Muriel Landers
Muriel Landers (October 27, 1921 – February 19, 1977) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She made more than thirty film and television appearances between 1950 and 1971. Career Born in Chicago, Landers began her career as a concert singer before moving to New York City to pursue acting. She initially found it difficult to find parts because of her weight (Landers was and weighed 200 pounds), but found her niche in comedy. In 1951, Landers appeared on the variety series '' The Frank Sinatra Show''. Her performance on the series caught the attention of Jack Benny who invited her to perform with him at the London Palladium. Landers later appeared with Benny in two episodes of ''The Jack Benny Program'' in 1956 and 1958. She also performed on ''Where's Raymond?'', starring Ray Bolger, '' The Jimmy Durante Show'', ''The Red Skelton Show'' and '' Cavalcade of Stars'', hosted by Jackie Gleason. In 1952, Landers made her feature film debut in the comedy '' Bela Lugosi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla
''Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla'' (also known as ''The Boys from Brooklyn'' and in England as ''Monster Meets The Gorilla'') is a 1952 American comedy horror science fiction film directed by William Beaudine and starring horror veteran Bela Lugosi with nightclub performers Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo in roles approximating the then-popular duo of Martin and Lewis. Opening narration "This is the jungle... the vast wilderness of giant lush foliage... of tropical birds and fierce animal life... the killer tiger... the cunning hyena... the deadly python that can crush a giant elk... the proud lion... a fierce lioness, stalking a prey to feed her young... and the buzzards... the scavengers of the jungle... soaring lower, ever lower... eager to devour the dead or the dying. Kill or be killed... this is the law of the jungle... and here... what have we here? Who are these men? What can they possibly be doing in this cruel tropical wilderness?" Plot Jungle-dwelling native ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Duke Mitchell
Duke Mitchell (born Dominic Salvatore Miceli; May 9, 1926 – December 2, 1981) was an American film actor, slapstick comedian, crooner and independent film director of 1970s gangster movies starring himself. Mitchell often performed his nightclub act in and around Palm Springs, California, and anointed himself the "King of Palm Springs." Early life and career On May 9, 1926, Mitchell was born Dominic Salvatore Miceli in Farrell, Pennsylvania. In 1951, he teamed with comic Sammy Petrillo for a nightclub act. Mitchell's cabaret-style crooning and Petrillo's manic, rubber-faced clowning bore more than a passing resemblance to the popular team of Martin and Lewis ( Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, whom Mitchell and Petrillo physically resembled), which led to Lewis taking legal action.Sammy Petrillo obituary ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pete And Gladys
''Pete and Gladys'' is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was broadcast on September 10, 1962. Synopsis One of CBS television's most popular and highly rated sitcoms of the 1950s, ''December Bride'', starred Spring Byington and co-starred Harry Morgan as next-door neighbor Pete Porter. Pete spent most of his time complaining about his scatterbrained wife Gladys, who was unseen to viewers. In this spin-off series, Gladys emerges as the redhaired comedian Cara Williams. Pete is an insurance salesman, and the happy couple resides in Westwood, California. Besides leading-man Peter, another carryover from ''December Bride'' during the first season was the character of Hilda Crocker (Verna Felton), a close equivalent of ''I Love Lucy''s Ethel Mertz; she appeared in 23 episodes. Frances Rafferty, another ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Doris Day
Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" with Les Brown & His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967. Day was one of the biggest film stars of the 1950s–1960s. Day's film career began during the Golden Age of Hollywood with the film ''Romance on the High Seas'' (1948). She starred in films of many genres, including musicals, comedies, dramas, and thrillers. She played the title role in ''Calamity Jane'' (1953) and starred in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956) with James Stewart. Her best-known films are those in which she co-starred with Rock Hudson, chief among them 1959's ''Pillow Talk'', for which she was nominated fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golden Age of Hollywood, he achieved stardom with his role in ''Magnificent Obsession'' (1954), followed by ''All That Heaven Allows'' (1955), and ''Giant'' (1956), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hudson also found continued success with a string of romantic comedies co-starring Doris Day: ''Pillow Talk'' (1959), '' Lover Come Back'' (1961), and ''Send Me No Flowers'' (1964). During the late 1960s, his films included '' Seconds'' (1966), ''Tobruk'' (1967), and ''Ice Station Zebra'' (1968). Unhappy with the film scripts he was offered, Hudson turned to television and was a hit, starring in the popular mystery series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1977). His last role was as a guest star on the fifth season ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ted Okuda
Ted Okuda (born December 8, 1953) is an American non-fiction author and film historian. He has many books and magazine features to his credit, under his own name and in collaboration with others. Career Okuda's long-held interest in movie comedies led to his first book, ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'' (1986, with Edward Watz), an in-depth account of Columbia Pictures' short-subject department, detailing the production of two-reel comedies starring The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, and Gus Schilling & Dick Lane (announcer), Richard Lane, among many others. Since the book's first publication in 1986, Okuda has explored other areas of popular culture, including science fiction, children's television, and silent films. Okuda's other books include ''Dorothy Lee (actress), Dorothy Lee: The Life and Films of the Wheeler and Woolsey Girl'' (2013, with Jamie Brotherton), ''Stan Without Ollie: The Stan Laurel Solo Films'' (2012, with James L. Neibaur), ''Chicago TV ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joe Besser
Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child in ''The Abbott and Costello Show'', and Jillson, the maintenance man in '' The Joey Bishop Show''. Early life Besser was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 12, 1907. He was the ninth child of Morris and Fanny echtBesser, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He had seven older sisters, and an older brother Manny who was in show business, primarily as an ethnic Jewish comic. From an early age, Joe was fascinated with show business, especially the magic act of Howard Thurston that visited St. Louis annually. When Joe was 12, Thurston allowed him to be an audience plant. Besser was so excited by this, he sneaked into Thurston's train after the St. Louis r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sweet And Hot
''Sweet and Hot'' is a 1958 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser). It is the 186th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959. Plot Small town boy made good, producer Larry returns to his home farm town. There he hears and watches as his friends Joe and sister Tiny (Muriel Landers) work on their farm. Talented Tiny is singing. As she sings, the animals in the barn move to the beat. After hearing Tiny finish her song, Larry asks them to join his New York nightclub act. But Tiny has a fear of performing in front of a live audience, so Larry and Joe take Tiny to a German psychiatrist (Moe), who uses hypnosis to take Tiny back to the childhood origin of her problem. At the psychiatrist's office, Tiny, under hypnosis, reveals that she has been scared since an incident in her family's barn. She was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared over the act's run (with only three active at any given time): Moe Howard (born Moses Horwitz) and Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run and the pivotal "third stooge" was played by (in order of appearance) Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz), Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz), Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita. The act began in the early 1920s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges", consisting originally of Ted Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother, Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine. The four appeared in one feature film, '' Soup to Nuts'', before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replace ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bek Nelson
Bek Nelson (born Doris Dee Stiner; March 8, 1927 – March 28, 2015) was an American model and showgirl who turned to acting at age 29, making seven films and two dozen television shows in her first three years. Early life She was born Doris Dee StinerCensus takers in both 1930 and 1940 used the more familiar spelling of "Steiner", but her high-school yearbook and newspaper accounts show it as "Stiner" in Goin, Tennessee.Goin (pronounced like "going") in Claiborne County is what Bek told reporters and publicity agents was her birthplace, while a cousin in Tennessee told the ''Knoxville Journal'' it was Sharp's Chapel in Union County. The two unincorporated areas are separated by only 3 miles in rugged, rural terrainU.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999 for Doris Dee Stiner, Ohio > Canton > Lincoln High School > pages 120 and 142, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref>Doris Steiner in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Ohio > Stark > Canton > District 0023, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref> ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Sony. On June 19, 1918, brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and their business partner Joe Brandt founded Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales Corporation, which would eventually become Columbia Pictures. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name on January 10, 1924 (operating as Columbia Pictures Corporation until December 23, 1968) went public two years later and eventually began to use the image of Columbia, the female personification of the United States, as its logo. In its early years, Columbia was a minor player in Hollywood, but began to grow in the late 1920s, spurred by a successful association with director Frank Capra. With Capra and others such as the most successful two reel comedy series The Three Stooges, Co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |