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Marge Champion
Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film musicals, and in 1957 had a television show based on song and dance. She also did creative choreography for liturgy, and served as a dialogue and movement coach for the 1978 TV miniseries, ''The Awakening Land'', set in the late 18th century in the Ohio Valley. Early life Champion was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 2, 1919. Her father, Ernest, was a Hollywood dance director who taught Shirley Temple, Betty Grable, Ramon Novarro, Cyd Charisse, Fay Wray and Joan Crawford, as well as Champion's future husband Gower Champion; her mother was Gladys Lee Baskette (née Rosenberg). Champion had an older half sister, Lina Basquette, who began acting in 1916 in silent films. Lina was the daughter of her mother's first husband, Frank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Babbitt
Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and also developed the character of Goofy. Babbitt worked as an animator or animation director on films such as ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Pinocchio'', ''Fantasia'' and ''Dumbo'', among others. Outside of Disney, he also animated ''The Wise Quacking Duck'' for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Early life Babbitt was born to a Jewish family in the Little Bohemia section of Omaha, Nebraska, but moved to Sioux City, Iowa after he finished kindergarten. When his hard-working father had an accident on duty and became paralyzed as a result, Art decided to move to New York to take on the role of breadwinner. Career Art Babbitt began his career in New York City working for Paul Terry's Terrytoons Studio. But in the early 1930s he moved to L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally-known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". After an absence of nearly two years fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three For The Show
''Three for the Show'' is a 1955 Technicolor and in CinemaScope musical comedy remake of ''Too Many Husbands''. It stars actress Betty Grable, in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon, Gower Champion and Marge Champion. It is based on the 1919 play ''Home and Beauty'' by W. Somerset Maugham, which was retitled to ''Too Many Husbands'' when it came to New York. Plot Singing-and-dancing stage star Julie (Betty Grable) is told that husband Marty (Jack Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the Korean War. After a long waiting period, she makes plans to marry Vernon (Gower Champion), who is Marty's best friend. After the marriage, Marty (who crashed but survived on an island) turns up at one of Julie's shows. Upon discovering Julie's new marriage, Marty demands his rights as her first husband. Julie finds that she is legally married to both Marty and Vernon. She soon realises that she must choose who she wants to be with, if only to avoid being branded a bigamist. But Julie lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jupiter's Darling (film)
''Jupiter's Darling'' is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical romance film released by MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman woman Amytis, Howard Keel as Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and George Sanders as Fabius Maximus, Amytis's fiancé. In the film, Amytis helps Hannibal swim the Tiber River to take a closer look at Rome's fortifications. The film features many historical characters, including Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus who appears briefly, in addition to Hannibal. Carthaginians Mago Barca and Maharbal also appear. ''Jupiter's Darling'' was based on Robert E. Sherwood's anti-war comedy play ''The Road to Rome'' (1927). The film was the last of three films Williams and Keel made together, the other two being ''Pagan Love Song'' (1950) and ''Texas Carnival'' (1951). He later said he felt it was the best picture they made together.Keel p 179 The movie was a huge financial flop an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Give A Girl A Break
''Give a Girl a Break'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, starring Debbie Reynolds and the dance team of Marge and Gower Champion. A young Bob Fosse has a featured role. As Martin Gottfried wrote in his book, ''All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse'', "There were residual elements of the big project it had once been, a score by Burton Lane and Ira Gershwin heir only collaboration for instance, direction by Stanley Donen and musical supervision by Saul Chaplin. The screenwriters, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, were estimable too, although in this instance they had written a slender story involving three unknown actresses competing for a Broadway role that becomes available when the star walks out." The third lead actress, Helen Wood, had a performing background before being signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but would eventually leave Hollywood for stage work in New York, including dancing at Radio City Music Hall. Under the pseu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Everything I Have Is Yours (film)
''Everything I Have Is Yours'' is a 1952 American Technicolor musical film. Plot summary The husband and wife dance team, Chuck and Pamela Hubbard (Gower Champion and Marge Champion), are a pair of happily married dancers. The Hubbards have dreamed for years of taking their act to Broadway, and after much hard work and perseverance, they finally get their shot at the big time, only to discover that Pamela is pregnant, and her doctor forbids her to dance.http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2216/Everything-I-Have-Is-Yours/articles.html Cast * Marge Champion as Pamela Hubbard * Gower Champion as Chuck Hubbard * Dennis O'Keefe as Alec Tacksbury * Monica Lewis as Sybil Meriden * Dean Miller as Monty Dunstan * Eduard Franz as Phil Meisner * John Gallaudet as Ed Holly * Diane Cassidy as Showgirl * Elaine Stewart as Showgirl * Jonathan Cott as Freddie * Robert Burton as Doctor Charles * Jean Fenwick as Mrs. Tirson * Mimi Gibson as Pamela (age 3) * William Kerwin William Kerwin (April 17, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Show Boat (1951 Film)
''Show Boat'' is a 1951 American musical romantic drama film, based on the 1927 stage musical of the same name by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (script and lyrics), and the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber. It was made by MGM, adapted for the screen by John Lee Mahin, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by George Sidney. Filmed previously in 1929 and in 1936, this third adaptation of ''Show Boat'' was shot in Technicolor in the typical MGM lavish style, while the basic plot remains unchanged. The film stars Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, and Howard Keel, with Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, William Warfield, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead and Leif Erickson. Unlike the 1936 film, none of the members of the original Broadway cast of the show appeared in this version. The 1951 ''Show Boat'' was the most financially successful of the film adaptations of the show: one of MGM's most popular musicals, it was the second highest-grossing film of that year. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle
''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' is a 1939 American biographical musical comedy directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan. The film is based on the stories ''My Husband'' and ''My Memories of Vernon Castle'', by Irene Castle. The movie was adapted by Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Yost and Richard Sherman. This was Astaire and Rogers' ninth and last film together with RKO. Their final pairing was ''The Barkleys of Broadway'' (1949) at MGM. Plot The film tells of novice American dancer Irene Foote (Ginger Rogers) who convinces New York-based British vaudeville comic Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire) to give up slapstick comedy in favor of sophisticated ballroom dancing. Their big break comes when they are stranded in Paris, along with their friend Walter Ashe (Walter Brennan), with no money. They catch the eye of influential agent Maggie Sutton (Edna May Oliver), who arranges a tryout for them at the prestigious C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia (1940 Film)
''Fantasia'' is a 1940 American animated musical anthology film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions, with story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer and production supervision by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen. The third Disney animated feature film, it consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies who introduces each segment in live action. Disney settled on the film's concept in 1938 as work neared completion on ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'', originally an elaborate '' Silly Symphony'' cartoon designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. As production costs surpassed what the short could earn, Disney decided to include it in a feature-length film of multiple segments set to classical pieces with Stokowski and Taylor as collaborators ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinocchio (1940 Film)
''Pinocchio'' is a 1940 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1883 Italian children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. It was the second animated feature film produced by Disney, made after the first animated success ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937). The plot involves an old Italian woodcarver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet named Pinocchio and wishes that he might be a real boy. The puppet is brought to life by a blue fairy, who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be "brave, truthful, and unselfish". The key character of Jiminy Cricket, who takes the role of Pinocchio's conscience, attempts to guide Pinocchio in matters of right and wrong. Pinocchio's efforts to become a real boy involve encounters with a host of unsavory characters, representing the temptations and consequences of wrongdoing. The film was adapted by several storyboard artists from Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937 Film)
''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length traditionally animated feature film and the first Disney animated feature film. The story was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director, while William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film's individual sequences. ''Snow White'' premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 21, 1937. It was a critical and commercial success and, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release (compared to its $1.5 million budget), it briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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