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Boarding House Blues
''Boarding House Blues'' is a 1948 American race film directed by Josh Binney which featured the first starring film role by Moms Mabley. It was the penultimate feature film of All-American News, a company that made newsreels for black Americans. Premise Mom (Moms Mabley) runs a boarding house for struggling entertainers,''On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy'' by Mel Watkins, Chicago Review Press, 1999. similar to the situation decades earlier when Mabley had lived in a boarding house for black entertainers in Buffalo, New York.''Icons of African American Comedy'' by Eddie Tafoya, ABC-CLIO, 2011, page 20. When the boarding house is threatened with closure and all the tenants evicted due to non-payments, everyone gets together to put on a show to raise the money needed to save Mom and their home. The plot functions as a showcase for performance and comedy sketches and in the end enough money is raised to fend off the landlord. Legacy The film was the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josh Binney
Harold "Josh" Binney (1889 - 1956) was an actor, film producer, film company executive, and film director in the United States. He worked as an actor before establishing the Florida Film Company in Jacksonville, Florida in 1918 and produced and producing their films through his Harold J. Binney Productions division. He moved on to Canada and then Sonoma, California. Early life Harold Joshua Binney was born in Kansas City. He studied at the University of Washington and was an actor in vaudeville productions and with stock companies before becoming a film actor. He acted in films for Biograph, IMP, and Vogue. Career in film production He established Florida Film Corporation in Jacksonville and in 1918 producing and directed five comedies for the studio featuring Hillard “Fat” Karr who began his career in comedy films at Josh Binney Comedies in Florida. The films are ''Fabulous Fortune Fumblers'', ''Fred's Fictitious Foundling'', ''Freda's Fighting Father'', ''Fatty's Fast Flivv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcellus Wilson
Marcellus may refer to: * Marcellus (name) * Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman commander Places * Marcellus, Lot-et-Garonne, France * Marcellus Township, Michigan ** Marcellus, Michigan, a village in Marcellus Township ** Marcellus Community Schools ** Marcellus High School (Michigan) ** ''Marcellus News'', a newspaper * Marcellus, New York ** Marcellus Central School District ** Marcellus High School ** Marcellus (village), New York Other uses * ''Marcellus'' (1811 ship) * Marcellus Formation, a mapped bedrock unit in eastern North America * ''Protographium marcellus'', a butterfly * ''Pseudorhabdosynochus marcellus'', a fish parasite * , a collier in service with the United States Navy from 1898 to 1910 See also * * Marsalis (other), a family of American musicians * Marcello * Marcelo * Marcel (other) Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berry Brothers
The Berry Brothers were an American "exotic, acrobatic soft shoe dance" trio, active in the entertainment business for over 30 years. The trio was composed of Ananias (Nyas, "King of the Strut"), James and Warren Berry. History Ananias "Nyas" Berry (August 18, 1913 – October 5, 1951) and James Berry (c. 1915 – 1969) were born to Ananias Berry and Redna Berry in New Orleans. As early as 1919 the two brothers already performed in Chicago and then in Denver where the family settled and the younger Warren (December 25, 1922 – August 10, 1996) was born. In 1924 the family moved to Los Angeles, where as child actors Nyas, James and then Warren appeared in several films. In 1929 Nyas and James formed the dance duo "The Berry Brothers." They appeared with Duke Ellington in "Rhythmania" at the Cotton Club. That same year they traveled to London and were featured performers in the critically acclaimed all-African-American revue ''Blackbirds of 1928''. They were the first African Amer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bull Moose Jackson
Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989)Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered a performer of dirty blues because of the suggestive nature of some of his songs, such as "I Want a Bowlegged Woman" and "Big Ten Inch Record". Career Jackson was born Benjamin Joseph Jackson in Cleveland, Ohio. He played violin as a child but quickly became drawn to the saxophone and started his first band, the Harlem Hotshots, while he was still in high school. In 1943, he was recruited as a saxophonist by the bandleader Lucky Millinder, and the musicians in Millinder's band gave him the nickname " Bull Moose" for his appearance. He began singing when he was required to stand in for Wynonie Harris at a show in Lubbock, Texas. Millinder encouraged Jackson to sign a solo contract with Syd Nathan of King Records to play rhythm and blues. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Una Mae Carlisle
Una Mae Carlisle (December 26, 1915 – November 7, 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life Carlisle was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Edward and Mellie Carlisle. She was of African and Native American descent. Trained to play piano by her mother, she was performing in public by age three. Career Still a child, she performed regularly on radio station WHIO (AM) in Dayton, Ohio. In 1932, while she was still in her teens, Fats Waller discovered Carlisle while she worked as a local Cincinnati, Ohio, performer live and on radio. Her piano style was very much influenced by Waller's; she played in a boogie-woogie/stride style and incorporated humor into her sets. She played solo from 1937, touring Europe repeatedly and recording with Waller late in the 1930s. In the 1940s, Carlisle recorded as a leader for Bluebird Records, with sidemen such as Lester Young, Benny Carter, and John Kirby. She had a longtime partnership with producer/publis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical taste made his bands successful. His group was said to have been the greatest big band to play rhythm and blues, and gave work to a number of musicians who later became influential at the dawn of the rock and roll era. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1986. Early career Millinder was born Lucius Venables in Anniston, Alabama, United States. He took the surname Millinder as a child, and was raised in Chicago. In the 1920s, he worked in clubs, ballrooms, and theatres in Chicago as a master of ceremonies and dancer. He first fronted a band in 1931 for an RKO theater tour, and in 1932 took over the leadership of Doc Crawford's orchestra in Harlem. He also freelanced elsewhere. In 1933, he took a band to Europe, playing re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Riano
John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Epistle of John, often shortened to 2 John * Third Epistle of John, often shortened to 3 John People * John the Baptist (died c. AD 30), regarded as a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ * John the Apostle (lived c. AD 30), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus * John the Evangelist, assigned author of the Fourth Gospel, once identified with the Apostle * John of Patmos, also known as John the Divine or John the Revelator, the author of the Book of Revelation, once identified with the Apostle * John the Presbyter, a figure either identified with or distinguished from the Apostle, the Evangelist and John of Patmos Other people with the given name Religious figures * John, father of Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter * Pope Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freddie Robinson
Abu Talib (born Fred Leroy Robinson; February 24, 1939 – October 8, 2009) was an American blues and R&B guitarist. Career Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was raised in the state of Arkansas and moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1956. Inspired as a guitarist by Joe Willie Wilkins, he first recorded that year, backing harmonica player Birmingham Jones. In 1958, he began touring with Little Walter, and after seeing a jazz band perform was inspired to learn music formally at the Chicago School of Music. He also began working with Howlin' Wolf, recording with him such notable blues classics as "Spoonful", "Back Door Man" and "Wang Dang Doodle". In the mid-1960s, he played with R&B singers Jerry Butler and Syl Johnson, before joining Ray Charles' band in Los Angeles. While there, he recorded the instrumental "Black Fox", which became a minor pop hit reaching #56 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and # 29 on the R&B chart. In the early 1970s, he worked with English blues bandleader John Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Easton
Sidney Easton (October 2, 1885December 24, 1971) was an African-American actor, stage performer, playwright, composer, vocalist, and pianist. He worked as a performer in minstrel shows, carnivals, burlesque, and vaudeville. Starting in the 1930s he appeared in films. Biography Sidney Easton was born on October 2, 1885, in Savannah, Georgia. However some sources have his date of birth as 1886 or 1891. Easton was the eldest of six children, his parents were Eva and King Easton. In childhood, Easton went to work for the John Robinson Circus and later with the A.G. Allan Minstrel Show. He was married to performer Sarah Dooley from 1913 to 1920, ending in her death. Easton was a member of the Easton Trio. Many of his songs were recorded by various musicians in the 1920s including , Margaret Johnson, Martha Copeland, Fats Waller, Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra, , Ethel Waters and the Ebony Four, George Bias, Stewart Wille, Virginia Liston, Clarence Williams and the Cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stumpy Cromer
Harold J. Cromer (January 22, 1921 in New York City – June 8, 2013) was a vaudeville, vaudevillian, Master of Ceremony, Hoofer, Choreographer, and Comedian. He was known as Stumpy in the dance/comedy/acting duo Stump and Stumpy. Biography Born in the early 1920s in Manhattan, Harold grew up in Hell's Kitchen, New York. His father, William Cromer (a longshoreman worker) and mother, Hattie Bell DeWalt, were born in Newberry, South Carolina, Newberry, South Carolina. Cromer was a self-taught dancer who was known early on for tapping on roller skates. It's noted Harold was inspired after seeing a movie of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Bill Bo Jangles Robinson tapping down a flight of stairs. As a teenager, Harold earned a role on Broadway in the 1939 Cole Porter musical, “Du Barry Was a Lady,” starring Ethel Merman, Bert Lahr, and Betty Grable. Following a long road tour, Cromer returned to Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre to perform in Richard Kollmar's musicaEarly to Bed1943), with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emory Richardson
Emory Speer Richardson (August 13, 1894 – February 7 1965) was an actor who appeared in American films. He was also in numerous theatrical productions. Richardson was born in Marshallville, Georgia. He was African American. He had several roles in the 1931 production ''The Green Pastures''. He portrayed Lykon in the 1946 theatrical production ''Lysistrata''. Sidney Poitier was also in the cast. He died after a long illness on February 7, 1965, at Sydenham Hospital, New York. He had a son named Edward Richardson. Filmography *''Beware (film)'' (1946) as Dean Hargreaves *''Sepia Cinderella'' (1947) as Great Joseph *''Boarding House Blues'' (1948) as Simon *'' The Philadelphia Story (1959 film)'' as Edward *''The Fugitive Kind ''The Fugitive Kind'' is a 1960 American drama film starring Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, and Joanne Woodward, directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Meade Roberts and Tennessee Williams was based on the latter's 1957 play ''Orpheus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |