The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre
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The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre
''The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre'' is a half-hour filmed American comedy series produced by Eddie Cantor and made at Ziv Television Programs, Inc. for first-run syndication. Cantor hosted and performed on each show. Thirty-nine episodes were produced and aired in 1955 before Cantor decided the show was too much for him to continue doing. Premise During November 1954, Cantor explained his idea for television success to columnist Erskine Johnson: "The size of TV screens demands intimacy, close-ups, and not more than half a dozen people on stage at the same time". This was an unusual mixed genre show, combining elements of comedy, variety and anthology. Each episode might have one or multiple guest stars, who would interact with Cantor before and after any sketches. (There were also supporting actors and extras). Some episodes had a single long sketch with an intermission, others had two or three short sketches, while a few dispensed with sketches for musical variety. The sketch ...
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Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, this "Apostle of Pep" was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife Ida and five daughters. Some of his hits include "Makin' Whoopee", "Ida (Sweet as Apple Cider)", " If You Knew Susie", "Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me", “ Mandy”, " My Baby Just Cares for Me”, "Margie", and " How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" He also wrote a few songs, including " Merrily We Roll Along", the ''Merrie Melodies'' Warner Bros. cartoon theme. His eye-rolling song-and-dance routines eventually led to his nickname "Banjo Eyes". In 1933, artist Frederick J. Garner caricatured Cantor with large round eyes resembling the drum-l ...
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Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Virginia Scott (born Emma Matzo; September 29, 1921 – January 31, 2015) was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir during the 1940s and 1950s". After understudying the role of Sabina in the original Broadway and Boston stage productions of ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', she emerged in such films as ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946), ''Dead Reckoning'' (1947), ''Desert Fury'' (1947), and ''Too Late for Tears'' (1949). Of her 22 films, she was the leading lady in all but one. In addition to stage and radio, she appeared on television from the late 1940s to early 1970s. Early life Emma Matzo (Ema Macová in Slovak) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania,Carole Langer (Soapbox & Praeses Productions, 1996; accessed May 23, 2014), ''Lizabeth Scott 1996 Interview Part 1 of 8'' the oldest of six children born to Mary PenyakJanice H. McElroy (Pennsylvania Division, ...
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Fay Baker
Fay Baker (born Fay Schwager; January 31, 1917 – December 8, 1987) was an American stage, film and television actress and writer. Using the pen name Beth Holmes, she wrote the novel, ''The Whipping Boy''. She also published, under her own name, ''My Darling, Darling Doctors''. Early years Baker's father was a surgeon, and her mother was a pharmacist. She attended Smith College. Career Roles on radio soap operas provided Baker's early professional acting experience. Her Broadway career began in 1938 with a role in ''Danton's Death''. Her final Broadway role was in ''Wonderful Journey'' (1946). She changed her name to Baker (from her mother's family) in 1944 in ''Another Love Story'' at New York's Fulton Theatre. She was "discovered" by Alfred Hitchcock in 1946 and given the role of Ethel in '' Notorious''. While the part was minor, she told her daughter that Hitchcock made her stay on the set for the entire film shoot. The director felt that she should be standing by at all ti ...
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Selmer Jackson
Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa and died in Burbank, California from a heart attack. Jackson gained early acting experience in stock theater, working with groups such as the Des Moines Stock Company. Jackson's screen debut was in the silent film ''The Supreme Passion'' (1921). On March 30, 1971, Jackson died of a heart attack in Burbank, California. He was 82. Filmography * ''The Supreme Passion'' (1921) – Clara's Beau * ''Thru Different Eyes'' (1929) – King (defense attorney) * ''Why Bring That Up?'' (1929) – Eddie * ''Lovin' the Ladies'' (1930) – George Van Horne * ''Brothers'' (1930) – Assistant Defense Attorney (uncredited) * '' Madonna of the Streets'' (1930) – Kingsley's Partner (uncredited) * ''Dirigible'' (1931) – Lt. Rowland (uncredited) * ''Subw ...
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Bill Goodwin
William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Springs Cemetery District, "Interments of Interest"
pscemetery.com; accessed June 20, 2017.
was for many years the announcer and a recurring character of the program, and subsequently '''' on

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Marjorie Reynolds
Marjorie Reynolds (née Goodspeed; August 12, 1917 – February 1, 1997) was an American film/television actress and dancer, who appeared in more than 50 films, including the 1942 musical ''Holiday Inn'', in which she and Bing Crosby introduced the song " White Christmas" in a duet, albeit with her singing dubbed. Early life The daughter of a doctor and his wife, Reynolds was born Marjorie Goodspeed in Buhl, Idaho. She acted under the names Marjorie Goodspeed and Marjorie Moore. When she was three years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She began to take dancing lessons at age 4. She attended Los Angeles High School. Career Beginning at age 6, Reynolds was a featured child actress in such silent films as ''Scaramouche'' (1923). At age 8 she stopped acting to concentrate on education until leaving school at 16 to play a ballerina in Herbert Brenon's ''Wine, Women and Song'' (1933). She went on to appear in bit parts in many films, including ''Gone with the ...
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Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Windsor's height (5'9") created problems for her in scenes with all but the tallest actors. She was the female lead in so many B movies that she became dubbed the "Queen" of the genre. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lane Bertelsen, Windsor was born in 1919 in Marysvale, Utah. She was graduated from Marysvale High School in 1934, doing a "musical reading" as part of the graduation exercises. She attended Brigham Young University, where she participated in dramatic productions. She was described in a 1939 newspaper article as "an accomplished athlete ... expert as a dancer, swimmer, horsewoman, and plays golf, tennis and skis." In 1939, Windsor was chosen from a group of 81 contestants to be queen of Covered Wagon Days in Salt Lak ...
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Allyn Joslyn
Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining engineer. On stage from age 17, Joslyn scored as a leading man in such Broadway productions as '' Boy Meets Girl'' (1936) and '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1941), appearing in the latter as beleaguered theatrical critic Mortimer Brewster. Apart from a single appearance in a 1930 Vitaphone movie short, Joslyn confined his work to the stage until moving to Hollywood in 1937. Hollywood didn't see Joslyn as a leading-man type. Thus, he spent most of his film career playing comic character roles: obnoxious reporters, weaklings, and formless "other men" who never got the girl, while stars such as James Cagney and Cary Grant took the roles he originated on Broadway. Among his more notable film appearances were as the tough pilot in ''Only Angels Have ...
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Cathy Downs
Catherine N. Downs (March 3, 1926 – December 8, 1976) was an American film actress. Biography Downs was born in Port Jefferson, New York. She was the daughter of James Nelson Downs and Edna Elizabeth Newman. A model for the Walter Thornton Agency, she was brought to Hollywood in 1944 by a 20th Century Fox talent scout. The studio initially used her as a model, giving her limited opportunities to act. She began her film career with small roles in ''State Fair'' (1945) and '' The Dolly Sisters'' (1945). In 1946, she played the title role in ''My Darling Clementine'' and Clifton Webb's unfaithful wife in ''The Dark Corner''. Following the success of ''My Darling Clementine'', Downs was cast in a prison drama ''For You I Die'' (1947), an Abbott and Costello comedy ''The Noose Hangs High'', and several Western films. In 1947, Downs was dropped by Fox for unknown reasons, and was never employed by another major studio. In 1949, she participated in a later famous ''Life'' magazine ...
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Charles Coburn
Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), ''The More the Merrier'' (1943), and ''The Green Years'' (1946) – winning for his performance in ''The More the Merrier''. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 for his contribution to the film industry. Biography Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman (May 11, 1838 Springfield, Ohio – November 12, 1896 Savannah, Georgia) and Moses Douville Coburn (April 27, 1834 Savannah – December 27, 1902 Savannah). Growing up in Savannah, he started out at age 14 doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs, ushering, or being the doorman. By age 17 or 18, he was the theater manager. He later became an actor, making his debut on Broadway in 1901. Coburn formed ...
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Allen Jenkins
Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. In 1959, Jenkins played the role of elevator operator Harry in the comedy ''Pillow Talk''. He was a member of Hollywood's so-called "Irish Mafia", a group of Irish-American actors and friends which included Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh. Jenkins later voiced the character of Officer Charlie Dibble on the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon, ''Top Cat'' (1961–62). He was a regular on the television sitcom ''Hey, Jeannie!'' (1956–57), starring Jeannie Carson and often portrayed Muggsy on the 1950s-1970s Columbia Broadcasting Company, CBS series ''The Red Skelton Show''. He was also a guest star on many other television programs, such as ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', ''Mr. & Mrs. North'', ''I Love Lucy'', ''Playhous ...
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Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971); afterwards he starred as the title character in the television detective drama ''Barnaby Jones'' (1973–1980). Originally a dancer, Ebsen began his film career in '' Broadway Melody of 1936.'' He also appeared as a dancer with child star Shirley Temple in '' Captain January'' (1936). Ebsen was also chosen to appear in '' The Wizard of Oz'', originally as the Scarecrow, and before filming began, his role was changed to the Tin Man. He fell seriously ill during filming due to the aluminum dust in his makeup and was forced to drop out. He appeared with Maureen O'Hara in ''They Met in Argentina'' (1941) and June Havoc in ''Sing Your Worries Away'' (1942). In '' Breakfast at Tiffa ...
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