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Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya. Life and career Cugat was born Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y DeulofeuXavier Cugat official webpage xaviercugat.com; accessed 8 November 2015. in , |
Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital of the province of Girona, province of the same name and also capital of the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of the Gironès and the vegueria of Girona. Since much of the old quarter of this ancient city has been preserved, Girona is a popular destination for tourists, and film productions have used it as a filming location (e.g. ''Game of Thrones''). The city is located northeast of Barcelona. History The first historical inhabitants in the region were Iberians; Girona is the ancient Gerunda, a city of the Ausetani. Later, the Ancient Rome, Romans built a citadel there, which was given the name of ''Gerunda''. The Visigoths ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the Moors in 715. Charlemagne reconquere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bathing Beauty
''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 musical film starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Esther Williams, and directed by George Sidney. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed", with Red Skelton having top billing. However, once MGM executives watched the first cut of the film, they realized that Esther Williams' role should be showcased more, and changed the title to "Bathing Beauty", giving her prominent billing and featuring her bathing-suit clad figure on the posters.The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography, By Esther Williams, Digby Diehl, Published by Harcourt Trade, 2000, , The film is also Janis Paige's film debut. After this film, Paige would go to Warner Brothers to make such films as ''Of Human Bondage'', ''Hollywood Canteen'', and ''Romance on the High Seas''. In later years, Paige would return to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in few films. Plot In Los Angeles, songwriter Steve Ellio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Were Never Lovelier
''You Were Never Lovelier'' is a 1942 American musical romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth. The supporting cast also features Adolphe Menjou, Xavier Cugat and Adele Mara. The music was composed by Jerome Kern and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The picture was released by Columbia Pictures and includes the elaborate "Shorty George" song and dance sequence. The film, a Hollywood remake of the 1941 Argentine romantic comedy ''Los martes, orquídeas'' (''On Tuesdays, Orchids''), is set in Buenos Aires. Plot Robert "Bob" Davis (Fred Astaire) is a well-known American dancer with a weakness for betting on the horses. After he loses his money gambling in Buenos Aires, he goes looking for a job with Eduardo Acuña, the wealthy owner of a nightclub. Acuña, however, does not wish to see him. Bob's friend, bandleader Xavier Cugat, invites him to perform at the wedding of Acuña's eldest daughter, Julia, Acuña insists his daughters mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Gay Madrid
''In Gay Madrid'' (1930) is an American pre-Code musical comedy, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Ramón Novarro and Dorothy Jordan, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cast * Ramon Navarro as Ricardo * Dorothy Jordan as Carmina Rivas * Lottice Howell as Goytia *Claude King as Marques de Castelar *Eugenie Besserer as Dona Generosa *William V. Mong as Rivas *Beryl Mercer as Dona Concha *Nanci Price as Jacinta *Herbert Clark as Octavio *David Scott as Ernesto * George Chandler as Enrique *Bruce Coleman as Corpulento *Nicholas Caruso as Carlos Production Under the working title ''The House of Troy'', filming of ''In Gay Madrid'' began on November 14, 1929 and concluded on December 21. Some retakes were directed by Robert Ober Robert Howard Ober (May 10, 1881 – December 7, 1950) was an American stage and silent-screen actor. Early life Robert Howard Ober was born on May 10, 1881, in Bunker Hill, Illinois, to parents Robert Howard Ober Sr. and Joella W. Ober (née Da .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chihuahua (dog)
The Chihuahua or es, Chihuahueño, italic=no is a Mexican breed of toy dog. It is named for the Mexican state of Chihuahua and is among the smallest of all dog breeds. It is usually kept as a companion animal or for showing. History DNA studies suggest that native American dogs entered North America from Siberia roughly 10,000 years ago, and were then isolated for some 9000 years until the arrival of the first Europeans; these pre-contact dogs exhibited a unique genetic signature that is now almost gone. A study based on sequencing of ancient dog genomes, published in 2020, suggests that this pre-colonial ancestry survives in two Mexican breeds, to the extent of about 4% in the Chihuahua (and some 3% in the Xoloitzcuintli). Colonial records refer to small, nearly hairless dogs at the beginning of the nineteenth century; one claims that sixteenth-century conquistadores found them plentiful in the region later known as Chihuahua. In a letter written in 1520, Hernan Cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra
The Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra was an orchestra that played primarily at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, both the old and new locations. In addition to providing dinner music at the famous hotel, the orchestra made over 300 recordingsRust, Brian, ''The American Dance Band Discography 1917—1942, Volume 1'', Arlington House, New York, 1975, pp. 374--378, 399--402, and 974—981. and many radio broadcasts. It was established in the 1890s, and was directed by Carlo Curti in early 1900s, Joseph Knecht at least from 1908 to 1925, later by Jack Denny and others, and then Xavier Cugat from approximately 1933 to 1949. Denny and the Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra appeared in the movie ''Moonlight and Pretzels'' in 1933. Both Denny and Cugat had their own orchestras when they began playing at the Waldorf–Astoria, so the term "Waldorf–Astoria orchestras" might be an appropriate description. History The Waldorf-Astoria hotel was originally built as two separate adjacent hotels, the Waldor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Denny
Jack Denny (September 25, 1895 – September 15, 1950) was an American dance band leader during the pre-War years. He was born in the United States and started his musical career in Montreal, Quebec in 1920. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Denny led dance bands with a conventionally styled orchestra during the 1920s, playing at various venues, including the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Canada. In 1931, he relocated to New York City, where he played at the newly opened Waldorf-Astoria Hotel the following year. Denny's band quickly gained popularity among the high society clientele of the Waldorf-Astoria, prompting him to develop a sweet and marvelous sound that had no brass section. His arrangements were often complex and fast-paced, unique for a sweet band. The Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra consisted of four saxes, three violins, bass, piano, and drums, with the pianist sometimes doubling on accordion. They recorded around two dozen titles for Victor in 1932 and appeared in the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waldorf Astoria New York
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The building was the world's tallest hotel from 1931 until 1963 when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina by . An icon of glamour and luxury, the Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best-known hotels. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts is a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world operates under the name, including in New York City. Both the exterior and the interior of the Waldorf Astoria are designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as official landmarks. The original Waldorf–Astoria was built in two stages along Fifth Avenue and opened in 1893; it was demolished in 1929 to make way for the constructi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. The novel was inspired by a youthful romance Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King, and the riotous parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore (Long Island), North Shore in 1922. Following a move to the French Riviera, Fitzgerald completed a rough draft of the novel in 1924. He submitted it to editor Maxwell Perkins, who persuaded Fitzgerald to revise the work over the following winter. After making revisions, Fitzgerald was satisfied with the text, but remained ambivalent about the book's title and considered several alternatives. Painter Francis Cugat's cover art greatly impressed Fitzgerald, and he incorporated aspects of it into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoplay
''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For most of its run, ''Photoplay'' was published by Macfadden Publications. In 1921 ''Photoplay'' established what is considered the first significant annual movie award. The magazine ceased publication in 1980. History ''Photoplay'' began as a short fiction magazine concerned mostly with the plots and characters of films at the time and was used as a promotional tool for those films. In 1915, Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk became the editors (though Quirk had been vice president of the magazine since its inception), and together they created a format which would set a precedent for almost all celebrity magazines that followed. By 1918 the circulation exceeded 200,000, with the popularity of the magazine fueled by the public's increasing inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially — he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
