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W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his supposed contempt for children and dogs. Overview Fields's career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a silent juggler. He began to incorporate comedy into his act and was a featured comedian in the Ziegfeld Follies for several years. He became a star in the Broadway musical comedy ''Poppy'' (1923), in which he played a colorful small-time con man. His subsequent stage and film roles were often similar scoundrels or henpecked everyman characters. Among his trademarks were his raspy drawl and grandiloquent vocabulary. His film and radio persona was generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the publicity departments at Fields's studios (Paramount and U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darby, Pennsylvania
Darby is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is located along Darby Creek southwest of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. The borough of Darby is distinct from the nearby municipality of Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Darby Township. History Darby was settled in 1682 by seven Religious Society of Friends, Quaker families led by abolitionist & fair trade avocate John Blunston. The name Darby is derived from the English city of Derby (pronounced ''"Darby"''), the county town of Derbyshire (pronounced ''"Darbyshire"''), the origin of many early settlers. Incorporated on May 3, 1853, it had 3,429 residents in 1900, 6,305 in 1910, 10,334 in 1940, and 10,687 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Darby founder John Blunston immigrated to Pennsylvania in October 1682. He was involved in real estate, agriculture, and goods trading. An early Quaker settler, Blunston was a close associa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties of England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southern suburbs were transferred from Derbyshire to the city council. It is the largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The city is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines and the valleys of the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don with its four tributaries: the River Loxley, Loxley, the Porter Brook, the River Rivelin, Rivelin and the River Sheaf, Sheaf. Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield's entire area is green space and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park. There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees. The city is south of Leeds, east of Manchester, and north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camelias'' by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''; ''Ruy Blas'' by Victor Hugo, ''Fédora'' and ''La Tosca'' by Victorien Sardou, and '' L'Aiglon'' by Edmond Rostand. She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", while Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures. She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha would become one of the most sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. Biography Early life Henriette-Rosine Bernard was born at 5 rue de L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asides
An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in character or out) or represent an unspoken thought. An aside is usually a brief comment, rather than a speech, such as a monologue or soliloquy. Unlike a public announcement, it occurs within the context of the play. An aside is, by convention, a true statement of a character's thought; a character may be mistaken in an aside, but may not be dishonest. Examples This technique is used by many playwrights, including William Shakespeare. For instance, in the play ''Macbeth'', Macbeth has the following aside: Another example is found in ''Hamlet'': This technique has frequently been used in film comedy, for example in the Bob Hope "Road" comedies, Woody Allen comedies and in ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. The Jean-Luc Godard film '' Breathless'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Old Fashioned Way (film)
''The Old Fashioned Way'' is a 1934 American comedy film produced by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by William Beaudine and stars W. C. Fields. The script was written by Jack Cunningham based on a story by "Charles Bogle" (one of Fields's writing pseudonyms). Plot In 1897, a blustery actor-manager, "The Great McGonigle" (W. C. Fields), and his traveling theater troupe is perpetually underfunded and always just a step ahead of the law and creditors. McGonigle's daughter Betty (Judith Allen) is loyal to her father, and she tries to discourage a suitor named Wally Livingston (Joe Morrison), telling him he should follow his own father's wishes and go to college instead of trying to become an actor. Along with the rest of the troupe is McGonigle's rather dim-witted assistant Marmaduke (Tammany Young). Wally's wealthy father (Oscar Apfel) arrives in the town where the troupe is scheduled to perform a Victorian melodrama, William H. Smith's popular temperance play, ''The Dru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cigar Box (juggling)
Cigar box juggling is the juggling of rectangular props that resemble cigar boxes. Wood block manipulation was thought to have started by Japanese prisoners who were given small wood blocks as head rests for sleeping. Cigar box manipulation was developed as a vaudeville act in the United States between the 1880s and 1920s, and was popularized by W. C. Fields. Originally, performers would take actual boxes that cigars were stored in and nail them shut to create their juggling props. Today, cigar boxes for juggling are typically purpose-built, hollow wooden or plastic blocks with suede or foam rubber padding attached to the sides. Technique Cigar boxes are juggled by holding a box in each hand and tossing and flipping a third box in between them. Routines performed with cigar boxes may also include quick midair box-exchanging tricks, balancing tricks, and more. Most tricks are done with three boxes; more advanced routines may include more than three. Rather than the "flowing" styl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works. Etymology The origin of the term is unknown. According to etymologist Anatoly Liberman, the only certain detail about its origin is the word was first noticed in American English circa 1890. The term has also been dated to 1889 in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States, and to 1888. Liberman points out that many folk etymologies fail to answer the question: "Why did the word become widely known in California (just there) by the early Nineties (just then)?" Author Todd DePastino notes that some have said that it derives from the term "hoe-boy", coming from the hoe they are using and meaning "farmhand", or a greeting such as "Ho, boy", but that he does not find these to be convincing explanations. Bill Bryson suggests in '' Mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous ''Music Hall'' and subsequent, more respectable ''Variety'' differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within public houses during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume food ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oyster House
An oyster bar, also known as an oyster saloon, oyster house or a raw bar service, is a restaurant specializing in serving oysters, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters buffet-style. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and were common tavern food in Europe, but the oyster bar as a distinct restaurant began making an appearance in the 18th century. History Oyster consumption in Europe was confined to the wealthy until the mid-17th century, but by the 18th century even the poor were consuming them. Sources vary as to when the first oyster bar was created. One source claims that Sinclair's, a pub in Manchester, England, is the United Kingdom's oldest oyster bar. It opened in 1738. London's oldest restaurant, Rules, also began business as an oyster bar. It opened in 1798. In North America, Native Americans on both coasts ate oysters in large quantities, as did colonists from Europe. Unlike in Europe, oyster consumption in North America after colonization by Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strawbridge And Clothier
Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporium. The retailer started adding branch stores starting in the 1930s and, by their zenith in the 1980s, enjoyed annual sales of over a billion dollars"Philadelphia Keeps Strawbridge Name But Loses Retail Tradition." ''The New York Times'' (July 22, 1996) By the 1990s, Strawbridge's became part of the May Department Stores conglomerate until May's acquisition by Federated Department Stores on August 30, 2005. May operated the Strawbridge's stores under the Northern Virginia-based Hecht's Department Store division. On February 1, 2006, the former May Company divisions were all dissolved, and operating control of the remaining Strawbridge's stores was assumed by Macy's East. Macy's closed Strawbridge's flagship Center City store on May 23, 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be growing Criticism of the Catholic Church, errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it. Protestantism emphasizes the Christian believer's justification by God in faith alone (') rather than by a combination of faith with good works as in Catholicism; the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by Grace in Christianity, divine grace or "unmerited favor" only ('); the Universal priesthood, priesthood of all faithful believers in the Church; and the ''sola scriptura'' ("scripture alone") that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Most Protestants, with the exception of Anglo-Papalism, reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
