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Laffing Time
''Laffing Time'' is a 1959 feature film starring Gloria Jean and El Brendel and directed by Alf Goulding. The film's producer, Edward Finney Edward Francis Finney (1903–1983) was an American film producer and director.Pitts p.174 He is best known as the man who introduced cowboy singer Tex Ritter to the moviegoing public. Biography Finney was educated at the City College of New Y ..., also took the leading comic role, under the pseudonym "Eddie Finn." Plot Well-meaning but clumsy husband Musty Suffer (Eddie Finn) lives with his wife Sally (Gloria Jean) and his tough-talking mother-in-law (Nina Varela). His Swedish-dialect pal is next-door neighbor Efrem Blobbs (El Brendel). Musty and Blobbs plan an elaborate birthday party for Musty's daughters Betsy and Netsy (Jane and Janette Carty). When the tax collector takes Musty's handy money, Musty and Blobbs stage the party themselves. Still in need of cash, Musty and his family hire on as servants for a society matron, whose impor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
El Brendel
Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ''Just Imagine'' (1930), produced by Fox Film Corporation. His screen name was pronounced "El Bren-DEL". Early life He was born on March 25, 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Irish mother and German immigrant father. Brendel, unlike his stage and film character, was not Swedish. He spoke standard American English without a trace of any other accent. He attended the University of Pennsylvania. He entered vaudeville in 1913 as a German dialect comedian and married his vaudeville partner. Due to anti-German sentiment brought about by the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Brendel developed a new character, one he would portray on stage and in films for the rest of his career: a good-natured, simple Swede, often called "Oley," "Ole," or "Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf Goulding
Alfred John "Alf" Goulding (January 26, 1885 – April 25, 1972) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 180 films between 1917 and 1959 and is credited with having Harold Lloyd wear his trademark glasses. Biography He was born on January 26, 1885, in Melbourne, Australia to Francis Thomas Goulding (1860–1940) and Margaret Davies Walsh. He was the youngest brother of the opera singer Elsa Goulding. As children, he and his brother and sister performed with Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company, a popular Australian juvenile opera company that travelled Australasia, the Orient and North America extensively. By 1900 he was regularly singled out in reviews as one of the Company’s most entertaining performers: "Master Alf. Goulding came in for a lion's share of applause, and he certainly won it fairly in his comic pieces." By 1907, Goulding was stage managing for the company. He arrived with the Polla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Finney
Edward Francis Finney (1903–1983) was an American film producer and director.Pitts p.174 He is best known as the man who introduced cowboy singer Tex Ritter to the moviegoing public. Biography Finney was educated at the City College of New York, and became an engineer at Western Electric. He entered the motion picture industry as a prop man for silent-comedy producer C.C. Burr. Finney was a born salesman and his persuasive ideas landed him a job with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as press sheet editor. He advanced to managerial posts in studio advertising departments, with gradually increasing responsibilities, at Pathé, United Artists, Monogram Pictures, Republic Pictures, and Grand National Pictures. Grand National gave Finney his first chance at producing films, in 1936. He established Boots and Saddles Pictures and made a successful series of singing cowboy westerns starring his discovery Tex Ritter. When Grand National ceased operations in 1939, Finney moved his business to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
