Don Wilson (announcer)
Don Wilson (September 1, 1900 – April 25, 1982) was an American announcer and actor in radio programming, radio and television, with a Falstaffian vocal presence, remembered best as the rotund announcer and comic foil to the star of ''The Jack Benny Program''. Early life Wilson played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920s. For his size he was an excellent sportsman, and was an excellent amateur golfer, teaming up with fellow NBC announcer Bud Stevens to win many matches in Southern California. Wilson began his radio career as a singer over Denver radio station KFEL in 1923."Don Wilson Beaming Over Desert TV", ''Los Angeles Times'', April 3, 1975. By 1929, he was working at KFI, and shortly afterwards for Don Lee (broadcaster), Don Lee at KHJ, in Los Angeles. In a 1978 appearance on ''The Tomorrow Show, Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'', Wilson claimed he was fired from KHJ because he had bought a Packard from Earle C. Anthony, the business arch-rival of Cadillac de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United States. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the state called the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln- Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas. The statistical area is home to 361,921 people, making it the 104th-largest combined statistical area in the United States. The city was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster on the wild salt marshes and arroyos of what was to become Lancaster County. Renamed after President Abraham Lincoln, it became Nebraska's state capital in 1869. The Bertram G. Goodhue–designed state capitol building was completed in 1932, and is the second tallest capitol in the United States. As the city is the seat of government for the state ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fanny Brice
Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series ''The Baby Snooks Show''. She was famously portrayed by Barbra Streisand in the stage musical '' Funny Girl''. Early life Fania Borach was born in Manhattan, New York City, United States, the third child of Rose (née Stern 1867–1941), a Jewish Hungarian woman who immigrated to the US at age 10, and Alsatian immigrant Charles Borach. The Borachs were saloon owners and had four children: Phillip, born in 1887; Carrie, born in 1889; Fania, born in 1891; and Louis, born in 1893. Under the name Lew Brice, her younger brother also became an entertainer and was the first husband of actress Mae Clarke. In 1908, Brice dropped out of school to work in a burlesque revu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ginny Simms
Virginia Ellen SimmsSleeve notes from ''Ginny Simms – I'd Like To Set You To Music'', Jasmine JASCD 118, 2001. (May 25, 1913 – April 4, 1994) was an American popular singer and film actress. Simms sang with big bands and with Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, among others. She also worked as an MGM and Universal film actress and appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1951, when she retired. Early life Simms was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her family moved to California, where she attended Fresno High School and Fresno State Teachers College, where she studied piano. While there, she began performing in campus productions, singing with sorority sisters and forming a popular campus vocal trio. Shortly afterward, she sought a singing career, and by 1932 she had her own program on a local radio station.Sleeve notes from ''Simple & Sweet: The Best Of Ginny Simms'', Collectables COL-CD-7590, 2005. Career Radio In 1932, Simms became the vocalist for the Tom G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alan Young
Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles include Wilbur Post in the television comedy ''Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over 40 years, first in the Academy Award-nominated short film ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983) and in various other films, TV series and video games until his death. During the 1940s and 1950s, Young starred in his own variety-comedy sketch shows '' The Alan Young Show'' on radio and television, the latter gaining him two Emmy Awards in 1951. He also appeared in a number of feature films, starting from 1946, including the 1960 film ''The Time Machine'' and from the 1980s gaining a new generation of viewers appearing in numerous Walt Disney Productions films as both an actor and voice actor. Early life Young was born as Angus Youn ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio Comedy
Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some simple dialogue. Radio comedy began in the United States in 1930, based on the fact that as most United Kingdom music hall comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel progressed to silent films, they moved to cinema of the United States, Hollywood and fed the radio comedy field. Another British music hall comic, George Formby, stayed in the British movie industry, and in 1940 joined the Entertainments National Service Association to entertain British World War II troops. UK radio comedy therefore started later, in the 1950s. Background and history Radio comedy began in the United States in 1930, and got a much later start in the United Kingdom becaus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frank Nelson (actor)
Frank Brandon Nelson (May 6, 1911 – September 12, 1986) was an American comedic actor best known for playing put-upon foils on radio and television, and especially for his "EEE-Yeeeeeeeeesssss?" catchphrase. He made numerous guest appearances on television shows, including ''The Jack Benny Program'', ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Real McCoys'', ''The Addams Family'', '' Alice'', and '' Sanford and Son''. He also provided voices for animated series such as ''The Flintstones'', ''Mister Magoo'', ''The Jetsons'', ''Dinky Dog'', and '' The Snorks''. Career Radio Nelson began his entertainment career in radio, and later moved into television and movies. In 1926, at age 15, Nelson played the role of a 30-year-old man in a series broadcast from KOA in Denver, Colorado. In 1929, Nelson moved to Hollywood, California, and worked in local dramatic broadcasts, usually playing the leading man. The first sponsored program in which he appeared that reached a national market was ''Flywheel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drew Pearson (journalist)
Andrew Russell Pearson (December 13, 1897 – September 1, 1969) was one of the best-known American columnists of his day, noted for his syndicated newspaper column "Washington Merry-Go-Round". He also had a program on NBC Radio titled ''Drew Pearson Comments''. He was known for his fearless approach even towards high level politicians, such as Senators, Cabinet members, generals and Presidents of the USA. Early life and career Pearson was born in Evanston, Illinois, to Quaker parents Paul Martin Pearson, an English professor at Northwestern University, and Edna Rachel Wolfe Pearson. When Pearson was 6 years old, his father joined the faculty of Swarthmore College as professor of public speaking, and the family moved to Pennsylvania, joining the Society of Friends, with which the college was then affiliated. After being educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, Pearson attended Swarthmore from 1915 until 1919, where he edited its student newspaper, ''The Phoenix''. From 1919 to 1921, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating market relevance, with the brand peaking in the 1930s and 1940s, when it became one of the top-selling cigarette brands in the United States . Name Lucky Strike was introduced as a brand of chewing tobacco by American firm R.A. Patterson in 1871, and evolved into a cigarette by the early 1900s. The brand name was inspired by the gold rushes of the era, during which only about four miners in a thousand were fortunate enough to strike gold, and was intended to connote a top-quality blend. A well-circulated urban legend holds that the name "Lucky Strike" referred to the presence of marijuana in some cigarette packs. History The brand was first introduced by R. A. Patterson of Richmond, Virginia, in 1871 as cut plug and later a cigarette ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grape-Nuts
Grape-Nuts is a brand of breakfast cereal made from flour, salt and dried yeast, developed in 1897 by C. W. Post, a former patient and later competitor of the 19th-century breakfast food innovator Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Post's original product was baked as a rigid sheet, then broken into pieces and run through a coffee grinder. Marketing Grape-Nuts was initially marketed as a natural cereal that could enhance health and vitality, and as a "food for brain and nerve centres." Its lightweight and compact nature, nutritional value, and resistance to spoilage made it a popular food for exploration and expedition groups in the 1920s and 1930s. In World War II, Grape-Nuts was a component of the lightweight jungle ration used by some U.S. and Allied Forces in wartime operations before 1944. A 1939 ad campaign by cartoonist Walter Hoban continued his ''Jerry on the Job'' comic strip in ''Woman's Day'' magazine and daily newspaper comics pages. General Foods also marketed Grape-Nuts ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jell-O
Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a registered trademark of Kraft Heinz, and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The dessert was especially popular in the first half of the 20th century, remaining popular in certain demographics. The original gelatin dessert began in Le Roy, New York, in 1897, when Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked the name ''Jell-O''. He and his wife May had made the product by adding strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon flavoring to sugar and granulated gelatin (which had been patented in 1845). When water is added and the mixture is allowed to sit in the fridge for a few hours, it solidifies. Description Jell-O is sold prepared (ready-to-eat), or in powder form, and is available in various colors and flavors. The powder contains powdered gelatin and flavorings, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |