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The Frank Sinatra Show (1950 TV Series)
''The Frank Sinatra Show'' (also known as ''Bulova Watch Time'') is an American musical variety series hosted by Frank Sinatra from 1950 to 1952. The series aired on CBS on Saturdays the first season and on Tuesdays for the second year. As with many variety shows of the time, the show was broadcast live and was recorded via kinescope. Some episodes were 30 minutes long while others lasted for 60 minutes. At least one episode aired in a 45-minute time-slot. Overview Hosted by Frank Sinatra, the series was sponsored by Bulova Watches. Sinatra would perform songs and sketches with his guests. The series is reportedly in the public domain. In his book ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (2004), David Weinstein claims that the surprise popularity of the DuMont Television Network series ''Life Is Worth Living'' in 1952 was the final blow that led to the cancellation of ''The Frank Sinatra Show''. He notes that controversy surrounding Sinatra's affair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a Master of Ceremonies, compère (master of ceremonies) or Television presenter, host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s. While still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the ''Royal Variety Performance'', and South Korea with ''Running Man (South Korean TV series), Running Man'', the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toni Arden
Antoinette Ardizzone (February 15, 1924 – May 29, 2012), known professionally as Toni Arden, was an American traditional pop music singer. Family Arden was born in New York City. Her father, Phillip Ardizzone, was a singer with the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala. Her brother, Jan Arden, was also a singer. The siblings teamed up for night club performances in the late 1950s. Career Early years Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields. Recording She started recording as a soloist in 1946 for the minor National Records company. After her appearance on the early television talent series ''Doorway to Fame'', Arden signed her first solo recording contract with a major record label, Columbia Records, in 1949 (Arden was arguably the only performer out of 20,000 over ''Doorway to Fame's'' two-year run on air to become relatively famous); at Columbia, she had several hits including "I Can Dream, Can't I?" (which reac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Carroll
Jean Carroll (born Celine Zeigman, January 7, 1911 – January 1, 2010) was an American actress and comedian during the 1950s and 1960s. Carroll was born as Celine Zeigman on January 7, 1911, in Paris, France. She began her career as part of the comedy dance team Carroll and Howe, with her husband, vaudevillian Buddy Howe, who later became her manager. She appeared on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' more than 20 times and had her own short-lived sitcom ''The Jean Carroll Show'' (also known as ''Take It from Me''), which aired for one season (1953–1954). In November 2006, she was honored with an evening at the Friar's Club in New York City. The emcee was Joy Behar, and the main speaker was Lily Tomlin. In 2007, Carroll was featured in the Off-Broadway production ''The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy,'' which includes live standup routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s, Belle Barth, Pear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Bushkin
Joe Bushkin (November 7, 1916 – November 3, 2004) was an American jazz pianist. Life and career Born in New York City, Bushkin began his career by playing trumpet and piano with New York City dance bands, including Frank LaMare's Band at the Roseland Ballroom in Brooklyn. He joined Bunny Berigan's band in 1935, played with Eddie Condon from 1936 to 1937, and with Max Kaminsky and Joe Marsala, before rejoining Berigan in 1938.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007). ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Oxford University Press.''Down Beat's 88 Keys to Fame''. He then left to join Muggsy Spanier's Ragtime Band in 1939. From the late 1930s through to the late 1940s, he also worked with Tommy Dorsey and Eddie Condon on records, radio and television. He worked on the soundtrack of ''Road to Morocco'' (1942), starring Bing Crosby, and several commercial sessions. Wartime United States army air corp turned him back into a trumpeter; he also recorded with Lester Young on pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Boyd
Jimmy Devon Boyd (January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor known for his 1952 recording of the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". Early years Jimmy Boyd was born in 1939 Mississippi into a musical family, father Leslie Boyd and mother Winnie Boyd. His father, in turn, was from a family of 21 children of musician Bill Boyd. The family relocated to the San Fernando Valley of Southern California when Jimmy was a pre-schooler. Jimmy briefly sang with "Texas Jim Lewis and his Lonestar Cowboys". At an early age, he won a local talent show that led to television appearances, including ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', as well as '' The Frank Sinatra Show'' on CBS-TV. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Boyd recorded the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for Columbia Records in 1952, when he was 13 years old. It became a hit, selling over two and a half million records in its first week's release and Boyd's name became known internationally. Boyd w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Borge
Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark", "The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane". Biography Early life and career Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum on 3 January 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke (née Lichtinger) Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his father a violist in the Royal Danish Orchestra, and his mother a pianist. Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old, and in 1918 was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, studying under Olivo Krause. Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Blue
Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; September 12, 1901 – March 7, 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years. Early life He was born Benjamin Bernstein in Montreal, Quebec on September 12, 1901 to David Asher Bernstein and Sadie Goldberg. He was Jewish. Blue emigrated to Baltimore, Maryland at the age of nine, where he won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. Career At the age of fifteen he was in a touring company and later became a stage manager and assistant general manager. He became a dance instructor and nightclub proprietor. In the 1920s Blue joined a popular orchestra, Jack White and His Montrealers. The entire band emphasized comedy and would continually interact with the joke-cracking maestro. Blue, the drummer, would sometimes deliver corny jokes while wearing a ridiculously false beard. The band emigrated to the United States and appeared in two early sound musicals — the Vitaph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Blore
Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appeared in variety. In the 1930s Blore acted mostly in Broadway productions. He made his last London appearance in 1933 in the Fred Astaire hit ''Gay Divorce''. Between 1930 and 1955 he made more than 60 Hollywood films, becoming particularly well known for playing butlers and other superior domestic servants. He retired in 1956 for health reasons, and died in Hollywood in 1959 at the age of 71. Life and career Early years Blore was born in Finchley, a north-London suburb on 23 December 1887, son of Henry Blore and his wife Mary, ''née'' Newton.Parker, p. 77 He was educated at Mills School, Finchley, and after leaving school he worked for an insurance company."Mr Eric Blore", ''The Times'', London, 3 March 1959, p. 12 He was drawn to a thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, establishing herself as a Pre-Code staple of Warner Bros. Pictures in wisecracking, sexy roles, appearing in more than 100 films and television productions. She was most active in film during the 1930s and early 1940s, and during that time co-starred with Glenda Farrell, a colleague and close friend, in nine films. Blondell continued acting on film and television for the rest of her life, often in small, supporting roles. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' The Blue Veil'' (1951). Near the end of her life, Blondell was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' Opening Night'' (1977). She was featured in two more films, the bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mari Blanchard
Mari Blanchard (born Mary E. Blanchard, April 13, 1923 – May 10, 1970) was an American film and television actress, known foremost for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American productions of the 1950s and early 1960s. Early life and career Although some reference sources cite Mari Blanchard's birth year as 1927 or 1932, she was actually born on April 13, 1923, in Long Beach, California.Walker, Brian J. (2017)."Mari Blanchard (1923–1970)" Brian's Drive-In Theater, biographical profile of Blanchard and numerous stills from her various films; updated March 14, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017. A polio survivor at age nine, Blanchard's health eventually improved enough that she ran away from home and joined a circus in her teens. She then attended the University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara State College. In the late 1940s, Blanchard became a successful print model and film extra; however, after a producer saw her in an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry J
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone, American country singer * Larry Collins, American musician, member of the rockabilly sibling duo The Collins Kids *Larry David (born 1947), Emmy-winning American actor, writer, comedian, producer and film director *Larry Emdur, Australian TV host *Larry Feign, American cartoonist working in Hong Kong *Larry Fine, of the Three Stooges * Larry Gates, American actor *Larry Gatlin, American country singer *Larry Gelbart (1928–2009), American screenwriter, playwright, director and author *Larry Graham, founder of American funk band Graham Central Station *Larry Hagman, American actor, best known for the TV series ''I Dream of Jeannie'' and ''Dallas'' *Larry Henley (1937–2014), American singer and songwriter, member of The Newbeats *Larry H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's ''Texaco Star Theatre'' (1948–1953), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV. Early life Milton Berle was born into a Jewish family in a five-story walkup at 68 W. 118th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. His given name was Mendel Berlinger, but he chose Milton Berle as his professional name when he was 16. His father, Moses Berlinger (1872–1938), was a paint and varnish salesman. His mother, Sarah (Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877–1954), changed her name to Sandra Berle when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
