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Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily Royster Kyser (née Howell) and Paul Bynum Kyser.Annette Bochenek"Kay Kyser" August 1, 2022. ''Hometowns to Hollywood''. He was one of six children, and his mother was the first registered female pharmacist in the state. Journalist and newspaper editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin. Kyser graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928, where he was senior class president and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. Owing to his popularity and enthusiasm as a cheerleader, he was invited by Hal Kemp to take over as bandleader when Kemp ventured north to further his career. He began taking clarinet lessons but was better as an entertaining announcer than a musician. He adopted the initial of his mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of Raleigh, the state capital. It is the principal city of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area—often called the "Twin Counties"—which had an estimated population of 145,383 in 2023. Rocky Mount is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 288,366 in 2023. English and Scots traders encountered the indigenous people in this area of the falls of the Tar River beginning in the mid-1700s. Incorporated in 1867, the community continued to develop through the 19th century based on agriculture (cotton and tobacco), manufacturing of textiles (made possible by the water power of the falls), and development of rail transportation to link the town to major markets. Since the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the county seat, seat of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a Chicago Portage, portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs from his first hit single in 1937, " Swing and Sway" (U.S. no. 15). He was the first to record and release the standard "Blueberry Hill" in 1940. During World War II, he co-wrote and recorded the anthemic " Remember Pearl Harbor" (U.S. No. 3). He was the first to record and release the no. 1 song " Daddy" in 1941. His signature tune was " Harbor Lights", a number-one hit in 1950. Biography Kaye, born in Lakewood, Ohio, United States, graduated from Rocky River High School in Rocky River, Ohio. At Ohio University in Athens, Ohio he was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. Kaye could play the saxophone and the clarinet, but he never featured himself as a soloist on either instrument. A leader of one of the so-called "Sweet" bands of the Big Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yankee Doodle Dandy
''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical drama film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney, and Vera Lewis. Joan Leslie's singing voice was partially dubbed by Sally Sweetland. The film was written by Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph, and directed by Michael Curtiz. According to the special edition DVD, significant and uncredited improvements were made to the script by the twin brothers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. The film was a major hit for Warner Brothers, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three. In 1993, ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", and in 1998, the film was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betsy Ross
Elizabeth Griscom Ross (née Griscom;Addie Guthrie Weaver, ''"The Story of Our Flag..."'', 2nd Edition, A. G. Weaver, publ., 1898, p. 73 January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn and Claypoole, was an American upholsterer who was credited by her relatives in 1870 with making the second official U.S. flag, accordingly known as the Betsy Ross flag. Though most historians dismiss the story, Ross family tradition holds that General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and two members of a congressional committee— Robert Morris and George Ross—visited Ross in 1776. Ross convinced Washington to change the shape of the stars in a sketch of a flag he showed her from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating that it was easier and speedier to cut the latter. However, there is no archival evidence or other recorded verbal tradition to substantiate this story of the first U.S. flag. It appears ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Douglas
Michael Delaney Dowd Jr. (August 11, 1920Cook County Birth Certificates, file number 6053268, borAugust 11, 1920/ref>Social Security Death Index, Michael D. Dowd Jr., Birth: 11 Aug 1920, death: 11 Aug 2006 residing in North Palm Beach, FL, accessed 9 January 2017. – August 11, 2006), known as Mike Douglas, was an American "Big Band" era singer, entertainer, television talk show host of ''The Mike Douglas Show'', and actor. Early life Dowd was born in Chicago, Illinois. His birth year has been called into question, with years ranging from 1920 to 1925 having been given as his year of birth at some point. His family later moved to Forest Park, Illinois, where he attended Proviso East High School, Proviso Township High School, but left the school after his second year. After that, he began singing as a choirboy. Career By his teens, Dowd was working as a singer at nightclubs and on a Lake Michigan dinner cruise ship. He was a "staff singer" at the Oklahoma City radio statio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ginny Simms
Virginia Ellen SimmsSleeve notes from ''Ginny Simms – I'd Like To Set You To Music'', Jasmine JASCD 118, 2001. (May 25, 1913 – April 4, 1994) was an American popular singer and film actress. Simms sang with big bands and with Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, among others. She also worked as an MGM and Universal film actress and appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1951, when she retired. Early life Simms was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her family moved to California, where she attended Fresno High School and Fresno State Teachers College, where she studied piano. While there, she began performing in campus productions, singing with sorority sisters and forming a popular campus vocal trio. Shortly afterward, she sought a singing career, and by 1932 she had her own program on a local radio station.Sleeve notes from ''Simple & Sweet: The Best Of Ginny Simms'', Collectables COL-CD-7590, 2005. Career Radio In 1932, Simms became the vocalist for the Tom Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strip Polka
"Strip Polka" is a 1942 novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ... with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The music incorporates a polka beat; the lyrics are about Queenie, a American burlesque, burlesque performer who longs to quit her job and retire to life on a farm. Its use in the film Navy Blues (1941 film), ''Navy Blues'' (1941) was prevented as a result of Joseph Breen's memo to Jack L. Warner, Jack Warner regarding the low moral tone of the lyrics. The first recording of "Strip Polka", which featured the vocals of Mercer, Phil Silvers, and Margaret Whiting, with piano by Jimmy Van Heusen, and an arrangement by Paul Weston, was a significant early hit (charting at #7) for Capitol Records, selling more than a million copies. The recording by The Andrews ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ish Kabibble
Ish Kabibble (January 19, 1908 – June 5, 1994) was an American comedian and cornet player. Early life Born Merwyn Bogue in North East, Pennsylvania, he moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, with his family a few months after his birth. Career Bogue studied law at West Virginia University, but his comedy antics soon found an audience. He appeared in ten movies between 1939 and 1950. In ''Thousands Cheer'' (1943), he appeared with Kay Kyser and sang "I Dug a Ditch," and he also appeared as a vocalist in ''That's Right—You're Wrong'' (1939), ''You'll Find Out'' (1940), and '' Playmates'' (1941). In addition, he performed with Kyser on the radio and television quiz show ''Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge'' in 1949 and 1950. In his 1989 autobiography, Bogue explained his stage name, which he took from the lyrics of one of his comedic songs, "Isch ga-bibble." The song derived from a mock-Yiddish expression, "Ische ga bibble?", which was purported to mean "I should worry?", promp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Babbitt
Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 – April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Early career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Babbitt organized his own band after high school, directing the group in addition to singing and playing saxophone and drums. Later, his work as an announcer and soloist on a radio station in St. Louis caught the attention of bandleader Kay Kyser. Music career Babbitt joined the Kyser band in the winter of 1936. With Kyser he recorded several hits in his rich baritone. On some novelty tunes he adopted a high-pitched falsetto. Babbitt sang such hits as "Three Little Fishies," " (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" and "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle," but his biggest hit was the cover of Vera Lynn's "The White Cliffs of Dover". He also sang the Spike Jones holiday hit, " All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and did the laugh on Kyser's "Woody Woodpecker" song with vocalist Gloria Wood. He appeared as a regular on Kyser' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern American English
Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, primarily by White Southerners and increasingly concentrated in more rural areas. As of 2000s research, its conservative and innovative (linguistics), most innovative accents include southern Appalachian English, Appalachian and certain Texan English, Texan accents. Such research has described Southern American English as the largest Dialects of North American English, American regional accent group by number of speakers. More formal terms used within American linguistics include ''Southern White Vernacular English'' and ''Rural White Southern English''. However, more commonly in the United States, the variety is recognized as a Southern accent, which technically refers merely to the Southern accent (United States), dialect's sound system, often also simply called Southern. History A diversity of Older Southern Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass media (such as films, internet, literature and publishing, television, and radio). Some become the de facto or literal "trademark" or "signature" of the person or character with whom they originated, and can be instrumental in the typecasting (acting), typecasting of a particular actor. Catchphrases are often humorous, can be (or become) the punch line of a joke, or a callback (comedy), callback reminder of a previous joke. Culture According to Richard Harris, a psychology professor at Kansas State University who studied why people like to cite films in social situations, using film quotes in everyday conversation is similar to telling a joke and a way to form solidarity with others. "People are doing it to feel good about themselves, to m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
