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Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson; January 23, 1933), is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in ''West Side Story'', Velma Kelly in ''Chicago,'' and the title role in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman''. She is a ten-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Tony Award recipient, including one for Lifetime Achievement. She is the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom."President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients" White House Office of the Press Secretary, July 30, 2009 Early life and education Rivera was born in[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Mordente
Tony Mordente (born December 3, 1935) is an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and television director. Career Born in New York City, Mordente attended the High School of Performing Arts and made his professional dance debut at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. Soon after he joined the ballet company at Radio City Music Hall, where he was discovered by Michael Kidd, who cast him in the 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of the Al Capp comic strip ''Li'l Abner''. Mordente was then featured in the Broadway (1957) and West End productions and film version of ''West Side Story'', during which time he met his future wife Chita Rivera, who played Anita in the original Broadway cast. In the stage version Mordente played A-Rab, and in the film he played Action. "He wanted to play his original role in the movie and was very disappointed to be Action and I asked why they switched his role," Seth Rudetsky wrote in Playbill. "He said he never asked because sometimes yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jones-Haywood School Of Ballet
The Jones-Haywood School of Ballet, now known as The Jones-Haywood Dance School, was founded in 1941 by Doris W. Jones and Claire Haywood in Washington D.C. to teach young dancers of color classical ballet. Its students have gone on to dance with Alvin Ailey , Philadanco, Dutch National Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, on Broadway, and also become choreographers, actors and dance educators. Famous alumni include Chita Rivera, Hinton Battle Hinton Battle (born November 29, 1956) is an American actor, singer, dancer, and dance instructor. He has won three Tony Awards, all in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical. He was the first to portray the Scarecrow in the stage version ..., Sylvester Campbell, Louis Johnson and Sandra Fortune-Green. Jones and Haywood also founded the Capitol Ballet Company, a racially integrated professional ballet troupe that operated from 1961 to 1989. The school was also home to the Jones-Haywood Dancers. Haywood died ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Marshall (entertainer)
Ralph Pierre LaCock (born March 30, 1926), better known by his stage name Peter Marshall, is an American former game show host, television and radio personality, singer, and actor. He was the original host of ''The Hollywood Squares'' from 1966 to 1981 and has almost fifty television, movie, and Broadway credits. Marshall was given his stage name by John Robert Powers. Powers had chosen the last name Marshall for Peter's sister (who later chose to use Joanne Dru instead), and Peter adopted it early in his career and paired it with an anglicized version of his middle name. Early life Marshall was born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, 1926, to Ralph and Jean LaCock, a show business family, in Huntington, West Virginia. Following his father's suicide when Marshall was ten, he moved to New York City to be with his mother, a costume designer. After he graduated from high school, he was drafted into the Army in 1944 and stationed in Italy. He was originally in the artillery, but was r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CBS Sunday Movie, CBS Sunday Night Movie''. In 2002, ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' was ranked No. 15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the series finished No. 31 in ''TV Guide'' Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time. History From 1948 until its cancellation in 1971, the show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 8–9 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Time, and it is one of the few entertainment shows to have run in the same weekly time slot on the same network for more than two decades (during its first season, it ran from 9 to 10 p.m. ET). Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; classical musicians, opera singers, popular recording ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and television, in nightclubs, and on the Broadway stage. In 1961, he starred in the original production of '' Bye Bye Birdie'' alongside Chita Rivera, a role which earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Carl Reiner then cast him as Rob Petrie on the CBS television sitcom '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966), which made him a household name. He went on to star in the motion picture musicals '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963), '' Mary Poppins'' (1964), and ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968), and in the comedy-drama '' The Comic'' (1969). He made guest appearances on television programs ''Columbo'' (1974) and '' The Carol Burnett Show'' (1977), and starred in '' The New Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1971–74), '' Diagnosis: Murder'' (1993†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bye Bye Birdie
''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored by Bill Doyle, which appeared in the May 18, 1957, issue of the ''Saturday Evening Post'' may well have been the genesis of the eventual stageplay. The play book was also influenced by Elvis Presley's conscription into the Army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad Birdie", is word play on the name of Conway Twitty. Twitty later had a long career as a country music star, but in the late 1950s he was one of Presley's rock 'n' roll rivals. The original 1960–1961 Broadway production was a Tony Award–winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film, and a 1995 television production. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions due to its v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Side Story (musical)
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, who are immigrants from Puerto Rico, and the Jets, who are white, vie for dominance of the neighborhood, and the police try to keep order. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, tragic love story, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre. The original 1957 Broadway producti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", " Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and for his films, including '' The Love Parade'', '' The Big Pond'', '' The Smiling Lieutenant'', '' One Hour with You'' and '' Love Me Tonight''. His trademark attire was a boater hat and tuxedo. Chevalier was born in Paris. He made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age before working in menial jobs as a teenager. In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Fréhel. Although their relationship was brief, she secured him his first major engagement, as a mimic and a singer in ''l'Alcazar'' in Marseille, for which he received critical acclaim by French theatre critics. In 1917, he discovered jazz and ragtime and went to Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Davis Jr
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities.Sammy Davis Jr. Biography Biography.com. Retrieved June 6, 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Can-Can (musical)
''Can-Can'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Abe Burrows. The story concerns the showgirls of the Montmartre dance halls during the 1890s. The original Broadway production ran for over two years beginning in 1953, and the 1954 West End production was also a success. Gwen Verdon, in only her second Broadway role, and choreographer Michael Kidd won Tony Awards and were praised, but both the score and book received tepid reviews, and revivals generally have not fared well. Production history After the pre-Broadway tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia in March 1953, ''Can-Can'' premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on May 7, 1953, and closed on June 25, 1955 after 892 performances. The original production, which Burrows also directed, starred Lilo as La Mome, Hans Conried as Boris, Peter Cookson as the judge, Gwen Verdon as Claudine, Dania Krupska, Phil Leeds, Dee Dee Wood, and Erik Rhodes as Hilaire. Michael Kidd was the choreo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guys And Dolls (musical)
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. ''Guys and Dolls'' was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. However, because of writer Abe Burrows' communist sympathies as exposed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the Trustees of Columbia University vetoed the selection, and no Pulitzer for Drama was awarded that year. In 1998, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene, Robert Alda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films and television series. Stritch was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995. She is often considered by critics as one of Broadway’s greatest female performers. Stritch made her Broadway debut in the 1946 comedy ''Loco'' and went on to receive four Tony Award nominations: for the William Inge play '' Bus Stop'' (1956); the Noël Coward musical '' Sail Away'' (1962); the Stephen Sondheim musical '' Company'' (1970), which included her performance of the song " The Ladies Who Lunch"; and for the revival of the Edward Albee play '' A Delicate Balance'' (1996). Her one-woman show '' Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Stritch relocated to London in the 1970s and starred i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
