He's a man of many talents. / Palma Kolansky
Harry Connick Jr., 44, is no stranger to the stage, and this month, the sexy song and dance man will bring his Southern swagger to the biggest stage in the business — Broadway — as one of the stars in the revival of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
At home with his wife of 17 years, former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre, and three daughters, Georgia, 15; Kate, 14; and Charlotte, 9, he says he is anything but the smooth entertainer that makes women swoon. “I’m kind of a goofball.”
How will this “goofball” spend the holidays? “My wife loves to cook,” he says. “So she’ll make a nice dinner, and we’ll just hang out and be with the family.”
1.) He's a man of many talents.
After a hallmark year in which he won an Emmy for his live concert special on PBS (his second!), starred in the hit film Dolphin Tale and released his first children’s book The Happy Elf, Connick says his return to the theater offered him the chance to mix it up. “Broadway is one of my favorite things to do because it combines acting, singing, dancing and live performance,” he says. “It’s a little bit of everything.”
2.) But he's not good at everything.
“I’m a horrible athlete. I like to go fishing and play golf once in a while, but I’m not very good at any of that stuff.”
3.) You can't take New Orleans out of the boy.
Though he lives in Connecticut with his wife and three daughters, there’s no shaking that laid-back, Louisiana pace. “It’s kind of slow in New Orleans,” he says. “And I [still] take it slow. There’s no rush to doing things.”
4.) Show business runs in the family.
“My daughter Kate likes to sing, and Charlotte, my little one, likes to sing and act, too,” he says. “So who knows? It’s something that just makes itself evident to the individual as time goes on. [Working in the entertainment industry] is definitely something you have to want to do, and you have to work really hard at it.”
5.) He really likes good grub.
“I’ve got to watch what I eat, because I like good food. I make jicama, gumbo, red beans and rice, I like to boil crawfish — all that New Orleans stuff.”
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