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Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover; April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances. She is probably best remembered today for her appearance with W. C. Fields in the film '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' (1941). Early years Gloria Jean was born Gloria Jean Schoonover in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Ferman and Eleanor Schoonover; her ancestry was Pennsylvania Dutch. She had three sisters, Sally, Lois, and Bonnie. The family was involved in her career, with Lois serving as stand-in for the actress and their father managing her career. Gloria Jean was three years old when she first sang on radio, under the name "Baby Skylark." Singing The family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Gloria Jean sang with Paul Whiteman's orchestra on radio broadcasts. When she was 12, "she was engaged by a smallish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Southern Ontario. With a population of 278,349 according to the 2020 census, Buffalo is the 78th-largest city in the United States. The city and nearby Niagara Falls together make up the two-county Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which had an estimated population of 1.1 million in 2020, making it the 49th largest MSA in the United States. Buffalo is in Western New York, which is the largest population and economic center between Boston and Cleveland. Before the 17th century, the region was inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians who were succeeded by the Neutral, Erie, and Iroquois nations. In the early 17th century, the French began to explore the region. In the 18th century, Iroquois land surrounding Buffalo C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Little Bit Of Heaven (1940 Film)
''A Little Bit of Heaven'' is a 1940 musical film starring teenage soprano singer Gloria Jean. The story casts Gloria as a young member of a large Irish working-class family who becomes a singing sensation on a local radio station. The family's new-found wealth causes some discord until the family realizes that their closeness is what they value the most. The film's title comes from a traditional Irish song that Gloria Jean sings at a family gathering. Her 2005 biography is similarly titled: ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven''. The film is an unofficial sequel to 1939's ''The Under-Pup'', featuring several cast members from that film, but as different characters. The group of girls in ''The Under-Pup'' was called "The Penguins", and Gloria Jean sings the group's song early in this film. Cast *Gloria Jean as Midge Loring * Robert Stack as Bob Terry *Hugh Herbert as Pop Loring *C. Aubrey Smith as Grandpa *Stuart Erwin as Cotton * Nan Grey as Janet Loring *Eugene Pallette as Her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Jones (actor)
Allan Jones (October 14, 1907 – June 27, 1992) was an American actor and tenor. Jones is best remembered as the male romantic lead actor in the first two films in which the Marx Brothers starred for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) and '' A Day at the Races'' (1937), as well as the film musicals '' Show Boat'' (1936) and '' The Firefly'' (1937), in which he introduced what became his signature song, "The Donkey Serenade". Early years Jones was born in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, and raised in nearby Scranton, where he graduated from Central High School. His father and grandfather were Welsh coal miners, and he worked in coal mines early in his adult life. He left that occupation to study voice at New York University. In an interview in 1973, Jones recalled that his father and grandfather were musically talented: "My father had a beautiful tenor voice. So did my grandfather...Grandfather taught violin, voice, and piano when he could. My father sang eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When Johnny Comes Marching Home (film)
''When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' is a 1942 musical film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Allan Jones and Jane Frazee. The film is loosely based on the song with the same title. Plot Johnny Kovacs (Jones) is a war hero who comes back home for a ten-day leave. Pursued by a woman (Shelton) who considers herself his fiance, he works with his superior officers to hide during his leave. He adopts the name Johnny O'Rourke, and finds a room at a theatrical boarding house. He becomes friends with some other boarders (including O'Connor, Ryan and Gloria Jean) and falls in love with a woman (Frazee). His friends overhear him talking to his officer on the phone. They misinterpret the conversation and conclude that he is a deserter. They push him into giving himself up and returning to duty. Confused by their behavior at first, he figures out what they are up to, and plays along. It all works out in the end. The closing song in the picture is a rousing patriotic number sung direct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Lamont
Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A California native, Lamont was born in San Francisco. Lamont came from a family of actors, being the fourth generation to be an actor. He appeared onstage while a teenager and started appearing in films from 1919. He worked as a prop man before becoming assistant director. Lamont started directing comedy shorts in 1922, including for Mack Sennett and Al Christie. Some of Lamont's earliest directorial jobs were silent short-subject comedies for Educational Pictures. One of the studio's popular series was ''Juvenile Comedies'', featuring the child actor Malcolm "Big Boy" Sebastian. Lamont directed some of these films, as well as some of the competing "Buster Brown" comedies for Universal Pictures release. Both Educational and Universal figured pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Get Hep To Love
''Get Hep to Love'' is a 1942 musical film starring Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige and Peggy Ryan. The film was directed by Charles Lamont. Plot Doris Stanley is an adolescent singer ("14 going on 15") billed as an 11-year-old "child prodigy" by her money-hungry aunt. When Doris finds that her Aunt Addie has reneged on her promise to give her a break from her singing tour, she runs away, and finds herself in a small town. Doris presents herself as a potential adoptee to a young married couple (Ann and Steve Winters). Unbeknownst to Doris, Ann was on the verge of breaking up with Steve due to his preoccupation with golf and refusal to find a real job. Her arrival gives the couple a reason to stay together. Ann makes both friends and enemies at her new high school, as she vies for the affections of Jimmy, who is stuck on a girl (Elaine) who is toying with him. The school's music teacher, Miss Roberts, takes an interest in Doris when she realizes what a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Paige
Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime: he was the only actor ever allowed to sing on film with Deanna Durbin (in 1944's '' Can't Help Singing''). Early life Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1911, Paige was related to Admiral David Beatty, hero of the World War I Battle of Jutland. Education Contrary to some accounts, Paige was ''not'' a graduate of West Point. There were only three graduates of the U.S. Military Academy by the name of Paige, and this actor was not one of them. This has been verified by the USMA Register of Graduates. Career Paige began his screen career in 1934, initially billed as David Carlyle to avoid confusion with another rising leading man, John Payne. His handsome features and assured speaking voice earned him prominent roles in motion pictures, such as '' Cain and Mabel'' with C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Frazee
Mary Jane Frehse (July 18, 1915 – September 6, 1985), was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Professional life Jane, age six, and her 12-year-old sister Ruth formed a singing vaudeville act known as The Frazee Sisters.''The New York Times'' Biography of Jane Frazee The act broke up in 1940, when Jane landed a leading role in the '''' (1940) for Republic Pictures. Shortly after the film's release sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What's Cookin'
''What's Cookin'?'' is a 1942 American musical film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring The Andrews Sisters, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige and Gloria Jean. The film is based on the story ''Wake Up and Dream'' written by Edgar Allan Woolf. Plot Mrs. Murphy's Theatrical Boarding House is a place where young performers reside. A group of those young people try to escape after finding out they are unable to pay the rent. However they get caught by the landlady and fellow tenant Marvo the Great is forced to sell his clothes to pay the rent. They next set out to the radio network WECA to visit singer Anne Payne. Anne is a former boarding house member who now works at the radio station with the Andrews Sisters and Woody Herman and His Orchestra. When Marvo is later conversing with Anne at her apartment, her wealthy neighbour Sue Courtney drops in their conversation and wonders if she can join the group. Meanwhile, at the Courtney estate, Sue's uncle and aunt, J.P. and Agatha, meet wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia "Patty" Marie Andrews (February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013). The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records. Their 1941 hit " Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of jump blues. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, " Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)" (1937), "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" (1939), "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (1940), " Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)" (1942), and " Rum and Coca Cola" (1945), which helped introduce American audiences to calypso. The Andrews Sisters' harmonies and songs are still influential today, and have been c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Thompson
James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a year old. He attended University High School where he was a classmate of Norma Jean Baker, later to be known worldwide as Marilyn Monroe. Thompson enrolled at Occidental College with plans to become a dentist, but he switched to divinity studies. 1940s In 1943, Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures. He played quiet, thoughtful teens in Universal's feature films, including a lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in ''Reckless Age'', earning $350 weekly. During 1946, Universal discharged most of its contract players, so that same year Thompson moved over to MGM. His film roles steadily increased and improved with appearances in '' The Clock'', the lead in ''Gallant Bess'', MGM's first film sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for " The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells. Early life Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Torme, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, and Betty Torme (née Sopkin), a New York City native. He graduated from Hyde Park High School. A child prodigy, he first performed professionally at age four with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. He played drums in the drum-and-bugle corps at Shakespeare Elementary School. From 1933 to 1941, he acted in the radio programs '' The Romance of Helen Trent'' and ''Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy''. He wrote his first song at 13. Three years later his first published song, "Lament to Love", became a hit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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