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Can You Top This
''Can You Top This?'' was a radio panel game in which comedians told jokes and tried to top one another. The unrehearsed program, sponsored at one point by a papaya-flavored soft drink called Par and later by Colgate-Palmolive, was created by veteran vaudevillian "Senator" Edward Hastings Ford, who claimed he was taking part in a joke session at a New York theatrical club when he conceived the idea. However, the format was quite similar to a prior joke-telling radio series, '' Stop Me If You've Heard This One'' (1939–40), which featured Ford and cartoonist Harry Hershfield as panelists. Many jokes involved ethnic humor told in dialect. Listeners were invited to send in jokes of their own, and an average of 3,000 were submitted per week. Host Peter Donald told the best of these jokes, each one centered on a different topic, while a "laugh meter" took note of the audience reaction on a scale of 0 to 1,000. The "Knights of the Clown Table" – Ford, Hershfield and Joe Laurie J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Hillebrand
Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodrigues de Oliveira, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1979), Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1983), Frederico Chaves Guedes, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1986), Frederico Burgel Xavier, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1993), Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, Brazilian * Fred Again (born 1993), British songwriter known as FRED Television and movies * ''Fred Claus'', a 2007 Christmas film * ''Fred'' (2014 film), a 2014 documentary film * Fred Figglehorn, a YouTube character created by Lucas Cruikshank ** ''Fred'' (franchise), a Nickelodeon media franchise ** '' Fred: The Movie'', a 2010 independent comedy film * '' Fred the Caveman'', French Teletoon production from 2002 * Fred Fli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name AMPEX is a portmanteau, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence.AbramsoThe History of television, 1942 to 2000– McFarland, 2003 – , page 286, Chapter 2, footnote 34 "1944 he founded Ampex (the name was created from his initials, AMP, plus "ex" for excellence)" Today, Ampex operates as Ampex Data Systems Corporation, a subsidiary of Delta Information Systems, and consists of two business units. The Silicon Valley unit, known internally as Ampex Data Systems (ADS), manufactures digital data storage systems capable of functioning in harsh environments. The Colorado Springs, Colorado unit, referred to as Ampex Intelligent Systems (AIS), serves as a laboratory and hub for the company's line of industrial control systems, cyber security products and services and its artificial intelligence/machine learning technology. Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Carter (comedian)
Jack Chakrin (June 24, 1922 – June 28, 2015), known by his stage name Jack Carter, was an American comedian, actor and television presenter. Brooklyn-born, Carter had a long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid-paced contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam. Life and career Carter was born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, in 1922 to a Jewish family. Carter served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He hosted an early television variety program called ''Cavalcade of Stars'' on the DuMont Network. He was lured to NBC to host his own program titled ''The Jack Carter Show''. Carter recommended Jackie Gleason take his place as host of ''Cavalcade of Stars'', though DuMont did not hire Gleason until the network's choice, Jerry Lester, also jumped to NBC. ''The Jack Carter Show'' appeared under the banner of the ''Saturday Night Revue'', NBC's -hour Saturday night programming slot. Carter hosted his show for one hour each week followed b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell (''né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, humanitarian, inventor and ventriloquist whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Paul Winchell Show'', which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC: ''The Speidel Show'', and '' What's My Name?'' From 1965 to 1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series ''Winchell-Mahoney Time''. Winchell made guest appearances on Emmy Award-winning television series from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, such as ''Perry Mason'', ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''McMillan & Wife'', ''The Brady Bunch'', ''The Donna Reed Show'', and appearances as Homer Winch on ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. In animation, he was the original voice of Tigger, Dick Dastardly, Gargamel, and other characters. Winchell, who had medical training, was also an inventor, becoming the first person to build and patent a mechanical artificial heart, impla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Buttons
Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film ''Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work in films such as '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'', ''Harlow'', and '' Pete's Dragon''. Buttons played the lead role of Private John Steele, the paratrooper hung up on the town steeple clock, in the 1962 international ensemble cast film '' The Longest Day''. Early life Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919, in Manhattan, New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie (née Baker) and Michael Chwatt. At 16 years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertaining bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in City Island, the Bronx, New York City. The combination of his red hair and the large, shiny buttons on the bellhop uniforms inspired orchestra leader Charles "Dinty" Moore to call him "Red Buttons", the name under which he would later perform. La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroes'', as a regular panelist on ''Match Game'' (1973–1978), and as the original as well as third host of ''Family Feud'' (1976–1985, 1994–95). Early life Colin Lionel Emm was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, on 20 November 1932 to Arthur Emm (born 1897) and Josephine Lucy Emm ( Lindsay; born 1903). His father drove a moving van and his mother worked in a munitions factory. He and his brother John Leslie Emm (five years older) were evacuated as children during World War II to escape the bombing of England's major port cities in the south. In a radio interview with ''Hogan's Heroes'' co-star Bob Crane, Dawson recounted how this experience severely limited his school attendance, stating that he attended school regularly for only two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louie Nye
Louis Nye (May 1, 1913 – October 9, 2005) was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs. Early years He was born Louis Neistat in Hartford, Connecticut, son of Joseph Neistat and Jennie Sherman. His sister Rose Neistat was born in 1917. Although Nye, who pronounced his given name as Louie, later claimed he was born in 1922, he is listed as age six in the 1920 Hartford County, Connecticut, Federal Census. Nye's parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews from the Russian Empire. They emigrated to the United States in 1906, and became naturalized citizens in 1911. His father owned a small grocery store, which his wife helped him run. Louis Nye attended Weaver High School, but he was not a good student. "My marks were so low," he explained, "that they wouldn't let me in the drama club. So I went down to WTIC Radio, auditioned, and got on a show." Radio and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Gautier
Richard Gautier (October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. He was known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series ''Get Smart'', and Robin Hood in the TV comedy series ''When Things Were Rotten,'' as well as for originating the role of Conrad Birdie in the Broadway musical ''Bye Bye Birdie (musical), Bye Bye Birdie.'' Career Early career Gautier started his career as a nightclub comic and a singer; he joined ASCAP in 1959 after serving in the United States Navy. In 1960, he portrayed fictional rock 'n roll star Conrad Birdie in the original Broadway theatre production of ''Bye Bye Birdie (musical), Bye Bye Birdie'', receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance. He would later appear with two of his ''Birdie'' stars in two films: with Kay Medford in ''Ensign Pulver'' in 1964, and with Dick Van Dyke in ''Divorce American Style'' in 1967. Game show panelist During the 1970s and 1980s, Gaut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morey Amsterdam
Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of the three sons of Max and Jennie (née Finder) Amsterdam, Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary. He began working in vaudeville in 1922 as the straight man for his older brother's jokes. He was a cellist, a skill he used throughout his career. By 1924, he was working in a speakeasy operated by Al Capone. After being caught in the middle of a gunfight, Amsterdam moved to California and worked writing jokes. His enormous repertoire, and his ability to come up with a joke on any subject, earned him the nickname The Human Joke Machine. He sometimes performed with a mock machine on his chest, hanging by a strap. He turned a hand crank and paper rolled out; he would then pretend to read the machine's joke, althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (born December 4, 1933) is an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. In his six-decade career, he is best known for hosting ''Gambit'' from 1972 to 1976 (and again from 1980 to 1981), ''Tic-Tac-Dough'' from 1978 to 1985, ''High Rollers'' from 1987 to 1988, and ''Debt'' from 1996 to 1998. Career Radio Martindale was born in Jackson, Tennessee, and started his career as a disc jockey at age 17 at WPLI in Jackson, earning $25 a week. After moving to WTJS, he was hired away for double the salary by Jackson's only other station, WDXI. He next hosted mornings at WHBQ in Memphis while a college student at Memphis State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957. While there, Martindale became a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. On the evening of July 10, 1954, he was showing the WHBQ studio to some friends when he realized that his colleague on the 9 p.m. to midnight shift, Dewey P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Star Television
Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was inspired by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz founding Desilu Productions a year earlier. McCrea left soon after its founding to continue in films, television and radio, and was replaced by Ida Lupino as the fourth star—although Lupino did not own stock in the company. Four Star produced several popular programs in the early days of television, including ''Four Star Playhouse'' (its first series), ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'', ''Stagecoach West'', ''The June Allyson Show'' (also known as ''The DuPont Show Starring June Allyson''), ''The Dick Powell Show'', '' Burke's Law'', '' The Rogues'' and ''The Big Valley''. Despite its stars sharing equal billing, Powell played the biggest role in the company's early success and growth. Powell became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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