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Melody Time
''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like ''Make Mine Music'' before it, the popular music version of ''Fantasia''. ''Melody Time'', while not meeting the artistic accomplishments of ''Fantasia'', was mildly successful. It is the fifth Disney package film following ''Saludos Amigos'', ''The Three Caballeros'', ''Make Mine Music'', and ''Fun and Fancy Free''. Vignettes According to Disney, the film's plot is as follows: "In the grand tradition of Disney's greatest musical classics, such as FANTASIA, MELODY TIME features seven classic stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters... feast for the eyes and ears ull ofwit and charm...a delightful Disney classic with something for everyone". Rose Pelswick, in a 1948 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clyde Geronimi
Clito "Clyde" Geronimi (June 12, 1901 – April 24, 1989), known as Gerry, was an American animation director. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions. Biography Geronimi was born in Chiavenna, Italy, immigrating to the United States as a young child. Geronimi's earliest work in the animation field was for the J.R. Bray Studios, where he worked with Walter Lantz. Upon the dissolution of the Bray Studio in 1928, Geronimi followed Lantz to his own studio, Walter Lantz Productions, producing Cartoons for Universal Pictures. Geronimi left Lantz in 1931 to join Walt Disney Productions, where he remained until 1959. Geronimi started off in the shorts department as an animator, eventually becoming a director. His 1941 short, ''Lend a Paw'', won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Geronimi moved into directing feature-length animated films after the end of World War II, mainly working for Walt Disney Productions. He was one of the directors on ''Bambi'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Darby
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for the Munchkinland mayor in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939), who was portrayed in the film by Charlie Becker. Darby is also notable as the author of ''The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe'' (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective. Personal life Kenneth Lorin Darby was born in Hebron, Nebraska, on May 13, 1909, to Lorin Edward Darby and Clara Alice Powell.Cook, Page, prelude to Ken Darby's ''Hollywood Holyland: The Filming and Scoring of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' ''. Metuchen, New Jersey : Scarecrow Press, 1992 pp. xiii–xxx Darby was married to Vera Matson from 1932 to his death in 1992. Career Ken Darby's choral group, The Ken Darby Singers, sang backup for Bing Crosby on the original 1942 Decca Records ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chain and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio were brought together under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October 1928. RCA chief David Sarnoff engineered the merger to create a market for the company's sound-on-film technology, RCA Photophone, and in early 1929 production began under the RKO name (an abbreviation of Radio-Keith-Orpheum). Two years later, another Kennedy holding, the Pathé studio, was folded into the operation. By the mid-1940s, RKO was controlled by investor Floyd Odlum. RKO has long been renowned for its cycle of musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the mid-to-late 1930s. Actors Katharine Hepburn and, later, Robert Mitchum had the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene from its first synchronized sound cartoon, ''Steamboat Willie'' (1928). Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, it is the oldest-running animation studio in the world. It is currently organized as a division of Walt Disney Studios and is headquartered at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. Since its foundation, the studio has produced 61 feature films, from '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937) to '' Strange World'' (2022), and hundreds of short films. The animation studio (and its parent company) indirectly takes its name from Isigny-sur-Mer, in Calvados, Normandy, France, where Disney's ancestors were based there for a few years. Founded as D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in World War II, and he became one of the nation's top crooners. He died in a plane crash in 1949. Life and career Clark was born to Jewish parents in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Tillie (Leibowitz), from Romania, and Nathan Goldberg, from Russia. He made his Big Band singing debut in 1932 as a tenor, with Gus Arnheim's orchestra, but was not successful. Singing baritone, he gained wider notice in 1934, with Benny Goodman on the '' Let's Dance'' radio program. In 1936 he began performing on the show ''Your Hit Parade'', and remained until 1938. In the mid-1930s he signed with Vocalion Records, having a top-20 hit with "Spring Is Here". He continued recording, appearing in movies, and dubbing other actors' voices until he entered the military, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightingale", an American armed-forces sweetheart, who entertained troops touring often with Bob Hope. Discovery Langford originally trained as an opera singer. While a young girl she required a tonsillectomy that changed her soprano range to a rich contralto. As a result, she was forced to change her vocal approach to a more contemporary big band, popular music style. At age 17, she was singing for local dances. Cigar manufacturer Eli Witt heard her sing at an American Legion party and hired her to sing on a local radio show he sponsored. Radio After a brief stint in the Broadway musical "Here Goes the Bride" in 1931, she moved to Hollywood, appearing on Louella Parsons' radio show ''Hollywood Hotel'' while starting a movie career. Singing f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Smith (organist)
Ethel Smith (born Ethel Goldsmith; November 22, 1902 – May 10, 1996) was an American organist who played primarily in a pop or Latin style on the Hammond organ. She had a long recording career and appeared in many films. Early life and career Born Ethel Goldsmith, to parents Elizabeth Bober and Max Goldsmith, she performed from a fairly young age and traveled widely, after studying both music and several languages at Carnegie Institute of Technology. She became proficient in Latin music while staying in South America, and it is the style of music with which she is now most associated. Film and recording career Smith performed in several Hollywood films such as ''George White's Scandals'' (1945) and ''Melody Time'' (1948). In these appearances, she was known for her colorful, elaborate costumes, especially her hats. She was married to Hollywood actor Ralph Bellamy from 1945 to 1947, at the height of her fame, and their acrimonious divorce made headlines. She never had childr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, Martin started out playing drums, then switched to C melody saxophone and subsequently tenor saxophone, the latter the one with which he would be identified. Early on, he had intended to become a journalist. He had hoped that he would earn enough money from his musical work to enter Ohio State University, but instead, he wound up becoming an accomplished musician. Martin led his own band while he was in high school, then played in various local bands. Martin spent his spare time selling musical instruments; which also gave him an excuse to listen to the Lombardos play at the "Music Box". After working on a ship's band, Martin joined the Mason-Dixon band, then joined Arnold Johnson and Jack Albin. It was with Albin's "Hotel Pennsylvania Mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also a promoter, financial backer and eponym of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market. Biography Fredrick Malcolm Waring was born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, on June 9, 1900, to Jesse Calderwood and Frank Waring. During his teen years, Waring, his brother Tom ''(né'' Thomas Lincoln Waring; 1902–1960), and their friend Poley McClintock founded the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra, which evolved into Fred Waring's Banjo Orchestra. The band often played at fraternity parties, proms, and dances, and achieved local success. Waring attended Penn State University, where he studied architectural engineering. He aspired to be in the Penn State Glee Club, but he was rejected with every audition. His Banjo Orchestra becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia "Patty" Marie Andrews (February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013). The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records. Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of jump blues. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bistu Shein, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)" (1937), "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" (1939), "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (1940), "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)" (1942), and "Rum and Coca Cola" (1945), which helped introduce American audiences to calypso music, calypso. The Andrews Sisters' harmonies and songs a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Day
Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the second of five children born to Irish immigrants Patrick McNulty and Mary (née Grady) McNulty. His father was a factory electric power engineer. Day graduated from the Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary and attended Manhattan College in the Bronx, where he sang in the glee club. In 1939, Gene McNulty, as Day was then known, sang on network radio with bandleader Larry Clinton. The Clinton broadcasts were aimed at the collegiate audience, and were often broadcast from a college campus. The 23-year-old McNulty won an audience poll as a favorite vocalist. Radio Day appeared for the first time on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939, taking the place of another tenor, Kenny Baker. He remained associated with Benny's radio and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trigger (horse)
Trigger (July 4, 1934 – July 3, 1965) was a palomino horse made famous in American Western films with his owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers. Pedigree The original Trigger, named Golden Cloud, was born in San Diego, California. Though often mistaken for a Tennessee Walking Horse, his sire was a Thoroughbred and his dam a grade (unregistered) mare that, like Trigger, was a palomino. Movie director William Witney, who directed Roy and Trigger in many of their movies, claimed a slightly different lineage, that his sire was a "registered" palomino stallion (though no known palomino registry existed at the time of Trigger's birth) and his dam was by a Thoroughbred and out of a " cold-blood" mare. Horses other than Golden Cloud also portrayed "Trigger" over the years, none of which was related to Golden Cloud; the two most prominent were palominos known as "Little Trigger" and "Trigger Jr." (a Tennessee Walking Horse listed as "Allen's Gold Zephyr" in the Tennessee Walking Hors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
