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Stage Door Canteen (film)
''Stage Door Canteen'' is a 1943 American World War II film with musical numbers and other entertainment interspersed with dramatic scenes by a largely unknown cast. The film was produced by Sol Lesser's Principal Artists Productions and directed by Frank Borzage. The film features many celebrity cameo appearances but primarily relates a simple drama set in the famed New York City restaurant and nightclub for American and Allied servicemen. Six bands are featured. The score and the original song, "We Mustn't Say Goodbye", were nominated for Academy Awards. ''Stage Door Canteen'' is in the public domain in North America and for this reason is widely available in many DVD and VHS releases of varying quality. Plot The film, made in wartime, celebrates the work of the Stage Door Canteen, created in New York City as a recreational center for both American and Allied servicemen on leave to socialize with, be entertained or served by Broadway celebrities. The storyline follows seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven (1927 film), 7th Heaven'' (1927) at the 1st Academy Awards. Born to Italian and Swiss immigrant parents in Salt Lake City, Borzage began his career as a teenager performing with traveling theater groups throughout the western United States He found employment in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood in 1912, where he began directing and acting in short films before transitioning to feature films. Borzage's other directorial feature credits include ''Street Angel (1928 film), Street Angel'' (1928), ''Bad Girl (1931 film), Bad Girl'' (1931), ''A Farewell to Arms (1932 film), A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's Castle'' (1933), ''History Is Made at Night (1937 film), History Is Made at Night'' (1937), ''The Mortal Storm'' (1940), and Moonrise (f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hugh Herbert
Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell University. As an actor, he "had many serious roles, and for years was seen on major vaudeville circuits as a pathetic old Hebrew." The advent of talking pictures brought stage-trained actors to Hollywood, and Herbert soon became a popular movie comedian. His screen character was usually flustered and absent-minded. He would flutter his fingers together and talk to himself, repeating the same phrases: "Hoo-hoo-hoo, wonderful, wonderful, hoo hoo hoo!" So many imitators (including Curly Howard of The Three Stooges, Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy and Etta Candy in the Wonder Woman comic book series) copied the catchphrase as "woo woo" that Herbert even began to use "woo woo" rather than "hoo hoo" in the 1940s. Herbert's early movies, like Wheeler & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ralph Morgan
Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and union activist. He was a brother of actor Frank Morgan as well as the father of actress Claudia Morgan. Early life Morgan attended Trinity School, Riverview Military Academy and graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, after almost two years' practicing, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. In 1905, billed as Raphael Kuhner Wupperman, he appeared in ''The Khan of Kathan'', that year's variety show. Career His first role on the stage came in ''The Bachelor'' in 1909 and, in 1913, he joined the Summer stock cast at Denver's Elitch Theatre. Later he played John Marvin in the 1918 hit play, '' Lightnin''' . Morgan made his debut in silent films in 1915, appearing in several productions made on the East Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', February 22, 1984. she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." She performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway in ''Anything Goes'', ''Annie Get Your Gun (musical), Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Gypsy (musical), Gypsy'', and ''Hello, Dolly! (musical), Hello, Dolly!'' She is also known for her film roles in ''Anything Goes (1936 film), Anything Goes'' (1936), ''Call Me Madam (film), Call Me Madam'' (1953), ''There's No Business Like Show Business (film), There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), and ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963). Among many accolades, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Call Me Madam'', a Grammy Award for ''Gypsy'', an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Paul Muni
Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor from Chicago. He started his acting career in the Yiddish theater and during the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at the Warner Bros. studio and was given the rare privilege of choosing his own parts. Muni often played powerful characters, such as the lead role in '' Scarface'' (1932), and was known for his intense preparation for his parts, often immersing himself in the study of the real characters' traits and mannerisms. He was also highly skilled in makeup techniques, a talent that he had learned from his parents, who were also actors, and from his early years on stage with the Yiddish theater in Chicago. At the age of 12, he played the stage role of an 80-year-old man, and in the film '' Seven Faces,'' he played seven characters. Muni appeared in 22 films and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He played the Soil Stradivarius, considered one of the finest violins made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari. Early life and career Yehudi Menuhin was born in New York City to Moshe Menuhin, a Lithuanian Jew from Gomel in modern Belarus, and Marutha, a Crimean Karaites, Crimean Karaite. Through his father Moshe, he was descended from a rabbinical dynasty. Moshe and Marutha (née Sher) met in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (part of Palestine (region), historic Palestine under the Ottoman Empire) before marrying in New York in 1914. In late 1919, the pair became American citizens and changed the family name from Mnuchin to Menuhin. Menuhin's sisters were concert pianist and human rights activist Hephzibah Menuhin, Hephzibah, and pian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Aline MacMahon
Aline Laveen MacMahon (May 3, 1899 – October 12, 1991) was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in ''The Mirage'' during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931, and worked extensively in film, theater, and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' Dragon Seed'' (1944). Early life MacMahon was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, the only child of William Marcus MacMahon and Jennie (née Simon) MacMahon. Her father was a telegraph operator, arbitrage broker, and writer/editor in the Munsey publishing company, including their flagship publication, '' Munsey's Magazine''. Aline's parents had married on July 14, 1898, in Columbus, Ohio. Her father died on September 6, 1931. Her mother, an avid bell collector, died in 1984, at age 106. MacMahon first appeared on stage as early as 1905. That year the family moved to Brooklyn from McKeesport, and A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End theatre, West End productions. After their marriage, they nearly always appeared together. They became known as "the Lunts" and were celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Although they appeared in classics including ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''The Seagull'' and ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'', and dark comedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, The Lunts were best known for their stylish performances in light comedies by Noël Coward, S. N. Behrman, Terence Rattigan and others, and romantic plays by writers such as Robert E. Sherwood. Lunt directed some of the couple's productions, and staged plays for other managements. Though they rarely acted for the camera, The Lunts each received an Emmy Award and were nominated for an Academy Award. The Lu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper, actress, author, playwright and vedette, famous for her striptease act. Her 1957 memoir, '' Gypsy: A Memoir'', was adapted into the 1959 stage musical ''Gypsy''. Early life Rose Louise Hovick was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 8, 1911;Karen Abbott (2010) ''American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee'', New York: Random House; ; however, she always gave January 9 as her date of birth. She was known as Louise to her family. Her sister, actress June Havoc, was born in 1912. Their mother, Rose Thompson Hovick, forged various birth certificates for each of her daughters—older when needed to evade varying state child labor laws, and younger for reduced or free train fares. The girls were unsure until later in life what their years of birth were. Their mother had married Norwegian-American John Olaf Hovick, a newspape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born in 1898 in Newington, London, of English and Danish descent. Her name at birth was registered as Gertrude Alice Dagmar Klasen. Other variants of her birth name include Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence-Klasen, and Gertrude Alexandra Dagmar Klasen. Her father was a basso profondo who performed under the name Arthur Lawrence. His heavy drinking led her mother Alice to leave him soon after Gertrude's birth. In 1904, her stepfather took the family to Bognor on the Sussex coast for the August bank holiday. While there, they attended a concert where audience members were invited to entertain. At her mother's urging, young Gertrude sang a song and was rewarded with a gold sovereign for her effort. It was her first public performance. In 1908, to augment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rosemary Lane (actress)
Rosemary Lane (born Rosemary Mullican; April 4, 1913 – November 25, 1974) was an American actress and singer. She is known for her performances with Lola and Priscilla as the Lane Sisters and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians in the 1930s, and for her film career in the 1930s to 1940s. Early years Rosemary was born in Indianola, Iowa, in 1913, to dentist Lorenzo Mullican and his wife, Cora Bell Hicks. She had four sisters ( Leotabel (Leota), Dorothy (Lola), Martha and Priscilla, three of whom later had careers in entertainment. As children, Rosemary and her sister Priscilla traveled to Des Moines every weekend to study dancing with Rose Lorenz, a renowned dance teacher. The girls made their first professional appearance on September 30, 1930, at Des Moines' Paramount Theater. In 1930, Rosemary performed on stage as part of the entertainment accompanying the release of her sister Lola's Hollywood movie '' Good News''. Rosemary, a member of the National Honor Society, graduated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor. Originally a Broadway matinée idol, he established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Saboteur (film), Saboteur'' (1942) and Douglas Sirk's ''Magnificent Obsession (1954 film), Magnificent Obsession'' (1954). He appeared in more than 120 film, television and stage roles between 1915 and 1965. Early life and education Kruger was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Bernard Alben Kruger and Elizabeth Winers Kruger. His family was of German Americans, German and South African Americans, South African descent, he was the grandnephew of South African president Paul Kruger. Kruger was musically trained, but switched careers and became an actor after studying engineering at the University of Michigan, completing his studies at Columbia University. Career Making his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in 1915, Kruger quickly became a matinee idol. Though he started to get notice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
