Lou Clayton
Lou Clayton (also Lew Clayton, born Louis Finkelstein; 1890-1950) was an American song-and-dance vaudeville performer, best known for his teaming with Jimmy Durante and Eddie Jackson, as Clayton, Jackson, and Durante, or "The Three Sawdust Bums". Before meeting Durante, by January 1921 Clayton and Cliff Edwards, working as a duo, had already achieved the most coveted booking in all of vaudeville, appearing as the headliners at the Palace Theater in Times Square. He'd also appeared in Broadway shows as early as 1916, billed as a single and as "Clayton & White". Clayton met Durante and Jackson at their speakeasy, the Club Durant, in early 1923. Clayton became their business partners, writing and performing songs while running the club. After the very popular Club Durant was padlocked by the police for liquor violations and closed, they opened the similar Club Dover and took their show to other nightclubs such as the Rendezvous Club, owned by Gandolfo "Frankie Marlow" Curto. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as ''the schnozzola'' ( Italianization of the American Yiddish slang word ''schnoz'', meaning "big nose"), and the word became his nickname. Early life Childhood Durante was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Rosa (Lentino) and Bartolomeo Durante, both immigrants from Salerno, Campania, Italy. Bartolomeo was a barber. Young Jimmy served as an altar boy at St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actor's Chapel. Early career Durante dropped out of school in seventh grade to become a full-time ragtime pianist. He first pl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Eddie Jackson (vaudeville)
Edward Jackson (February 19, 1896 - July 16, 1980The San Bernardino County Sun, 17 July 1980, Page 9 (obituary)) was a leading vaudeville performer, actor and musician, and longtime colleague and partner of Jimmy Durante. He appeared in vaudeville with Durante and Lou Clayton as the team Clayton, Jackson & Durante, known as the "Three Sawdust Bums." Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jackson began his show business work as a singing waiter at New York City and Coney Island clubs. At the Alamo Club in Harlem, he met Durante. They played together in a number of clubs and opened Club Durant in 1923. In 1924, their act was joined by Lou Clayton. The trio made their vaudeville debut at Loew's State theater in March 1927, with an act that literally included breaking up furniture. Durante sang of the virtues of wood, while Clayton and Jackson grabbed wood items and smashed them on the stage. By April 1928 they were headlining at the Palace Theater, breaking the house record for receipts, and m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cliff Edwards
Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number one hit with "Singin' in the Rain (song), Singin' in the Rain" in 1929. He also did voices for animated cartoons later in his career, and he is best known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's ''Pinocchio (1940 film), Pinocchio'' (1940) and ''Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947), and Dandy (Jim) Crow in Walt Disney's ''Dumbo'' (1941). Early life and musical career Edwards was born in Hannibal, Missouri. He left school at age 14 and soon moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and Saint Charles, Missouri, where he entertained as a singer in Bar (establishment), saloons. As many places had pianos in bad shape or none at all, Edwards taught himself to play ukulele, ukulele to serve as his own accompanist (choosing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Palace Theatre (Broadway)
The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theater at 1564 Broadway, facing Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchoff & Rose, the theater was funded by Martin Beck and opened in 1913. From its opening to about 1929, the Palace was considered among vaudeville performers as the flagship of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II's organization. The theater had 1,743 seats across three levels . The modern Palace Theatre consists of a three-level auditorium at 47th Street, which is a New York City designated landmark. The auditorium contains ornately designed plasterwork, boxes on the side walls, and two balcony levels that slope downward toward the stage. When it opened, the theater was accompanied by an 11- or 12-story office wing facing Broadway, also designed by Kirchoff & Rose. The Palace was most successful as a vaudeville house in the 1910s and 1920s. Under RKO Theatres, it became a movie palace cal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent Duffy Square, Times Square is a bowtie-shaped space five blocks long between 42nd and 47th Streets. Brightly lit at all hours by numerous digital billboards and advertisements as well as businesses offering 24/7 service, Times Square is sometimes referred to as "the Crossroads of the World", "the Center of the Universe", "the heart of the Great White Way", “the Center of the Entertainment Universe”, and "the heart of the world". One of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. She has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage". Over her distinguished career in theater she became known for her performances in shows such as ''Anything Goes'', '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Gypsy'', and '' Hello, Dolly!'' She is also known for her film roles in ''Anything Goes'' (1936), ''Call Me Madam'' (1953), ''There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), and ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963). Among many accolades, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Call Me Madam'', a Grammy Award for ''Gypsy'' and Drama Desk Award for '' Hello, Dolly!'' Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm" (from ''Girl Crazy''); ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Show Girl (1929 Musical)
''Show Girl'' is a musical by William Anthony McGuire that ran from Jul 2, 1929 to Oct 5, 1929. The show tells the story of aspiring Broadway showgirl Dixie Dugan (played by Ruby Keeler) as she is pursued by four suitors (played by Eddie Foy, Jr., Joseph Macaulay, Austin Fairman, and Frank McHugh). The music was written by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn. The character of Dixie Dugan was created by J. P. McEvoy and was first introduced in ''Liberty'' before McEvoy published his 1928 novel ''Show Girl'' (on which the musical was loosely based). The Broadway production was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, directed by McGuire, and choreographed by Bobby Connolly, with ballet sequences—including one set to ''An American in Paris—''by Albertina Rasch. Duke Ellington conducted the orchestra. The show opened on July 2, 1929 at the Ziegfeld Theatre and ran for 111 performances. The cast included Ruby Keeler as Dixie, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Foy, Jr., Frank M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes for him to practice law and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, ''Kiss Me, Kate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
The New Yorkers
''The New Yorkers'' is a musical written by Cole Porter (lyrics and music) and Herbert Fields (book). Star Jimmy Durante also wrote the words and music for the songs in which his character was featured. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1930. It is based on a story by a cartoonist for ''The New Yorker'', Peter Arno, and E. Ray Goetz. The musical satirizes New York types, from high society matrons to con men, bootleggers, thieves and prostitutes during Prohibition. The musical includes Porter's famous, sad song about a prostitute, " Love for Sale", which was banned from the radio for its frank lyrics. The original Broadway production received mostly good reviews and ran for 168 performances. History The musical was "built to order around star comic Jimmy Durante, indisputably featured special material (songs as well as bits) that wouldn't scan without Schnozzola himself delivering it." In fact, Durante himself wrote 5 of the 17 songs featured in the musical—the only 5 songs i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Roadhouse Nights
''Roadhouse Nights'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code gangster film. A number of sources including Sally Cline in her book ''Dashiell Hammett Man of Mystery'' claim it is based on the classic novel ''Red Harvest'' written by Dashiell Hammett (author of '' The Maltese Falcon'', ''The Thin Man'', and ''The Glass Key''). However the credits of the film itself say only "An Original Screenplay by Ben Hecht." Hammett receives no mention at all (and the plots are not similar). The movie, an unusual amalgam of musical comedy and gangster melodrama, was directed by Hobart Henley, stars Helen Morgan, Charles Ruggles, and Fred Kohler, and features a rare screen musical comedy performance by Jimmy Durante, in his screen debut, with his vaudeville partners Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson ("Clayton, Jackson, and Durante"). Helen Morgan also sings ''It Can't Go On Like This.'' Production The film's star is Helen Morgan, a nitery chanteuse whose gangster bosses head a murderous bootleg operation. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Home Of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles)
The Home of Peace Cemetery ( ''Beit Kvarot Beit Shalom'') is a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Location It is located at 4334 Whittier Boulevard west of Interstate 710 in East Los Angeles, California. It is across from Calvary Catholic Cemetery and next to Beth Israel Cemetery and Mount Zion Cemetery. History In 1853, the first and oldest Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles was established in Chavez Ravine, near the present-day Dodger Stadium. In 1901, Kaspare Cohn donated 30 acres (12.1 ha) of land for the establishment of this cemetery. The bodies interred at Chavez Ravine were moved to East Los Angeles's Home of Peace Memorial Park between 1902 and 1910. There are a number of famous rabbis buried here, and amongst others a few celebrities from the entertainment industry as well. Notable interments * Raymond Moscatel (1931–2022), Seattle University Basketball player beat The Harlem Globe Trotters in 1952 * Inez Asher (1911–2006), television writer and n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010 United States Census, 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined East Los Angeles as a census-designated place (CDP). The area is notable for its high Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic proportion, which at over 95%, is List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations, the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans out of any city or Census-designated place in the United States outside of Puerto Rico. History Original East Los Angeles Historically, when it was founded in 1873, the neighborhood northeast of downtown known today as Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, Lincoln Heights was originally named East Los Angeles, but in 1917 residents voted to change the name to its present name. Today it is cons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |