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Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)
''Rock-A-Bye Baby'' is a 1958 American musical comedy film starring Jerry Lewis. A loose remake of Preston Sturges' film ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' (1944), the film was directed and written by Frank Tashlin, and features Marilyn Maxwell, Connie Stevens and Reginald Gardiner. Plot Clayton Poole is a small-town TV repairman whose former sweetheart, Carla Naples, is now a famous movie star. Carla has cultivated a reputation as a virgin who does not have affairs or carouse with men in typical Hollywood fashion. On a romantic fling, she secretly marries Carlos, a famous Mexican bullfighter; the next morning the couple agree it was unwise and plan to have it annulled, but her husband dies that day in a bull-fight. Distraught, Carla tore up her marriage license, not realizing she was pregnant; there's no legal documentation to legitimize the child. Her agent, Harold Herman tries to avoid a scandal by sending Carla into the country to give birth. He suggests that they send the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated shorts for Warner Bros., as well as his work as a director of live-action comedy films. Animator and brief career as cartoonist Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, Tashlin drifted from job to job after dropping out of high school in New Jersey at age 13. In 1930, he began working for John Foster as a cartoonist on the '' Aesop's Fables'' cartoon series, then worked briefly for Amadee J. Van Beuren, but he was just as much a drifter in his animation career as he had been as a teenager. Tashlin joined Leon Schlesinger's cartoon studio at Warner Bros. as an animator in 1933, where he was known as a fast animator. He used his free time to start his own comi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek
''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' is a 1944 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall. Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff reprise their roles from Sturges' 1940 film ''The Great McGinty''. ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'', which was filmed in 1942 and early 1943, but not released until 1944, was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and in 2001, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film ranks #54 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Laughs list of the top 100 funniest films in movie history. Plot Trudy Kockenlocker is the daughter of the police chief of the small town of Morgan's Creek. Against her father's orders, she attends a wild farewell party for a group of soldiers at wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin 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 in Chicago, Illinois, on February 14, 1894, and grew up in nearby Waukegan. He was the son of Jewish immigrants Meyer Kubelsky (1864–1946) and Emma Sachs Kubelsky (1869–1917), sometimes called "Naomi". Meyer was a saloon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chester Conklin
Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Mabel Normand and worked closely with Charlie Chaplin, both in silent and sound films. Early life Conklin was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa. One of three children, he grew up in a violent household. When he was eight, his mother was found burned to death in the family garden. Although first judged a suicide, his father, a devoutly religious man who hoped his son would be a minister, was eventually charged with murder, but found not guilty at trial. Conklin won first prize when he gave a recitation at a community festival. A few years later, he ran away from home after vowing to a friend he would never return, a promise he kept. Heading to Des Moines he found employment as a hotel bellhop, but then moved to Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank Mann
Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman, May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian Empire-born and American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of the ensemble Edgar Kennedy, Mann was the originator of the idea for the Keystone Cops. Career Hank Mann was born in the Russian Empire but emigrated to New York City with his parents and siblings in 1891. Mann was one of the earliest of film comedians, working first for Mack Sennett as an original Keystone Cop, and later for producers William Fox and Morris R. Schlank in silent film comedies. With the advent of motion picture sound and the "talkies", he became a popular bit player and background extra in many quintessential motion picture dramas as well as comedies, including '' The Maltese Falcon'' (one of a group of reporters) and '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (as a photographer). One of his more sizable talkie roles was as a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keystone Kops
The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History The idea for the Keystone Cops came from Hank Mann, and they were named for the Keystone studio, the film production company founded in 1912 by Sennett. Their first film was ''Hoffmeyer's Legacy'' (1912), with Mann playing the part of police chief Tehiezel, but their popularity stemmed from the 1913 short ''The Bangville Police'' starring Mabel Normand, which had Ford Sterling in the role of chief. As early as 1914, Sennett shifted the Keystone Cops from starring roles to background ensemble in support of comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle. The Keystone Cops served as supporting players for Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, and Chaplin in the first full-length Sennett comedy feature '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1914); ''Mabel's New H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Lewis (musician)
Gary Lewis (born Gary Harold Lee Levitch; July 31, 1945) is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Early life Gary Lewis is the son of Jerry Lewis and singer Patti Palmer. His mother, who was performing at the time with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra, intended to name him after her favorite actor, Cary Grant, but her son became "Gary" as the result of a clerical error. He received a set of drums as a gift for his 15th birthday in 1960. When he was 18, Lewis formed the band "Gary and the Playboys" with four friends. Joking at the lateness of bandmates to practice, Lewis referred to them as " playboys", and the name stuck. Lewis was the drummer, and Dave Walker was the singer and guitarist. Gary's mother was quietly funding the purchases of equipment as they believed Gary's father would not support the band financially. Without the Lewis cachet, the band was relatively anonymous. Even though he lived down the street from the Lewis family, producer Sn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Treen
Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers, March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in the Hollywood of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Early years Treen was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of attorney Don C. Summers and actress Helene Sullivan Summers. In 1908, when she was 11 months old, her mother sued her father for divorce on the grounds that he failed to provide for her. Her father died while she was an infant. She was reared in California by her mother and stepfather, a physician. She attended the Westlake School for Girls and a convent where she tried out successfully in school plays. She was a Roman Catholic. Career During her career, Treen was seen in over 40 films. Among her film roles were Tilly, the secretary of the Building and Loan, in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), and the role of Pat in the drama '' Kitty Foyle'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hope Emerson
Hope Emerson (October 29, 1897 – April 24, 1960;) was an American actress, vaudevillian, nightclub performer, and strongwoman. An imposing person physically, she weighed between and stood tall in her prime. Early life Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa, to John Alvin and Josie L. (née Washburn) Emerson, the middle and only surviving child of three (her two siblings died in infancy). She began her career at age three, touring Iowa with her mother, a character actress. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City, where she performed in vaudeville. Career Emerson made her Broadway debut in ''Lysistrata'' in 1930, when theatrical producer Norman Bel Geddes cast her for the role of Lamputo, an Amazon. She made her film début in ''Smiling Faces'' (1932) but then returned to the theater. In 1947, critic Brooks Atkinson praised her performance ("vastly entertaining as the garrulous old crone") in '' Street Scene''. In the 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ida Moore
Ida Moore (March 1, 1882 – September 26, 1964) was an American film and television actress. Early life Moore was born in Altoona, Kansas, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvelton Moore. Career Moore's first professional work had her singing to accompany silent films. She then toured England and South Africa entertaining with a partner. After she returned to the United States, she performed in road companies of plays, including ''Street Scene''. Just before she could make a screen test for Paramount Pictures, her mother became sick, causing Moore to return to Columbus, Ohio, where she ran a restaurant for her mother and acted in amateur productions. She returned to Hollywood after her mother died. She also worked on television programs, including a 1958 episode of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' titled "Bull in a China Shop". Death She died in Los Angeles, California, aged 82, on September 26, 1964. She is interred in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles Cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Gleason
James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Life and career Gleason was born in New York City, the son of Mina (née Crolius) and William L. Gleason. Coming from theatrical stock, as a schoolboy he made stage appearances while on holiday. He began earning his living at the age of thirteen, being a messenger boy, printer's devil, assistant in an electrical store and a lift boy. He enlisted in the United States Army at age 16 and served three years in the Philippines. On discharge, he began his stage career, later taking it up professionally. He played in London for two years and following his return to the United States, he began in films by writing dialogue for comedies. He wrote a number of plays, several of which were performed on Broadway. He also acted on Broadway, including in a couple of his own play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isobel Elsom
Isobel Elsom (born Isabelle Reed; 16 March 1893 – 12 January 1981) was an English film, theatre, and television actress. She was often cast as aristocrats or upper-class women. Early years Born in Chesterton, Cambridge, Elsom attended Howard College, Bedford, England. Career She debuted on stage in London as a member of the chorus of ''The Quaker Girl'' (1911). Gilbert Miller promoted her to stardom in ''The Outsider''. Over the course of three decades, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, beginning with ''The Ghost Train'' (1926). Her best-known stage role was the wealthy murder victim in '' Ladies in Retirement'' (1939), a role she repeated in the 1941 film version. Her other theatre credits included '' The Innocents'' and ''Romeo and Juliet''. Elsom made her first screen appearance during the silent film era (she frequently co-starred with Owen Nares) and appeared in nearly 100 films throughout her career. Elsom appeared as the leading lady for the Elitch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
