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Kenny Baker (American Performer)
Kenneth Laurence Baker (September 30, 1912 – August 10, 1985) was an American singer and actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on radio's ''The Jack Benny Program'' during the 1930s. Film Before he became a star, Baker sang as a member of the Vitaphone chorus at Warner Bros. At the height of his radio fame, and after leaving the Benny show in 1939 (succeeded by Dennis Day, whose tenor voice was very similar to Baker's), he appeared in 17 film musicals, including '' Mr. Dodd Takes the Air'' (1937), ''At the Circus'' (1939), and ''The Harvey Girls'' (1946). He also starred in the 1939 movie version of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Mikado''. He later co-starred with Mary Martin in the original Broadway production of Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's ''One Touch of Venus'' (1943). Radio Baker first appeared on Jack Benny's weekly radio program on November 3, 1935, having been hired to replace singer Frank Parker. Parker had been very popular on the Benny program, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stage Door Canteen
The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers were largely unpaid; volunteering their talents as a way of supporting the morale of American troops during the war. Several women in leadership with the ATW played a critical role in establishing the Stage Door Canteen, including actress Nedda Harrigan and ATW co-founders Louise Heims Beck and Antoinette Perry. The canteen opened March 2, 1942 and operated seven nights a week in the previously unoccupied Little Club under the 44th Street Theatre at 216 West 44th Street in Manhattan. The official estimate of attendance on the canteen's opening night was 1,250, with 200 "actresses of varying importance" as hostesses and 75 "'name' actors" as busboys. The canteen's popularity led to the establishment of other canteens throughout the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Touch Of Venus
''One Touch of Venus'' is a 1943 musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the 1885 novella ''The Tinted Venus'' by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values, artistic fads and romantic and sexual mores. Weill had been in America for eight years by the time he wrote this musical, and his music, though retaining his early haunting power, had evolved into a very different Broadway style. Story Rodney Hatch, a barber, is engaged to Gloria Kramer. While visiting an art museum, he feels drawn to a sculpture of Venus the Roman goddess of love, though the other patrons dismiss it as out of step with the current art trends. On a whim, Rodney puts his engagement ring on the statue's finger, causing the statue to come to life. Venus falls in love with Rodney for giving her life and begins pursuing him, causing turmoil in his relationshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known as the Christian Science church. It was founded in 19th-century New England by Mary Baker Eddy, who wrote the 1875 book '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures'', which outlined the theology of Christian Science. The book became Christian Science's central text, along with the Bible, and by 2001 had sold over nine million copies. Eddy and 26 followers were granted a charter by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1879 to found the "Church of Christ (Scientist)"; the church would be reorganized under the name " Church of Christ, Scientist" in 1892. The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was built in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1894. Christian Science became the fastest growing religion in the United States, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcasting''. ''B&C'', which was published biweekly until January 1941, and weekly thereafter, covers the business of television in the U.S.—programming, advertising, regulation, technology, finance, and news. In addition to the newsweekly, ''B&C'' operates a comprehensive website that provides a roadmap for readers in an industry that is in constant flux due to shifts in technology, culture and legislation, and offers a forum for industry debate and criticism. History ''Broadcasting'' was founded in Washington, D.C., by Martin Codel, Sol Taishoff, and former National Association of Broadcasters president Harry Shaw, and the first issue was published on October 15, 1931. Originally, Shaw was publisher, Codel editor, and Taishoff managing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electrical Transcriptions
Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which were widely used during the " Golden Age of Radio". They provided material—from station-identification jingles and commercials to full-length programs—for use by local stations, which were affiliates of one of the radio networks. Physically, electrical transcriptions look much like long-playing records that were popular for decades. They differ from consumer-oriented recordings, however, in that they were "distributed to radio stations for the purpose of broadcast, and not for sale to the public. The ET had higher quality audio than was available on consumer records"Hull, Geoffrey P. (2011). ''The Music and Recording Business: Delivering Music in the 21st Century''. Routledge. . P. 327. largely because they had less surface noise than com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ziv Company
Frederic W. Ziv Company (also given as Frederick W. Ziv Company) produced syndicated radio and television programs in the United States. Horace Newcomb's ''Encyclopedia of Television'' described the company as "by 1948 ... the largest packager and syndicator of radio programs" and later "the most prolific producer of programming for the first-run syndication market during the 1950s." Background Frederic Ziv, the company's founder, developed his ideas for the company while operating an advertising agency in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the era of old-time radio, "Cincinnati was a surprisingly active regional center for radio production." Two business entities contributed to that situation. First, radio station WLW in Cincinnati was "a major source of radio programming that offered local stations an alternative to network-originated programming." Second, in an era when sponsors produced most radio programs, Cincinnati was the headquarters of Procter & Gamble, one of radio's "most influe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrisburg Telegraph
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. It is the larger principal city of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, also known as the Susquehanna Valley, which had a population of 591,712 as of 2020, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas. Harrisburg played a role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. During part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed Harrisburg to develop into one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeastern United State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glamour Manor
''Glamour Manor'' is an American daytime radio program that was broadcast on the Blue Network from July 3, 1944 until June 27, 1947. Cliff Arquette starred in ''Glamour Manor'', which varied in format depending on the day of the week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays featured situation-comedy episodes, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays Arquette and co-star Lurene Tuttle interviewed members of the audience. The sponsor was Procter & Gamble, primarily promoting Crisco and Ivory Snow. The program initially originated from studios at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood. Daily prizes were given to members of the studio audience whose tickets were drawn from a fish bowl. The situation comedy had Arquette managing Glamour Manor Hotel, which he had inherited, with its "33 delightful but dilapidated rooms and the odd assortment of guests who live in them". He also played Captain Billy and Mrs. Wilson, an elderly lady. Tyler McVey played desk clerk Tyler, and Tuttle played his girlfr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Ribbon Town
''Blue Ribbon Town'' is a comedy-variety radio series starring Groucho Marx, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, and broadcast on CBS from March 27, 1943, to August 5, 1944. The 30-minute series was heard Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m. until October when it moved to 8 p.m. It was also known as ''Pabst Blue Ribbon Town''. The comedy situations, starring Marx, took place in the mythical American community of Blue Ribbon Town where men were men, women were women, and the jokes were mainly puns. Other regulars were Virginia O'Brien, Leo Gorcey and Fay McKenzie. The vocalists were Kenny Baker (who took over as host after Marx left in June 1944), Bill Days and Donald Dickson. Dick Joy was the announcer. ''Small Business Times'' editor Steve Jagler wrote about the program's visit to Milwaukee February 5, 1944, to celebrate Pabst's 100th anniversary: :The dialogue of the old radio show is classic Groucho schtick: Co-star Fay McKenzie says to the host, "Oh, Groucho, look, there's L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Milton Berle the nickname "Mr. Television". The classic 1940–1944 version of the program, hosted by radio's Fred Allen, was followed by a radio series on ABC (the former NBC Blue) in the spring of 1948. When Texaco (now Chevron Corporation) first took it to television on NBC on June 8, 1948, the show had a huge cultural impact. Once Texaco ended its sponsorship in 1953, the show became known as ''The Milton Berle Show'' for its final few seasons. Radio The roots of ''Texaco Star Theater'' were in a 1930s radio hit, ''Ed Wynn, the Fire Chief'', featuring the manic "Perfect Fool" in a half-hour of vaudevillian routines interspersed with music. Wynn's ratings began to slide and the comedian lapsed amidst personal and professional crises, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Allen
John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio. His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it was only part of his appeal; radio historian John Dunning (in ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'') wrote that Allen was perhaps radio's most admired comedian and most frequently censored. A master ad libber, Allen often tangled with his network's executives (and often barbed them on the air over the battles) while developing routines whose style and substance influenced fellow comic talents, including Groucho Marx, Stan Freberg, Henry Morgan, and Johnny Carson; his avowed fans also included President Franklin D. Roosevelt, humorist James Thurber, and novel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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