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Birth Of The Blues
''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in New Orleans. It was well-received by critics on its release. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. However, many of the songs, such as St. Louis Blues by W. C. Handy, were not new. Plot Although he is only twelve, Jeff Lambert is a very talented clarinetist, and although the boy's father has spent a small fortune to have Jeff taught the fundamentals of classical clarinet, the lad prefers to spend his time in New Orleans with a group of black jazz men who perform in a dive on Bourbon Street. As the boy grows into manhood, his love for jazz intensifies, and he forms his own group, much to the chagrin of his aging father. Moving ahead, we find Jeff (Crosby) in his late twenties, and he and his boys have been unabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 film), Something to Sing About'' (1937 in film, 1937) with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures ''Road to Singapore'' (1940 in film, 1940) and ''Road to Zanzibar'' (1941 in film, 1941). His two best-known songs are "I Remember You (1941 song), I Remember You" and "Tangerine (1941 song), Tangerine", both with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and both featured in Schertzinger's final film, ''The Fleet's In'' (1942 in film, 1942). Life and career Schertzinger was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, the child of musical parents of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, and attracted attention as a violin Child prodigy, prodigy at the age of four. As a child of eight, he appeared as a violinist with several orchestras, including the Victor Herbert Orchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Hymer
Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to his credit, according to the Internet Broadway Database), vaudeville writer and actor, while his mother, Eleanor Kent, was an actress. Career He appeared in 129 films between 1929 and 1946, as well as the 1928 Broadway play ''The Grey Fox.'' Despite his typical screen persona as an unsophisticated tough guy with a Brooklyn accent, he actually attended Yale University. In the late 1930s, Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn had him removed from the studio after he showed up for work drunk. Hymer responded by breaking into Cohn's office and urinating on his desk. Cohn then blackballed him in the film industry, making it hard for him to find work. Death He died in Los Angeles, California, reportedly of a "stomach ailment" at age 42 in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1941 In Film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, ''Citizen Kane''. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1941 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *January 17 ''Gone with the Wind'' goes into general release after touring in a roadshow version during 1940. Becoming a cultural phenomenon, it sells an estimated 60 million tickets this year alone. Adjusted for inflation with numerous rereleases, it remains the highest grossing domestic film of all time with $1.8 billion. *March 24 - Glenn Miller begins work on his 1st movie '' Sun Valley Serenade'' for Twentieth Century Fox *May 1 – ''Citizen Kane'', consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, is released. *July 2 – ''Sergeant York'', the film biopic of World War I hero Alvin C. York, starring Gary Cooper in the title role, premieres in New York City. It is the highest-gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edith Head
Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential costume designers in film history. Born and raised in California, Head started her career as a Spanish teacher, but was interested in design. After studying at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, Head was hired as a costume sketch artist at Paramount Pictures in 1923. She won acclaim for her design of Dorothy Lamour’s trademark sarong in the 1936 film ''The Jungle Princess'', and became a household name after the Academy Award for Best Costume Design was created in 1948. Head was considered exceptional for her close working relationships with her subjects, with whom she consulted extensively; these included virtually every top female star in Hollywood. Head worked at Paramount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Fegté
Ernst Fegté (28 September 1900 – 15 December 1976) was a German art director. He was active in the American cinema from the 1920s to the 1970s, he was the art director or production designer on more than 75 feature films. He worked at Paramount Studios at the height of his career and won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for '' Frenchman's Creek'' (1944). He was also nominated in the same category for three other films: ''Five Graves to Cairo'' (1943), ''The Princess and the Pirate'' (1944), and '' Destination Moon'' (1950). He also worked in television in the 1950s and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1956 for his work on the series, ''Medic''. Early years Born in Hamburg, Germany, Fegté studied art at Hamburg University. He worked in the German cinema and created set murals for Ernst Lubitsch. Fetgé moved to the United States in the 1920s and initially worked in New York, creating backgrounds for various motion pictures produced in that city. Paramount yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Dreier
Hans Dreier (August 21, 1885 – October 24, 1966) was a German motion picture art director. He was Paramount Pictures' supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950, when he was succeeded by Hal Pereira. Hans Dreier was born in Bremen, Germany in 1885. After studying architecture in Munich, Germany, Dreier worked as imperial supervising architect of the German Cameroon. During World War I, he served in the German Lancers. He began his career in German films in 1919 as an assistant designer at UFA Studios. At the urging of German director Ernst Lubitsch, Dreier relocated to Hollywood in 1923 to work for Paramount. His first Hollywood film was '' Forbidden Paradise'', directed by Lubitsch and starring Pola Negri. Dreier worked as Paramount's supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950. He made contributions to nearly 500 films during his career, including many films directed by Josef von Sternberg and Ernst Lubitsch, as well as the film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' (1967). Early life Cecil Kellaway was born on 22 August 1890 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was the son of English parents, Rebecca Annie (née Brebner) and Edwin John Kellaway, an architect and engineer. Edwin had immigrated to Cape Town to help build the Houses of Parliament there, and he was a good friend of Cecil Rhodes, who was young Cecil's eponym and godfather. Cecil was interested in acting from an early age. He was educated at the Normal College, Cape Town, and in England at Bradford Grammar School. He studied engineering and on his return to South Africa was employed in an engineering firm. However the lure of acting was too strong and he became a full-time actor, making his debut in ''Potash and Perlmutter''. Early plays ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Pepper
Barbara Pepper (born Marion Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom ''Green Acres''. Early life and career Marion Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper. At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met Lucille Ball, with whom she would remain friends, during production of Eddie Cantor's ''Roman Scandals'' in 1933. From 1937 to 1943, Pepper was a prolific actress, appearing in 43 movies, mostly in supporting roles or in minor films, with exceptions being main characters in '' The Rogues' Tavern'' and ''Mummy's Boys'', both feature films released in 1936. Among her later film parts were small roles in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) and ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). She also performed radio parts. In 1943, she married ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Rosenthal
Harry Rosenthal (15 May c. 1893 – 10 May 1953) was an orchestra leader, composer, pianist and actor. Biography Rosenthal was born in Belfast in 1893, and by the 1920s he was in London where he had a thriving musical career as a composer, bandleader and pianist, including composing five operettas which met with great success. He came to the United States by 1929, when he wrote songs for Herbert Stothart's musical ''Polly'' on Broadway, and in 1930 acted in Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman's play ''June Moon'', which was revived in 1933. After he met Edward, the Prince of Wales at a reception, he accompanied the heir to the British throne on a world tour. Rosenthal's film career began in 1931 and ended in 1948, during which time he worked on 19 films, playing pianists, orchestra leaders and also non-musical roles, as well as composing music (for ''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'') and conducting (on '' For Me and My Gal''). In the early 1940s, Rosenthal was part of wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minor Watson
Minor Watson (December 22, 1889 – July 28, 1965) was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included '' Boys Town'' (1938), ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''Kings Row'' (1942), '' Guadalcanal Diary'' (1943), ''Bewitched'' (1945), '' The Virginian'' (1946), and ''The Jackie Robinson Story'' (1950) Early years Watson was the son of Mrs. Alice Rodgers. He attended St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, and Shurtleff College in Alton, Illinois. He said that, as a member of Sigma Phi at Shurtleff, he was encouraged to pursue a career in drama. Film Watson began his film career with Essanay Studios in 1913. He was described as "the new recruit that plays lover parts." Stage Watson's Broadway credits include ''State of the Union'', ''End of Summer'', ''Tapestry in Gray'', ''A Divine Drudge'', ''Reunion in Vienna'', ''Friendship'', ''This Thing Called Love'', ''These Modern Women'', ''Howdy King'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Botkin Sr
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made in parts of South Wales and France, especially Normandy and Anjou, and in Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Production Fruit Perry pears are thought to be descended from wild hybrids, known as ''wildings'', between the cultivated pear ''Pyrus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' and the now-rare wild pear ''Pyrus communis'' subsp. ''pyraster''. The cultivated pear ''P. communis'' was brought to northern Europe by the Romans. In the fourth century CE Saint Jerome referred to perry as ''piracium''. Wild pear hybrids were, over time, selected locally for desirable qualities and by the 1800s, many regional varieties had been identified. The majority of perry pear varieties in the UK originate from the counti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Barris
Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use "scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby and Al Rinker, scatted on several songs, including "Mississippi Mud," which Barris wrote in 1927. Biography Barris was born to Jewish parents in New York City. Gary Giddins described him as "small, wiry, and moon-faced with glittery eyes, and dark hair slicked back and parted in the middle." He was educated in Denver, Colorado. Barris became a professional pianist at the age of 14. He led a band which toured the Far East at the age of 17. Barris married Hazelle Thompson in 1925 and they had a daughter, Hazelle Barris, in 1926. The same year, Barris played the piano and occasionally sang in Paul Ash's orchestra. In the same year, Al Rinker and Bing Crosby became members of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra as a singing duo. However, appearing at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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