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Rhythm On The River
''Rhythm on the River'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin as ghostwriters whose songs are credited to a composer played by Basil Rathbone. Crosby and Martin sang " Only Forever", for which James V. Monaco (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Plot Oliver Courtney is an arrogant composer who lets other people write songs he takes credit for. Bob Sommers writes his tunes with Billy Starbuck. At the night of a social Christmas party, Oliver introduces Bob's song "What Would Shakespeare Have Said?" as his own. Later that night, Oliver thanks Bob for his loyalty and offers him a contract for $50 a week for three years. He refuses, saying he would rather have a catboat to visit his uncle at his river hotel, called Nobody's Inn. After his lyric writer dies, Oliver finds a replacement in Cherry Lane. She is reluctant about being a ghost writer, but accepts his o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 film), Something to Sing About'' (1937 in film, 1937) with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures ''Road to Singapore'' (1940 in film, 1940) and ''Road to Zanzibar'' (1941 in film, 1941). His two best-known songs are "I Remember You (1941 song), I Remember You" and "Tangerine (1941 song), Tangerine", both with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and both featured in Schertzinger's final film, ''The Fleet's In'' (1942 in film, 1942). Life and career Schertzinger was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, the child of musical parents of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, and attracted attention as a violin Child prodigy, prodigy at the age of four. As a child of eight, he appeared as a violinist with several orchestras, including the Victor Herbert Orchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed the best ''original'' song written specifically for a film. The performers of a song are not credited with the Academy Award unless they contributed either to music, lyrics, or both in their own right. The songs that are nominated for this award are typically performed during the ceremony and before this award is presented. The award category was introduced at the 7th Academy Awards, the ceremony honoring the best in film for 1934. Nominations are made by Academy members who are songwriters and composers, and the winners are chosen by the Academy membership as a whole. Fifteen songs are shortlisted before nominations are announced. Eligibility , the Academy's rules stipulate that "an original song consists of words and music, both of whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeanne Cagney
Jeanne Carolyn Cagney (March 25, 1919 – December 7, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Born in New York City, Cagney and her four older brothers were raised by her widowed mother Carolyn Elizabeth Cagney (née Nelson). Two of her brothers were film actor James Cagney and actor/producer William Cagney. She attended Hunter College High School. Majoring in French and German, she was a cum laude graduate of Hunter College (now part of City University of New York) and a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society. She also starred in plays produced by the college's dramatic society. Following her college graduation, she studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Stage upCagney in 1942 Cagney performed in the original stage production of ''The Iceman Cometh'', which premiered on Broadway on October 9, 1946. The play's author, Eugene O'Neill, cast her in the role of Margie, one of the " street walkers" in his story. Film Cagney with Quicksand'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brandon Hurst
Brandon Hurst (30 November 1866 – 15 July 1947) was an English stage and film actor. Early life Born in London, England, Hurst studied philology in his youth and began performing in theater in the 1880s. Before he began acting professionally, Hurst served seven years in the English army, including five years with the King's Dragoon Guards in India. Career He worked in Broadway shows from 1900 until his entry into motion pictures. His most notable stage appearance was ''Two Women'' in 1910, costarring Mrs. Leslie Carter and Robert Warwick.''Pictorial History of the American Theatre: 1860-1970'' p.118 c.1969 by Daniel Blum He was nearly fifty before his film debut in ''Via Wireless'' (1915) as Edward Pinckney. He appeared in 129 other films. He became well known in the 1920s for portraying the antagonist and anti-heroes. Those roles include Sir George Carewe in '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1920), Jehan Frollo in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1923), Alexei Karenin opp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Kennedy
Phyllis Kennedy (June 16, 1914 – December 29, 1998) was an American film actress. Early life She was born on June 16, 1914 in Detroit, Michigan. Following her high school graduation in 1932, she got employment as a clothes model in a local department store. During her modeling period, one of her friends recommended that she try her hand at acting. She began her acting career on the New York stage in a small role in a 1935 production of ''Jane Eyre''. Soon, she decided to try her hand in the film industry. Around 1935, she broke her back while dancing in a show in Denver and was told she would never dance again. Two years later, she was able to dance again. Hollywood years Kennedy was noticed by Ginger Rogers when she performed as a chorus girl in '' Shall We Dance?'' She did some comedy dances for Rogers offstage, which impressed the other actress. This relationship led to her being cast as a maid in ''Stage Door'' with Rogers and Katharine Hepburn''.'' She was eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Carpenter (announcer)
Kenneth Lee Carpenter (August 21, 1900 – October 16, 1984) was a TV and radio announcer and sportscaster, who was the announcer for singer and actor Bing Crosby for 27 years. Early life and education Born in Avon, Illinois, Carpenter was the son of Barlow Carpenter, a Universalist minister, and Clara Carpenter (1874 – 1971). He graduated from Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois in 1921, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Lombard College also is where Carpenter met his future lifelong wife, Betty. They were married July 29, 1922.''Radio and Television Mirror'', Feb. 1949 Early show business career Carpenter moved to Hollywood in 1929, one year after resolving to move there after listening to radio legend Graham McNamee call the Rose Bowl. The 1930 Census reveals he was employed as a newspaper copywriter. Not long afterward, he became a staff announcer for KFI radio. As part of that job, Carpenter announced USC and UCLA football games for the Pac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Scott Trotter
John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and entertainer Bing Crosby on record and on his radio programs from 1937 to 1954. He also worked with Vince Guaraldi on the score for ''Peanuts'' animated television specials and feature films between 1966 and 1975. Early life Trotter was born John Scott Trotter, Jr. on June 14, 1908, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born to parents John Scott Trotter (June 26, 1881 – August 8, 1949) and Lelia Trotter ( née Bias) (May 10, 1885 – July 7, 1965). Trotter attended local schools in Charlotte. He studied piano under Ida Moore Alexander. In 1925, Trotter entered the University of North Carolina, where he began his career as a professional musician playing piano for a college band led by Hal Kemp. Kemp had entered the university i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Frawley
William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy series ''My Three Sons'', and the political advisor to the judge character in the film ''Miracle on 34th Street''. Frawley began his career in vaudeville in 1914 with his wife, Edna Louise Broedt. Their comedy act, "Frawley and Louise", continued until their divorce in 1927. He performed on Broadway multiple times. In 1916, he signed with Paramount Studios and appeared in more than 100 films over the next 35 years.Deezen, Eddie. Early life Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa, the second son of four children of Michael A. Frawley (1857–1907) and Mary E. (Brady) Frawley (1859–1921). He attended Catholic schools and sang in the choir at St. Paul's Catholic Church. As he got older, he played small roles in local theater productions at the Bur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillian Cornell
Lillian Cornell (born Lillian Michuda; June 2, 1916 - May 25, 2015) was an American singer on old-time radio and an actress in films in the early 1940s. Early years Cornell was born Lillian Michuda June 2, 1916, in Chicago. Her name was changed to Lillian Cornell by studio executives when she began to act in films. Radio In 1936, Cornell (billed as Lillian Michuda) had her own radio program on WCFL in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Three years later, she had moved to NBC, where she had the self-titled ''Lillian Cornell'' program.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 161. She also performed on ''Pleasure Parade'', '' Club Matinee'', ''Roy Shield Revue'', ''Jamboree'' and ''Sunday Dinner at Aunt Fanny's''. Personal appearances In 1944, Cornell was the featured singer at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. A review published in the ''Chicago Tribune'' on November 26, 1944, described Cornell as "a dark h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charley Grapewin
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portraying Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939), "Grandpa" William James Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), Jeeter Lester in '' Tobacco Road'' (1941), and California Joe in ''They Died With Their Boots On'' (1941)."Charles Grapewin Is Dead at 86" '''', February 3, 1956. Retrieved January 22, 2014. Biography Born in < ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz, October 11, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – died March 6, 1967, in Little Neck, New York), was a stage and screen actor and singer, remembered primarily today for his role as Bob Adams in the first film starring the Marx Bros., ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929). United States census records show that Shaw was already working as a stage actor in 1910, while still living with his mother, brother, and stepfather. In 1913, Shaw married Mary Louise Givler (a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania), in England, where they both appeared in a show called the "First American Ragtime Review" at the London Opera House. The couple lived in the Village of Great Neck Estates, and in 1937, later moved to the Thomaston section of Great Neck, first in a private home, and later lived in an apartment building on Welwyn Road. His wife died March 31, 1964, at the age of 77. Shaw died on March 6, 1967 at the age of 79. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recordings featuring his piano performances. He was equally famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and later in movies and television, as for his music. Early life Levant was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1906, to Orthodox Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia. His father, Max, was a watchmaker who wanted his four sons to become either dentists or doctors. His mother Annie was a highly religious woman whose father was a Rabbi who presided over his daughter's wedding to Max Levant. Oscar Levant moved to New York in 1922, following the death of his father. He began studying under Zygmunt Stojowski, a well-established piano pedagogue. In 1925, aged 18, he appeared with Ben Bernie in a short fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
