The Backbone Of America
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The Backbone Of America
''The Backbone of America'' is a 1953 American TV movie written by Robert E. Sherwood and directed by Marc Daniels. Plot An account executive tries to find the perfect American family to use in a forthcoming advertising campaign. Cast * Wendell Corey as Ben Bruce *Yvonne De Carlo as Victoria Johnson * Gene Lockhart as Uncle Cedric * Thomas Mitchell as Fred Tupple *Sammy Ogg Ernest Samuel 'Sammy' Ogg (1906–1969) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership for University, whom he also captained. Background Ogg was born at C ... as Wallie * Lee Patrick as Ethel * Gloria Talbott as Janet * Regis Toomey as Bill Carmody Production It was the first play Sherwood wrote for television. He did it under a contract with NBC to write nine original plays over three years. The production was recorded in Hollywood. The cast had two weeks of rehearsals. De Carlo said she was "panicked" to do the sh ...
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Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas John Mitchell (July 11, 1892 – December 17, 1962) was an American actor and writer. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara in ''Gone with the Wind'', Doc Boone in ''Stagecoach'', Uncle Billy in ''It's a Wonderful Life'', Pat Garrett in ''The Outlaw'', and Mayor Jonas Henderson in '' High Noon''. Mitchell was the first male actor to gain the Triple Crown of Acting by winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award. Mitchell was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the films, '' The Hurricane'' (1937), and ''Stagecoach'' (1939), winning for the latter. He was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1952 and 1953, for his role in the medical drama '' The Doctor'', and won in 1953. While he was nominated again in 1955, for an appearance on a weekly anthology series, he did not win. Mitchell won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, in 1953, for his role ...
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Robert E
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be use ...
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Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey (October 24, 1879 – October 23, 1951) and Julia Etta McKenney (April 11, 1882 – June 16, 1947). His father was a Congregationalist clergyman and an actor who appeared in '' Rawhide'' as Dr Tucker. Wendell was educated in Springfield, Massachusetts. His ancestors included U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Before becoming an actor, Corey was a washing-machine salesman in a department store. Stage Corey "began acting in 1938 with the depression-spawned Federal Theatre Project". Most of these had short runs. Corey had his first hit as a cynical newspaperman in Elmer Rice's comedy '' Dream Girl'' (1945). While appearing in the play, Corey was seen by produ ...
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Yvonne De Carlo
Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, De Carlo was enrolled by her mother in a local dance school when she was three. By the early 1940s, she and her mother had moved to Los Angeles, where De Carlo participated in beauty contests and worked as a dancer in nightclubs. She began working in motion pictures in 1941, in short subjects. She sang "The Lamp of Memory" in a three-minute Soundies musical and in 1942 signed a three-year contract with Paramount Pictures, where she was given uncredited bit parts in important films. Her first lead was for independent producer E. B. Derr in the James Fenimore Cooper adventure '' Deerslayer'' in 1943. She obtained her breakthrough role in '' Salome, Where She Danced'' (19 ...
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Marc Daniels
Marc Daniels (January 27, 1912 – April 23, 1989), born Danny Marcus, was an American television director. He directed on programs such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, and more. Life and career Daniels was a graduate of the University of Michigan. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II and until 1946, Daniels was hired by CBS to direct its first dramatic anthology program, ''Ford Theater'', mastering live television direction. He was hired to direct the first 38 episodes of ''I Love Lucy'', an early filmed series. Daniels recommended Vivian Vance for the role of Ethel Mertz. Daniels, along with cinematographer Karl Freund, has been credited with introducing the three-camera technique of filming as opposed to the conventional one-camera. In a 1977 interview, Daniels noted that he left ''I Love Lucy'' to take another job that paid more. "Maybe it was a stupid thing to do," he said. "But then we didn't know we were creatin ...
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Yvonne De Carlo
Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, De Carlo was enrolled by her mother in a local dance school when she was three. By the early 1940s, she and her mother had moved to Los Angeles, where De Carlo participated in beauty contests and worked as a dancer in nightclubs. She began working in motion pictures in 1941, in short subjects. She sang "The Lamp of Memory" in a three-minute Soundies musical and in 1942 signed a three-year contract with Paramount Pictures, where she was given uncredited bit parts in important films. Her first lead was for independent producer E. B. Derr in the James Fenimore Cooper adventure '' Deerslayer'' in 1943. She obtained her breakthrough role in '' Salome, Where She Danced'' (19 ...
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Gene Lockhart
Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.
was a Canadian-American , playwright, singer and lyricist. He became an American citizen in 1939.


Early life

Born in , he made his professional debut at the age of six when he appeared with the Kilties Band of Canada. He later appeared in sketches with Beatrice Lillie. Lockhart wa ...
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Sammy Ogg
Ernest Samuel 'Sammy' Ogg (1906–1969) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership for University, whom he also captained. Background Ogg was born at Camperdown, New South Wales on 30 December 1906. Playing career While obtaining his medical degree at the University of Sydney, he joined the University Rugby League team in 1925 and played a total of nine seasons with them between 1925 and 1933. He played second row in the 1926 Grand Final loss to South Sydney. He later went on to captain the team during his later years as a player. He played 118 first grade games, scoring 24 tries and kicking 18 goals during his career. Ogg is the record appearance holder for the University club. He claimed five Wooden Spoon's whilst at University as the club struggled on the field for a number of years. Post playing Ogg became a doctor in Sydney and later the chief Coroner of New South Wales. Dea ...
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Lee Patrick (actress)
Lee Patrick (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982) was an American actress whose career began in 1922 on the New York stage with her role in '' The Bunch and Judy'' which headlined Adele Astaire and featured Adele's brother Fred Astaire. Patrick continued to perform in dozens of roles on the stage for the next decade, frequently in musicals and comedies, but also in dramatic parts like her 1931 performance as Meg in ''Little Women''. She began to branch out into films in 1929. For half a century she created a credible body of cinematic work, her most memorable being as Sam Spade's assistant Effie in '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941), and her reprise of the role in the George Segal comedy sequel ''The Black Bird'' (1975). Her talents were showcased in comedies such as the Jack Benny film ''George Washington Slept Here'' (1942) and as one of the foils of Rosalind Russell in ''Auntie Mame'' (1958). Dramatic parts such as an asylum inmate in ''The Snake Pit'' (1948) and as Pamela Ti ...
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Gloria Talbott
Gloria Talbott (February 7, 1931 – September 19, 2000) was an American film and television actress. Early life and career Gloria Maude Talbott was born in Glendale, California. Her great-grandfather Benjamin F. Patterson arrived from Ohio in 1882 and bought some acreage in the area. He later assisted with the platting of the city. She began her career as a child actress in such films as '' Maytime'' (1937), ''Sweet and Low-down'' (1944), and '' A Tree Grows In Brooklyn'' (1945). She attended Glendale High School. In 1947, she was chosen as the winner of the "Miss Glendale" beauty pageant. In November 1948, Talbott was in the cast of ''One Fine Day'', a comedy presented on stage at the Biltmore Theater in Los Angeles. Her sister, Lori Talbott (1925-2006), also became an actress. After leaving school, Talbott formed a dramatic group and played "arena"-style shows at various clubs. She stopped acting following her first marriage, and resumed after her divorce, working e ...
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Regis Toomey
John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High School. He initially pondered a law career, but acting won out and he established himself as a musical stage performer. Career Educated in dramatics at the University of Pittsburgh, where he became a brother of Sigma Chi, Toomey began as a stock actor and eventually made it to Broadway. Toomey was a singer on stage until throat problems (acute laryngitis) while touring in Europe stopped that aspect of his career. In 1929, he appeared in his first films, starting out as a leading man, but finding more success as a character actor, ''sans'' his toupee. In 1941, Toomey appeared in ''You're in the Army Now'', in which Jane Wyman and he had the longest screen kiss in cinema history: 3 minutes and 5 seconds. In 1956, Toomey was cast as the Re ...
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1953 Television Films
Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. ** The Central Intelligence Agency, CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel first meets to discuss the Unidentified flying object, UFO phenomenon. * January 15 – Georg Dertinger, foreign minister of East Germany, is arrested for spying. * January 19 – 71.1% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into ''I Love Lucy'', to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky, which is more people than those who tune into Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration the next day. This record has yet to be broken. * January 20 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, sworn in as the 34th President of the United States. * January 24 ** Mau Mau Upr ...
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