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Rita Rio
Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Drake was mixed race by ancestry. She often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names Una Novella and Rita Novella, typically being cast in "ethnic" white roles including Latin American and Middle Easterners. As Mexican "Rita Rio", she led a touring all-girl orchestra in the early 1940s, also known as "Dona Drake and her Girl Band", among other names for her musical and dance acts. Early life Drake was born Eunice Westmoreland in Miami, Florida in 1914, one of five children of Joseph Westmoreland and his wife, Novella (née Smith). U.S. Census reports on her family history identify her grandparents as one black couple and one couple that was black/white. Career Entering show business in the 1930s, she used the names Una Velon (or Una Villon), Rita Rio and Rita Shaw. Una Villon She began performing in 1932, working under ...
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Kansas City Confidential
''Kansas City Confidential'' is a 1952 American film noir and crime film directed by Phil Karlson starring John Payne (actor), John Payne and Coleen Gray. The film was released in the United Kingdom as ''The Secret Four''. Karlson and Payne teamed a year later for ''99 River Street'', another film noir, followed by ''Hell's Island'', a film noir in color. This film is now in the public domain in home video and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony Pictures for theatrical, TV and Internet. Plot The ruthless Mr. Big is timing the arrival of an armored car picking up money from a bank and a flower delivery truck. He plans to rob the armored car with three men: Peter Harris (a gambler wanted for murder); Boyd Kane (a cop killer); and Tony Romano (a womanizing get-away driver). When interviewing them, he wears a mask so they cannot identify him. They were selected because each has a reason for fleeing the US. The plan includes using a duplicate flower delivery truck. The robbery and pursui ...
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Irene Ryan
Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her portrayal of Daisy May "Granny" Moses, mother-in-law of Buddy Ebsen's character Jed Clampett on the long-running TV series ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971). She was nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1963 and 1964 for the role. Early years Ryan was born Irene Noblitt, Noblett or Noblette on October 17, 1902, in El Paso, Texas. She was the second child and latter daughter born to Catherine J. "Katie" (née McSharry) and James Merritt Noblitt. Her father was an army sergeant from North Carolina and her mother had emigrated from Ireland. Jessie Irene was 17 years younger than her sister, Anna. Career Ryan began her performing career at the age of 11, when she won $3 for singing "Pretty Baby" i ...
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Aloma Of The South Seas (1941 Film)
''Aloma of the South Seas'' is a 1941 American romantic adventure drama film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall. The film was shot in Technicolor and distributed by Paramount Pictures. ''Aloma of the South Seas'' is based on the 1925 Broadway play of the same name by LeRoy Clemens and John B. Hymer. It is a remake of the 1926 silent film of the same name. Lamour and Hall were the reigning darlings of south sea island adventures of this era having starred in John Ford's '' The Hurricane''. ''Aloma of the South Seas'' fits into the romance adventure canon of which Lamour and Hall excelled at. Plot Aloma and Prince Tanoa, are promised by the islanders to wed from their childhood, though the two despise each other and fight. Tanoa is sent to the United States for an education and does not return for 15 years after the death of his father. Once crowned, Tanoa's treacherous cousin Revo who has plotted to rule in place of Tanoa since childhood, see ...
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Strike Me Pink (film)
''Strike Me Pink'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, starring Eddie Cantor and Ethel Merman, and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Cantor plays a nebbishy employee of an amusement park, forced to assert himself against a gang of slot-machine racketeers. The climax involves a wild chase over a roller coaster and in a hot-air balloon, filmed at The Pike in Long Beach, California. The film's sets were designed by the art director Richard Day. The film was Eddie Cantor's sixth of six films for Goldwyn, all produced and released within seven years. The story derives from the novel ''Dreamland'' by the once-popular writer Clarence Budington Kelland, reworked as a 1933 stage musical comedy by Ray Henderson for Jimmy Durante. Cast * Eddie Cantor as Eddie Pink * Ethel Merman as Joyce Lennox * Sally Eilers as Claribel Higg * Harry Parke as Parkyakarkus (as Parkyakarkus) * William Frawley as Mr. Copple * Helen Lowell as Hattie 'Ma' Carson (as Helene Lowell) ...
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YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the List of most visited websites, second most visited website, after Google Search. YouTube has more than 2.5 billion monthly users who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos each day. , videos were being uploaded at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute. In October 2006, YouTube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. Google's ownership of YouTube expanded the site's business model, expanding from generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subscription option for watching content without ads. YouTube also approved creators to participate in Google's Google AdSens ...
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Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America's greatest comedians. He made 13 feature films as a team with his siblings the Marx Brothers; he was the third-born of the brothers. He also had a successful solo career primarily on radio and television, most notably as the host of the game show ''You Bet Your Life''. His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, spectacles, cigar, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. These exaggerated features resulted in the creation of one of the most recognizable and ubiquitous novelty disguises, known as Groucho glasses: a one-piece mask consisting of horn-rimmed glasses, a large plastic nose, bushy eyebrows and mustache. Early life Julius H ...
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You Bet Your Life
''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949, and went to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show on both radio and television but not simultaneously. Many of the laughs on the television show were evoked by Groucho's facial reactions and other visual gimmicks; the two versions were slightly different. The last episode in a radio format aired on June 10, 1960. The series continued on television for another year, recording a season on September 22, 1960 with a new title, ''The Groucho Show''. Gameplay on each episode of ''You Bet Your Life'' was generally secondary to Groucho's comedic interplay with contestants and often with Fennema ...
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Louis Amberg
Louis "Pretty" Amberg (1897 – October 23, 1935) was an American mobster. Along with his brothers Joseph and Hyman Amberg, they competed against Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and the Shapiro Brothers for control of Brooklyn's racketeering activities during the 1920s and early 1930s. Early life Amberg was born in the Russian Empire into a Jewish family, the fifth of eight children born to Charles and Rose ( Mindelwitz) Amberg. The family immigrated to New York in 1904. In 1910, the father's occupation was listed as a peddler. Louis Amberg was one of five brothers. In addition to Joseph and Hyman, his brother Oscar Amberg was tried but acquitted for murder and other crimes. William, who owned a furniture store, was the only brother apparently not in the crime business. Their mother had changed her name to Rose Mandell because the Amberg name became so notorious. Amberg had a tendency to stab a fork in the face of anyone who annoyed or offended him. He once ...
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Faith Bacon
Faith Bacon (born Frances Yvonne Bacon; July 19, 1910  – September 26, 1956) was an American burlesque dancer and actress. During the height of her career, she was billed as "America's Most Beautiful Dancer". Personal life Bacon was born Frances Yvonne Bacon in Los Angeles, California to Francis Page Bacon and his wife Charmion, who wed on July 10, 1909. The couple divorced several years later. In 1945, she and Sanford Hunt Dickinson—a Buffalo businessman and songwriter—applied for a marriage license. As Bacon was rumored to be gay, she may have sought a marriage of convenience. It is unknown whether they ever actually married; they never lived together, but also never divorced.Zemeckis, Leslie, Feuding Fan Dancers: Faith Bacon, Sally Rand, and the Golden Age of the Showgirl', 2018, Counterpoint Press. . According to Tullah Innes, a burlesque dancer who crossed paths with Faith frequently, Faith was a lesbian out of necessity as her mother kept her from men. Lat ...
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Toby Wing
Toby Wing (born Martha Virginia Wing, July 14, 1915 – March 22, 2001), "Toby" being an old family nickname, was an American actress and showgirl, once called "the most beautiful chorus girl in Hollywood". Early years Wing was born in Amelia Court House, Virginia, to Paul Wing and Martha Thraves. Her father, a career reserve Army officer, was an assistant director for Paramount Pictures. He was reactivated for service prior to World War II and was captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March. She had a sister, Pat Wing (real name Gertrude), who also worked as an actress (often in the chorus), as well as a younger brother. Her great-uncle was English playwright Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. Career Wing began working on-screen at age 9, having a few bit parts in silent movies through her father's job. In 1931, she became one of the first Goldwyn Girls, and she started her film career in ''Palmy Days'' (1932). In 1932, she was seen in Mack Sennett-produced comedi ...
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Marie Wilson (American Actress)
Marie Wilson (born Katherine Elizabeth Wilson; August 19, 1916 – November 23, 1972) was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in ''My Friend Irma''. Early life Wilson was born in Anaheim, California, on August 19, 1916. Her nickname at Anaheim High School was "Maybelle". Wilson graduated from high school in 1933. Career Radio Although Wilson was afraid of the microphone used in radio, she played scatterbrained Irma Peterson in the radio comedy ''My Friend Irma'' from April 11, 1947, to August 23, 1954. Film Wilson began her career in Hollywood in the 1934 film ''Down to Their Last Yacht'' as a ship passenger, and then appeared in '' Babes in Toyland'' as Mary Quite Contrary. Wilson appeared in ''Ladies Crave Excitement'' (1935), ''The Girl Friend'' (1935), '' Stars Over Broadway'' (1935), ''Miss Pacific Fleet'' (1935), '' The Big Noise'' (1936), ''Melody for Two ''Melody for Two'' is a 1937 American musical fi ...
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So This Is New York
''So This Is New York'' is a 1948 satirical movie comedy starring acerbic radio and television comedian Henry Morgan and directed by Richard Fleischer. The cynically sophisticated screenplay was written by Carl Foreman and Herbert Baker from the 1920 novel ''The Big Town'' by Ring Lardner. Foreman was blacklisted soon after. It remains the only film in which humorist Henry Morgan plays the leading role, and the material was tailored to showcase the cynical persona Morgan had developed for his radio show. The film was the second feature directed by Richard Fleischer (son of Max Fleischer), who had previously directed short subjects for United Artists. Fleischer went on to direct ''Follow Me Quietly'' (1948), ''Armored Car Robbery'' (1950), and ''The Narrow Margin'' (1954). It was also the first film produced by Stanley Kramer. Plot At the end of World War I, Ella Finch and her sister Kate inherit $30,000 each. Ella then announces her dissatisfaction with life in South Bend, Ind ...
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