Sallie Blair
Sallie Blair (April 27, 1934 – February 17, 1992) was an American jazz singer. She began her career performing as a band act with Johnny Otis and Duke Ellington before joining Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Revue. Blair recorded for Bethlehem, MGM, Scepter, and Bell Records, but she was best known for her live performances. Because of her voluptuous figure and blonde hair, Miles Davis called her the "brown Marilyn Monroe." Life and career Blair was born Sarah Bolling Mason Hutchins in Baltimore, Maryland on April 27, 1934. She was the daughter of Sarah (Pat) Mason and pro golfer Carlos Hutchins. She attended Douglass High School and began performing at 16 in 1950. Accompanied by her mother, she used the stage name Sally Blair (also spelled Sallie), while performing at local clubs such as Gamby's, the Casino, and Eddie Leonard's Spa. She performed in clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles before replacing an ailing act at New York's Waldorf-Astoria. After graduation, she toured with Duke ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-largest metropolitan area in the country at 2.84 million residents. The city is also part of the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area, which had a population of 9.97 million in 2020. Baltimore was designated as an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851. Though not located under the jurisdiction of any county in the state, it forms part of the central Maryland region together with the surrounding county that shares its name. The land that is present-day Baltimore was used as hunting ground by Paleo-Indians. In the early 1600s, the Susquehannock began to hunt there. People from the Province of Maryland established the Port of Baltimore in 1706 to support the tobacco trade with Europe and established the Town ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city limits , it is the List of United States cities by population, second-most populous in the United States, behind only New York City. Los Angeles has an Ethnic groups in Los Angeles, ethnically and culturally diverse population, and is the principal city of a Metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan area of 12.9 million people (2024). Greater Los Angeles, a combined statistical area that includes the Los Angeles and Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan areas, is a sprawling metropolis of over 18.5 million residents. The majority of the city proper lies in Los Angeles Basin, a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mocambo (nightclub)
The Mocambo was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8588 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It was owned by Charlie Morrison and Felix Young. History The Mocambo opened on January 3, 1941, and it became an immediate success. The club's Latin American-themed decor was designed by Tony Duquette and cost $100,000 (). Along the walls were glass cages holding live cockatoos, macaws, seagulls, pigeons, and parrots. With big band music, the club became one of the most popular dance-till-dawn spots in town. On any given night, one might find the room filled with the leading men and women of the motion picture industry. In 1943, when Frank Sinatra became a solo act, he made his Los Angeles debut at the Mocambo. On March 15, 1955, Ella Fitzgerald opened at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. The incident was turned into a play by Bonnie Greer in 2005. It has been widely reported that Fitzg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Porgy And Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), Porgy'', itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel ''Porgy (novel), Porgy''. ''Porgy and Bess'' was first performed in Boston on September 30, 1935, before it moved to Broadway theatre, Broadway in New York City. It featured a cast of classically trained African-American singers—a daring artistic choice at the time. A 1976 #1976 Houston Grand Opera production, Houston Grand Opera production gained it a renewed popularity, and it is now one of the best known and most frequently performed operas. The libretto of ''Porgy and Bess'' tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street beggar living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swanee (song), Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the orchestral compositions ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1924) and ''An American in Paris'' (1928), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930) and the opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935), which included the hit "Summertime (George Gershwin song), Summertime". His ''Of Thee I Sing'' (1931) was the first musical theater, musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris, intending to study with Nadia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020, with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053, making it the 24th-most populous city in the United States. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. Most of these venues are located in downtown Las Vegas or on the Las Vegas Strip, which is outside city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. The Las Vegas Valley serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center in Nevada. Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th cent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and columnist for New York tabloids. He rose to national celebrity in the 1930s with Hearst newspaper chain syndication and a popular radio program. He was known for an innovative style of gossipy staccato news briefs, jokes, and Jazz Age slang. Biographer Neal Gabler claimed that his popularity and influence "turned journalism into a form of entertainment". He uncovered both hard news and embarrassing stories about famous people by exploiting his exceptionally wide circle of contacts, first in the entertainment world and the Prohibition era underworld, then in law enforcement and politics. He was known for trading gossip, sometimes in return for his silence. His outspoken style made him both feared and admired. Novels and movies were bas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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That Old Black Magic
"That Old Black Magic" is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen (music), with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They wrote it for the 1942 film '' Star Spangled Rhythm'', when it was first sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera Zorina. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 but lost out to " You'll Never Know". Glenn Miller reached number one on ''Billboard'' with his recording on Victor Records in 1943 featuring Skip Nelson on vocals. It was first recorded by Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra on July 9, 1942. Shortly thereafter, on July 26, 1942, Judy Garland recorded her own version, which was released as a single in January 1943 – just after the movie's release on December 30, 1942. Five other recordings (also made in 1942) were released as singles within the next two weeks. Composition The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard, with versions that include the original single release by Glenn Mill ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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It's All Right With Me
"It's All Right with Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical '' Can-Can'', where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier. The song is also used in the Cole Porter musical ''High Society''. In the original 1998 Broadway production it was performed by the character Tracy Samantha Lord, played by Melissa Errico. Other performances of the song *Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1955 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set ''The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56)'' issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009. *Chris Connor – ''This Is Chris'' (1955) *Sonny Rollins – '' Work Time'' (1956) * Erroll Garner (1956) *Peggy Lee – '' Dream Street'' (1957) *Ella Fitzgerald – '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook'' (1956), '' Ella at the Opera House'' (1958), '' Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert'' (1959) * Rita Reys – '' The Cool Voice of Rita Reys'' (1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton Song)
"Cry Me a River" is an American popular song, written by Arthur Hamilton, first published in 1953 and made famous in 1955 with the version by Julie London. In 2001, the Julie London version of "Cry Me a River" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Origins and early recordings Arthur Hamilton later said of the song: "I had never heard the phrase. I just liked the combination of words... Instead of 'Eat your heart out' or 'I'll get even with you,' it sounded like a good, smart retort to somebody who had hurt your feelings or broken your heart." He was initially concerned that listeners would hear a reference to the Crimea, rather than "..cry me a...", but said that "..sitting down and playing the melody and coming up with lyrics made it a nonissue." A bluesy jazz ballad, "Cry Me a River" was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald to sing in the 1920s-set film '' Pete Kelly's Blues'' (released 1955). According to Hamilton, he and Julie London had been high school classmat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dennis James
Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other television star. Alternately referred to as "The Dean of Game Show Hosts" (along with fellow emcee Bill Cullen) and the "Godfather of Gameshows", he was the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's '' Cash and Carry'' (1946). James was also the first person to host a telethon (raising more than $750,000,000 for United Cerebral Palsy throughout his nearly 5 decade run as its host), the first to appear in a television commercial (for Wedgwood china), first to emcee a variety show, and first to appear on video tape; more than 25 "firsts" in all. Early career and life James was born to Demetrio Ernest Sposa and Teresa Amorosi, both of Italian descent. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, James joined that city's WAAT as an a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC is headquartered on Riverside Drive in Burbank, California, directly across the street from Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Studios and adjacent to the Team Disney – Roy E. Disney Animation Building. The network maintains secondary offices at 77 66th Street (Manhattan), West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, which houses its broadcast center and the headquarters of its news division, ABC News (United States), ABC News. Since 2007, when ABC Radio (also known as Cumulus Media Networks) was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC has reduced its broadcasting operations almost exclusively to television. The youngest of the "Big Three (American television), Big Three" American ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |