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The Four Step Brothers
The Four Step Brothers were an African-American dance group. The group started out as a trio in 1925, with the original members, Maceo Anderson, Al Williams and Red Walker. Although their original name was the ''Step Brothers,'' because that was also the name of another famous young tap dancing quartet, they subsequently changed their name to "The Three Step Brothers." In 1927, after accepting a new member, Sherman Robinson, they became The Four Step Brothers. Dubbed "The Eight Feet of Rhythm," the group soon traveled with Duke Ellington. While starring with the "Brothers," Anderson also appeared at the Hoofers Club and worked part-time as a newsboy. The quartet was the first black act to perform at Radio City Music Hall, the first to appear at the Chez Paree Club in Chicago and the first to break television's color bar. Style and moves The group became known for their complex dance routines. The "Brothers" incorporated snake hips, five-tap wings, slides, rhythm (jazz) ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tap Dance
Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own music. It is an American artform that evolved alongside the advent of jazz music. Tap is a type of step dance that began with the combination of Southern American and Irish dance traditions, such as Irish soft-shoe and hard-shoe step dances, and a variety of both slave and freeman step dances. The fusion of African rhythms and performance styles with European techniques of footwork led to the creation of tap dance. This fusion began in the mid-17th century but did not become popular until the mid-19th century. There are two major versions of tap dance: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely performed in musical theater. Rhythm tap focuses on musicality, and practitioners consider themselve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry S
Harry may refer to: Television *Harry (American TV series), ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin *Harry (British TV series), ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons *Harry (New Zealand TV series), ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar Kightley#Professional career, Oscar Kightley *Harry (talk show), ''Harry'' (talk show), 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters *Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name, including **Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (born 1984) *Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname Other uses *"Harry", the tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II *Harry (album), ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway *Harry (newspaper), ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Robinson
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. His career began in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, the recording industry, Hollywood films, radio, and television. According to dance critic Marshall Stearns, "Robinson's contribution to tap dance is exact and specific. He brought it on its toes, dancing upright and swinging," adding a "hitherto-unknown lightness and presence." His signature routine was the stair dance, in which he would tap up and down a set of stairs in a rhythmically complex sequence of steps, a routine that he unsuccessfully attempted to patent. He is also credited with having popularized the word ''copacetic'' through his repeated use of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Milton Berle the nickname "Mr. Television". The classic 1940–1944 version of the program, hosted by radio's Fred Allen, was followed by a radio series on ABC (the former NBC Blue) in the spring of 1948. When Texaco (now Chevron Corporation) first took it to television on NBC on June 8, 1948, the show had a huge cultural impact. Once Texaco ended its sponsorship in 1953, the show became known as ''The Buick-Berle Show'' under new sponsor Buick, changing to ''The Milton Berle Show'' for its final season. Radio The roots of ''Texaco Star Theater'' were in a 1930s radio hit, '' Ed Wynn, the Fire Chief'', featuring the manic "Perfect Fool" in a half-hour of vaudevillian routines interspersed with music. Wynn's ratings began to slide and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's '' Texaco Star Theatre'' (1948–1953), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV. Early life Milton Berle was born into a Jewish family in a five-story walkup in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. His given name was Mendel Berlinger, but he chose Milton Berle as his professional name when he was 16. His father, Moses Berlinger (1872–1938), was of German-Jewish descent and worked as a paint and varnish salesman. His mother, Sarah (Sadie) Glantz Berlinger (1877–1954), who was of Poli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Patsy (1964 Film)
''The Patsy'' is a 1964 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on August 12, 1964, by Paramount Pictures. Plot A famous comedian perishes in a plane crash. Members of his management team, worried that they will be jobless, decide to find someone to take his place as their "meal ticket". Stanley Belt is a bellboy at their hotel and they decide he will become their next star. Before Stanley gives any actual public performances, there is a publicity blizzard and a "grooming process". Stanley is repeatedly outfitted at a luxury clothing store and more swarmed over and abused than prettified at a luxury barber shop. Stanley has no obvious talent, but his new managers use their power to open doors for him, including an appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. It quickly appears that Stanley will never develop any talent and the managers fire him just before he goes on stage. However, one of them, Ellen, has fallen in love with Stanley and stays by hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Here Come The Girls (1953 Film)
''Here Come the Girls'' is a 1953 musical comedy film directed by Claude Binyon, filmed in Technicolor, produced by Bob Hope's company Hope Productions Inc., and released by Paramount Pictures. Along with Hope, the cast includes Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ..., Tony Martin and Arlene Dahl. Plot At the turn of the century, having spent nearly 20 years trying to make it in show business, Stanley Snodgrass is still nothing more than a glorified chorus boy. Inept as ever, he causes an accident during a show that leads to co-stars Irene Bailey and Allen Trent taking a spill on stage. Over the objections of co-star Daisy Crockett, who loves him, Stanley is fired by Harry Fraser, the show's producer. Stanley returns home, where he still lives with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
That's My Gal
''That's My Gal'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by George Blair, written by Joseph Hoffman, and starring Lynne Roberts, Don "Red" Barry, Pinky Lee, Frank Jenks, Edward Gargan and Judy Clark. It was released on May 15, 1947, by Republic Pictures. Plot Cast * Lynne Roberts as Natalie Adams *Don "Red" Barry as Benny Novak *Pinky Lee as Harry Coleman *Frank Jenks as Louie Koblentz *Edward Gargan as Mike *Judy Clark as Helen McBride * Paul Stanton as Governor Thompson * John Hamilton as Assemblyman McBride * Ray Walker as Danny Malone *Marion Martin as Pepper *Elmer Jerome as Joshua Perkins * George M. Carleton as Judge *St. Clair and Vilvoa as Dance Team *The Guadalajara Trio as Singers *Lita Baron as Isabelita *Jan Savitt Jan Savitt (born Jacob Savetnick; September 4, 1907 – October 4, 1948), known as "The Stokowski of Swing", from having played violin in Leopold Stokowski's orchestra, was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist. Early lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwich Village (film)
''Greenwich Village'' is a 1944 American comedy-drama musical film from Twentieth Century Fox directed by Walter Lang. It stars Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche. Plot In 1922, aspiring composer Kenneth Harvey travels from the Midwest to Greenwich Village, New York, where he hopes to interest famed composer Kavosky in his concerto. Kenneth wanders into a speakeasy owned by the brash Danny O'Mara, who wants to put on a musical extravaganza showcasing his singing sweetheart, Bonnie Watson. Danny hopes that the show will make Bonnie a star and make up for the fact that he cost her an opportunity of playing a leading role for Ziegfeld. Danny's other main entertainer, Princess Querida, mistakenly assumes that Kenneth is rich, although the few hundred-dollar bills he innocently flashes are the extent of his traveling money. Danny immediately targets Kenneth as a chump and begins to get friendly with him, but Bonnie disapproves and allows Kenneth to escort her home. At her apartment, Bonnie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhythm Of The Islands
''Rhythm of the Islands'', also known as ''Isle of Romance'', is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Roy William Neill starring Jane Frazee. Plot Two ambitious guys from Brooklyn, Tommy Jones and Eddie Dolan, get the idea of buying a tropical island in the South Pacific to exploit as a tourist paradise. They go there and start rounding up customers on the beach, to bring to native shows they set up with the help of the locals. The plan is to turn the idea into a tourist trap so they can sell it for a good profit, go back to the U.S., and pay back the $500 they borrowed from Eddie's fiancée, Susie Dugan. They are in luck, because a Manhattan millionaire, Mr. Holton, visits the island with his family, and offers to buy the island for the sum of $10,000. But before the deal goes through, a tribe of cannibals also arrive on the island, spreading terror and capturing all the natives. In the middle of all this, Susie comes to the island to marry Eddie. Together with the Holtons, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It Ain't Hay
''It Ain't Hay'' is a 1943 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Plot Cab driver Wilbur Hoolihan accidentally kills a hack horse owned by King O'Hara and his daughter, Princess O’Hara, by feeding it candy. In hopes of raising enough money to replace it, he and his friend Grover Mockridge visit a crooked gambling parlor. They win enough money, but before they can purchase a new horse, a con man swindles Wilbur out of the cash. Some touts inform Wilbur and Grover that an old horse is available for free at one of the upstate tracks. They visit the track but mistakenly take the wrong horse, a champion by the name of Tea Biscuit, and present the horse to O'Hara. Tea Biscuit's owner, Col. Brainard, offers a reward for the return of the horse. By this time, O'Hara has taken a fare up to Saratoga. Wilbur and Grover, realizing their error, drive to Saratoga to find O'Hara. The three touts also realize that Wilbur and Grover took Tea Biscuit, and trail them hoping to rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film organizations may use different definitions, however; the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, for example, currently defines a short film as 45 minutes or less in the case of documentaries, and 59 minutes or less in the case of scripted narrative films (it is not made clear whether this includes closing credits). In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
