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Samuel J. Briskin
Samuel J. Briskin (February 8, 1896 – November 14, 1968) was one of the foremost producers of Hollywood's Golden Age, and head of production during his career at three of the " Big 8" major film studios: Columbia Pictures (twice), Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures. In the late 1950s, he was briefly on the board of directors of another major, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. During World War II, Briskin served in the army's Signal Corps as a film producer, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war he co-founded Liberty Films with Frank Capra. They were later joined by William Wyler and George Stevens. The studio only produced two films, but both are now considered classics: ''It's a Wonderful Life'' and '' State of the Union''. All three of his brothers were also film producers, as well as one of his sons, and his sister was married to the eventual Chairman of Columbia, where Briskin spent the last decade of his life as a vice-president and head of production until his de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers and lies above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2006 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, 2013 World Women's Curling Championship and the 2021 IIHF World Championship. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named the European Region of Gastronomy. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lowell Sherman
Lowell J. Sherman (October 11, 1888 – December 28, 1934) was an American actor and film director. In an unusual practice for the time, he served as both actor and director on several films in the early 1930s. He later turned exclusively to directing. Having scored huge successes directing the films ''She Done Him Wrong'' (starring Mae West) and ''Morning Glory (1933 film), Morning Glory'' (which won Katharine Hepburn her first Academy Award), he was at the height of his career when he died after a brief illness. Early life and career Born in San Francisco in 1888 to John Sherman and Julia Louise Gray, who were both connected with the theater; John as a theatrical management agent and Julia as a stage actress. His maternal grandmother had been an actress, starring with the actor Edwin Booth (brother of actor-assassin John Wilkes Booth). Sherman began his career as a child actor appearing in many touring companies. As an adolescent he appeared on Broadway in plays such as '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis B
Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (other) * Louie (other) * Luis (other) * Louise (other) * Louisville (other) * Louis Cruise Lines * Louis dressing, for salad * Louis Quinze, design style Associated names * * Chlodwig, the origin of the name Ludwig, which is translated to English as "Louis" * Ladislav and László - names sometimes erroneously associated with "Louis" * Ludovic, Ludwig, Ludwick Ludwick is a surname of German origin, and may refer to: * Andrew K. Ludwick (born 1946), American businessman *Christopher Ludwick (1720–1801), American baker * Eric Ludwick (born 1971), American baseball player * Robert Ludwick-Forster (born 19 ..., Ludwik, names sometimes translated to English as "Louis" {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy's corporate management and general policies are overseen by a board of governors, which includes representatives from each of the craft branches. As of April 2020, the organization was estimated to consist of around 9,921 motion picture professionals. The Academy is an international organization and membership is open to qualified filmmakers around the world. The Academy is known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, now officially and popularly known as "The Oscars". In addition, the Academy holds the Governors Awards annually for lifetime achievement in film; presents Scientific and Technical Awards annually; gives Student Academy Awards annually to filmmakers at the undergraduate and graduate level; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirigible (film)
''Dirigible'' is a 1931 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Frank Capra for Columbia Pictures and starring Jack Holt, Ralph Graves and Fay Wray. The picture focuses on the competition between naval fixed-wing and airship pilots to reach the South Pole by air. The female lead is played by Fay Wray. The action scenes feature the stars Jack Holt and Ralph Graves, who also played fliers two years earlier in Capra's 1929 airborne adventure ''Flight''. This film had been intended to emulate the success of ''Wings'' (1927), another production with a similar plot. ''Dirigible'' was characterized as "marginally science fictional" by scifilm.org. (Capra later planned to make a fully science fictional movie but was never able to.) Plot When the famed explorer Louis Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) requests the U.S. Navy's assistance in reaching the South Pole, officer Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) convinces Rear Admiral John S. Martin (Emmett Corrigan) to offer his dirigible, the USS ''Pen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Walker (cinematographer)
Joseph Walker, A.S.C. (August 22, 1892 – August 1, 1985) was an American cinematographer who worked on 145 films during a career that spanned 33 years. Life and work Born Joseph Bailey Walker in Denver, Colorado, Walker worked as a wireless telephone engineer, inventor, and photographer of documentaries for the Red Cross during World War I before starting his feature film career in 1919 with the Canadian film '' Back to God's Country'', which was filmed near the Arctic Circle. For the next seven years, he freelanced at various studios, working for noted directors W.S. Van Dyke, Francis Ford, George B. Seitz, and others. He joined Columbia Pictures in 1927 and worked almost exclusively at the studio until he retired in 1952. Walker collaborated with director Frank Capra on 20 films, including ''Ladies of Leisure'' (1930), ''Lady for a Day'' (1933), ''The Bitter Tea of General Yen'' (1933), ''It Happened One Night'' (1934), ''Lost Horizon'' (1937), ''Mr. Deeds Goes to To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 – October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer, lyricist and screenwriter. Early life and early career Born Joseph Swerling in Berdichev, Ukraine, Swerling was one of a number of Jewish refugees from the Tsarist regime. He grew up on New York City's Lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family. He worked as a newspaper and magazine writer in the early 1920s. He wrote the Marx Brothers' "The Cinderella Girls," which was a flop, and also wrote their first movie, the unreleased silent comedy short film ''Humor Risk'' (1921). He scored a major success with the book and lyrics for the musical revue ''The New Yorkers'' (1927) and the play ''The Kibitzer'' (1929), the latter co-written with actor Edward G. Robinson. In Hollywood Swerling was brought to Hollywood by Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn to work on the screenplay for Frank Capra's ''Ladies of Leisure'' (1930), the first of several collaborations with the director. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elmer Blaney Harris
Elmer Blaney Harris (January 11, 1878 – September 6, 1966) was an American author, dramatist, and playwright. Biography Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois as the youngest of eight children. He moved with his family to Oakland, California, after his father's broom factory burned to the ground. After high school, he attended the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in 1901 with a B.S. in writing, and as an actor for the university theater troupe, he had gained a patron, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the mother of William Randolph Hearst. With her financial backing, Harris was able to study in New York City and Europe for the next four years. When he returned to San Francisco, he became a newspaper reporter for the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin'', and lectured at clubs and universities on authors and playwrights, such as George Bernard Shaw and Henrik Ibsen. However, this didn't last long: when the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 destroyed the newspaper's office an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His father, Joseph Cohn, was a tailor from Germany, and his mother, Bella Joseph, was from Pale of Settlement, Russian Empire. He left school early and had a variety of jobs, including chorus boy, fur salesman, pool hustler, shipping clerk, streetcar conductor and song plugger for a sheet music printer. He also appeared in a vaudeville act with Harry Ruby. He entered the film industry when he got a job with Independent Moving Pictures (which had recently merged to become part of Universal Film Manufacturing Company), where his elder brother, Jack Cohn, was already employed. The brothers made their first film there, '' Traffic in Souls''. Cohn became personal secretary to Universal president, Carl Laemmle. In 1919, Cohn joined his brother and fellow IMP employee Joe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ellis (actor, Born 1892)
Robert Ellis Reel (June 27, 1892 – December 29, 1974), known professionally as Robert Ellis, was an American film actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1934. He also wrote for 65 films and directed 61. Biography Ellis was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 27, 1892, and he attended St. Francis Xavier College in New York City. Ellis's wives included actresses May Allison and Vera Reynolds and screenwriter Helen Logan. He and Logan wed in 1962, following Reynolds's death. His relationship with Reynolds drew public attention in 1938 as a lawsuit ended when the two decided to marry. Reynolds had sued Ellis for $180,000 for breach of promise, asserting that after their 1926 marriage in Greenwich, Connecticut, was found to be invalid, he had promised to marry her but failed to follow through. After a month's hearing, their decision to marry ended the litigation. On Broadway, Ellis portrayed Dan Huntley in ''Baxter's Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931), and remains best known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. He is also particularly remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of ''A Christmas Carol'' during his last two decades. He is also known for playing Dr. Leonard Gillespie in MGM's nine Dr. Kildare films, a role he reprised in a further six films focusing solely on Gillespie and in a radio series titled ''The Story of Dr. Kildare''. He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family. Early life Lionel Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, the son of actors Georgiana Drew Barrymore and Maurice Barrymore (born Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe). He was the elder brother of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Periolat
George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to Hollywood in 1911 and starred in over 170 films throughout his career. He was a very versatile actor, often playing multiple roles in a single production, as when he played two leading characters, the count and the crook, in the 1916 production of '' The Counterfeit Earl''. The story of Norma Desmond, though fictitious, is not far removed from the plight of many silent film stars, and the advent of the sound film brought about a swift end to Periolat's career. He made his last appearance in 1932's ''What Price Hollywood?''. On February 20, 1940, he committed suicide by ingesting arsenic in his Hollywood mansion. Outside his acting career, George Periolat was an amateur photographer, and a grandson of Clemens Periolat. Filmography 1910s * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
