Wally Maher
Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 27, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on old-time radio; he was also known as the original voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel. Early years Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4, 1908. He was the son of Daniel and Mary Maher, and he had three brothers and two sisters. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in acting. Career Theater Maher gained early acting experience with a stock theater company in Cincinnati. His radio debut came when he portrayed Paul Baumer in a production of ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. However, a lack of future acting opportunities led him to pray for divine guidance, and soon after he had another acting opportunity. On Broadway, Maher portrayed Rittenhoff in ''Every Man for Himself'' (1940). Radio In 1936, he began working on several radio dramas from the West Coast. That same year he had one of his most prominent film performances as the reporter who films the mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Old-time Radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early 1920s and lasted through the 1950s, when television superseded radio as the medium of choice for scripted programming, variety and dramatic shows. Radio was the first broadcast medium, and during this period people regularly tuned in to their favorite radio programs, and families gathered to listen to the home radio in the evening. According to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey, 82 out of 100 Americans were found to be radio listeners. A variety of new entertainment formats and genres were created for the new medium, many of which later migrated to television: radio plays, mystery serials, soap operas, quiz shows, talent shows, daytime and evening variety hours, situation comedies, play-by-play sports, children's shows, cooking show ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Suspense (radio Drama)
''Suspense'' is a radio drama series broadcast on CBS Radio from 1940 through 1962. One of the premier drama programs of the Old-time radio, Golden Age of Radio, it was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on Suspense (genre), suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. Approximately 945 episodes were broadcast during its long run, and more than 900 still exist. ''Suspense'' went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors, and director/producers. Formula plot devices were followed for all but a handful of episodes: the protagonist was usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation; solutions were "withheld until the last possible second"; and evildoers were usually punished in the end. In its early years, the program made only occasional forays into science fiction and fantasy. Notable exceptions include adaptations of Curt Siodmak's ''Donovan's Br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jerky Turkey
''Jerky Turkey'' is a 1945 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon directed by Tex Avery. ''Jerky Turkey'' is one of three MGM cartoons in the public domain in the United States as its copyright was not renewed. Plot In 1620, Pilgrims, riding a caricatured ''Mayflower'' with a number of World War II-era anachronisms (such as a navy gunnery deck, a Henry J. Kaiser nameplate and a fuel rationing card) land at Plymouth Rock and establish a colony, where they quickly separate into "Ye Democrats" and "Ye Republicans." The Pilgrims all stand in line for cigarettes (some are caricatures of Avery's animation crew), while the town crier bemoans that he has been made eligible for the draft with a card bearing his " 1-A" eligibility in his hand. A pear-shaped Pilgrim, who speaks with the milquetoast mannerisms of Bill Thompson (here impersonated because he had been drafted and was unavailable), emerges from his dilapidated teardrop trailer home and goes hunting for a turkey for a Thanksgiving di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of the United States' most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as ''the schnozzola'' (Italianization of the American Yiddish slang word ''schnoz'', meaning "big nose"), and the word became his nickname. Early life Childhood Durante was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Rosa (née Lentino) and Bartolomeo Durante, both immigrants from Salerno, Campania, Italy. Bartolomeo was a barber. Durante served as an Altar server#Altar servers in the Catholic Church, altar boy at St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actor's Chapel. Early career Durante dropped out of school in seven ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lonesome Lenny
''Lonesome Lenny'' is a 1946 Screwy Squirrel cartoon directed by Tex Avery and released to theaters on March 9, 1946 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the last ''Screwy Squirrel'' cartoon; he is "killed" off on-screen at the end of the short. Plot Screwy Squirrel becomes the playmate of a lonesome, dopey, and strong dog Lenny, in a broad parody of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". Voice cast *Wally Maher as Screwy Squirrel and Pet Store Owner (uncredited) *Tex Avery as Lenny the Dog (uncredited) *Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for ... as Lady (uncredited) Home media ;DVD: *''The Katharine Hepburn Collection'' ;Blu-ray: *''Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1'' References External links * 1946 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films 1940 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Screwy Truant
''The Screwy Truant'' is a 1945 Screwy Squirrel cartoon directed by Tex Avery and released by MGM. Summary The cartoon centers around an adolescent version of Screwy Squirrel, who skips school to go fishing, which causes truant officer Meathead Dog (here seen with a different color palette but otherwise the same) to go around attempting to arrest Screwy, with various failures. At the end, Meathead finally catches Screwy and demands to know why he is not in school. Screwy tells him the reason is because he has measles, much to the horror of Meathead, who has now contracted measles from him. Voice cast * Wally Maher as Screwy Squirrel (uncredited) * Pinto Colvig as Meathead, Screwy laughing (uncredited) * Patrick McGeehan as Wolf (uncredited) * Billy Bletcher performing laughing sounds (uncredited) * William Hanna performing screaming sounds (uncredited) Cameo Tex Avery's versions of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf (from ''Swing Shift Cinderella'') make a cameo appea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded on April 17, 1924, and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon since 2022. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well-known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious filmmaking company, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner, crooning style on Radio in the United States, radio, in Cinema of the United States, films, and on Television in the United States, television for more than three decades, beginning in the early 1930s. During that time, he personified the straight-shooting hero — honest, brave, and true. Autry was the owner of a television station and several radio stations in Southern California. From 1961 to 1997, he was the founding owner of the California Angels franchise of Major League Baseball (MLB). From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 motion pictures. Between 1950 and 1956, he hosted ''The Gene Autry Show'' television series. In many of them, he appeared with Champion the Wonder Horse, Champion, his Morgan horse. Autry was also one o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mystery Street
''Mystery Street'' is a 1950 American black-and-white film noir featuring Ricardo Montalbán, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett, Elsa Lanchester, and Marshall Thompson. Produced by MGM, it was directed by John Sturges with cinematography by John Alton. The film was shot on location in Boston and Cape Cod; according to one critic, it was "the first commercial feature to be predominantly shot" on location in Boston. Also featured are Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and Harvard Yard in nearby Cambridge. According to Frances Glessner Lee biographer Bruce Goldfarb, the story of the death of Irene Perry, in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in 1940, as suggested by Glessner Lee (creator of The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death), was the basis of the film. The story earned Leonard Spigelgass a nomination as Best Story for the 1951 Academy Awards. Plot Brassy blonde B-girl Vivian phones the married man she has been dating and tells him she's "in trouble". When he fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Right Cross
''Right Cross'' is a 1950 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalbán, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and (in a small uncredited role) Marilyn Monroe. Plot Sean O'Malley, a wheelchair-using fight promoter once known as the best in his business, has lost his professional stature and is now in poor health. His daughter Pat has taken over many of his responsibilities and is romantically involved with his best fighter, Johnny Monterez. Sean is unhappy that Johnny is ashamed of his Mexican heritage. When Sean tells Pat that promoter Allan Goff is trying to steal Johnny from him, Pat visits Johnny at his training camp in time to watch him fight a practice match, but Johnny hurts his hand. While Johnny's hand is being examined at the hospital, Pat looks for her friend Rick Gavery, a hard-drinking sports reporter who has been following Johnny's career. Pat finds Rick ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Story Of Molly X
''The Story of Molly X'' is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Crane Wilbur and starring June Havoc, John Russell and Dorothy Hart. The screenplay concerns a woman who tries to reform after being sent to prison, but faces obstacles. Plot After her husband is killed, a woman executes a series of robberies with her husband's gang while searching for his murderer. Cast * June Havoc as Molly X * John Russell as Cash Brady * Dorothy Hart as Anne * Connie Gilchrist as Dawn * Cathy Lewis as Jan * Sara Berner as Amy * Sandra Gould as Vera * Katherine Warren as Norma Calvert (as Katharine Warren) * Charles McGraw as Police Capt. Breen * Elliott Lewis as Rod Markle * Wally Maher as Chris Renbow Reception Bosley Crowther, critic for ''The New York Times'', was unimpressed, writing, "there is little of substance or excitement in 'The Story of Molly X.'" He found the story and actors unconvincing: "... this film ... carries a great deal more sentiment than conviction. Mis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists (both royalty artists and background singers), promo and voice-over announcers and other performers in commercials, stunt persons and specialty acts—as the organization itself publicly stated, "AFTRA's membership includes an array of talent". On March 30, 2012, the members of AFTRA and of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voted to merge and form SAG-AFTRA. Background AFTRA was located at 5757 Wilshire Blvd, 7th Floor, Los Angeles, California. There were also offices in New York City, Chicago, and several other American cities. The federation as a whole had 804 employees and total assets worth $30,403,661. AFTRA worked in the interests of its members, primarily in the areas of contract negotiation and enforcement, advocacy (includi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |