’s vintage tunes, including “Anything Goes,” “Begin the Beguine” and “You Do Something to Me.”
“He’s always been one of my
favorites,” Connick says of Porter, who died in 1964. “I’m not concerned about whether people know who Porter is. My goal is for them to come to the theater and leave feeling better.”
Family Guy
As exciting as his public life is, Connick revels in his low-key life offstage. “I’m the most boring person!” he insists. His food guilty pleasure? Frozen fruit to make smoothies. Self-care splurge? Massages. Getaway? His home state, Louisiana.
“I don’t really need anything, and I can count the things I need to make me happy on one hand,” he says.
Topping his happy list are his wife of 25 years, former model Jill Goodacre Connick, 55, and their three daughters: Georgia, 23, a film student at New York University; the fashion designer, Kate, 22; and Charlotte, 17, who is homeschooled and travels with him so she can see the world.
“It’s an incredible luxury to be surrounded by women and have their perspective,” he says. “So much responsibility falls on the woman’s shoulders just by virtue of being a woman. It’s important to be in tune with them.”
His wife, he notes, volunteered to give up her career to be a full-time mom. She was a Victoria’s Secret model so famous that she appeared as herself on a memorable early episode of Friends.
They met in February 1990 at an L.A. hotel, where he spotted her walking by the pool. “I don’t know about her, but it was love at first sight for me.”
Years ago, the couple uprooted from NYC to New Canaan, Conn., so they could raise their kids “with more elbow room.” He says with pride that they remain a close unit. During a dark time in 2012, when Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer, they rallied together in support. (She’s been in remission since 2013 and is “doing great.”)
Born to Play
Connick admits that he often muses on the origins of his musical gifts. His mother, an attorney and Louisiana Supreme Court Justice, played the flute. (She died of ovarian cancer in 1981.) His grandmother was a singer. His uncle was a composer. Connick’s father, now 93, was a district attorney of Orleans Parish from 1974 to 2003. “My dad just told me this story about the time he was in the Navy during World War II,” he says. “He decided to get on the mic and sing on the battleship while they were out at sea. His captain said to him, ‘What are you doing?’ ”
He also credits his New Orleans upbringing, where live music was everywhere. “I was interested in music at an early age, and it was the only thing that came easily to me,” he says. At age 9, he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the New Orleans Symphony. He takes his phone out of his pocket and scrolls to a throwback photo of him at 8, smiling and mop-topped and sitting at a piano next to grizzled jazz veterans in Preservation Hall.
Connick got his first taste of massmarket success in 1989 when he covered memorable tunes such as “It Had to Be You” for the soundtrack of the romantic comedy When Harry Met
Sally. It led to his first Grammy. With a handsome face to match the smooth vocals, he was soon cast in movies and TV shows.
In 2010, he agreed to be a mentor on the hit singing
series American Idol and, four years later, served as a judge
CONNICK WITH DAUGHTERS GEORGIA, KATE AND CHARLOTTE AND WIFE JILL; HIS NEWEST ALBUM, WHICH CELEBRATES COLE PORTER; AND PLAYING JAZZ PIANO AT AGE 8 AT NEW ORLEANS’ PRESERVATION HALL
alongside Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez. From 2016 to 2018, he hosted and served as musical director on his own syndicated daytime talk show, Harry.
Last month, Connick was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame— right next to Cole Porter’s.
Giving Thanks
Connick will take a muchdeserved break on Thanksgiving when his family gets together at their Connecticut home. “We don’t do anything special,” he says, “but it’s a nice time to sit down and eat dinner together.”
Per the usual tradition, he and Jill will share the kitchen duties. “Jill loves to cook, and she makes pudding and her stuffing based on her mother’s recipe,” he says. (See “Connick Family Southern Dressing” on page 12.) “She’s from Texas, so all the food is very Southern.” He handles the turkey: “I spatchcock it and put in my usual seasonings.” (The next day, he’ll turn leftovers into a turkey gumbo, Louisiana-style.)
The Connicks—along with his sister, Suzanna, and Jill’s father—will also watch football on TV and swap favorite family stories. They go around the table and give thanks. This year, he already knows what he’s going to be grateful for: his family’s continued good health and their solid relationships.
But he doesn’t need a holiday to count his many blessings. “It’s important to remind ourselves how lucky we are,” he says. “I am grateful every day.”
This classic Thanksgiving side dish is adapted from Jill Goodacre Connick’s family recipe. You can assemble and refrigerate the casserole a day ahead and bake it on Thanksgiving.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Crumble 2 (16-oz) pkgs hot pork sausage (like Jimmy Dean) into a large skillet over medium. Cook 6–7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage into a large bowl, leaving drippings in pan.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add 4 cups chopped button mushrooms, 2 cups chopped yellow onions and 2 cups chopped celery to drippings in pan. Stir in ½-1 tsp cayenne. Sauté 10–12 minutes or until tender and liquid from mushrooms has evaporated. Scrape into bowl with sausage. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
To bowl, add 4 cups crumbled cornbread; 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted; 1 (12-oz) pkg herb-seasoned cubed stuffing (like Pepperidge Farm); 2 (14.5-oz) cans chicken broth; 4 large eggs (at room temperature), beaten; and salt and black pepper to taste. Use your hands to combine thoroughly. Add more broth if mixture looks dry. Scrape into a 12-by-9-inch lasagna dish. Bake 45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired. Serves 12–16.