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Ernie Morrison
Ernest Fredric Morrison (December 20, 1912 – July 24, 1989) was an American child actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and dancer who also performed under the stage-name Sunshine Sammy Morrison. He was the only black member of the ''East Side Kids'' and was an original performer in ''Our Gang'', a 1920s silent film franchise. Early life Born in 1912 in New Orleans, Morrison was the brother of Florence Morrison and stage- and screen-actress Dorothy Morrison. He entered show-business as a replacement for another infant actor who constantly cried. A crew member asked Morrison's father, Ernest Morrison Sr., to bring in his newborn son. Because Morrison sat perfectly and didn't cry during filming, the crew christened him with the name "Sunshine". Morrison's father added "Sammy" to his son's stage name to create the iconic character Sunshine Sammy. Biography Morrison ultimately appeared in two-reel silent comedies opposite both Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard, two of the era's biggest come ...
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Dogs Of War (film)
''Dogs of War!'' is a 1923 silent short subject, the fourteenth entry in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by Robert F. McGowan, the two-reel short was released to theaters in July 1923 by Pathé Exchange. The short was filmed alongside '' Why Worry?'', a feature comedy produced by Roach and starring Harold Lloyd, who makes a cameo appearance in ''Dogs of War'' as himself. Plot Near West Coast Studios in Hollywood, the gang is waging a street war against a rival group of kids; their ammunition primarily consisting of old vegetables. The battle is halted when Mary is called to act in one of the West Coast films. The rest of the gang tries to crash the studio gates and get a role in the picture, but the casting director throws them out. Farina manages to sneak into the studio, however, prompting the other kids to sneak in after her. Several chases throughout the property then ensue and the gang eventually escapes - with a little help from Harold Lloy ...
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Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with a highly popular comedic career in radio, television, and film. He was known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a long pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated summation "''Well!''" His radio and television programs, popular from 1932 until his death in 1974, were a major influence on the sitcom genre. Benny portrayed himself as a miser who obliviously played his violin badly and claimed perpetually to be 39 years of age. Early life Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky () on February 14, 1894 in Chicago, and grew up in nearby Waukegan. He was the son of Jewish immigrants Meyer Kubelsky and Naomi Emma ( Sachs). Meyer was a saloon owner and later a haberdasher who had emigrated to the United Sta ...
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Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African American two-parent family sitcom. It is a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Maude (TV series), Maude'', itself a spin-off of ''All in the Family''. Compared to many other popular sitcoms by Norman Lear, ''Good Times'' also tackled some challenging and complex issues such as: gang warfare, racism, widowhood, poverty, education, child abuse, unemployment, evictions, financial struggles, paraplegia, dating, stealing, mugging, engagements, affairs and rent parties. Synopsis Florida and James (renamed from Henry) Evans and their three children live at 963 North Gilbert Avenue, apartment 17C, in a public housing project in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. The project is unnamed on the show but is implicitl ...
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Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 95,740. It is known as the "Hub City" due to its alleged geographic centrality in Los Angeles County, though it is actually near the southern end of the county. Neighborhoods in Compton include Sunny Cove, Leland, downtown Compton, and Richland Farms. History The Tongva inhabited the Los Angeles Basin. The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the The Californias, Province of the Californias (), and the area was explored by the Portolá expedition in 1769–1770. ...
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Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of street-wise city toughs known variously as the Dead End Kids, East Side Kids, the East Side Kids, and as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was famous for his use of Malapropism, malapropisms, such as "I depreciate it!" instead of "I appreciate it!" Early years Gorcey was born in New York City on June 3, 1917, the son of Josephine (née Condon), an Irish Catholic immigrant, and Bernard Gorcey, a Russian Jews, Russian Jewish immigrant. Both were vaudeville, vaudevillian actors of short stature. Bernard Gorcey was and his wife was . Their son reached in adulthood. Film career In the 1930s, Gorcey's father lived apart from the family while working in theater and film. When he returned in 1935, Leo's younger brother David Gorcey and he persuaded Leo to audition for a small part in the play ''Dead End''. Leo had just lost a job as a plumber's apprentice ...
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The Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1958. The Bowery Boys were successors of the East Side Kids, who had been the subject of films since 1940. The group originated as the Dead End Kids, who originally appeared in the 1937 film '' Dead End.'' Origins The Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids originally appeared in the 1935 play ''Dead End,'' dramatized by Sidney Kingsley. When Samuel Goldwyn turned the play into a 1937 film, he recruited the original "kids" from the play—Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop, and Bernard Punsly—to appear in the same roles in the film. This led to the making of six other films that shared the collective title ''The Dead End Kids''. The Little Tough Guys In 1938, Universal launched its own tough-kid series, ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ...
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United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789).See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 It operates under the authority, direction, and control of the United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense. It is one of the six armed forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Army is the most senior branch in order of precedence amongst the armed services. It has its roots in the Continental Army, formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals ...
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The Four Step Brothers
The Four Step Brothers were an African-American dance group. The group started out as a trio in 1925, with the original members, Maceo Anderson, Al Williams and Red Walker. Although their original name was the ''Step Brothers,'' because that was also the name of another famous young tap dancing quartet, they subsequently changed their name to "The Three Step Brothers." In 1927, after accepting a new member, Sherman Robinson, they became The Four Step Brothers. Dubbed "The Eight Feet of Rhythm," the group soon traveled with Duke Ellington. While starring with the "Brothers," Anderson also appeared at the Hoofers Club and worked part-time as a newsboy. The quartet was the first black act to perform at Radio City Music Hall, the first to appear at the Chez Paree Club in Chicago and the first to break television's color bar. Style and moves The group became known for their complex dance routines. The "Brothers" incorporated snake hips, five-tap wings, slides, rhythm (jazz) ta ...
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Bobby Jordan
Robert G. Jordan (April 1, 1923 – September 10, 1965) was an American actor, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids, the Little Tough Guys, and the Bowery Boys. Early life and career Jordan was born in Harrison, New York. At the age of four, he worked in an early movie version of ''A Christmas Carol''. His mother took him to talent shows in and around Harrison, New York. He also modeled for newspaper and magazine advertisements and appeared in short films and radio programs. In the late 1920s, his family moved to the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In 1929, he was cast as Charles Hildebrand in the 1929 Broadway play '' Street Scene''. Dead End Kids and offshoots The youngest of the Dead End Kids, Jordan was the first of the group to work in films (in 1931 at the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn, alongside future screen teammate David Gorcey). In 1935, he won the role of Angel in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway drama '' Dead End'' about life in ...
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Huntz Hall
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later "The Bowery Boys, Bowery Boys" movies, during the late 1930s to the late 1950s. Life and career Hall was born in 1920 in New York CitySocial Security Death Index to Joseph Patrick Hall, an engineer from Ireland, and his wife, Mary Ellen ( Mullen) Hall.Leonard Getz in his 2006 book ''From Broadway to the Bowery'' published by McFarland & Company uses August 15, but the more authoritative Social Security Death Index uses August 18, 1920. The Independent uses August 15, 1919, and the New York Times lists his age as 78, which would make his birth year 1920. Walker and Roat's biography uses 1919. As was the case with many actors, their resumes often conflict with official documents submitted to the government. The fourteenth of sixteen children, he was ...
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New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city.
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