BoxCar Willie’s last appearance drew a full house.

About 1,000 people filled the entertainer’s theater on Saturday in Branson, Mo., to say goodbye to America’s singing hobo. BoxCar Willie, whose given name was Lecil Travis Martin, died last Monday of leukemia at 67.

Among the mourners were Branson stars such as Mel Tillis, Andy Williams, Jim Stafford and Yakov Smirnoff. And nearly each one had a warm memory to share about the friend they called “Box.” Tillis recalled serving in the Air Force with him in Nebraska 45 years ago: “I was a baker and he was a flight engineer. He used to come by the place where I did my baking, and we’d sit on the flour sacks and pick our guitars.”

The Rev. Cliff Braschler’s eulogy was interspersed with video clips from shows, and many mourners wept and then smiled as they heard songs like The Wabash Cannonball and I’ve Seen It All From a Boxcar Door.

Braschler let BoxCar Willie have the last word, and the crowd heard him sing:

“I’ll ride that last train to heaven, on rails of solid gold,

“In a boxcar filled with satin, where the nights are never cold.

“Where the hobo’s always welcome, even in his raggedy clothes. I’ll ride that last train to heaven, when the final whistle blows.”

Afterward, hundreds filed past an open coffin to view the performer in his full hobo regalia, an American flag at his side. An Air Force color guard honored BoxCar Willie at a brief graveside service.

Catwoman meets Jesse the governor

Singer Eartha Kitt turned in a different kind of performance when she visited Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura in St. Paul, doing a handstand on his desk while he touted the benefits of physical fitness.

“This is amazing,” Ventura said after Kitt’s stunt on Friday.

“At the age of 72,” interjected the performer, who was in the Twin Cities for shows at a nightclub and visited with Ventura, a former pro wrestler, for about 15 minutes.

“I’m here to support his original ideas about supporting common sense,” she said.

“He’s fun because of both his sense of humor and practical common sense.”

Kitt played Catwoman on the 1960s Batman TV show; Ventura had a small role in the more recent Batman and Robin movie. But the singer said the connection never came up.

Boys Choir graces Texas

The Boys Choir of Harlem is branching out from New York to form satellite choirs in some of the biggest cities in the nation — Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee and Detroit.

And in Commerce, Texas, population 7,192.

“I say, why not Commerce?” said Anthony Harris, director of Project Keep Hope Alive, whose choir is working with the Boys Choir of Harlem.

“The needs of the kids are no different in Detroit or San Francisco or Miami,” Harris said.

Project Keep Hope Alive, which provides after-school activities for black boys, is based at the Texas A&M; University-Commerce campus about 60 miles northeast of Dallas.

Of its 67 members, about 50 sing in the Voices of Hope choir.

“Music has a way of channeling creativity in a positive direction,” Harris said. “It’s important to get kids thinking they can create something very positive and very beautiful. It also instills self-discipline in kids.”

Boys Choir of Harlem leaders will travel to Commerce this summer to help the Voices of Hope singers fine-tune their skills in gospel, jazz, rap and classical music.

Samba singer undergoes surgery

Grammy award winner Gilberto Gil has undergone surgery to remove a growth on his vocal chords.

Doctors told the Brazilian samba singer not to speak for 72 hours after the operation at a Rio hospital earlier this week, reported the O Globo news agency Friday in Rio de Janeiro.

Gil has had problems with his voice since a grueling 40-show European tour last year. In February, he won a Grammy in the world music category for his album Quanta Live.

ALMANAC

It’s the 109th day of the year; 256 days are left in 1999. On this day:

In 1775, the American Revolution began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but futile battle against Nazi forces.

In 1989, 47 sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa.

In 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended. Dozens of people, including David Koresh, were killed.

In 1995, a truck bomb devastated the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were later convicted of charges related to the bombing.

Thought for today: “Never one thing and seldom one person can make for a success. It takes a number of them merging into one perfect whole.”– Canadian actress Marie Dressler (1869-1934)

Today’s birthdays: Actor Hugh O’Brian, 74; actor Don Adams, 73; actor Dudley Moore, 64; actress Elinor Donahue, 62.