It’s time! The Tournament of Roses will announce its Rose Parade grand marshal on Friday, after weeks of keeping us in suspense. So, we have some guesses as to who it – or perhaps they – will be.
Whoever it is, they’ll follow a long line of notable figures, whose careers tie in with the Rose Parade theme for the year.
They’re often cultural giants: Examples include Walt Disney as the grand marshal in 1966 for the theme “It’s a Small World.” John Wayne was grand marshal in 1974 for the “Movie Memories” theme. Carol Burnett brought smiles and waves in 1998 for the “Hav’n Fun” Theme. The list goes on and on, from Shirley Temple to Mickey Mouse, and from Pelé to Kermit the Frog.
What we know is, this year’s Rose Parade theme is “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.”
We also know, because the Tournament of Roses told us with a nice little hint packed within its announcement of Friday’s announcement, that the 2024 grand marshal is one award away from coveted “EGOT” status, having won three of the four prestigious awards: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. (EGOT is a phrase made popular on the NBC comedy “30 Rock” to describe someone who has won the quartet of honors.)
While we won’t know for sure who the official grand marshal is until it’s announced on Friday, we’ve put together a list of contenders from the almost-EGOT list, their ties to the music theme and what they’re working on now.
Note a caveat here, that we’ve organized this list from likely contenders to those we’re dreaming big for. There’s plenty others on the almost-EGOT list, but perhaps not quite fitting the musical theme. Never say never, of course. We love Al Pacino, a giant of an actor, but we can’t see him beating out some of the folks below when it comes to the music.
Cyndi Lauper
This year Lauper premiered “Let The Canary Sing,” a documentary about her career, at the Tribeca Film Festival. It is also the 40th…
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