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A Song Is Born
''A Song Is Born'' (also known as ''That's Life''), starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, is a 1948 Technicolor musical film remake of Howard Hawks' 1941 movie '' Ball of Fire'' with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This version was also directed by Hawks, based on the story "From A to Z" by Billy Wilder and Thomas Monroe, adapted by Harry Tugend (uncredited) and produced by Samuel Goldwyn and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Filmed in Technicolor, it featured a stellar supporting cast of musical legends, including Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman (with Al Hendrickson as cameo), Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Carter. Other notable musicians playing themselves in the cast include Charlie Barnet (with Harry Babasin as cameo), Mel Powell, Louis Bellson, The Golden Gate Quartet, Russo and the Samba Kings, The Page Cavanaugh Trio, and Buck and Bubbles. Other actors include Steve Cochran and Hugh Herbert. Mary Field reprises her role as Miss Totten from ''Ball of Fire''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." Roger Ebert called Hawks "one of the greatest American directors of pure movies, and a hero of Auteur Theory, auteur critics because he found his own laconic values in so many different kinds of genre material." He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Sergeant York (film), Sergeant York'' (1941) and earned the Honorary Academy Award in 1974. A versatile director, Hawks explored many genres such as comedies, dramas, gangster films, science fiction, film noir, war films and Westerns. His most popular films include ''Scarface (1932 film), Scarface'' (1932), ''Bringing Up Baby'' (1938), ''Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939), ''His Girl Friday'' (1940), ''To Have and Have Not (film), To H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and-white films running through a special camera (3-strip Technicolor or Process 4) started in the early 1930s and continued through to the mid-1950s, when the 3-strip camera was replaced by a standard camera loaded with single-strip "monopack" color negative film. Technicolor Laboratories were still able to produce Technicolor prints by creating three black-and-white matrices from the Eastmancolor negative (Process 5). Process 4 was the second major color process, after Britain's Kinemacolor (used between 1909 and 1915), and the most widely used color process in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Technicolor's #Process 4: Development and introduction, three-color process became known and cele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Field
Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; during her infancy, she was left outside the doors of a church with a note pinned to her saying that her name was Olivia Rockefeller. She was later adopted.''Mary Field'' by Doug McClelland, ''Film Fan Monthly'', October 1973 She attended the Brentwood Hall School in Westchester County, New York. Hollywood and television In 1937, she was signed under contract to Warner Bros. Studios and made her film debut in ''The Prince and the Pauper'' which was released that year. Her other screen credits include parts in such films as ''Jezebel'' (1938), ''Cowboy from Brooklyn'' (1938), '' The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938), '' Eternally Yours'' (1939), '' When Tomorrow Comes'' (1939), '' Broadway Melody of 1940'', '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Buck And Bubbles
John William Sublett (February 19, 1902 – May 18, 1986), known by his stage name John W. Bubbles, was an American tap dancer, vaudevillian, movie actor, and television performer. He performed in the duo "Buck and Bubbles", who were the first black artists to appear on television in the US. He is known as the father of "rhythm tap." Life and career Sublett was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 19, 1902, but soon moved with his family to Indianapolis. There, he formed a partnership with Ford L. "Buck" Washington in 1919. Their duo was known as "Buck and Bubbles." Buck played stride piano and sang, and Bubbles tapped along. They were so popular that the duo moved to Manhattan, New York City in September of that year. They played together in the Columbia Theater, the Palace and later played with artists Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Danny Kaye. They also played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. They appeared in Lew Leslie's ''Blackbirds'' in 1930 at the Royale Theatre. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Page Cavanaugh Trio
Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger. Career He began on piano at age nine and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938–39 before moving to Los Angeles and joining the Bobby Sherwood band at age 20. While serving in the military during World War II, he met guitarist Al Viola and bassist Lloyd Pratt, with whom he formed a trio. After the war's end they performed together as a trio using the same instrumentation that the Nat King Cole Trio had pioneered in the early 40's (piano, guitar and bass with no drummer), scoring a number of hits in the late 1940s, including " The Three Bears", " Walkin' My Baby Back Home", and " All of Me".Scott Yanow, Page Cavanaughat AllMusic The trio appeared in the films ''A Song Is Born'', '' Big City'', '' Lullaby of Broadway'' (with Doris Day) and ''Romance on the High Seas'' (Doris Day's first film, in 1948). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Golden Gate Quartet
The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers in 1934, by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia. According to the group's website, the original members were Willie Johnson (baritone; d. 1980), William Langford (tenor; d. 1970), Henry Owens (second tenor; d. 1970) and Orlandus Wilson (bass; 1917–1998); other sources state that Langford and Wilson replaced earlier members Robert "Peg" Ford and A.C. "Eddie" Griffin in 1935. From 1935, the group sang in churches and on local radio, gaining a regular spot on radio station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina in 1936.Seamus McGarvey, ''The Golden Gate Quartet'', in '' Juke Blues'' magazine, no. 71, 2011, pp. 42–45 They began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Bellson
Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums.National Endowment for the Arts biography of Louis Bellson , January 1994; accessed January 2009. Bellson and his wife, actress and singer Pearl Bailey (married from 1952 until Bailey's death in 1990), had the second highest number of appearances at the |
Harry Babasin
Yervant Harry Babasin, Jr. (19 March 1921 – 21 May 1988) was an American jazz bassist. His nickname was "The Bear". Biography Babasin was born in Dallas, Texas to an American mother and an Armenian father. He attended North Texas State University, one of many noted jazz alumni from the school. Among them were Jimmy Giuffre, with whom Babasin played in Bill Ware's orchestra around 1940, and Herb Ellis, who played with Babasin in the Charlie Fisk Orchestra starting in 1942. Fisk actually fired his rhythm section after hearing Ellis and Babasin play, and after he was admitted, Babasin quit school to go on tour with Fisk. He also toured in the 1940s with Jimmy Joy, Bob Strong, Billie Rogers, Gene Krupa, Charlie Barnet, Boyd Raeburn, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Frank DeVol, and Jerry Gray. He also appeared in '' A Song Is Born'', one of many jazz stars to play roles in the film. On the set of the film, he met Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida, and the two began jamming toge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career in the 1920s, he worked as an arranger including written charts for Fletcher Henderson's big band that shaped the swing style. He had an unusually long career that lasted into the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, which included receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Lifetime Achievement Award. Career Carter was born in New York City in 1907. He was given piano lessons by his mother and others in the neighborhood. He played trumpet and experimented briefly with C-melody saxophone before settling on alto saxophone. In the 1920s, he performed with June Clark (musician), June Clark, Billy Paige, and Earl Hines, then toured as a member of the Wilberforce Collegians led by Horace Henderson. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Hendrickson
Alton Reynolds Hendrickson (May 10, 1920 – July 19, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist and occasional vocalist. Biography When he was five years old, Hendrickson's family moved to California, where he grew up. He played early in his career with the Gramercy Five, Ray Linn, Artie Shaw, and Freddie Slack, then worked with Benny Goodman in both smaller and larger ensemble settings. He played with Woody Herman on several occasions in the late 1940s through the end of the 1950s, and also played with Neal Hefti, Bill Holman, Barney Kessel, Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Ray Noble, Andre Previn, Louis Prima, Boyd Raeburn, Shorty Rogers, and Bud Shank. In 1962, he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival alongside Louie Bellson and Dizzy Gillespie. He also worked as an accompanist and session musician for many popular vocalists, such as Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Lee Hazlewood, Eartha Kitt, Frankie Laine, Ann-Margret, Dean Martin, Ella Mae Morse, Harry Nilsson, and Elvis P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. She was a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra, and made 86 films in 38 years before turning to television. She received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and was nominated for four Academy Awards. Orphaned at the age of four and partially raised in foster homes, she always worked. One of her directors, Jacques Tourneur, said of her, "She only lives for two things, and both of them are work." She made her debut on stage in the chorus as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16, and within a few years was acting in plays. Her first lead role, which was in the hit ''Burlesque'' (1927), established her as a Broadway star. In 1929, sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
