My Favorite "Triple Threat" Performers

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26.

Bing Crosby



He won an Oscar for playing a kindly priest in Going My Way, but he is best known as one of Hollywood's greatest crooners, whose recording of "White Christmas" is the largest selling Christmas song ever. He was also pretty limber on his feet, which can be evidenced in "The Minstrel Song" from White Christmas which is posted here, along with a clip from his other Oscar-nominated performance in The Country Girl:








25.

Catherine Zeta- Jones




For years I thought she was just another beautiful actress, but I was blown away by her dazzling Oscar-winning performance in 2002 's Best Picture Chicago. She proved not to be a one trick pony when she took on the completely different role of Desiree Armfeldt in the 2011 revival of A Little Music. I have posted her performing "And All that Jazz" in the film Chicago, her performing "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music on the Tony Awards and an underrated scene from 2000 Best Picture nominee Traffic.












24.

Chita Rivera



Broadway legend who created the role of Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, and Velma Kelly in Chicago, racking up ten Tony nominations, winning twice for The Rink and for Kiss of the Spider Woman. This dancing dynamo also stole every scene she had in the screen version of Sweet Charity. I have posted a nerly forgotten appearance on The Judy Garland Show, she and Liza Minnelli performing "The Apple Doesn't Fall Very Far" from The Rink on the Tony Awards and "There's Gotte Be Something Better Than This" from the film version of Sweet Charity














23.

Hugh Jackman



A tall and drop dead gorgeous actor who pretty late in his career just reinvented himself as a Broadway star. I have posted a serious scene from Prisoners with Jake Gyllenhaal; his "I Go to Rio" from his Broadway show The Boy From Oz and his gorgeous rendition of the opening song in a London revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!:











You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
23.

Hugh Jackman



A tall and drop dead gorgeous actor who pretty late in his career just reinvented himself as a Broadway star. I have posted a serious scene from Prisoners with Jake Gyllenhaal; his "I Go to Rio" from his Broadway show The Boy From Oz and his gorgeous rendition of the opening song in a London revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!:









Hugh Jackman probably would have been higher on my list. He was one of the first people who came to my mind when you started this list. I wanted to see him when he was in his own show on Broadway, but I just wasn't able to go. His next Broadway show is going to be starring as Professor Harold Hill in "The Music Man" at the Winter Garden Theatre later this month.
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22.

Megan Hilty



This ridiculously talented young woman had her big break replacing Kristen Chenoweth on Broadway in Wicked, has done a lot of television, including the role of Ivy Lynn on the NBC musical series Smash and recently played Lily St Regis on NBC's live production of Annie. This woman is the total package. I have posted a clip of her performing "Popular" from Wicked and a song she originated on Smash called "They Just Keep Moving the Line."








You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
22.

Megan Hilty



This ridiculously talented young woman had her big break replacing Kristen Chenoweth on Broadway in Wicked, has done a lot of television, including the role of Ivy Lynn on the NBC musical series Smash and recently played Lily St Regis on NBC's live production of Annie. This woman is the total package. I have posted a clip of her performing "Popular" from Wicked and a song she originated on Smash called "They Just Keep Moving the Line."

I saw Megan Hilty in the TV show "Smash", and she's terrific. I'm glad to see that she made your list.



21.

Liza Minnelli



This Oscar and Tony Award winning star actually made her film debut at the age of 3 being carried in mother Judy Garland's arms in the final scene of the 1949 film In the Good Old Summertime. She began performing onstage with her mother and it wasn't long after that, that she won the first of her two Tony Awards for Flora the Red Menace. A few yars later received her first Oscar nomination for The Sterile Cuckoo and winning an Oscar three years later for the role she will always be associated with, Sally Bowles in Cabaret. I have posted her telephone scene in The Sterile Cuckoo, which I think earned her the Oscar nomination by itself, her unforgettable rendering of the title tune of the 1977 musical New York New York and "Bye Bye Blackbird", the opening number from her Emmy Award winning TV special :Liza with a Z, and "Mein Herr" from Cabaret.



















20.

Neil Patrick Harris



I had no idea when this guy was playing a teenage doctor on Doogie Howser MD what a versatile performer he actually was. The guy has wowed Broadway in Hedvig and the Angry Inch and hosting the Tony Awards. He has also appeared as Toby in Sweeney Todd and Robert in the 2011 revival of Company. He stole every scene he had on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and I loved the way his public embraced him when he came out. I have posted his opening number from the 2011 Tony Awards, his performance of "Not While I'm Around" from the concert version of Sweeney Todd, and his rendition of "Being Alive" from the 2011 revival of Company...enjoy.













19.

Raul Esparza



This undeniably versatile actor began his career in theater when he got his big break in the Boy George musical Taboo. He appeared in several musicals, including playing Robert in the 2007 revival of Sondheim's Company and then took a break from singing and dancing, he spent six seasons playing ADA Rafael Barba on NBC's Law and Order: SVU. After his departure from that show, he returned to the theater, including a leading role in a revival of another Sondheim musical called Anyone Can Whistle. I have posted two numbers from the Company revival, as well as one of his most famous cross examinations from Law and Order: SVU













18.

Julie Andrews



I was obsessed with the woman after seeing her Oscar-winning performance in Mary Poppins and after seeing The Sound of Music, I was convinced that this was the perfect woman and what every other woman aspired to be. It took me a long time to remove her from the pedestal I had put her on...actually it was the first time I saw the 1979 comedy 10 and she appeared in a bedroom scene with Dudley Moore wearing a very revealing robe. She won a Tony for creating the role of Eliza Doolittle, a role she lost for the film version, but she got revenge by winning the Oscar that year for Mary Poppins while Hepburn didn't even get a nomination. One of the industries most beloved performers who even got to reveal her naughty side in a series of television specials with Carol Burnett. Took a minute to decide what to post here, but I finally went with "Supercalifragiliticepialadocious" from Mary Poppins, "I Have Confidence", my favorite scene in The Sound of Music, and "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria...enjoy.













You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
20.

Neil Patrick Harris



I had no idea when this guy was playing a teenage doctor on Doogie Howser MD what a versatile performer he actually was. The guy has wowed Broadway in Hedvig and the Angry Inch and hosting the Tony Awards. He has also appeared as Toby in Sweeney Todd and Robert in the 2011 revival of Company. He stole every scene he had on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and I loved the way his public embraced him when he came out. I have posted his opening number from the 2011 Tony Awards, his performance of "Not While I'm Around" from the concert version of Sweeney Todd, and his rendition of "Being Alive" from the 2011 revival of Company...enjoy.

I loved the Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman duet from the 2011 Tony Awards. They're each great individually, but they're also so much fun together:




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
19.

Raul Esparza



This undeniably versatile actor began his career in theater when he got his big break in the Boy George musical Taboo. He appeared in several musicals, including playing Robert in the 2007 revival of Sondheim's Company and then took a break from singing and dancing, he spent six seasons playing ADA Rafael Barba on NBC's Law and Order: SVU. After his departure from that show, he returned to the theater, including a leading role in a revival of another Sondheim musical called Anyone Can Whistle. I have posted two numbers from the Company revival, as well as one of his most famous cross examinations from Law and Order: SVU

Thanks for including Raul Esparza. I've seen him on "Law and Order: SVU", but I had no idea that he was also a theater actor.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
18.

Julie Andrews



I was obsessed with the woman after seeing her Oscar-winning performance in Mary Poppins and after seeing The Sound of Music, I was convinced that this was the perfect woman and what every other woman aspired to be. It took me a long time to remove her from the pedestal I had put her on...actually it was the first time I saw the 1979 comedy 10 and she appeared in a bedroom scene with Dudley Moore wearing a very revealing robe. She won a Tony for creating the role of Eliza Doolittle, a role she lost for the film version, but she got revenge by winning the Oscar that year for Mary Poppins while Hepburn didn't even get a nomination. One of the industries most beloved performers who even got to reveal her naughty side in a series of television specials with Carol Burnett. Took a minute to decide what to post here, but I finally went with "Supercalifragiliticepialadocious" from Mary Poppins, "I Have Confidence", my favorite scene in The Sound of Music, and "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria...enjoy.

I knew that Julie Andrews would show up on this list, but I expected her to be much higher than this. (At least in the top ten, if not the top five.)



17.

Renee Zellweger



An underrated triple threat who I don't think has even scratched the surface of what she's capable of. At the age of 52, she has already won two Oscars and two Golden Globes and I wouldn't count out more award love coming her way. I have posted the climactic scene from Nurse Betty, which won Zellweger her first Globe, her performance of "By Myself" as Judy Garland in Judy, which won her a second Oscar, the "Hot Honey Rag" number from the 2002 Best Picture Chicago, and a duet with Ewan McGregor from Down with Love...enjoy.

















16.

John Travolta



He's been in the business since the 1970's and before that decade ended, he was the #1 box office attraction. As the 80's began, a series of box office flops found his popularity plummeting to the point where he wasn't working at all. But then Amy Heckerling cast him in Look Who's Talking, which led to Quentin Tarentino casting him in Pulp Fiction, leading to his second Oscar nomination and an unparalleled renaissance in his career. He even managed to keep his career afloat despite tragedies in his personal life and remains a movie star. I have posted his memorable duet with Olivia Newton John during the finale of Grease, his dazzling dance routine to the Bee Gees in Saturday Night Fever, the film that earned him his first Oscar nomination, my favorite moment from the John Woo classic Face/Off, and a delicious monologue from the film Swordfish:

















15.

Daveed Diggs



He's not just a singer, dancer, and actor, he's also a writer, a director, and a rapper, who has been on the cusp of stardom for years, but finally burst onto the scene with his role as Thomas Jefferson/Lafayette in the landmark musical Hamilton, which earned him a Tony Award. He starred in the television series Snowpiercer and Black-ish and wrote and directed the film Blindspotting. I have posted clips of Diggs in Hamilton, Snowpiercer, and the powerful finale of Blindspotting: