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The Murder Man
''The Murder Man'' is a 1935 American crime-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Tim Whelan. The picture was Tracy's first film in what would be a twenty-year career with MGM. Tracy plays an investigative reporter who specializes in murder cases. The film is notable as the feature film debut of James Stewart (who had previously appeared in a Shemp Howard comedy short called ''Art Trouble''). Stewart has sixth billing as a reporter named Shorty. Plot Steve Grey (Spencer Tracy) is a hotshot New York newspaper reporter specializing in murder. When a crooked businessman named Halford is murdered, Steve pins the blame on the dead man's associate, Henry Mander (Harvey Stephens), theorizing that Halford was killed by a rifle from a shooting gallery across the street. Mander is arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Steve visits his father, who is depressed because his business has been ruined. The hard-working, hard-drinki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan (November 2, 1893 – August 12, 1957) was an American film director, writer, producer and actor best remembered for his writing credits on ''Harold Lloyd'' and ''Harry Langdon'' comedies, and his directing of mostly British films (e.g.''The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film), The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940). Whelan died at his home in Beverley Hills. Selected filmography * ''Safety Last!'' (1923) * ''Why Worry?'' (1923) * ''Girl Shy'' (1924) * ''Hot Water (1924 film), Hot Water'' (1924) * ''The Freshman (1925 film), The Freshman'' (1925) * ''Tramp, Tramp, Tramp'' (1926) * ''The Strong Man'' (1926) * ''Exit Smiling'' (1926) * ''My Best Girl (1927 film), My Best Girl'' (1927) * ''Adam's Apple (film), Adam's Apple'' (1928) * ''When Knights Were Bold (1929 film), When Knights Were Bold'' (1929) * ''The Fall Guy (1930 film), The Fall Guy'' (1930) * ''The Crooked Circle (1932 film), The Crooked Circle'' (1932) * ''Girl Crazy (1932 film), Girl Crazy'' (1932) * ''It's a Boy (film), I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shemp Howard
Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is best known as the third Stooge in the Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while it was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges"; and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. During the fourteen years between his times with the Stooges, he had a successful solo career as a film comedian, including series of shorts by himself and with partners. He reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brother Moe Howard, Moe and friend Larry Fine to replace his brother Curly Howard, Curly as the third Stooge after Curly's illness. Early life Howard was born Samuel Horwitz in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, NY on March 17, 1895, and raised in Brooklyn. He was the third- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Bushman
Ralph Everly Bushman (1903 – 1978), was an American actor. He appeared in 55 films between 1920 and 1943. In his early film career, he often was credited as Francis X. Bushman Jr. The son of notable silent film star Francis X. Bushman and Josephine Fladung Duval, he was born in Baltimore, Maryland and died in Los Angeles, California at age 74. He was a maternal uncle of Pat Conway, star of the television series ''Tombstone Territory'' (1957–1960). He and his wife Beatrice were married for 54 years at the time of his death. Selected filmography *''Our Hospitality'' (1923) * ''The Man Life Passed By'' (1923) * '' Never Too Late'' (1925) * '' The Pride of the Force'' (1925) *'' Brown of Harvard'' (1926) *'' Dangerous Traffic'' (1926) * '' Eyes Right!'' (1926) *''Midnight Faces'' (1926) *''The Understanding Heart'' (1927) *''Four Sons'' (1928) *''The Sins of the Children'' (1930) *''They Learned About Women'' (1930) *'' The Girl Said No'' (1930) *'' The Royal Bed'' (1930) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Warwick
Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien, October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction of sound to cinema. As a young man he had studied opera singing in Paris and had a rich, resonant voice. At the age of 50, he developed as a highly regarded, aristocratic character actor and made numerous "talkies". Early life Warwick was born Robert Taylor Bien in 1878 to Louis and Isabel (Taylor) Bien. Some sources say he was born in England; others say Sacramento, California. His father was of French ethnicity. Bien studied music in Paris and trained for two years to be an opera singer, but acting proved to be his greater calling. He met his future wife, Arline Peck in Paris; the American couple married in 1902. After his return to the United States, he started in theatre and then film. Stage Warwick (by then using his stage name) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Henry (actress)
Jessie Louise Henry Weltz (June 14, 1911 – February 17, 1967) was an American film actress who worked in Hollywood during the 1930s. Early years Henry was the daughter of Dr. Jesse Strauss Heiman, a physician, and his wife, a stage actress named Louise Henry Heiman. Her father was a Syracuse N.Y. native and practiced medicine there until he moved the family to New York City in 1916. Between 1914 and 1916, Louise and her family lived at 1027 Genesee Street in Syracuse, N.Y. By the age of 14 in 1926, Louise was engaged in dancing events throughout Europe and under contract for making movies in Berlin. Death On February 17, 1967, Henry died of cancer in New York City, at the age of 55. Some sources erroneously give other accounts of Henry's death. ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011'' says, "Actress Louise Henry ... died in Syracuse, New York, on December 12, 2011." ''The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23'' also gives December 12, 2011, as the date of her death. In con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuzzy Knight
John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy hero's comic sidekick. Biography Knight was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, the third child and son of James A. and Olive Knight. In Fairmont, he worked as a clerk at a hotel and played in a theater orchestra. He attended nearby West Virginia UniversityCorneau, Ernest. ''Hall of Fame of Western Film Stars''. Christopher Publishing, 1969, p. 235 where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, a cheerleader and law student. He wrote a pep song, "Fight Mountaineers," which is still frequently used by the Mountaineer Marching Band 90 years later. He also wrote the melody for a WVU song titled "To Thee Our Alma Mater," with words by fellow graduate David A. Christopher. He formed his own band in college and played drums, eventually leaving sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Chandler
George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the television series '' Lassie'', and as the unfortunate young man who drank '' The Fatal Glass of Beer''. Early years He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on June 30, 1898. During his infancy, his family moved to Hinsdale, Illinois. Early in his career, he had a vaudeville act, billed as "George Chandler, the Musical Nut," which featured comedy and his violin. He made his debut in film in 1929. Career George Chandler had a plain, unassuming face, allowing him to play incidental and background roles in dozens of movies. His outstanding facial feature was a wide, toothy smile. Today's audiences may know him from the Mack Sennett comedy '' The Fatal Glass of Beer'' (1933) starring W. C. Fields. In this absurd satire of antique Yukon melodramas, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucien Littlefield
Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men before he was of voting age. Life and career Lucien Littlefield was born in San Antonio, Texas and attended Staunton Military Academy. He started his movie career in 1913 and worked as an actor until his death in 1960. He usually portrayed comedic supporting characters, often much older than himself. His role of the doctor in '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1927) is one of his more notable performances. The character actor appeared with Laurel and Hardy, first as an eccentric professor in '' Dirty Work'' and finally as a veterinarian in '' Sons of the Desert'', both made in 1933. He also played Mary Pickford's father in '' My Best Girl'' in 1927. Other roles include the western ''Tumbleweeds'' with William S. Hart, the comedy ''Ruggles of Red G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Sheehan (actor)
John Sheehan (October 22, 1885 – February 14, 1952) was an American actor and vaudeville performer. After acting onstage and in vaudeville for several years, Sheehan began making films in 1914, starring in a number of short films. From 1914 to 1916, he appeared in over 60 films, the vast majority of them film shorts. Career He returned exclusively to the stage in 1917, where he remained until the advent of sound films. He returned to the screen with a featured role in the 1930 melodrama, ''Swing High'', starring Helen Twelvetrees. His more notable performances and roles include: the first talking version of the film '' Kismet'' (1930), starring Otis Skinner and Loretta Young; a featured role in 1934's ''Little Miss Marker'', starring Shirley Temple and Adolphe Menjou; Michael Curtiz's ''Kid Galahad'' (1937), starring Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart; the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn romantic comedy ''Woman of the Year'' (1942); the classic bio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Demarest
Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' Demarest, who frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles, was a prolific film and television actor, appearing in over 140 films, beginning in 1926 and ending in the late 1970s. Before his career in motion pictures, he performed in vaudeville for two decades.Pareles, Jon (1983). "William Demarest, 91, Actor, Known for Roles in Comedies", obituary, ''The New York Times'', December 29, 1983, p. D19. Retrieved via subscription to ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Ann Arbor, Michigan), August 27, 2022. Early life Carl William Demarest was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the youngest of threes sons of Wilhelmina (née Lindgren) and Samuel Demarest. During William's infancy, the family moved to New Bridge, a hamlet in Bergen County, New Jersey. Demares ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Watson (actor)
Bobby Watson ( born Robert Watson Knucher; November 28, 1888 – May 22, 1965) was an American theater and film actor, playing a variety of character roles, including, after 1942, Adolf Hitler. Life and career Born in Springfield, Illinois, Watson, who was of German descent, began his career at age 15 performing a vaudeville act at the Olympic Theatre in Springfield. As a teenager, he toured the U.S. midwest with the "Kickapoo Remedies Show", a traveling medicine show. He then appeared in Coney Island in a Gus Edwards show. In 1918, he first played on Broadway when he was a replacement in the role of Robert Street in '' Going Up'' and then created the role of the flamboyant dressmaker "Madame Lucy" in the hit musical ''Irene'' (1919), later repeating the role. He continued to play on Broadway through the 1920s. Watson began to appear in films in 1925, playing various character roles. Some of them were inspired by his scene-stealing characterization from ''Irene'' -- the gag r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Collier, Sr
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''Wilhelm'' and Old Norse ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name should b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
