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Elsa Maxwell
Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day. Maxwell is credited with the introduction of the scavenger hunt and treasure hunt for use as party games in the modern era. Her radio program, ''Elsa Maxwell's Party Line'', began in 1942; she also wrote a syndicated gossip column. She appeared as herself in the films ''Stage Door Canteen'' (1943) and ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1945), as well as co-starring in the film ''Hotel for Women'' (1939), for which she wrote the screenplay and a song. Biography In spite of the persistent rumor that Elsa Maxwell was born at a theater in Keokuk, Iowa, during a performance of the opera ''Mignon'', she actually admitted late in life that the outlandish story was a fabrication that she went along with, since she was actually born at her maternal grandmother's h ...
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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 ...
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Esther Bradford Aresty
Esther Bradford Aresty (March 26, 1908 - December 23, 2000) was a cookbook collector and culinary historian who wrote on cooking, cookbooks, cuisine, and etiquette. Early life and education Esther Bradford was born March 26, 1908, in Syracuse, New York, to Lithuanian immigrants. Her family later moved to Chariton, Iowa. Her mother was a talented pianist and cook. Marriage, collecting and publishing Esther met Jules Aresty while working for Mandel Brothers Department Store in Chicago. In 1941, he became a co-owner of the S.P. Dunham and Co. department store in Trenton, New Jersey. After their marriage they settled in Trenton, New Jersey. Aresty began to collect rare books during the couple's frequent travels to Europe. Her collection eventually included 576 books and 13 manuscripts from five centuries and cultures all over the world. Small but carefully chosen, it has been called "one of the country's most valuable troves of cookbook treasures". Her own publications include ''The ...
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Waldorf Astoria New York
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The building was the world's tallest hotel from 1931 until 1963 when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina by . An icon of glamour and luxury, the Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best-known hotels. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts is a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world operates under the name, including in New York City. Both the exterior and the interior of the Waldorf Astoria are designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as official landmarks. The original Waldorf–Astoria was built in two stages along Fifth Avenue and opened in 1893; it was demolished in 1929 to make way for the constructi ...
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Short Film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either a low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, nonprofit organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience and ...
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Elsa Maxwell, 1933
Elsa may refer to: ELSA (acronym) *ELSA Technology, a manufacturer of computer hardware *English Language Skills Assessment *English Longitudinal Study of Ageing *Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects research *European Law Students' Association *European League of Stuttering Associations *Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia, a group in the history of the Lutheran Church of Australia *Experimental light-sport aircraft (E-LSA) People * Elsa (given name), a female given name * Pedro Elsa (1901–unknown), Argentine Olympic athlete Characters * Elsa of Brabant, a character in the 1850 Richard Wagner opera ''Lohengrin'' * Elsa (''Frozen''), fictional character from the Disney animated franchise, ''Frozen'' Places * Elsa, California, a place in California, U.S. * Elsa, Texas, U.S. * Elsa, Yukon, Canada Other * 182 Elsa, an asteroid * ''Elsa'' (album), debut album of Elsa Lunghini * Elsa (river), Tuscany, Italy * Elsa the lioness, subject of the book and film ''Born Free'' * Stor ...
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Sherry!
''Sherry!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by James Lipton and music by Laurence Rosenthal. The musical is based on the 1939 George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play ''The Man Who Came to Dinner''. In 1967, following a short run on Broadway and poor reviews, the score to ''Sherry!'' was apparently lost, until being rediscovered at the Library of Congress more than thirty years later. A studio recording based on the rediscovered score was released in 2004. Production George Sanders originally was signed to play Whiteside, but when his wife, actress Benita Hume, became terminally ill with cancer, he withdrew from the project. Choreographer Ron Field was replaced by Joe Layton during the Philadelphia try-out. He took over directing as well, according to Lipton, although Morton DaCosta retained credit in the program. The production opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on March 28, 1967, where it ran for 72 performances and fourteen previews. The cast included Clive Revill as Whitesid ...
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Call Me Madam
''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries. It centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed socialite widow, who is appointed United States Ambassador to the fictional European country of "Lichtenburg". Signs in Lichtenburg are written in German, and inhabitants wear traditional Bavarian costume. While there, she charms the local gentry, especially Cosmo Constantine, while her press attaché Kenneth Gibson falls in love with Princess Maria of Lichtenburg. Background The lead character is based on Washington, D.C. hostess and Democratic Party fundraiser Perle Mesta, who was appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg in 1949. The ''Playbill'' distributed at each performance humorously noted that "neither the character of Mrs. Sally Adams nor Miss Ethel Merman resem ...
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Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights,Starr, Larry and Waterman, Christopher, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 64 and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze ...
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Too Many Girls (musical)
''Too Many Girls'' is a Broadway musical comedy which was adapted for a 1940 film version starring Lucille Ball. The original Broadway production is noteworthy for advancing the career of musician Desi Arnaz. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book was by George Marion, Jr. Broadway ''Too Many Girls'' opened on Broadway on October 18, 1939, at the Imperial Theatre, running to April 21, 1940, and transferred to the Broadway Theatre on April 22, 1940, closing on May 18, 1940. The cast featured Desi Arnaz, Diosa Costello, Marcy Westcott, Eddie Bracken, Richard Kollmar, Van Johnson, and Hal Le Roy. Directed by George Abbott, the Musical Staging was by Robert Alton, scenery by Jo Mielziner, and costumes by Raoul Pène Du Bois.''Too Many Girls''
ibdb.com, accessed May 15, 2016
The musical takes plac ...
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I Like To Recognize The Tune
"I Like to Recognize the Tune" is an American popular song written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The song was introduced by Eddie Bracken, Marcy Wescott, Mary Jane Walsh, Richard Kollmar and Hal Le Roy in the 1939 Broadway musical '' Too Many Girls''. Background The lyrics lament the distortions of melody inherent in Jazz and Swing: "I like to recognize the tune / I want to savvy what the band is playing / I keep saying, "Must you bury the tune?" In his autobiography, ''Musical Stages'', Richard Rodgers described the motivations that inspired the song: "we voiced objection to the musical distortions, then so much a part of pop music because of the swing-band influence." The 1940 film version of ''Too Many Girls'', which starred RKO contract star Lucille Ball and the Broadway hit's cast member Desi Arnaz (who met and fell in love on the set, and married soon afterwards), did not feature the song. The song would appear in a later musical revue turned into ...
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Rodgers And Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943.Rodgers and Hart Biography
Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed April 5, 2009


History

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were introduced in 1919; Rodgers was still in high school while Hart had already graduated from . Their first collaboration together was at Columbia, and resulted in the 1920