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Benny Bartlett
Floyd B. Bartlett, known professionally as Benny Bartlett or Bennie Bartlett (August 16, 1924 – December 26, 1999), was an American child actor, musician, and later a member of the long-running feature-film series ''The Bowery Boys''. Biography Career Benny Bartlett's first stage role was when he was ten days old. He became a musical prodigy, playing the trumpet at age four, directing and singing with his own dance orchestra on radio. He made his debut in motion pictures in 1935, appearing in the RKO musical ''Millions in the Air'' (1935), in which he had a piano specialty. The next year he appeared in a short for Paramount, singing "An Old-Fashioned Mill," which he had composed at the age of nine. The studio signed him to a contract soon afterward. Paramount had plans for Bartlett: syndicated columnist Mollie Merrick reported that the "eight-year-old" Bartlett (he was really 11) would star in the title role of ''Tom Sawyer, Detective '' opposite co-star Elizabeth Patterso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. History Independence was settled on land that was purchased from the Osage Indians in September 1869 by George A. Brown for the price of $50; they were being moved to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. He originally called the townsite Colfax after Schuyler Colfax, vice president under President Ulysses S. Grant. On August 21, 1869 a group of Oswego, Kansas men led by R. W. Wright settled there with the intent to make Independence the county seat. E. E. Wilson and F D. Irwin opened the first store in October 1869, Wilson & Irwin Groceries. Independence was designated county seat in 1870. A permanent lighting system was first used for an exhibition baseball game on April 17, 1930 between the Independence Producers and House of David semi-professional b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoestring film producers based their operations. However, PRC was more substantial than the usual independent company that made only a few low-budget movies and then disappeared. PRC was an actual Hollywood studio -- albeit the smallest -- with its own production facilities and distribution network, and it even accepted imports from the UK. PRC lasted from 1939 to 1947, churning out low-budget B movies for the lower half of a double bill or the upper half of a neighborhood theater showing second-run films. The studio was originally located at 1440 N. Gower St. (on the lot that eventually became part of Columbia Pictures) from 1936 to 1943. PRC then occupied the former Grand National Pictures physical plant at 7324 Santa Monica Blvd., from 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Bernds
Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur licenses. In the early 1920s, there was considerable prestige for amateur operators to have commercial radio licenses, and Bernds was in a good position to enter broadcasting when he graduated in 1923, a year when radio stations began to be established all over Chicago. He found employment — at age 20 — as chief operator at Chicago's WENR. When talking pictures began in the late 1920s, Bernds and broadcast operators like him relocated to Hollywood to work as sound technicians in "the talkies". After a brief period at United Artists, Bernds resigned and worked at Columbia Pictures, where he functioned as sound engineer on many of Frank Capra's classics in the 1930s. He soon established himself as Columbia's best recording techni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rear Window
''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr. It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. ''Rear Window'' is considered by many filmgoers, critics, and scholars to be one of Hitchcock's best and one of the greatest films ever made. It received four Academy Award nominations and was ranked number 42 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list and number 48 on the 10th-anniversary edition, and in 1997 was added to the United States National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot Recuperating from a broken leg, professional photographer L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment in Greenwich Village, Manhat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", he became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for Best Director despite five nominations. Hitchcock initially trained as a technical clerk and copy writer before entering the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer. His directorial debut was the British-German silent film '' The Pleasure Garden'' (1925). His first successful film, '' The Lodger: A Story of the London F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Playboys
''Paris Playboys'' is a 1954 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on March 7, 1954 by Allied Artists and is the thirty-third film in the series. Plot After Sach is mistaken by French professor as the missing Prof. Maurice Gaston LeBeau, they convince him to impersonate the professor in the hopes of driving the real professor out of hiding. Sach and Slip head off to Paris, along with Louie, and proceed with the plan, with everyone there thinking that the professor has amnesia. The real professor finds out about his impostor and returns to Paris, just in time to encounter spies who are trying to steal the professor's rocket fuel formula that he was working on when he disappeared. Sach, however, creates his own rocket formula that saves the day, and he is rewarded for his efforts in the end. Cast The Bowery Boys *Leo Gorcey as Terrance Aloysius 'Slip' Mahoney *Huntz Hall as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones/ Prof. Mauri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was famous for his use of malapropisms, such as "I depreciate it!" instead of "I appreciate it!" Early years Gorcey was born in New York City on June 3, 1917, the son of Josephine (née Condon), an Irish Catholic immigrant, and Bernard Gorcey, a Russian Jewish immigrant. Both were vaudevillian actors of short stature. Bernard Gorcey was and his wife was . Their son would reach in adulthood. Film career In the 1930s, Gorcey's father lived apart from the family while working in theater and film. When he returned in 1935, he and Leo's younger brother David Gorcey persuaded Leo to audition for a small part in the play ''Dead End''. Leo had just lost a job as a plumber's apprentice and wished to emulate his father's modest success. The Gorcey bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Gorman
Charles J. "Buddy" Gorman''Hollywood's Made-To-Order-Punks: The Complete Film History of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids, and Bowery Boys,'' Richard Roat, BearManor Media, 2010. (September 2, 1921 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying a member of the comedy teams The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Career Buddy was born and raised in the "Hell's Kitchen" area of New York. He left home after high school and hitchhiked to California in hopes of becoming an actor. He got a job in a studio mailroom and slept in a nearby used car lot until he was noticed and given small parts in movies. Although Gorman was then in his mid-twenties, his youthful appearance got him cast as streetwise teenagers. Producer Sam Katzman hired Gorman for Monogram's East Side Kids comedies with Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, where he was billed as Bud Gorman. Away from the Gorcey-Hall gang, Gorman played bits in major feature films, alm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Gorcey
David Gorcey (February 6, 1921 – October 23, 1984) was an American actor and the younger brother of actor Leo Gorcey. Gorcey is best known for portraying "Chuck Anderson" in Monogram Pictures' film series The Bowery Boys, and "Pee Wee" in its antecedent The East Side Kids. Life and career David Gorcey was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York, the son of Josephine (née Condon) and Bernard Gorcey. His father was a Russian Jewish immigrant and his mother was an Irish Catholic immigrant. and entered the entertainment business at a young age. He appeared in vaudeville during his childhood, and eventually made it to the stage and screen. When Gorcey was 10 years old, he was signed by the Vitaphone studio in New York to co-star in its Penrod and Sam series of short subjects, based on the Booth Tarkington stories. "Dave Gorcey" played Sam Williams opposite Billy Hayes as Penrod Schofield. He is not usually thought of as one of the "original" Dead End Kids, but he did ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Beaudine
William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and career Born in New York City, Beaudine began his career as an actor in 1909 with American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. He married Marguerite Fleischer in 1914 and they stayed married until his death. Her sister was the mother of actor Bobby Anderson (actor and production associate), Bobby Anderson. Beaudine's brother Harold Beaudine was a director of short action-filled comedy films. In 1915 he was hired as an actor and director by the Kalem Company. He was an assistant to director D.W. Griffith on ''The Birth of a Nation'' and ''Intolerance (film), Intolerance''. By the time he was 23 Beaudine had directed his first picture, a short called ''Almost a King'' (1915). He would continue to direct shorts exclusively until 1922, when he shifted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas House Kids Go West
''Gas House Kids Go West'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine. A sequel to the 1946 film '' Gas House Kids'', which had starred former Dead End Kids leader Billy Halop, this new film emphasized comedy and recast the gang with Our Gang alumni Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Tommy Bond, East Side Kids alumnus Benny Bartlett, and juvenile actors Rudy Wissler and Ray Dolciame. Plot The Gas House Kids of New York travel west to California after winning a basketball competition. The boys cash in their train tickets and decide to buy a used car instead, donating the money saved to charity. At a used-car lot, the shady dealer gives them a stolen car, too hot for New York, to drive cross-country to his contact in California. After depositing the car, the boys stay at a ranch manned by a gang of crooks. Soundtrack Alfalfa croons "West of the Pecos". Cast * Carl Switzer as Alfalfa * Benny Bartlett as Orvie * Rudy Wissler as Scat * Tommy Bond as Chimp * Ray Dolciam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Bond
Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods on ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (first as "Tommy" and later as "Butch"). Also, he is noted for being the first actor to appear onscreen as "Superman's pal" Jimmy Olsen, having portrayed the character in the film serials ''Superman'' (1948) and ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' (1950). Biography Early years and ''Our Gang'' Born in Dallas, Texas, Bond got his start in 1931 at the age of 4 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a Dallas cinema. Bond was hired at Hal Roach Studios for the ''Our Gang'' series in the summer of 1931 to begin work that upcoming fall, at around the same time as George "Spanky" McFarland was hired. Bond worked in ''Our Gang'' for three years, alternately appearing as a supporting character and a background actor. His sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
