|
Topper (film)
''Topper'' is a 1937 American supernatural film, supernatural comedy film starring Constance Bennett and Cary Grant, and featuring Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, and Eugene Pallette in support. Directed by Norman Z. McLeod, it tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. The film was adapted by Eric S. Hatch, Eric Hatch, Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran from the 1926 novel by Thorne Smith. It was produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ''Topper'' was a huge hit with film audiences in the summer of 1937. ''Topper'' was the first black-and-white film to be digitally film colorization, colorized, re-released in 1985 by Hal Roach Studios. Plot George and Marion Kerby are as irresponsible as they are rich. When George wrecks their flashy custom roadster, they wake up from the accident as ghosts. Realizing they are neither in Heaven nor Hell because they have never been responsible enough to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Z
Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norman conquest of southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries ** Normanist theory (also known as Normanism) and anti-Normanism, historical disagreement regarding the origin of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and their historic predecessor, Kievan Rus' ** Norman dynasty, a series of monarchs in England and Normandy ** Norman architecture, romanesque architecture in England and elsewhere ** Norman language, spoken in Normandy ** People or things connected with the French region of Normandy Arts and entertainment * Norman (2010 film), ''Norman'' (2010 film), a 2010 drama film * Norman (2016 film), ''Norman'' (2016 film), a 2016 drama film * Norman (TV series), ''Norman'' (TV series), a 1970 British sitcom starring Norman Wisdom * The Normans (TV serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Mowbray
Alan Mowbray MM (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in World War I, being awarded the Military Medal and the French Croix de Guerre for bravery in action. He applied for transfer to the Royal Air Force, which was granted just six days before the war ended. This placed him in London on Armistice Day. His service came to an end when the Royal Air Force wanted another seven years from him. Career Mowbray began his stage career in London in 1922, as an actor and stage manager. In 1923 he arrived in the United States and was soon acting with New York stock companies. He debuted on Broadway in ''The Sport of Kings'' (1926); in 1929 he wrote, directed and starred in the unsuccessful ''Dinner Is Served''. Mowbray made his film debut in '' God's Gift to Women'' (1931) playing a butler, a role in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Hits And A Miss
Six Hits and a Miss was an American swing-era singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word " hit", and denotation of a young woman). They performed musical numbers in several Hollywood feature films of the 1940s, such as '' Time Out for Rhythm'' (1941), '' The Big Store'' (1941), '' Hit Parade of 1941'' (1941), and ''Girl Crazy'' (1943). The group was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1936 as a foursome, under the name Three Hits and a Miss, the members being Martha Tilton, Vince Degen, Marvin Bailey and Bill Seckler. In this configuration they appeared in the 1937 hit film '' Topper'', singing Hoagy Carmichael's song, "Old Man Moon". The quartet also performed on actress/comedienne Charlotte Greenwood’s situation comedy program, '' The Charlotte Greenwood Show'' on radio broadcasts in the mid-1940s on the NBC Blue Network in the summer of 1944 and 1945-1946 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, and was among the first singer-songwriters in the age of mass media to utilize new communication technologies such as old-time radio broadcasts, television, microphones, and sound recordings (musical records). Carmichael composed several hundred songs, including 50 that achieved hit record status. He is best known for composing four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: " Stardust" (1927), with lyrics by Mitchell Parish, "Georgia on My Mind" (1930), with lyrics by Stuart Gorrell, " The Nearness of You" (1937), with lyrics by Ned Washington, and " Heart and Soul" (1938), with lyrics by Frank Loesser. He also collaborated with famed lyricist-songwriter Johnny Mercer (1909-1976), on " Lazybones" (1933), and later " Skylark" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Hayle
Grace Hayle (July 24, 1888 – March 20, 1963) was an American actress who appeared in more than 300 films. In the fall of 1917, Hayle was the "new leading woman" with the Knickerbocker Players at the Knickerbocker Theatre in Philadelphia. She portrayed Laura Murdock in ''The Easiest Way'' a 1917 production with that group. On Broadway, she acted in ''Double Exposure'' (1918) and ''The Duchess Misbehaves'' (1946). Hayle died on March 20, 1963, in Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, aged 74. Selected filmography *'' Back Street'' (1932) - Lady in Street (uncredited) *'' Evenings for Sale'' (1932) - Pink Elephant Lady (uncredited) *'' The Death Kiss'' (1932) - Chalmer's Nosy Neighbor (uncredited) *'' Hard to Handle'' (1933) - Fat Lady with Vanishing Cream (uncredited) *'' The Intruder'' (1933) - Ship Passenger (uncredited) *'' The Mind Reader'' (1933) - Shill (uncredited) *'' Diplomaniacs'' (1933) - Dowager on Boat (uncredited) *''Gold Diggers of 1933'' (1933) - Society Reporter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Christy
Dorothy Christy (born Dorothea J. Seltzer, later Dorothy Rucker; May 26, 1906 – May 21, 1977) was an American actress. She was sometimes billed as Dorothy Christie. Early years Christy was born Dorothea J. Seltzer on May 26, 1906, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Seltzer. Although she sometimes participated in amateur plays, she had no plans for an acting career. After attended public schools in Reading, she went to Beachwood (a finishing school near Philadelphia) and then to Dana Hall School near Boston. She went on to study opera. Career On Broadway, Christy was a member of the ensemble of '' The New Moon'' (1928) and portrayed Olive in '' Follow Thru'' (1929). Christy acted with Will Rogers, Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers (appearing in the pre-filming stage version of '' A Night at the Opera)'' and with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the film '' Sons of the Desert'' (1933), in the role of Mrs. Laurel. She was Queen Tika of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert the cop in Frank Capra's ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and Captain Clayton in John Ford's ''The Searchers'' (1956). As a character actor, Bond frequently played cowboys, cops, or soldiers. Early life Bond was born in Benkelman, Nebraska, Benkelman in Dundy County, Nebraska. The Bond family, John W., Mabel L., and sister Bernice, lived in Benkelman until 1919, when they moved to Denver, Colorado, where Bond graduated from East High School (Denver), East High School. Bond attended the Colorado School of Mines and then attended the University of Southern California and played American football, football on the same team with future USC coach Jess Hill. At 6'2" and 195 pounds, Bond was a starting lineman on USC's first NCAA Division I-A nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaine Shepard
Elaine Elizabeth Shepard (April 2, 1913 – September 6, 1998) was a Broadway and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was also the author of ''The Doom Pussy'', a semi-fictional account of aviation in the Vietnam War. Film and stage Shepard worked as a model on the West Coast before she became active in films. Her first film appearance was in the 1936 Republic serial '' Darkest Africa'', in which she played Valerie Tremaine, the heroine of the film. This was followed with a series of leading roles in other minor films, such as '' You Can't Fool Your Wife'', a 1940 comedy starring Lucille Ball. She then had several minor roles in major films, including playing a secretary in '' Topper'' and uncredited roles in '' Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' and the 1946 ''Ziegfeld Follies''. A more prominent role came in ''Seven Days Ashore'', a musical in which she plays the principal love interest for the band of sailors on shore leave. Shepard's Broadway credits included performing in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Sale
Virginia Sale (May 20, 1899 – August 23, 1992) was an American character actress whose career spanned six decades, during most of which she played older women, even when she was in her twenties. Over the 46 years she was active as an actress, she worked in films, stage, radio and television. She was famous for her one-woman stage show, ''Americana Sketches'', which she did for more than 1,000 performances during a 15-year span. Married to actor and studio executive Sam Wren, she co-starred with him in one of the first television family comedies, ''Wren's Nest'', in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She gave birth to fraternal twins, Virginia and Christopher, in 1936. Later in her career she worked on television, and in commercials. She died from heart failure at the age of 93 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in 1992. Early life Born on May 20, 1899, in Urbana, Illinois to Frank Orville and Lillie Belle (Partlow) Sale, she attended the University of Illinois for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedda Hopper
Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Hopper named suspected Communist Party USA, Communists and was a major proponent of the Hollywood blacklist. Hopper continued to write her gossip column until her death in 1966. Her work appeared in many magazines and later on radio. She had an extended feud with Louella Parsons, an arch-rival and fellow gossip columnist. Early life Hopper was born Elda Furry in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Margaret (née Miller; 1856–1941) and David Furry, a butcher, both members of the German Baptist Brethren. Her family was of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. The family moved to Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona when Elda was three. Career Acting She eventually ran away to New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Lake (actor)
Arthur Lake (born Arthur William Silverlake, April 17, 1905 – January 9, 1987) was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of '' Blondie'', to life in film, radio, and television. Early life and career Arthur William (Silverlake) Lake was born on April 17, 1905, in Corbin, Kentucky, when his father Arthur Adolph Silverlake (né Timberlake) and uncle Archie Glenn Silverlake (né Timberlake) were touring with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying Silverlakes". His mother, Edith Goodwin (née Edith Blanche Fautch) was an actress. His parents later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling throughout the South and Southwest United States. Arthur first appeared on stage as a baby in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''; his sister Florence and he became part of the act in 1910. Their mother took the children to Hollywood to get into films, and Arthur made his screen debut in the silent ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (1917). Florence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leadership The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, and academic communities. The board of trustees is chaired by Kathleen Kennedy (producer), Kathleen Kennedy and the board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President (corporate title), President and CEO, film historian Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens Jr. (from the organization's inception in 1967 until 1980) and Jean Picker Firstenberg (from 1980 to 2007). History The American Film Institute was founded by a 1965 presidential mandate announced in the White House Rose Garden, Rose Garden of the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson—to establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
