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Finian's Rainbow (proposed Animated Film)
''Finian's Rainbow'' was an incomplete 1954 animated feature film, being an adaptation of the musical ''Finian's Rainbow''. It began production in 1954 directed by John Hubley. The crew included Art Babbit, Bill Tytla and Paul Julian. Among the cast were Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Barry Fitzgerald, Jim Backus and David Burns plus David Wayne and Ella Logan from the original Broadway production.Deck Is Stacked Against Broadway By Philip K. Scheuer Special to the Los Angeles Times. The Washington Post and Times-Herald (1959-1973) ashington, D.C26 December 1967: C7. The film ran into difficulty due to Hubley and Harburg's refusal to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finian's Rainbow
''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was released in 1968 and several revivals have followed. An elderly Irishman, Finian McLonergan, moves to the southern United States with his daughter Sharon, to bury a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief that it will grow. Og, a leprechaun, follows them, desperate to recover his treasure before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complications arise when a bigoted and corrupt U.S. senator gets involved, and when wishes are made inadvertently over the hidden crock. The Irish-tinged music score includes gospel and R&B influences. Synopsis Act I The play opens in Rainbow Valley, Missitucky (a fictitious blend of Mississippi and Kentucky), near Fort Knox, home of a mixture of Black and White tobacco sharecroppers. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hubley
John Kirkham Hubley (May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American animation director, art director, producer and writer known for his work with the United Productions of America (UPA) and his own independent studio, Storyboard, Inc. (later renamed Hubley Studio). A pioneer and innovator in the American animation industry, Hubley pushed for more visually and emotionally complex films than those being produced by contemporaries like the Walt Disney Company and Warner Brothers Animation. He and his second wife, Faith Hubley (neé Chestman), with whom he directed alongside from 1959 onward, were nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three. Hubley was born in Marinette, Wisconsin, in 1914 and developed an interest in art from a young age, as both his mother and maternal grandfather were professional painters. After high school, Hubley attended the ArtCenter College of Design to study painting. After three years of classes, he got a job at the Walt Disney Animation St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Babbit
Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and also developed the character of Goofy. Babbitt worked as an animator or animation director on films such as ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Pinocchio'', ''Fantasia'' and ''Dumbo'', among others. Outside of Disney, he also animated ''The Wise Quacking Duck'' for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Early life Babbitt was born to a Jewish family in the Little Bohemia section of Omaha, Nebraska, but moved to Sioux City, Iowa after he finished kindergarten. When his hard-working father had an accident on duty and became paralyzed as a result, Art decided to move to New York to take on the role of breadwinner. Career Art Babbitt began his career in New York City working for Paul Terry's Terrytoons Studio. But in the early 1930s he moved t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Tytla
Volodymyr Peter "Bill" Tytla (October 25, 1904 - December 30, 1968) was a Ukrainian-American animator known for his work in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Paramount's Famous Studios, and Terrytoons. In his Disney career, Tytla is particularly noted for the animation of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Pinocchio'', ''Fantasia'' and ''Dumbo''. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1998. He was also known as the creator of Little Audrey for Paramount Pictures. Early years Volodymyr Peter Tytla was born on October 25, 1904, in Yonkers, New York.Bowers, pg 1 His Ukrainian immigrant parents reportedly recognized talent in their son and encouraged it. In 1914, when Tytla was 9, he visited Manhattan to attend '' Gertie the Dinosaur'', an animated vaudeville act by Winsor McCay. He never forgot it, and some say it changed his life forever. Tytla attended the New York Evening School of Industrial Design while still in high school. But eventually high school lost out to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Julian (artist)
Paul Hull Husted (June 25, 1914 – September 5, 1995), better known as Paul Julian, was an American background animator, sound effects artist and voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons. He worked on ''Looney Tunes'' short films, primarily on director Friz Freleng's Sylvester and Tweety Bird shorts. During his time at Warner, Julian also provided the vocal effects of the Road Runner. His warm and tightly-cropped urban scenes were also featured early in his career in the Bugs Bunny film ''Baseball Bugs'' (1946), and in the crime syndicate-themed Daffy Duck film '' Golden Yeggs'' (1950). Julian also created New Deal murals in California. Julian died in Van Nuys, California at the age of 81. Life and career Julian was born on June 25, 1914 in Illinois. In October 1939, he landed a job in Los Angeles as layout and background artist at Leon Schlesinger's animation studio, "Termite Terrace". Assigned primarily to Friz Freleng's unit, he became highly regarded for his colourful, mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is among the world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. He found success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the " bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, '' The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', in 1946. When his film career stalled in the early 1950s, Sinatra turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best-known residency performers and part of the famous Rat Pack. His acting career was revived by the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme " A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, and received numerous other awards and honours. He played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, simply "O.P." by his friends, and informally in the jazz community as "the King of inside swing". Biography Early years Peterson was born in Montreal, Quebec, to immigrants from the West Indies (Saint Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands); His mother, Kathleen, was a domestic worker and his father, Daniel, worked as a porter for Canadian Pacific Railway and was an amateur musician who taught himself to play the organ, trumpet and piano. Peterson grew up in the neighbou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe "King" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the . In Chicago, he spent time with other popular jazz musicians, reconnecting with his friend Bix Beiderbecke and spending time with Hoagy Carmichael and Lil Hardin. He earned a reputation at " cutting contests", and his fame reached band leader Fletcher Henderson. Henderson persuaded Armstrong to come to New York City, where he became a featured and musically influential band so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Fitzgerald
William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films as '' Bringing Up Baby'' (1938), '' The Long Voyage Home'' (1940), '' How Green Was My Valley'' (1941), '' The Sea Wolf'' (1941), '' Going My Way'' (1944), '' None but the Lonely Heart'' (1944) and '' The Quiet Man'' (1952). For '' Going My Way'' (1944), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was simultaneously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields. In 2020, he was listed at number 11 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Early life Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road, Portobello, Dublin, Ireland, the son of Fanny Sophia (née Ungerland) and Adolphus Shields. His father was Irish and his mother was German.Boylan 1999, p. 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Backus
James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom '' Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in ''Rebel Without a Cause,'' the voice of the nearsighted cartoon character ''Mr. Magoo'', the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of '' The Alan Young Show'', and Joan Davis' character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's ''I Married Joan''. He also starred in his own show of one season, '' The Jim Backus Show'', also known as ''Hot Off the Wire''. An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament. He was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life Backus was born February 25, 1913, in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Bratenahl, Ohio, an East Side suburb of Cleveland located on the Lake Erie shore, surrounded by the city on three sides. He was the son of Russell Gould Backus and Daisy Taylor (né ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Burns (actor)
David Burns (June 22, 1902 – March 12, 1971) was an American Broadway theatre and motion picture actor and singer. Life and career Burns was born on Mott Street in Chinatown, Manhattan. He made his Broadway debut in 1923 in '' Polly Preferred '' and went to London with the show in 1924. His first musical was '' Face the Music'' in 1932, and Cole Porter's '' Nymph Errant'' (1933) was his London debut. He appeared in many comedies and musicals over an almost 50-year career."David Burns Broadway" ''Playbill''. Retrieved October 12, 2017. He won two s for [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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