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Best Foot Forward (1943 Film)
''Best Foot Forward'' is a 1943 American musical film adapted from the 1941 Broadway musical comedy of the same title. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Edward Buzzell, and starred Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, Chill Wills, June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Nancy Walker. The actors did their own singing, except for Lucille Ball, whose singing was dubbed by Gloria Grafton; Virginia Weidler, whose singing was dubbed by Jeanne Darrell; and Jack Jordan, whose singing was dubbed by Ralph Blane. Weidler, then 16 years old, retired from acting after this film was made, making ''Best Foot Forward'' her final screen appearance. Plot The story centers around Lucille Ball, who plays herself against the backdrop of a military academy full of frisky boys. Ball is the reluctant guest of a diminutive cadet, Bud Hooper, who wrote her a "mash note" and invitation to be his date at a school prom. Ball's publicity man, Jack O'Riley, seizes upon the si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Buzzell
Edward Buzzell (November 13, 1895 – January 11, 1985) was an American film actor and director whose credits include ''Child of Manhattan (film), Child of Manhattan'' (1933); ''Honolulu (1939 film), Honolulu'' (1939); the Marx Brothers films ''At the Circus'' (1939) and ''Go West (1940 film), Go West'' (1940); the musicals ''Best Foot Forward (1943 film), Best Foot Forward'' (1943), ''Song of the Thin Man'' (1947), and ''Neptune's Daughter (1949 film), Neptune's Daughter'' (1949); and ''Easy to Wed'' (1946). Born in Brooklyn, Buzzell appeared in vaudeville and on Broadway, and he was hired to star in the 1929 film version of George M. Cohan's ''Little Johnny Jones'' with Alice Day. Buzzell appeared in a few Vitaphone shorts and the two-strip Technicolor short ''The Devil's Cabaret'' (1930) as Satan's assistant. He wrote screenplays in the early 1930s and later produced the popular ''The Milton Berle Show'', which premiered on television in 1948. In 1926, Buzzell married ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 and based in Beverly Hills, California. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions, Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious film studio, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of ''Ben-Hur (1959 film), Ben Hur''. After that, it divested itself of the Loews movie theater chain, and, in the 1960s, diversified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwood Kaye
Darwood Kenneth Smith (September 8, 1929 – May 15, 2002), also known as Darwood Kaye, was an American child actor most notable for his semi-regular role as the bookish rich kid Waldo in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1937 to 1940. As an adult, Smith became a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, ministering at several churches until his death in 2002. Kaye was "discovered" in 1935 while his family was on vacation in Hollywood, California; he was asked to come to the studios for a screen test, and made some uncredited appearances in films in 1936. ''Our Gang'' Kaye had a small role in Hal Roach's 1937 ''Our Gang'' comedy ''Glove Taps''. His first speaking part was in ''Hearts Are Thumps'', released the same year. In most of his ''Our Gang'' appearances, Kaye portrayed "Waldo", a rich kid with an officious, studious nature who competed with schoolmates "Alfalfa" Switzer and "Butch" Bond for the affections of little Darla Hood. Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald MacBride
Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an actor in New York. Biography Donald MacBride was born 1893 in Brooklyn, New York. MacBride appeared in nearly 140 films between 1914 and 1955. His year of birth is given variously as 1889 or 1893 in the standard reference books. Motion pictures Beginning in 1930, like many New York-based, stage-trained actors, he found work at the Paramount, Vitaphone, and Educational studios, all of which had East Coast branches. He is clearly visible as a crowd extra welcoming Groucho Marx in the Paramount feature ''Animal Crackers''. Speaking roles in short subjects followed, establishing MacBride as a comic tough guy or villain opposite Tom Howard, Shemp Howard, Buster Keaton, and other comedy stars. MacBride's fortunes improved when he was featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Haden
Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 entries in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Andy Hardy film series. Early life Some sources say she was born in 1898 in Center Point, Texas, while others claim she was born in Galveston, Texas,Axel Nissen's ''Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood'' gives her birthplace as Center Point, Texas. the daughter of Dr. John Brannum Haden (1871–1910) and character actress, Charlotte Walker, later active in silent films and early sound films. She always was cast in character roles. After their parents' divorce, Haden and her elder sister Beatrice Shelton Haden (born 1897) attended Sacred Heart Academy in Galveston, where they boarded during school terms. Career Haden first appeared on the stage in the early 1920s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry O'Neill
Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Career O'Neill began his acting career on the stage, after dropping out of college to join a traveling theatre company. He served in the Navy in World War I, after which he worked at several jobs, including being an usher in a funeral home. Eventually, he returned to the stage. His Broadway debut came in ''The Spring'' (1921), and his final Broadway appearance was in ''Shooting Star'' (1933). He also acted with the Provincetown Players and the Celtic Players. In the early 1930s he began appearing in films, including ''The Big Shakedown'' (1934), the Western ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), the musical ''Anchors Aweigh'' (1945), ''The Green Years'' (1946), and ''The Reckless Moment'' (1949). His last film was ''The Wings of Eagles'' (1957), starring J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beverly Tyler
Beverly Tyler (born Beverly Jean Saul, July 5, 1927 – November 23, 2005), was an American film actress and singer who was a minor MGM leading lady who appeared in mostly B movies in the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Tyler was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on July 5, 1927, the daughter of a secretary and factory employee, who secured piano and music lessons for their daughter at a young age. She was reared in adjacent Dunmore, Pennsylvania, attended Central High School; her parents and she were devout Methodists who were active in the Dunmore Methodist Church, where Beverly sang in the choir. When she was 14 years old, Tyler passed screen and voice tests and was informed, "you're a movie actress." Film and television Tyler debuted in films billed as Beverly Jean Saul in ''The Youngest Profession'' (1943). She worked in over 30 motion pictures between 1943 and 1957, including ''The Green Years'' (1946), '' My Brother Talks to Horses'' (1947), ''The Fireball'' (1950), ''Vo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his technical proficiency as well as his Tone (musical instrument), tone, and was influential on new trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a number of films that usually featured his band. Early life Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, United States, the son of Everett Robert James, a bandleader in a traveling circus, the Mighty Haag Circus, and Myrtle Maybelle (Stewart), an acrobat and horseback rider. He started performing with the circus at an early age, first as a contortionist at age of four, then playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six. It was at this age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publicity Stunt
In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilized by both advertisers and celebrities, the majority of whom are notable athletes and politicians. Organizations sometimes seek publicity by staging newsworthy events that attract media coverage. They can be in the form of groundbreakings, world record attempts, dedications, press conferences, or organized protests. By staging and managing these types of events, the organizations attempt to gain some form of control over what is reported in the media. Successful publicity stunts have news value, offer photo, video, and sound bite opportunities, and are arranged primarily for media coverage. It can be difficult for organizations to design successful publicity stunts that highlight the message instead of burying it. For example, it makes se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane (July 26, 1914 – November 13, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, and performer. Life and career Blane was born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended Tulsa Central High School. He studied singing with Estelle Liebling in New York City. He began his career as a radio singer for NBC in the 1930s before turning to Broadway, where he was featured in ''New Faces of 1936'' (1936), ''Hooray for What!'' (1937), and ''Louisiana Purchase'' (1940). In 1940 he formed a vocal quartet ("The Martins") with his friend Hugh Martin which performed on radio and in nightclubs. Martin and Blane formed a songwriting partnership. Together they wrote music and lyrics to '' Best Foot Forward'' (1941) and ''Three Wishes for Jamie'' (1952). The duo penned many American standards for the stage and MGM musicals. The team's best-known songs include " The Boy Next Door", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song", all written for the 1944 film m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on which she also made several guest appearances). During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on ''McMillan & Wife'' and Ida Morgenstern, who first appeared on several episodes of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and later became a prominent recurring character on the spinoff series ''Rhoda''. Early life Walker was born in 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the elder of two daughters of vaudevillian Dewey Barto (né Stewart Steven Swoyer) and Myrtle Flemming Lawler, a dancer. The couple wed in Manhattan in 1919. Walker and her father both stood 4'11" (1.50 m). Her younger sister was Betty Lou Barto. Acting career In 1937, as "Nan Barto", Walker appeared on the NBC radio programs ''Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
