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Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
"Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is a song in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. It is the centrepiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda (Billie Burke) and Dorothy Gale. Highlighted by the Lollipop Guild consisting of Frankie Rumpf, Jaelen Hurst and Jesse-Carr was also sung by studio singers as being sung by the Winkie soldiers. It was composed by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics written by E. Y. Harburg. The group of songs celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East when Dorothy's house is dropped on her by the tornado and the death of the Wicked Witch of the West after being splashed with water. In 2004 "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead" finished at #82 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American, cinema. In 2013, the song charted to #2 on the UK Singles Chart in the aftermath of the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Scenario The sequence starts with Glinda encouraging the fearful Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wizard Of Oz (1939 Film)
''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). An adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', the film was primarily directed by Victor Fleming (who left the production to take over the troubled ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind''), and stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton (actress), Margaret Hamilton. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart, with the lyrics written by Yip Harburg, Edgar "Yip" Harburg. Characterized by its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters, the film was considered a critical success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Pictur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Hamilton (actress)
Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education. Early life Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio and practiced her craft doing children's theater while she was a Junior League of Cleveland member. Hamilton made her debut as a "professional entertainer" on December 9, 1929, in a "program of 'heart rending songs'" in the Charles S. Brooks Theater at the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He discovered his affinity for jazz music at a young age and began drumming at the age of two. He began playing jazz in 1937, working with acts such as Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James. From 1942 to 1944, Rich served in the U.S. Marines. From 1945 to 1948, he led the Buddy Rich Orchestra. In 1966, he recorded a big-band style arrangement of songs from ''West Side Story''. He found lasting success in 1966 with the formation of the Buddy Rich Big Band, also billed as the Buddy Rich Band and The Big Band Machine. Rich was known for his virtuoso technique, power, and speed. He was an advocate of the traditional grip, though he occasionally used matched grip when playing the toms. Despite h ... [...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, 2013.< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duets (Barbra Streisand Album)
''Duets'' (retitled ''Star Collection'' in some countries) is a compilation album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released on November 26, 2002, by Columbia Records. The collection features nineteen duets from Streisand's career, including two newly-recorded ones: "I Won't Be the One to Let Go" with Barry Manilow and "All I Know of Love" with Josh Groban. The former song was released as the album's lead single on November 4, 2002, as a streaming-only exclusive for AOL Music website members. ''Duets'' was reissued in South American countries in 2013 under the title ''Star Collection'' with new artwork. The compilation was executively produced by Streisand and her manager, Jay Landers. Music critics highlighted the album's duets with Ray Charles, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra, but were disappointed by her decision to release another compilation album following ''The Essential Barbra Streisand'', which was released earlier in 2002. Commercially, the album peaked within the to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including ''People (Barbra Streisand album), People'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)
''Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)'' is a 1966 vocal album by the composer Harold Arlen with arrangements by Peter Matz. Arlen is accompanied on two songs by Barbra Streisand. This was Arlen's only album on which he performed as a singer. Chris Colfer and Lea Michele performed Matz's arrangement of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from the album in a 2011 episode of ''Glee''. Reception The initial ''Billboard'' review from April 16, 1966 said that Arlen "...has a way with a vocal that's quite winning" and that "his manner is soft but persuasive". The album was one of ''Billboards'' 'Pop Special Merit Picks' for the week. William Ruhlmann reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that Arlen "proves he can carry a tune" on the album but "Arlen's modest singing voice doesn't quite justify the treatment" of a fully orchestrated album though he sings the lyrics with "feeling and understanding". Streisand's vocal on "House of Flowers" has been particularly praised; Arlen's biographer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook
''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book'' is a 1961 (see 1961 in music) album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Billy May. This album marked the only time that Fitzgerald worked with May. The Harold Arlen ''Song Book'' is the sixth album in Fitzgerald's series of recordings of songs written by the pantheon of Broadway composers who formed the body of work now considered the ''Great American Songbook''. The cover art is a drawing by Henri Matisse. Track listing For the 2-LP set originally released on the Verve label in 1961: Verve MG V-4046-2 Side One: # " Blues in the Night" (Johnny Mercer) – 7:14 # "Let's Fall in Love" (Ted Koehler) – 4:05 # " Stormy Weather" (Koehler) – 5:17 # " Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (Koehler) – 2:26 # "My Shining Hour" (Mercer) – 4:02 # " Hooray for Love" (Leo Robin) – 2:45 Side Two: # "This Time the Dream's on Me" (Mercer) – 4:39 # "That Old Black Magi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Little Pigs (film)
''Three Little Pigs'' is an animated short film released on May 25, 1933 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on the fable of the same name, the ''Silly Symphony'' won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film of 1933. The short cost $22,000 and grossed $250,000. In 1994, it was voted #11 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. In 2007, ''Three Little Pigs'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". ''Three Little Pigs'' premiered at the Radio City Music Hall as a short subject to Radio City's release of the First National Pictures film ''Elmer, the Great'' on May 25, 1933, in New York City. Plot Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig and Practical Pig are three brothers who build their own houses. All three of them play a different kind of musical instrument – Fifer the flute, Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinto Colvig
Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Colvig was the original performer of the Disney characters Goofy and Pluto, as well as Bozo the Clown. In 1993, he was posthumously made a Disney Legend for his contributions to Walt Disney Films, including ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' and ''Fun and Fancy Free''. Early life Colvig was born Vance DeBar Colvig in Jacksonville, Oregon, one of seven children of William Mason "Judge" Colvig (1845–1936) and his wife, Adelaide ( Birdseye) Colvig (1856–1912). William Colvig was a pioneer, an attorney and a distinguished Oregonian, he was never actually a judge. Pinto attended but did not graduate from Medford High School. Pinto was accepted and attended, sporadically from 1910 to 1913, Oregon State University, in Corvallis, where h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Bletcher
William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney's ''Three Little Pigs''. Early life William Bletcher was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on on September 24, 1894, to Huber and Dora Bletcher. Career Bletcher appeared on-screen in films and later television from the 1910s to the 1970s, including appearances in several ''Our Gang'' and ''The Three Stooges'' comedies. He was most active as a voice actor. His voice was a deep, strong and booming baritone. Bletcher provided the voices of various characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios ( Black Pete, Short Ghost and the Big Bad Wolf in ''Three Little Pigs''). He auditioned to play one of the dwarfs in Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937). However, Walt Disney disapproved for fear that people would recognize Bletcher from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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