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Whoopee!
''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy play with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1928, starring Eddie Cantor, and introduced the hit song " Love Me or Leave Me", sung by Ruth Etting. A film version opened in 1930. Synopsis Setting: Mission Rest, Arizona; Black Top Canyon; The Bar "M" Ranch; the Wilderness; the Desert. Sheriff Bob Wells and the daughter of a rancher Sally Morgan are getting married. She is in love with Wanenis, whose part-Indian heritage presents social difficulties for their romance. Sally abandons Sheriff Bob and their wedding, catching a ride with Henry Williams. As a hypochondriac, Henry has problems of his own, but Sally adds to his problems when she leaves a note saying they have eloped. A chase ensues, with the jilted Bob; Mary, Henry's nurse who is in love with him; and a cas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whoopee! (film)
''Whoopee!'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy musical Western film photographed in two-color Technicolor. It was directed by Thornton Freeland and stars Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta and Eleanor Hunt. The film's plot closely follows that of the 1928 stage show produced by Florenz Ziegfeld. Plot Sally Morgan loves an Indian named Wanenis, but her father forbids her to marry Wanenis, instead favoring sheriff Bob Wells. Just before marrying Wells, Sally decides that she loves Wanenis too much and tricks farmhand Henry Williams into helping her flee to the ranch of Jerome Underwood. Wells searches for Sally, causing trouble for the oblivious Henry. Cast * Eddie Cantor as Henry Williams * Ethel Shutta as Mary Custer * Paul Gregory as Wanenis * Eleanor Hunt as Sally Morgan * Jack Rutherford as Sheriff Bob Wells * Walter Law as Jud Morgan * Spencer Charters as Jerome Underwood * Albert Hackett as Chester Underwood * Marian Marsh as Harriett Underwood Production ''Whoopee!'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of his hits include " Makin' Whoopee", "Ida (Sweet as Apple Cider)", " If You Knew Susie", " Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me", “ Mandy”, " My Baby Just Cares for Me”, "Margie", and " How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" He also wrote a few songs, including " Merrily We Roll Along", the '' Merrie Melodies'' Warner Bros. cartoon theme. His eye-rolling song-and-dance routines eventually led to his nickname "Banjo Eyes". In 1933, artist Frederick J. Garner caricatured Cantor with large round eyes resembling the drum-like pot of a banjo. Cantor's eyes became his trademark, often exaggerated in illustrations, and leading to his appearance on Broadway in the musical '' Banjo Eyes'' (1941). He helped to develop the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Shutta
Ethel Shutta (pronounced "shoo-TAY"; December 1, 1896 – February 5, 1976) was an American actress and singer, who came to prominence through her performances on Jack Benny's radio show, her role in the early Eddie Cantor musical '' Whoopee!'', and her Broadway comeback in '' Follies'' at the age of 74. In a 1934 vote held by ''Radio Stars'', she came in second place, behind Annette Hanshaw, as the best "female popular singer." Career By age seven, she was known as "the little girl with the big voice". She and her family toured as the Pee Wee Minstrels. Their family name was originally Schutte. The father, Charles, was the manager. They also played in vaudeville as The Three Shuttas. She debuted on Broadway in ''The Passing Show of 1922'', and then in a series of Florenz Ziegfeld productions including '' Louie the 14th'' (1925) and '' Whoopee!'' (1928). Shutta married band leader George Olsen in 1926,''George Olsen Is Married; Orchestra Leader Weds Ethel Shutta, Dancer, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 214 West 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. One of the first Broadway venues to open in the Times Square neighborhood, the New Amsterdam was built from 1902 to 1903 to designs by Herts & Tallant. The theater is operated by Disney Theatrical Productions and has 1,702 seats across three levels. Both the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts exterior and the Art Nouveau interior of the building are Lists of New York City landmarks, New York City landmarks, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater's main entrance is through a 10-story wing facing north on 42nd Street, while the auditorium is in the rear, facing south on 41st Street. The facade on 42nd Street is made of gray limestone and was originally ornamented with sculptural detail; the rest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1930 In Film
The following is an overview of 1930 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1930 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * February 21: ''Anna Christie (1930 English-language film), Anna Christie'', Greta Garbo's first sound film is released, it grosses $1.5 million. * February 23: Silent screen legend Mabel Normand dies at the age of 37 in Monrovia, California after a lengthy battle with tuberculosis. * March 10: Release of ''Goodbye Argentina'' (''Adiós Argentina''), the first Argentine film with a (musical) soundtrack. Ada Cornaro has her first starring role and Libertad Lamarque makes her film debut. * April 6: William Fox (producer), William Fox sells his interest in Fox Film for $18 million and Harley L. Clarke becomes president. * May 27: Howard Hughes' epic film Hell's Angels (film), ''Hell's Angels'' premieres at TCL Chinese Theatre, Graum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ANTA Playhouse
The August Wilson Theatre (formerly the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 245 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, the theater was designed by C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and was built for the Theatre Guild. It is named for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson (1945–2005). The August Wilson has approximately 1,225 seats across two levels and is operated by ATG Entertainment. The facade is a New York City designated landmark. The facade is designed as a variation of a 15th-century Tuscan villa, with a stage house to the west and an auditorium to the east. The facade has a stucco surface and openings with quoins, as well as a loggia. The placement of window openings reflected the theater's original interior arrangement. The front of the theater had facilities for the Theatre Guild, including classrooms, studios, a club room, a library, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Etting
Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress during the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes were "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me (Donaldson and Kahn song), Love Me or Leave Me". As a young girl in Nebraska, Etting had wanted to become an artist; she drew and sketched all the time. At sixteen, her grandparents decided to send her to art school in Chicago. While Etting attended class, she found a job at the Marigold Gardens nightclub. After a short time there, Etting gave up art classes in favor of a career in show business. Etting, who enjoyed singing in school and church, never took any formal singing lessons. She quickly became a featured vocalist at the club. Etting was then managed by Martin Snyder, Moe Snyder, whom she married in 1922. Snyder was known for being very protective of Ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in New York City and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career as a child fashion model and performer in several Broadway productions as a Ziegfeld Follies, Ziegfeld Girl. In the early 1930s, she moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood and gained notice as the romantic partner of actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin, appearing as his leading lady in ''Modern Times (film), Modern Times'' (1936) and ''The Great Dictator'' (1940). After signing with Paramount Pictures, Goddard became one of the studio's biggest stars with roles in ''The Cat and the Canary (1939 film), The Cat and the Canary'' (1939) with Bob Hope, ''The Women (1939 film), The Women'' (1939) with Joan Crawford, ''North West Mounted Police (fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also produced the musical ''Show Boat''. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl". Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. Early life Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. was born on March 21, 1867, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Rosalie (''née'' de Hez), who was born in Belgium, was the grandniece of General Count Étienne Maurice Gérard. His father, Florenz Edward Ziegfeld, was a German immigrant whose father was the mayor of Jever in Friesland. Ziegfeld was baptized in his mother's Roman Catholic church. His father was Lutheran. As a child Ziegfeld witnessed the Chicago fire of 1871. Career His father ran the Chicago Musical College and later opened a nightclub, the ''Trocadero'', to profit from the 1893 Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruby Keeler
Ethel Ruby Keeler (August 25, 1909 – February 28, 1993) was a Canadian and American actress, dancer, and singer who was paired on-screen with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Bros., particularly '' 42nd Street'' (1933). From 1928 to 1940, she was married to actor and singer Al Jolson. She retired from show business in the 1940s, but made a widely publicized comeback on Broadway in 1971. Early life Keeler was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1909 to Ralph Hector and Nellie (''née'' Lahey) Keeler, one of six siblings in an Irish Catholic family. Two sisters, Helen and Gertrude, had brief performing careers. Her father was a truck driver. When Ruby was three years old, her family moved to New York City, where her father could get better pay. Although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her. Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena on New York's East Side, and one period each week, a dance teach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owen Davis
Owen Gould Davis (January 29, 1874 – October 14, 1956) was an American dramatist known for writing more than 200 plays and having most produced. In 1919, he became the first elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America. He received the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Icebound'', His plays and scripts included works for radio and film. Before the First World War, he wrote racy sketches of New York high jinks and low life for the '' Police Gazette'' under the name of Ike Swift. Many of these were set in the Tenderloin, Manhattan. Davis also wrote under several other pseudonyms, including Martin Hurley, Arthur J. Lamb, Walter Lawrence, John Oliver, and Robert Wayne. Personal life Davis was born into a large family in Portland, Maine. They moved to Bangor, where he lived until he was 15. As a boy, Davis wrote plays for his eight siblings, who performed them for the town. His parents were Owen Warren Davis, an iron manufacturer, and his wife Abigail Augus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makin' Whoopee
"Makin' Whoopee" is a song first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical ''Whoopee!''. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical. The title refers to celebrating a marriage. Eventually "making whoopee" became a euphemism for intimate sexual relations. The song has been called a "dire warning", largely to men, about the "trap" of marriage. A review of a James Naughton cabaret performance. "Mr. Naughton pounces on the dire warning to men lurking beneath the song's playful surface: that once the honeymoon is over, marriage can become a trap from which there is no escape." "Makin' Whoopee" begins with the celebration of a wedding, honeymoon and marital bliss, but moves on to babies and responsibilities, and ultimately on to affairs and possible divorce, ending with a judge's advice. The original lyrics and music of the song entered the public domain in the United States in 2024. Other versions *1928 Bing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
