The Eton Boys, or The Four Eton Boys, were an American all-male musical quartet from the St. Louis, Missouri area, whose members were Earl Smith, tenor; Art Gentry, 2nd tenor; Charles Day, baritone; and Jack Day, bass. In the 1930s they headlined

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

with their act, frequently appeared in short musical films such as

Broadway Brevities Broadway Brevities are two-reel (17–21 minutes long) musical and dramatic film shorts produced by Warner Bros. between 1931 and 1943. The series continued as Warner Specials in later years. Overview Other titles used for these black and white ...

and the animated

Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'', formerly known as KoKo Song Car-Tunes, are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 1945, n ...

, and often appeared on radio via the Columbia Network.

History

They went to schools in the St. Louis area, and the original two performed first as

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

s in a vaudeville act. Art Gentry, was once the youngest regular radio announcer and he worked for

KMOX KMOX (1120 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it is a 50,000 watt Class A clear-channel station with a non-directional signal. The KMOX studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Bouleva ...

, and he is the grandfather of television personality

Matt Lauer Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...

. The Eton Boys were featured in

film series during the 1930s, appearing in short films (including as the musical accompaniment to animated films). They appeared on popular radio shows, and were heard in the Columbia Varieties program. In 1941 they recorded on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

Castle Films Castle Films was a film company founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle (1897–1960) in 1924. Originally, Castle Films produced industrial and advertising films. Then in 1937, the company pioneered the production and d ...

released an album of their soundies. Their short musical film ''A Bicycle Built for Two'' screened at the Moore College of Art and Design in May 2009.

Filmography

*''Frances Shelley and the Four Eton Boys'' (1929) *''The Operator's Opera'' (1933) *''Use Your Imagination'' (1933) *''Sing 'Em Back Alive'' (1933) *'' Moonlight and Pretzels'' (1933) *''I Like Mountain Music'' (1933) via

*''

Down by the Old Mill Stream "Down by the Old Mill Stream" is a song written by Tell Taylor. It was one of the most popular songs of the early 20th century. The publisher, Forster Music Publisher, Inc., sold 4 million copies. Background The song was written in 1908 while T ...

'' (1933) via Screen Songs *"She Reminds Me of You" (1934) via

*''Mirrors'' (1934), a short *''The Gem of the Ocean'' (1934), a musical short *''A Great Idea'' (1935) *''Rhythm Café'' (1938) *''A Bicycle Built for Two'' (1941) *''My Gal Sal''

References

External links

Eton Boys IMDb page
Fleischer All Stars {{DEFAULTSORT:Eton Boys Vocal quartets Musical groups from St. Louis 1930s American radio programs