HOME
*





Ralph Cooper (Canadian Football)
Ralph Cooper (January 16, 1908 – August 4, 1992), was an American actor, screenwriter, dancer and choreographer. Cooper is best known as the original master of ceremonies and founder of amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City, in 1935. He wrote, produced, directed and acted in ten motion pictures. Titles include '' The Duke Is Tops'', ''Dark Manhattan'', ''Gangsters on the Loose'' and ''Gang War''. Because of his debonair good looks, he was known as "dark Gable" in the 1930s. Biography Cooper was born on January 16, 1908, in Harlem, New York City. He worked as a dancer in small downtown clubs near New York University, which he attended with plans of becoming a medical doctor. In July 1935, Cooper began the Apollo's Amateur Night which ran every Wednesday night. In 1937, Cooper formed Cooper-Randol Productions with black actor George Randol and soon afterwards Million Dollar Productions with white producers Harry Popkin and his brother Leo Popkin to produc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Duke Is Tops
''The Duke Is Tops'' is a 1938 American musical film released by Million Dollar Productions and directed by William Nolte. The film was later released in 1943 under the title ''The Bronze Venus''. It features top-billed Lena Horne in her film debut. The film was one of the low-budget musical film " race movies" made in the 1930s and 1940s for the African-American market. The casts and production teams of these films were almost all black, and the music reflected current tastes in jazz and rhythm and blues. The film was scripted, co-directed and featured Ralph Cooper who also acted as the film's production manager. Casting Ralph Cooper planned to star alongside Nina Mae McKinney as the female lead but her delayed return from her appearances in Australia led to the role to be recast. ''The Duke Is Tops'' features the film debut of singer Lena Horne, then aged 20, who had yet to develop the style she would use in her later films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She has a rare major acting ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Leo Popkin
Leo C. Popkin (1914–2011) was a film director and producer in the United States. His brother Harry M. Popkin was the executive producer of Million Dollar Productions, a partnership that included Ralph Cooper. He managed African American movie theaters in Los Angeles. He is known for his gangster films. He and his brother Harry M. Popkin (1906 – October 7, 1991) worked on movies together. Filmography *''The Flaming Crisis'' (1924), co-director *''The Duke Is Tops'' (1938), producer *''Gang Smashers'' (1938), director *''Reform School (1939) *''While Thousands Cheer'' (1940), director *''Four Shall Die'' (1940), co-director *''My Dear Secretary'' (1948), producer *''D.O.A. (1949), producer *''Impact (1949 film)'', producer *''Champagne for Caesar'' (1950), co-producer *''The Well The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


American Male Screenwriters
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


American Male Film Actors
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Male Actors From Manhattan
Male ( symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Most male mammals, including male humans, have a Y chromosome, which codes for the production of larger amounts of testosterone to develop male reproductive organs. Not all species share a common sex-determination system. In most animals, including humans, sex is determined genetically; however, species such as '' Cymothoa exigua'' change sex depending on the number of females present in the vicinity. In humans, the word ''male'' can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity. Overview The existence of separate sexes has evolved independently at different times and in different lineages, an exa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




1992 Deaths
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene. * Emperor Septimius Severus lays siege to the city-state Hatra in Central-Mesopotamia, but fails to capture the city despite breaching the walls. * Two new legions, I Parthica and III Parthica, are formed as a permanent garrison. China * Battle of Yijing: Chinese warlord Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan. Korea * Geodeung succeeds Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, as king of the Korean kingdom of Gaya (traditional date). By topic Religion * Pope Zephyrinus succeeds Pope Victor I, as th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


1908 Births
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album '' Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. * "Nineteen", a song by Tegan and Sara from the 2007 album '' The Con''. * "XIX" (song), a 2014 song by Slipkn ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Am I Guilty?
''Am I Guilty?'' Is an American film released in 1940 directed by Samuel Neufeld for the Supreme Pictures Corporation. A. W. Hackel was the film's producer.; his Supreme Pictures, which had produced dozens of Western films, planned a series of films featuring African American casts but this was the only one to make it to release. Toddy Pictures re-released the film as Racket Doctor in 1945. A Toddy Pictures poster for the film was appraised on an episode of the PBS show ''Antiques Roadshow''. ''The Pittsburgh Courier'' described a gala opening at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In the film's storyline, extraordinary measures are resorted to in order to help the poor as a young doctor sets up a free clinic in Harlem. Advertisements for the film, including a lobby card, remain in existence. Cast *Ralph Cooper as Dr. James Dunbar * Sybil Lewis as Joan Freeman * Sam McDaniel as John D. Jones *Lawrence Criner as "Trigger" Bennett * Marcella Moreland as Marcella *Monte Hawley *Pigme ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gang Smashers
''Gang Smashers'', also released as ''Gun Moll'', is an American film released in 1938. It features an African American cast. Leo C. Popkin directed the Million Dollar Productions film from a screenplay by Ralph Cooper. The University of South Carolina libraries have an 8-page pressbook for the film. Nina Mae McKinney stars in the film a thriller about the Harlem underworld and racketeering. The opening of the film is a dedication to African American in law enforcement signed by Harry M. Popkin. Cast *Nina Mae McKinney *Laurence Criner *Monte Hawley *Mantan Moreland *Reginald Fenderson * Eddie Thompson *Neva Peoples Neva Mary Peoples was a singer and dancer who appeared in several films in the United States. She performed as a singer, dancer, and chorus girl. Peoples was from San Francisco. A 1936 news clipping refers to her as the "colored blues singer and da ..., performing a song References {{Reflist 1938 films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Leo C. Popki ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Bargain With Bullets
''Bargain with Bullets'' is a 1937 American film. The first film produced by Million Dollar Productions Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with African American casts. It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin, Leo C. Popkin and Ralph Cooper. Histo ..., it features an African American cast of actors and performers. The gangster film is about the Harlem underworld. It was described as the first Hollywood "all-Negro" film. The film features several musical performances. Toddy Pictures Company acquired Million Dollar Productions and re-released the film as ''Gangsters on the Loose''. The gangster themed film drew scrutiny from film censorship boards in the U.S. requiring extensive editing of the film. Cast * Ralph Cooper as Mugsy "Killer" Moore * Theresa Harris * Frances Turham * Lawrence Criner * Clarence Brooks See also *'' Dark Manhattan'' References External links * ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


White Hunter (film)
''White Hunter'' is a 1936 American adventure film directed by Irving Cummings and written by Sam Duncan, Kenneth Earl and Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The film stars Warner Baxter, June Lang, Gail Patrick, Alison Skipworth, Wilfrid Lawson and George Hassell. The film was released on November 25, 1936, by 20th Century Fox. Plot Safari guide (Baxter) is hired by the man (Lawson) who was responsible for his father's death. Cast *Warner Baxter as Capt. Clark Rutledge *June Lang as Toni Varek *Gail Patrick as Helen Varek * Alison Skipworth as Aunt Frederika * Wilfrid Lawson as Michael Varek *George Hassell as Valentine Ponsonby-Smith *Ernest Whitman as Abdi *Forrester Harvey as Pembrooke *Willie Fung as Wong *Olaf Hytten as Barton *Ralph Cooper Ralph Cooper (January 16, 1908 – August 4, 1992), was an American actor, screenwriter, dancer and choreographer. Cooper is best known as the original master of ceremonies and founder of amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Lloyd's Of London (film)
''Lloyd's of London'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Henry King. It stars Freddie Bartholomew, Tyrone Power, Madeleine Carroll, and Guy Standing. The supporting cast includes George Sanders, Virginia Field, and C. Aubrey Smith. Loosely based on historical events, the film follows the dealings of a man who works at Lloyd's of London during the Napoleonic Wars. ''Lloyd's of London'' was a hit; it demonstrated that 22-year-old Tyrone Power, in his first starring role, could carry a film, and that the newly formed 20th Century Fox was a major Hollywood studio. Plot In 1770, youngster Jonathan Blake overhears two sailors discussing something suspicious in his aunt's ale-house in a Norfolk fishing village. He persuades his more respectable best friend, Horatio Nelson, to sneak aboard the sailors' ship with him. They overhear a plot involving insurance fraud. Jonathan decides to warn the insurers, walking 100 miles to London to Lloyd's Coffee House, where the insurers condu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]