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Startime (1959 TV Series)
''Startime'' is an anthology show of drama, comedy, and variety, and was one of the first American television shows broadcast in color. The program was aired Tuesday nights in the United States on the NBC Television network in the 1959–1960 television season. Summary The show was known as either Ford Startime—TV's Finest Hour or Lincoln–Mercury Startime, depending on which division of the Ford Motor Company was presenting commercials within that show. The contents varied from week to week — dramas, musical comedies, and variety shows were all presented.Tim Brooks and Earl March, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present'' (Random House, 2007) p. 976 The show was always broadcast on Tuesday nights. Initially, from the premiere through the end of 1959, the show was broadcast 9:30–10:30 PM (EST) - but, starting on January 5, 1960, the show was broadcast 8:30–9:30 PM (EST). Furthermore, some of the shows f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Time (TV Series)
''Star Time'' is an American variety series which aired on the DuMont Television Network from September 5, 1950, to February 27, 1951, and starred singer-actress Frances Langford. It was broadcast from 10 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays. Broadcast history The hour-long comedy-variety show spotlighted several regulars and guest performers. One feature of each telecast was a lengthy skit, written and directed by Philip Rapp, with Langford and Lew Parker performing as The Bickersons, a quarrelsome married couple that migrated from radio as a distinctively-unhappy sitcom man and wife. With Langford as a first-class singer, music was an integral component of the series. The premier telecast spotlighted The Harmonicats, a trio of versatile harmonica players who had achieved great prominence in the 1940s. But the program soon settled on a regular slot called Club Goodman in which the Benny Goodman Sextet—with Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Terry Gibbs, among others—played jazz arrangeme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirk Browning
Kirk Browning (March 28, 1921 – February 10, 2008) was an American television director and producer who had hundreds of productions to his credit, including 185 broadcasts of ''Live from Lincoln Center''. Born in New York City, Browning dropped out of Cornell University after attending for only one month and moved to Waco, Texas, where he was hired as a newspaper reporter. Because of a childhood injury, he was rejected by the United States Army when he tried to enlist during World War II, so he worked as an ambulance driver in England and France. In the late 1940s, he was a chicken farmer operating an egg route in Ridgefield, Connecticut when one of his customers offered him a job in the music library at NBC. The clerical position led to his directing live televised performances by the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Soon after he was made a stage manager of the network's newly formed opera company, and he later became its Director. Among Browning's many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer." Jolson was known for his "shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach" towards performing, as well as for popularizing many of the songs he sang. Jolson has been referred to by modern critics as "the king of blackface performers." Although best remembered today as the star of the first talking picture, ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927), he starred in a series of successful musical films during the 1930s. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he was the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II. After a period of inactivity, his stardom returned with ''The Jolson Story'' (1946), in which Larry Parks played Jolson, with the singer dubbing for Parks. The formula was repeat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". Starting in 1946, he teamed with singer Dean Martin to form the famous Martin and Lewis, then in 1956, went on as a solo act on stage, top-grossing movie star, a staple on television and filmmaker. He starred in 60 films, directed 13 movies and was an early and prominent user of video assist, which allows real-time review of how a scene looks on camera. During his years as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy research and hosted ''The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, The Jerry Lewis Telethon'', which raised $2.6 billion. Early life Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jazz Singer (1959 Film)
"The Jazz Singer" is a videotaped adaptation, starring Jerry Lewis, of Samson Raphaelson's play of the same title. It was broadcast on October 13, 1959, as the second episode of the American television anthology series ''Ford Startime'' on NBC. Plot Cantor Rabinowitz (Eduard Franz) is upset that his son Joey (Jerry Lewis) has left home to pursue a career as a singer/comedian after showing no interest in carrying on the family's tradition of being Cantors in the synagogue. After five generations of doing so, it appears that Joey is more interested in making jokes and singing jazz music. After a few years on his own, Joey, who now calls himself Joey Robbins, gets an opportunity to perform on the television show with Ginny Gibbons (Anna Maria Alberghetti). Unfortunately, his father falls ill during his rehearsal performance, and he runs to his side, putting show business aside for his family obligations. Cast *Jerry Lewis as Joey Robin/Rabinowitz *Anna Maria Alberghetti as Ginny ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kate Smith
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". In more recent times, she has also been associated with controversial songs containing racially insensitive themes and undertones. She had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s. She became known as The Songbird of the South because of her tremendous popularity during World War II. Early life She was born on May 1, 1907, in Greenville, Virginia, to Charlotte 'Lottie' Yarnell (''née'' Hanby) and William Herman Smith, growing up in Washington, D.C. Her father owned the Capitol News Company, distributing newspapers and magazines in the greater D.C. area. She was the youngest of three daughters, the middle child dying in infancy. She failed to talk until she was four years old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosalind Russell
Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary ''Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy ''His Girl Friday'' (1940), opposite Cary Grant, as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in ''Auntie Mame'' (1958) and Rose in ''Gypsy'' (1962). A noted comedienne, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1953 for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show ''Wonderful Town'' (a musical based on the film ''My Sister Eileen'', in which she also starred). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times during her career before being awarded a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973. In addition to her comedic roles, Russell was known for playing dramatic characters, often wealthy, dignified, and stylish women. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar reported wryly, "His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar." Early life and education Paar was born in 1918 in Canton, Ohio, the son of Lillian M. (Hein) and Howard Paar. He moved with his family to Jackson, Michigan, about south of Lansing, as a child. As a child, he developed a stutter, which he learned to manage. He contracted tuberculosis when he was 14 and left school at 16. Career Early career He first worked near home as a radio announcer at WIBM in Jackson, Michigan. As a radio announcer he was known to stop by the newspaper stand in front of the Jackson Citizen Patriot and pick up a freshly published copy of that local newspaper before going on to work where he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur O'Connell
Arthur Joseph O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage, film and television actor, who achieved prominence in character roles in the 1950s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both ''Picnic'' (1955) and ''Anatomy of a Murder'' (1959). Early life Arthur O'Connell was born to Julia (née Byrne) & Michael O'Connell on March 29, 1908, in Manhattan, New York. His father died when O'Connell was two; he lost his mother when he was 12. He was the youngest of four children. His siblings were William, Kathleen, and Juliette. William, the eldest, became a justice of the New York State Supreme Court and died in 1972. After his father's death, Arthur was sent to live in Flushing, New York with his mother's sister, Mrs. Charles Koetzner, while his sisters moved in with other relatives and William remained with his mother. Arthur attended St John's College for two years. His early jobs included working in the engineering department ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his death. Kovacs has been credited as an influence by many individuals and shows, including Johnny Carson, ''Laugh-In, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', Jim Henson, ''Max Headroom (character), Max Headroom'', Chevy Chase, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, ''Captain Kangaroo'', ''Sesame Street'', ''The Electric Company'', ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', ''The Muppet Show'', Dave Garroway, Andy Kaufman, ''You Can't Do That on Television'', ''Mystery Science Theater 3000, MST3K'', Uncle Floyd, among others. Chase even thanked Kovacs during his acceptance speech for his Emmy award for ''Saturday Night Live''. While Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams received Emmy nominations for best performances in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Foy Jr
Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1996 film about basketball starring Whoopi Goldberg ** ''Eddie'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * ''Eddy'' (film), a 2015 Italian film * "Eddie" (Louie), a 2011 episode of the show ''Louie'' *Eddie (shipboard computer), in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' *Eddy (Ed, Edd n Eddy), a character on ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' *Eddie (mascot), the mascot for the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden *Eddie, an American Cinema Editors award for best editing *Eddie (book series), a book series by Viveca Lärn *Half of the musical duo Flo & Eddie *"Eddie", a song from the ''Rocky Horror Picture Show'' * "Eddie" (song), a 2022 song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers Places United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and for his films, including ''The Love Parade'', ''The Big Pond'', ''The Smiling Lieutenant'', '' One Hour with You'' and ''Love Me Tonight''. His trademark attire was a boater hat and tuxedo. Chevalier was born in Paris. He made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age before working in menial jobs as a teenager. In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Fréhel. Although their relationship was brief, she secured him his first major engagement, as a mimic and a singer in ''l'Alcazar'' in Marseille, for which he received critical acclaim by French theatre critics. In 1917, he discovered jazz and ragtime and went to London, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
