1.
Betty Comden
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Betty Comden was born Basya Cohen in Brooklyn, New York, to Leo Cohen, a lawyer, and her mother, Rebecca, an English teacher, were both Russian immigrants, both observant Jews. Basya attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied drama at New York University, according to the New York Times. In 1938, mutual friends introduced her to Adolph Green, an aspiring actor, along with the young Judy Holliday and Leonard Bernstein, Comden and Green formed a troupe called the Revuers, which performed at the Village Vanguard, a club in Greenwich Village. Due to the success, the Revuers appeared in the 1944 film Greenwich Village, but their roles were so small they were barely noticed. Comden and Green wrote the book and lyrics, which included parts for themselves. Their next musical, Billion Dollar Baby in 1945, with music by Morton Gould was not a success, Comden and Green headed to California and soon found work at MGM. The duo reunited with Gene Kelly for their most successful project, Comden and Green provided the story and screenplay, the songs were hits from the late 1920s and early 1930s by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. They followed this with another hit, The Band Wagon, in which the characters of Lester and Lily and they were Oscar-nominated twice, for their screenplays for The Band Wagon and Its Always Fair Weather. They earned three Screen Writers Guild Awards, for the two aforementioned movies as well as On the Town, the score, including the standards Just in Time, Long Before I Knew You, and The Partys Over, proved to be one of their richest. In 1958, they appeared on Broadway in A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green and it was a critical and commercial success, and they brought an updated version back to Broadway in 1977. Comden and Greens Broadway work in the 1960s included four collaborations with Jule Styne and they wrote the lyrics for Do Re Mi, and the book and lyrics for Subways Are For Sleeping, Fade Out – Fade In, and Hallelujah, Baby. Comden and Green wrote the libretto for the 1970 musical Applause, an adaptation of the film All About Eve, Comden also played Letitia Primrose in that musical when original star Imogene Coca left the show. Comden and Greens final musical hit was 1991s The Will Rogers Follies, in 1980, Comden was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. And, in 1981, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame, in the early 1980s, Comden acted in Wendy Wassersteins play Isnt It Romantic, portraying the lead characters mother. In 1984, filmmaker Sidney Lumet directed a film about Greta Garbo, Garbo Talks, starring Anne Bancroft, the producers of the film were sure that the real Garbo either could not be located or would flatly turn them down, to appear in a cameo. They did try however, with an associate of Garbo. The associate never responded, so Comden was asked to appear in the film for the brief, Comden and Green received Kennedy Center Honors in 1991. Comden and Green were a partnership, not a romantic couple
2.
The Bronx
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The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, within the U. S. state of New York. Since 1914, the Bronx has had the boundaries as Bronx County, a county of New York. The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a section in the west, closer to Manhattan. East and west street addresses are divided by Jerome Avenue—the continuation of Manhattans Fifth Avenue, the West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County in 1914, about a quarter of the Bronxs area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the boroughs north and center. These open spaces are situated primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north. The name Bronx originated with Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639, the native Lenape were displaced after 1643 by settlers. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of both Latin music and hip hop. The Bronx, particularly the South Bronx, saw a decline in population, livable housing, and the quality of life in the late 1960s. Since then the communities have shown significant redevelopment starting in the late 1980s before picking up pace from the 1990s until today, the Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape, while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck. It was divided by the Aquahung River, the origin of Jonas Bronck is contested. Some sources claim he was a Swedish born emigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland, Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the now known as the Bronx and built a farm named Emmanus close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue. He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of the mainland north of the Dutch settlement in Harlem. He eventually accumulated 500 acres between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which known as Broncks River or the Bronx. Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Broncks Land, the American poet William Bronk was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Broncks son or his younger brother. More recent research indicates that Pieter was probably Jonas nephew or cousin, the Bronx is referred to with the definite article as The Bronx, both legally and colloquially. The region was named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the Annexed District of The Bronx created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County
3.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
4.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
Playwright
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A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes plays. The term is not a variant spelling of playwrite, but something quite distinct, hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate someone who has wrought words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form - someone who crafts plays. The homophone with write is in this case entirely coincidental, the term playwright appears to have been coined by Ben Jonson in his Epigram 49, To Playwright, as an insult, to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. Jonson described himself as a poet, not a playwright, since plays during that time were written in meter and this view was held as late as the early 19th century. The term playwright later lost this negative connotation, the earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the Ancient Greeks. These early plays were written for annual Athenian competitions among playwrights held around the 5th century BC, such notables as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes established forms still relied on by their modern counterparts. For the ancient Greeks, playwriting involved poïesis, the act of making and this is the source of the English word poet. In the 4th century BCE, Aristotle wrote his Poetics, the first play-writing manual, in this famous text, Aristotle established the principle of action or praxis as the basis for all drama. He then included a hierarchy of elements for the beginning with plot, character, thought, diction, music. The ends of drama were plot, character, and thought, the means of drama were language and music, since the myths, upon which Greek tragedy were based, were widely known, plot had to do with the arrangement and selection of existing material. Character was equated with choice as rather than psychology, so that character was determined by action, in tragedy, the notion of ethical choice determined the character of the individual. Thought had more to do and the imitation of an action that is serious, thus, he developed his notion of hamartia, or tragic flaw, an error in judgment by the main character or protagonist. It provides the basis for the play, a term still held as the sine qua non of dramaturgy. The Poetics, while very brief and highly condensed, is studied today. Perhaps the most Aristotelian of contemporary playwrights is David Mamet, who embraces the idea of character as agent of the action, and emphasizes causality in the structure of his plays. His recently revived, Speed-the-Plow, is quintessentially Aristotelian, in that it observes the unities and builds its plot through a causal stream of discoveries and reversals. The Italian Renaissance brought about a stricter interpretation of Aristotle, as this long-lost work came to light in the late 15th century. The neoclassical ideal, which was to reach its apogee in France during the 17th century, dwelled upon the unities, of action, place, and time
7.
Screenplay
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A screenplay or script is a written work by screenwriters for a film, video game, or television program. These screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing, in them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated. A screenplay written for television is also known as a teleplay, the format is structured in a way that one page usually equates to one minute of screen time. In a shooting script, each scene is numbered, and technical direction may be given, in a spec or a draft in various stages of development, the scenes are not numbered, and technical direction is at a minimum. The standard font for a screenplay is 12 point,10 pitch Courier Typeface, the major components are action and dialogue. The action is written in the present tense, the dialogue are the lines the characters speak. Unique to the screenplay is the use of slug lines, a slug line, also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of every scene, and is usually made up of three parts. Part one states whether the scene is set inside outside, or both, Part two states location of the scene. Part three, separated from Part two by a hyphen, refers to the time of the scene, each slug line begins a new scene. In a shooting script, the lines are numbered consecutively. These scene numbers serve as mile-post markers in a script and this allows any part of the script to be referred to by scene number. In the United States letter size paper and Courier 12 point are mandatory, the tab settings of the scene elements, which constitute the screenplays layout. The dialogue must be centered and the names must be capitalized, a script usually begins with FADE IN, followed by the first scene description. It might get more specific, e. g. FADE IN ON AN ECU of Ricky as he explains the divorce to Bob, a script will usually end with FADE TO BLACK, though there are variables, like CUT TO BLACK for abrupt endings. The style consists of a grammar that is specific to screenplays and this grammar also consists of two aspects, A prose that is manifestation-oriented, i. e. focuses largely on what is audible and what is visible on screen. This prose may only supply interpretations and explanation if clarity would otherwise be adversely affected, American screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using the standard American letter size. They are then together with two brass brads in the top and bottom hole. The middle hole is left empty as it would make it harder to quickly read the script
8.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California and it is one of the worlds oldest film studios. In 1971, it was announced that MGM would merge with 20th Century Fox, over the next thirty-nine years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3,2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MGM, is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr. whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios, the studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were released through other studios, mostly United Artists. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and a film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up production, as well as keeping production going at UA. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production, the studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt, MGM was bought by Pathé Communications in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais, the major creditor. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso, and Australias Seven Network in 1996, the debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGMs ability to survive as an independent motion picture studio. In 1924, movie theater magnate Marcus Loew had a problem and he had bought Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919 for a steady supply of films for his large Loews Theatres chain. With Loews lackluster assortment of Metro films, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to improve the quality, however, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant Nicholas Schenck was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. Mayer, Loew addressed the situation by buying Louis B. Mayer Pictures on April 17,1924, Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Irving Thalberg as head of production. MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years, in 1925, MGM released the extravagant and successful Ben-Hur, taking a $4.7 million profit that year, its first full year. Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loews passed to Nicholas Schenck, in 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation bought the Loew familys holdings with Schencks assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with the decision, Mayer was active in the California Republican Party and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds
9.
Hollywood
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Hollywood is an ethnically diverse, densely populated neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is notable as the home of the U. S. film industry, including several of its studios, and its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the industry. Hollywood was a community in 1870 and was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It was consolidated with the city of Los Angeles in 1910, in 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera, named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indigenous to the area. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished, the area was known as the Cahuenga Valley, after the pass in the Santa Monica Mountains immediately to the north. According to the diary of H. J. Whitley, known as the Father of Hollywood, along came a Chinese man in a wagon carrying wood. The man got out of the wagon and bowed, the Chinese man was asked what he was doing and replied, I holly-wood, meaning hauling wood. H. J. Whitley had an epiphany and decided to name his new town Hollywood, Holly would represent England and wood would represent his Scottish heritage. Whitley had already started over 100 towns across the western United States, Whitley arranged to buy the 500-acre E. C. Hurd ranch and disclosed to him his plans for the land. They agreed on a price and Hurd agreed to sell at a later date, before Whitley got off the ground with Hollywood, plans for the new town had spread to General Harrison Gray Otis, Hurds wife, eastern adjacent ranch co-owner Daeida Wilcox, and others. Daeida Wilcox may have learned of the name Hollywood from Ivar Weid, her neighbor in Holly Canyon and she recommended the same name to her husband, Harvey. In August 1887, Wilcox filed with the Los Angeles County Recorders office a deed and parcel map of property he had sold named Hollywood, Wilcox wanted to be the first to record it on a deed. The early real-estate boom busted that year, yet Hollywood began its slow growth. By 1900, the region had a post office, newspaper, hotel, Los Angeles, with a population of 102,479 lay 10 miles east through the vineyards, barley fields, and citrus groves. A single-track streetcar line ran down the middle of Prospect Avenue from it, but service was infrequent, the old citrus fruit-packing house was converted into a livery stable, improving transportation for the inhabitants of Hollywood. The Hollywood Hotel was opened in 1902 by H. J. Whitley who was a president of the Los Pacific Boulevard, having finally acquired the Hurd ranch and subdivided it, Whitley built the hotel to attract land buyers. Flanking the west side of Highland Avenue, the structure fronted on Prospect Avenue, the hotel was to become internationally known and was the center of the civic and social life and home of the stars for many years. Whitleys company developed and sold one of the residential areas
10.
Broadway theatre
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Along with Londons West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, the great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggars Opera, in 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice, the company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, by the 1840s, P. T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblos Garden opened, the 3, 000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmos Opera House opened and presented opera for four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burtons Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847, booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, and would later revive the role at his own Booths Theatre. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompsons troupe called the British Blondes, was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season, the six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, in 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Broadways first long-run musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857, New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keenes musical burletta The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keenes troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, the production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a musical comedy, Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. They starred high quality singers, instead of the women of repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits, as in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women
11.
Hungary
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Hungary is a unitary parliamentary republic in Central Europe. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken language in Europe. Hungarys capital and largest metropolis is Budapest, a significant economic hub, major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000, converting the country to a Christian kingdom, by the 12th century, Hungary became a middle power within the Western world, reaching a golden age by the 15th century. Hungarys current borders were established in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon after World War I, when the country lost 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, following the interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a four-decade-long communist dictatorship. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became again a democratic parliamentary republic, in the 21st century, Hungary is a middle power and has the worlds 57th largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the 58th largest by PPP, out of 188 countries measured by the IMF. As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds 36th largest exporter and importer of goods, Hungary is a high-income economy with a very high standard of living. It keeps up a security and universal health care system. Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and part of the Schengen Area since 2007, Hungary is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the AIIB, the Council of Europe and Visegrád Group. Well known for its cultural history, Hungary has been contributed significantly to arts, music, literature, sports and science. Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe and it is home to the largest thermal water cave system, the second largest thermal lake in the world, the largest lake in Central Europe, and the largest natural grasslands in Europe. The H in the name of Hungary is most likely due to historical associations with the Huns. The rest of the word comes from the Latinized form of Medieval Greek Oungroi, according to an explanation the Greek name was borrowed from Proto-Slavic Ǫgǔri, in turn borrowed from Oghur-Turkic Onogur. Onogur was the name for the tribes who later joined the Bulgar tribal confederacy that ruled the eastern parts of Hungary after the Avars. The Hungarians likely belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance and it is possible they became its ethnic majority. The Hungarian endonym is Magyarország, composed of magyar and ország, the word magyar is taken from the name of one of the seven major semi-nomadic Hungarian tribes, magyeri
12.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
13.
Wall Street
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Wall Street is an eight-block-long street running roughly northwest to southeast from Broadway to South Street, at the East River, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the markets of the United States as a whole. Several other major exchanges have or had headquarters in the Wall Street area, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York Board of Trade, there are varying accounts about how the Dutch-named de Walstraat got its name. A conflicting explanation is that Wall Street was named after Walloons— the Dutch name for a Walloon is Waal, among the first settlers that embarked on the ship Nieu Nederlandt in 1624 were 30 Walloon families. The Dutch word wal can be translated as rampart, however, even some English maps show the name as Waal Straat, and not as Wal Straat. But soon after that, the Dutch governor, Kieft, sent his men out there one night, few of them escaped, but they spread the story of what had been done, and this did much to antagonize all the remaining tribes against all the white settlers. Shortly after, Nieuw Amsterdam erected a palisade for defense against its now enraged red neighbors. The space between the walls is now called Wall Street, and its spirit is still that of a bulwark against the people. In the 1640s basic picket and plank fences denoted plots and residences in the colony, in 1685, surveyors laid out Wall Street along the lines of the original stockade. In these early days, local merchants and traders would gather at disparate spots to buy and sell shares and bonds, Wall Street was also the marketplace where owners could hire out their slaves by the day or week. The rampart was removed in 1699, the slave market operated from 1711 to 1762 at the corner of Wall and Pearl Streets. It was a structure with a roof and open sides, although walls may have been added over the years. The city directly benefited from the sale of slaves by implementing taxes on every person who was bought, in the late 18th century there was a buttonwood tree at the foot of Wall Street under which traders and speculators would gather to trade securities. The benefit was being in proximity to each other, in 1792, traders formalized their association with the Buttonwood Agreement which was the origin of the New York Stock Exchange. The idea of the agreement was to make the more structured and without the manipulative auctions. Persons signing the agreement agreed to each other a standard commission rate, persons not signing could still participate. In 1789 Wall Street was the scene of the United States first presidential inauguration when George Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall on April 30,1789 and this was also the location of the passing of the Bill Of Rights. Alexander Hamilton, who was the first Treasury secretary and architect of the early United States financial system, is buried in the cemetery of Trinity Church, in the first few decades, both residences and businesses occupied the area, but increasingly business predominated
14.
New York University
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New York University is a private nonprofit research university based in New York City. Founded in 1831, NYU is considered one of the worlds most influential research universities, University rankings compiled by Times Higher Education, U. S. News & World Report, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities all rank NYU amongst the top 32 universities in the world. NYU is a part of the creativity, energy and vibrancy that is Manhattan, located with its core in Greenwich Village. Among its faculty and alumni are 37 Nobel Laureates, over 30 Pulitzer Prize winners, over 30 Academy Award winners, alumni include heads of state, royalty, eminent mathematicians, inventors, media figures, Olympic medalists, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and astronauts. NYU alumni are among the wealthiest in the world, according to The Princeton Review, NYU is consistently considered by students and parents as a Top Dream College. Albert Gallatin, Secretary of Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, declared his intention to establish in this immense, a system of rational and practical education fitting and graciously opened to all. A three-day-long literary and scientific convention held in City Hall in 1830 and these New Yorkers believed the city needed a university designed for young men who would be admitted based upon merit rather than birthright or social class. On April 18,1831, an institution was established, with the support of a group of prominent New York City residents from the merchants, bankers. Albert Gallatin was elected as the institutions first president, the university has been popularly known as New York University since its inception and was officially renamed New York University in 1896. In 1832, NYU held its first classes in rented rooms of four-story Clinton Hall, in 1835, the School of Law, NYUs first professional school, was established. American Chemical Society was founded in 1876 at NYU and it became one of the nations largest universities, with an enrollment of 9,300 in 1917. NYU had its Washington Square campus since its founding, the university purchased a campus at University Heights in the Bronx because of overcrowding on the old campus. NYU also had a desire to follow New York Citys development further uptown, NYUs move to the Bronx occurred in 1894, spearheaded by the efforts of Chancellor Henry Mitchell MacCracken. The University Heights campus was far more spacious than its predecessor was, as a result, most of the universitys operations along with the undergraduate College of Arts and Science and School of Engineering were housed there. NYUs administrative operations were moved to the new campus, but the schools of the university remained at Washington Square. In 1914, Washington Square College was founded as the undergraduate college of NYU. In 1935, NYU opened the Nassau College-Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead and this extension would later become a fully independent Hofstra University. In 1950, NYU was elected to the Association of American Universities, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, financial crisis gripped the New York City government and the troubles spread to the citys institutions, including NYU
15.
Village Vanguard
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The Village Vanguard is a jazz club located at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22,1935, by Max Gordon, at first, it featured many forms of music, such as folk music and beat poetry, but it switched to an all-jazz format in 1957. For years prior to 1935, the Vanguard’s proprietor, Max Gordon and his first attempt at a Village Vanguard opened in 1934 on Charles Street and Greenwich Avenue. Gordon intended for the Vanguard to be a forum for poets and artists as well as a site for musical performances. Yet, due to insufficient facilities, Gordon was refused a license from the police department and was unable to create the club that he originally envisioned. ”In 1934, Gordon moved his business and purchased the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle, first opened its doors in 1935, the Golden Triangles basement facility structure resembled that of an isosceles triangle. After purchasing the property, Gordon changed the name of the club to the Village Vanguard, like its prototype on Charles Street, the Vanguard was initially dedicated to poetry readings and folk music. Painters would go there to have discussions regarding the Spanish Civil War, political posters dotted the walls, enhancing the atmosphere of intensity and discourse. The club also had a rich history, with comedians like Phil Leeds performing there. Yet throughout the thirties and forties, amidst the neo-bohemian culture that flourished in the Village, “The biggest reason my pals and I went to the Vanguard, though, was because there were jazz jam sessions in the afternoons on Sundays. You could go hear Lester Young, Ben Webster, all the greatest jazz musicians for fifty cents at the door, or something like that. ”Even though jazz was not yet the main attraction at the club, the Vanguard was still a haven for the then established small group swing idiom. In the 1930s and 1940s, performers of the standing of Sidney Bechet, Una Mae Carlisle, Art Hodes, and Mary Lou Williams performed at the Vanguard. The wife of Max Gordon, Lorraine Gordon, has commented on the growth of jazz at the club, stating “in time, Max began to book acts, many proved to be high-caliber jazzmen. ”In 1940, Roy Eldridge performed at the Vanguard. His virtuosic performance coupled with his dedicated following presented the possibility that jazz sets could be at the top of the bill, as modern jazz developed in the 1940s, small group sets began to dominate the Vanguard scene. The maturation of jazz at the Vanguard can be attributed to the growing interest in and identification with the music among college students. In 1940, a resident trio was formed that included the pianist Eddie Heywood, along with Zutty Singleton, mirroring the culture in the Village, the jazz scene at the Vanguard was steadily growing. By 1957, one writes, “Gordon reversed his policy, putting jazz at the top of the bill. Thus the Vanguard booked Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, the story of Monk’s introduction to the Vanguard began with the first ever encounter between Max and Lorraine
16.
Greenwich Village
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Greenwich Village, often referred to by locals as simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Greenwich Village has been known as a haven, the Bohemian capital, the cradle of the modern LGBT movement. Groenwijck, one of the Dutch names for the village, was Anglicized to Greenwich, two of New Yorks private colleges, New York University and the New School, are located in Greenwich Village. The neighborhoods surrounding it are the East Village and NoHo to the east, SoHo to the south, the East Village was formerly considered part of the Lower East Side and never associated with Greenwich Village. The western part of Greenwich Village is known as the West Village, some believe it starts at Seventh Avenue and its southern extension, a border to the west of which the neighborhood changes substantially in character and becomes heavily residential. The Far West Village is another sub-neighborhood of Greenwich Village that is bordered on its west by the Hudson River and on its east by Hudson Street. Greenwich Village is located in New Yorks 10th congressional district, New Yorks 25th State Senate district, New Yorks 66th State Assembly district, encyclopaedia Britannicas 1956 article on New York states that the southern border of the Village is Spring Street, reflecting an earlier understanding. The newer district of SoHo has since encroached on the Villages historic border, many of the neighborhoods streets are narrow and some curve at odd angles. This is generally regarded as adding to both the character and charm of the neighborhood. In addition, as the meandering Greenwich Street used to be on the Hudson River shoreline, much of the neighborhood west of Greenwich Street is on landfill, but still follows the older street grid. When Sixth and Seventh Avenues were built in the early 20th century, they were built diagonally to the street plan. Unlike the streets of most of Manhattan above Houston Street, streets in the Village typically are named rather than numbered, while some of the formerly named streets are now numbered, they still do not always conform to the usual grid pattern when they enter the neighborhood. The Districts convoluted borders run no farther south than 4th Street or St. Lukes Place, redevelopment in that area is severely restricted, and developers must preserve the main façade and aesthetics of the buildings during renovation. In the 16th century, Native Americans referred to its farthest northwest corner, by the cove on the Hudson River at present-day Gansevoort Street, the land was cleared and turned into pasture by Dutch and freed African settlers in the 1630s, who named their settlement Noortwyck. In the 1630s, Governor Wouter van Twiller farmed tobacco on 200 acres here at his Farm in the Woods, sir Peter Warren began accumulating land in 1731 and built a frame house capacious enough to hold a sitting of the Assembly when smallpox rendered the city dangerous in 1739. The building was designed by Joseph-François Mangin, who would later co-design New York City Hall, by 1821, the prison, designed for 432 inmates, held 817 instead, a number made possible only by the frequent release of prisoners, sometimes as many as 50 a day. The oldest house remaining in Greenwich Village is the Isaacs-Hendricks House, when the Church of St. Luke in the Fields was founded in 1820 it stood in fields south of the road that led from Greenwich Lane down to a landing on the North River. In 1822, a fever epidemic in New York encouraged residents to flee to the healthier air of Greenwich Village
17.
Judy Holliday
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Judy Holliday was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She began her career as part of an act before working in Broadway plays. She appeared regularly in films during the 1950s and she was noted for her performance on Broadway in the musical Bells Are Ringing, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and reprising her role in the 1960 film. In 1952, Holliday was called to testify before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee to answer claims she was associated with communism. Holliday was born Judith Tuvim in New York City, she was the child of Abe Tuvim and Helen Tuvim. Her father was the Executive Director of the Foundation for the Jewish National Fund of America and she grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, and graduated from Julia Richman High School. Hollidays first job was as an assistant switchboard operator at the Mercury Theatre run by Orson Welles, Holliday began her show business career in 1938 as part of a night-club act called The Revuers. The other members of the group were Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Alvin Hammer, John Frank, the Revuers played engagements at various New York night clubs including the Village Vanguard, Spivys Roof, Blue Angel, Rainbow Room, and Trocadero in Hollywood, California. The group disbanded in early 1944, in 1944, she played a small, but noticeable role as an airmans wife in the Twentieth Century Fox film version of the U. S. Army Air Forces hit play Winged Victory. She did not appear in the version, which toured the U. S. both before and after production of the film. Holliday made her Broadway debut on March 20,1945 at the Belasco Theatre in Kiss Them for Me and was one of the recipients that year of the Clarence Derwent Award, in 1946, she returned to Broadway as the scatterbrained Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday. Author Garson Kanin wrote the play for Jean Arthur, who played the role of Billie out-of-town, Kanin then selected Holliday, two decades Arthurs junior, as her replacement. In his book Tracy and Hepburn, Kanin mentions that when Columbia bought the rights to the film Born Yesterday, Kanin, along with George Cukor, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn conspired to promote Holliday by offering her a key part in the 1949 film Adams Rib. She received rave reviews for her performance in Born Yesterday on Broadway, and Cohn offered her the chance to repeat her role for the film version, but only after she did a screen test. In 1954, she starred opposite then-newcomer Jack Lemmon in his first two films, the popular comedies It Should Happen to You and Phffft. George Cukor said Holliday had, In common with the great comedians. that depth of emotion, that unexpectedly touching emotion, in 1950, Holliday was the subject of an FBI investigation looking into allegations she was a Communist. The investigation did not reveal positive evidence of any membership in the Communist Party and was concluded after three months, unlike many others tainted by the Communist investigation. In 1952, she was called to testify before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee to explain why her name had been linked to Communist front organizations and she was advised to play dumb, which she did very well
18.
Leonard Bernstein
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Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim, according to music critic Donal Henahan, he was one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history. Bernstein was the first conductor to give a series of lectures on classical music, starting in 1954. He was a skilled pianist, often conducting piano concertos from the keyboard, as a composer he wrote in many styles encompassing symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music and pieces for the piano. Many of his works are performed around the world, although none has matched the tremendous popular. He was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Ukrainian-Jewish parents Jennie and Samuel Joseph Bernstein and he was not related to film composer Elmer Bernstein, but the two men were friends, and even shared a certain physical similarity. Within the world of music, they were distinguished from each other by the use of the nicknames Bernstein West. His family spent their summers at their home in Sharon. His grandmother insisted that his first name be Louis, but his parents called him Leonard. He officially changed his name to Leonard when he was fifteen, to his friends and many others he was simply known as Lenny. His father, Sam Bernstein, was a businessman and owner of a hair product store in downtown Lawrence, it is no longer standing on the corners of Amesbury, Sam initially opposed young Leonards interest in music. Despite this, the elder Bernstein took him to concerts in his teenage years. As a child, Bernstein attended the Garrison Grammar School and Boston Latin School, as a child he was very close to his younger sister Shirley, and would often play entire operas or Beethoven symphonies with her at the piano. He had a variety of teachers in his youth, including Helen Coates. After graduation from Boston Latin School in 1935, Bernstein attended Harvard University, one of his friends at Harvard was philosopher Donald Davidson, with whom he played piano four hands. Bernstein wrote and conducted the score for the production Davidson mounted of Aristophanes play The Birds in the original Greek. Bernstein reused some of this music in the ballet Fancy Free, during his time at Harvard he was briefly an accompanist for the Harvard Glee Club. Bernstein also mounted a student production of The Cradle Will Rock, Blitzstein, who heard about the production, subsequently became a friend and influence on Bernstein
19.
Greenwich Village (film)
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Greenwich Village is a 1944 American film from Twentieth Century Fox directed by Walter Lang. It stars Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche, 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 OHare, 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. Dannys other main entertainer, Princess Querida, mistakenly assumes that Kenneth is rich, 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 confesses that when she came to Greenwich Village, she had aspirations to become a poet, and advises Kenneth to be more careful about displaying his money. Danny, jealous of Kenneth and Bonnies obvious attraction to other, brings the gang up to Bonnies apartment for a party. Meanwhile, Hofer, a former violinist with Kavoskys orchestra, persuades the maestro to hear Kenneth play, Hofer then lies to Kenneth, telling him that Kavosky wants to perform his concerto at Carnegie Hall, and that they should begin the orchestrations immediately. Kenneth works hard on his music, which he withdraws from Dannys show, Danny is infuriated, especially when he sees Bonnie and Kenneth kiss, but Bonnie is thrilled by Kenneths seeming good fortune. Hofer disappears with the money, and Kenneth discovers his treachery after speaking to the surprised Kavosky, the heartbroken Kenneth is on his way home when he sees Hofer returning the money to Danny, who has realized that Bonnie is truly in love with Kenneth. The young composer misunderstands the situation and assumes that Danny and Bonnie were in on the swindle, while Kenneth is angrily packing, Querida questions him and learns of his misapprehension. She then gets him arrested by giving him some bootleg liquor to carry, and while Kenneth languishes in jail, Danny, Bonnie and the others step up their rehearsals and prepare to open the show. On opening night, Dannys right-hand man, Brophy, bails Kenneth out of jail, as he watches from the audience, Kenneth is amazed to see Kavosky conduct his concerto, which has been turned into an elaborate number featuring Querida and Bonnie. Kenneth rushes backstage, where Danny reveals that Kavosky volunteered his services after learning of the swindle perpetrated by Hofer, Danny also advises Kenneth to make up with Bonnie, and after her final number, Kenneth embraces her in the wings. Their contribution to the film is doubtful, however. According to a news published by The Hollywood Reporter in 29 October 1942, Alice Faye, other actors announced by Hollywood Reporter as having been cast included Ronald Graham, Jack Oakie, Phil Baker and Perry Como. In July 1943, The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Lillian Porter had been cast in the film, the picture marked the screen debut of The Revuers, a cabaret group featuring Judy Holliday, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Alvin Hammer. After the group broke up, Holliday became a well-known Broadway and motion picture comedian, Comden and Green became a popular songwriting team whose films included On the Town. Actor Felix Bressart was borrowed from MGM for the production, Carmen Mirandas rendition of Give Me a Band and a Bandana includes excerpts from O Que e que a baiana tem. by Dorival Caymmi and Quando eu penso na baia by Ary Barroso
20.
Carmen Miranda
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Carmen Miranda, GCIH • OMC was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress, and film star who was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. Nicknamed The Brazilian Bombshell, Carmen Miranda is noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in her American films, as a young woman, Miranda worked in a boutique designing hats before ultimately recording her first album with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Throughout the 1930s, Miranda performed on Brazilian radio stations and appeared in five Brazilian sound films known as chanchadas, which celebrated Brazilian music, dance, and carnival culture. In 1939, Lee Shubert, a Broadway businessman, offered Carmen Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris on Broadway after seeing her at Cassino da Urca, in Rio de Janeiro. In 1940, she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way, with Don Ameche and Betty Grable, her exotic clothing and Latin accent became her trademark. In the same year, she was voted the third most popular personality in the United States and was invited to sing and dance for President Franklin Roosevelt, along with her group, Bando da Lua. In 1943, Miranda starred in Busby Berkleys The Gangs All Here, by 1945, she was the highest paid woman in the United States. Miranda made a total of fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953, though hailed as a talented performer, her popularity waned by the end of World War II. She later grew to resent the stereotypical Brazilian Bombshell image she cultivated and attempted to free of it with limited success. Carmen Miranda was the first Latin American star to be invited to imprint her hands and feet in the courtyard of Graumans Chinese Theatre and she became the first South American to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is considered the precursor of Brazils Tropicalismo cultural movement of the 1960s, a museum was later constructed in Rio de Janeiro in her honor, and in 1995 she was the subject of the acclaimed documentary Carmen Miranda, Bananas is My Business. Carmen Miranda was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Várzea da Ovelha e Aliviada and she was the second daughter of José Maria Pinto da Cunha and Maria Emília Miranda. In 1909 when she was ten months old, her father emigrated alone to Brazil and settled in Rio de Janeiro and her mother followed in 1910 with their daughters Olinda and Maria do Carmo. Maria do Carmo, later Carmen, never returned to Portugal, in Brazil, her parents had four more children, Amaro, Cecília, Aurora and Óscar. She was christened Carmen by her father because of his love for the opera comique and this passion for opera influenced his children, and Mirandas love for singing and dancing at an early age. She went to school at the Convent of Saint Therese of Lisieux and her father did not approve of her plans to enter show business. However, her mother supported her and was beaten when her husband discovered Miranda had auditioned for a radio show and she had previously sung at parties and festivals in Rio. Her older sister Olinda contracted tuberculosis and was sent to Portugal for treatment, Miranda went to work in a tie shop at age 14 to help pay her sisters medical bills
21.
Don Ameche
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Don Ameche was an American actor and voice artist. After touring in vaudeville, he featured in many biographical films and he continued to appear on Broadway, as well as on radio and TV, where he was host and commentator for International Showtime, covering circus and ice-shows all over Europe. Ameche was married to his wife Honore for 54 years, Ameche won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cocoon. Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin on May 31,1908 and his father, Felice Amici, was a bartender from Italy from Montemonaco, Ascoli Piceno, Marche. His mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, was of Scottish, Irish and he had three brothers, Umberto, James, and Louis, and four sisters, Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary and Anna. Ameche attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin, Ameche had intended to study law, but he found theatricals more interesting and decided on a stage career. He was instrumental in forming and leading the group the year before play began. Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986, one, Ron Ameche, owned a restaurant, Ameches Pumpernickel in Coralville, Iowa. He had two daughters, Connie and Bonnie, Ameches younger brother, Jim Ameche, was also a well-known actor. His brother Bert was an architect who worked for the U. S. Navy in Port Hueneme, California, and then the U. S. Postal Service in Los Angeles, California. He enjoyed the experience and got a lead in Jerry For Short in New York, followed by a tour in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until she dropped him from the act. He made his debut in 1935, and by the late 1930s, had established himself as a major actor in Hollywood. He appeared in films as Alexanders Ragtime Band, and as the title character in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell. In the 1940 film Go West, Groucho Marx proclaims, Telephone and this is 1870, Don Ameche hasnt invented the telephone yet. While in the 1941 film Ball of Fire, Barbara Stanwycks character discusses the ameche slang usage, Do you know what this means, another highlight was co-starring with Gene Tierney in Ernst Lubitschs Heaven Can Wait in 1943, a film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1940, he was voted the 21st-most-popular star in Hollywood, in 1944 he reportedly earned $247,677 for 1943, making him the second highest earner at 20th Century Fox after Spyros Skouras. Ameche played so many roles based on people that on one of his radio broadcasts, Fred Allen joked. Soon afterwards, in Its in the Bag. which starred Allen, Ameche and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy were eventually cast in John Landis Trading Places in 1983, playing rich brothers intent on ruining an innocent man for the sake of a one-dollar bet
22.
On the Town (musical)
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The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them New York, New York, Lonely Town, I Can Cook, Too, and Some Other Time. The story concerns three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City during wartime 1944, each of the three sailors meets and quickly connects with a woman. On the Town was first produced on Broadway in 1944 and was made into a film in 1949, although the film replaced all, the show has enjoyed a number of major revivals. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling, Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show and they convinced Robbins and Bernstein, who in turn wanted their friends Comden and Green to write the book and lyrics. When the director George Abbott was added to the project, funding was secured, Broadway On the Town premiered on Broadway at the Adelphi Theater on December 28,1944, directed by George Abbott and with choreography by Jerome Robbins. It closed on February 2,1946, after 462 performances, the production starred John Battles, Cris Alexander, Nancy Walker, Sono Osato, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. The musical director was Max Goberman, the original production of On the Town was notable for its racially diverse cast and intentional avoidance of racial stereotypes. The first Broadway revival opened at the Imperial Theatre on October 31,1971, donna McKechnie, Phyllis Newman, and Bernadette Peters co-starred as Ivy, Claire, and Hildy. The director and choreographer was Ron Field, Peters received a nomination for the 1972 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Best of all is Bernadette Peters as the Bronxly nasal taxi driver. Phyllis Newman as Claire also danced and sang with just the right style, donna McKechnie made a sweet and talented Ivy Smith. The second Broadway revival opened on November 19,1998, deLaria makes an obliging captive of anyone watching her. A Broadway revival opened at the Lyric Theatre on September 20,2014 in previews, a cast album was recorded at Audio Paint Studios in New York City in 2014. The production closed, after 28 previews and 368 regular performances, Other US A production of On The Town opened in June 2013 at Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts. John Rando directed the production and Joshua Bergasse choreographed, the production starred Tony Yazbeck, Clyde Alves, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Alysha Umphress, Deanna Doyle, Elizabeth Stanley, Michael Rupert and Nancy Opel. The joy of Mr. Randos production is in its air of erotic effortlessness, staged concert was presented at New York City Center from November 19,2008 through November 23,2008, as part of a citywide celebration of Leonard Bernsteins 90th birthday. In reviewing this production, Charles Isherwood wrote, The production is rich in dance, and winning performances, but its richest of all in music. There are several sequences, instant reprises, jazzy pop songs, classical spoofs. London The first London production of On the Town opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on May 30,1963 and it was directed and choreographed by Joe Layton and starred Elliott Gould and Don McKay
23.
Ballet
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Ballet /ˈbæleɪ/ is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own based on French terminology. It has been influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training, Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art. Ballet may also refer to a dance work, which consists of the choreography. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists, the word came into English usage from the French around 1630. Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries before being spread from Italy to France by an Italian aristocrat, Catherine de Medici, in France, ballet developed even further under her aristocratic influence. The dancers in these early court ballets were mostly noble amateurs, Ballets in this period were lengthy and elaborate and often served a political purpose. Ornamented costumes were meant to impress viewers and restricted freedom of movement. The ballets were performed in large chambers with viewers on three sides, French court ballet reached its height under the reign of King Louis XIV. Known as the Sun King, Louis symbolized the brilliance of France, in 1661 Louis founded the Académie Royale de Danse to establish standards and certify dance instructors. In 1672, Louis XIV made Jean-Baptiste Lully the director of the Académie Royale de Musique from which the first professional ballet company, Lully is considered the most important composer of music for ballets de cour and instrumental to the development of the form. Ballet went into decline in France after 1830, though it continued to develop in Denmark, Italy, the arrival in Europe on the eve of First World War of the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, revived interest in the ballet and started the modern era. The Russian choreographer Michel Fokine challenged tradition and called for reforms that reinvigorated ballet as an art form, in the 20th century, ballet had a wide influence on other dance genres, and subgenres of ballet have also evolved. In the United States, choreographer George Balanchine developed what is now known as neoclassical ballet, other developments include contemporary ballet and post-structural ballet. Also in the century, ballet took a turn dividing it from classical ballet to the introduction of modern dance. Stylistic variations have emerged and evolved since the Italian Renaissance, early, classical variations are primarily associated with geographic origin
24.
Jerome Robbins
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Jerome Robbins was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theater producer who worked in classical ballet, on Broadway, and in films and television. He received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy Award for Best Director with Robert Wise for West Side Story, Robbins was born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz in the Jewish Maternity Hospital at 270 East Broadway on Manhattan’s Lower East Side – a neighborhood populated by many immigrants. The Rabinowitz family lived in an apartment house at 51 East 97th Street at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue. Known as Jerry to those close to him, Robbins was given a name that reflected his parents patriotic enthusiasm for the then-president. In the early 1920s, the Rabinowitz family moved to Weehawken and his father and uncle opened the Comfort Corset Company in Union City, New Jersey. The family had many business connections, including vaudeville performers. In the 1940s, their name was changed to Robbins. Robbins began studying dance in high school with Alys Bentley. Said Robbins later, What gave me immediately was the freedom to make up my own dances without inhibition or doubts. ”After graduation he went to study chemistry at New York University but dropped out after a year for financial reasons. He joined the company of Senya Gluck Sandor, a exponent of expressionistic modern dance. While a member of Sandor’s company Robbins made his debut with the Yiddish Art Theater. Robbins had also begun creating dances for Tamiment’s Revues, some comic and some dramatic, topical, one such dance, later also performed in New York City at the 92nd Street Y, was “Strange Fruit, ” set to the song performed indelibly by Billie Holiday. In 1946, Robbins joined Ballet Theatre, Robbins created and performed in Fancy Free, a ballet about sailors on liberty, at the Metropolitan Opera as part of the Ballet Theatre season in 1944. One of Fancy Frees inspirations was Paul Cadmus 1934 painting The Fleets In, however, Robbins scenario was more lighthearted than the painting. Robbins commissioned a score for the ballet from the then-unknown Leonard Bernstein, with Fancy Free, Robbins created a dance that integrated classic ballet, 1940’s social dancing, and a screwball plotline. Later that year, Robbins conceived and choreographed On the Town, a musical inspired by Fancy Free. Bernstein wrote the music and Smith designed the sets, the book and lyrics were by a team that Robbins would work with again, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and the director was the Broadway legend George Abbott. Because Robbins, as choreographer, insisted that his chorus reflect the diversity of a New York City crowd
25.
Good News (1947 film)
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Good News is a 1947 American MGM musical film based on the 1927 stage production of the same name. It starred June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Mel Tormé, the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green was directed by Charles Walters in Technicolor. Three additional songs were written for the film, The French Lesson, Pass That Peace Pipe, and An Easier Way, Good News was the second adaptation of the stage musical, after the 1930 film Good News. The 1947 film was a sanitized version of the musical. The film is set in 1927 at fictional Tait College, where football is all the rage, taits football star Tommy Marlowe is a prime catch for the college girls. Tommy tells his friend and non-playing teammate Bobby Turner that the trick to attracting girls is to no interest. New student Pat McClellan resists his advances, cutting Tommy down to size at a party, Pat is interested in French, so Tommy enlists part-time school librarian Connie Lane to help him study the language. He gradually falls for Connie, who comes from a poor background, meanwhile, Babe Doolittle is seeking to leave a relationship with football player Beef so she can get involved with Bobby Turner. At a local shop, Babe advises Pat not to lose her temper. Connie grows attracted to Tommy, who she feels is not interested, Tommy asks Connie to the prom, but reneges when Pat shows interest. In the end, Tait wins the big game, Tommy pairs off with Connie, Beef pairs off with Pat, the college bursts out into song in a production number. June Allyson as Connie Lane Peter Lawford as Tommy Marlowe Patricia Marshall as Pat McClellan Joan McCracken as Babe Doolittle Ray McDonald as Bobby Turner Mel Tormé as Danny Robert E and this musical number survives and is included as an extra on the DVD. The film was a box office disappointment, earning $2,545,000 in the US and Canada and $411,000 elsewhere, edens, Martin and Blane were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song for Pass That Peace Pipe. Good News at the Internet Movie Database Good News at AllMovie Good News at the TCM Movie Database Good News at the American Film Institute Catalog DVD information about the 1947 film version
26.
June Allyson
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June Allyson was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and she signed with MGM in 1943, and rose to fame the following year in Two Girls and a Sailor. Allysons girl next door image was solidified during the mid-1940s when she was paired with actor Van Johnson in five films, in 1951, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss. From 1959 to 1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson. In the 1970s, she returned to the starring in Forty Carats and No, No. In 1982, Allyson released her autobiography June Allyson by June Allyson and she later established the June Allyson Foundation for Public Awareness and Medical Research and worked to raise money for research for urological and gynecological diseases affecting senior citizens. During the 1980s, Allyson also became a spokesperson for Depend undergarments and she made her final onscreen appearance in 2001. Allyson was married four times and had two children with her first husband, Dick Powell and she died of respiratory failure and bronchitis in July 2006 at the age of 88. Allyson was born Eleanor Geisman, nicknamed Ella, in the Bronx and she was the daughter of Clara and Robert Geisman. She had a brother, Henry, who was two years older and she said she had been raised as a Roman Catholic, but a discrepancy exists relating to her early life, and her studio biography was often the source of the confusion. Her paternal grandparents, Harry Geisman and Anna Hafner, were immigrants from Germany although Allyson claimed her last name was originally Van Geisman, studio biographies listed her as Jan Allyson born to French-English parents. Upon her death, her daughter said Allyson was born Eleanor Geisman to a French mother, in April 1918, her alcoholic father, who had worked as a janitor, abandoned the family. Allyson was brought up in poverty, living with her maternal grandparents. To make ends meet, her mother worked as a telephone operator, when she had enough funds, she would occasionally reunite with her daughter, but more often Allyson was farmed out to her grandparents or other relatives. In 1925, a branch fell on her while she was riding on her tricycle with her pet terrier in tow. Allyson sustained a skull and broken back, and her dog was killed. In her later memoirs, Allyson does describe a program of swimming that did help her recovery. As a teen, Allyson memorized the trademark Ginger Rogers dance routines and she also tried to emulate the singing styles of movie stars although she never mastered reading music
27.
Peter Lawford
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Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford was a British actor who lived in the United States throughout his adult life. He was a member of the Rat Pack and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy, in later years he was noted more for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he had a presence in popular culture. Born in London in 1923, he was the child of Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford, KBE. At the time of Peters birth, however, his mother was married to Dr. Capt. Ernest Vaughn Aylen, one of Sir Sydneys officers, at the time, May and Ernest Aylen were living apart. May confessed to Aylen that the child was not his, a revelation that resulted in a double divorce, Sir Sydney and May then wed in September 1924 after their divorces were finalised and when their son was one year old. Lawfords family was connected to the English aristocracy through his uncle Ernest Lawfords wife as well as his aunt Ethel Turner Lawford. His aunt Jessie Bruce Lawford, another of his fathers sisters, was the wife of the Hon Hartley Williams. A relative, through his mother, was Australian artist Rupert Bunny and he spent his early childhood in France and, owing to his familys travels, was never formally educated. Instead, he was schooled by governesses and tutors, and his education included tennis, in the beginning, his mother observed, he had no homework. When he was older he had Spanish, German and music added to his studies and he read only selected books—English fairy stories, English and French classics, no crime stories. Having studied Peter for so long, I decided he was unfitted for any career except art, so I cut Latin, Algebra, high mathematics. Around 1930, aged seven, he made his debut in the English film Poor Old Bill. At the age of 14, Lawford severely injured his arm in an accident when it went through a glass door. The injury greatly compromised the use of his arm and hand with irreversible nerve damage. The injury was judged to be enough to prevent his entrance into the armed forces. Instead, Lawford decided to pursue a career as an actor, prior to the Second World War, Lawford had gained a contract position with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. Once he signed with MGM, his mother insisted that studio head Louis B. Mayer pay her a salary as her sons personal assistant, Lady Lawford responded by claiming her son was a bummer and needed to be supervised
28.
The Barkleys of Broadway
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The Barkleys of Broadway is a 1949 Technicolor musical film from the Arthur Freed unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart. Also featured in the cast were Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Jacques François, Rogers came in as a last minute replacement for Judy Garland, whose frequent absences due to a dependency on prescription medication cost her the role. This turned out to be the last film that Astaire and Rogers made together, many critics at the time remarked upon Rogers changed figure, noting that the elfin girl of the 30s had made way for a sturdy, athletic woman. Josh and Dinah Barkley are a musical comedy team at the peak of their careers. After finishing a new show, Dinah meets serious French playwright Jacques Pierre Barredout, Dinah tries to keep the suggestion a secret from Josh, but when he finally discovers Dinah hiding a script for Jacques new show from him, the couple splits up. Their good friend, acerbic composer Ezra Miller tries to trick them back together again, as the result, Dinah gives a brilliant performance. After the show, she learns that her late-night mentor was Josh and not Barredout, so she rushes to Joshs apartment. Barkleys was his first film in English, and was to be his last American film and his French film career was extensive, he worked up until his death in 2003. The Barkleys of Broadway began with the title of You Made Me Love You, and with Judy Garland in the lead role opposite Fred Astaire. In fact, producer Arthur Freed had Comden and Green working on the script for the new film even before Easter Parade was finished, the film went into rehearsals with Garland, but it was soon clear that she would not be physically and emotionally able to do it. Rogers was interested, and The Barkleys of Broadway became their tenth and final film together, the production period was from 8 August through 30 October 1948, with some additional work on 28 December. The Technicolor process was relatively new at the time. The Barkleys of Broadway premiered in New York on 4 May 1949, swing Trot – music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Dance critic Arlene Croce called this the best number in the film, seen through the opening credits, it was released without visual impediment on Thats Entertainment III. Performed by Astaire, Rogers and Oscar Levant, shoes with Wings On – by Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin. Fred Astaire performs this number alone, as part of the show that Josh Barkley does by himself and it utilized green screen technology to have Astaire, a cobbler, dance with many pairs of shoes. Piano Concerto No.1 – Performed by Oscar Levant with full symphony orchestra and they Cant Take That Away From Me – by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. This song was used in RKOs 1937 Astaire-Rogers film Shall We Dance
29.
Ginger Rogers
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Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for her performances in films and RKOs musical films in which Fred Astaire was partened with her and she appeared on stage, as well as on radio and television, throughout much of the 20th century. Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Kansas City, Rogers and her family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, after winning a dance contest that launched a successful vaudeville career, she gained recognition as a Broadway actress for her debut stage role in Girl Crazy. This success led to a contract with Paramount Pictures, which ended after five films, Rogers had her first successful film role as a supporting actress in 42nd Street. Throughout the 1930s, Rogers made 10 films with Astaire, among which were some of her biggest successes, such as Swing Time, after two commercial failures with Astaire, Rogers began to branch out into dramatic films and comedies. Her acting was received by critics and audiences, and she became one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s. Her performance in Kitty Foyle won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, Rogers remained successful throughout the 1940s and at one point was Hollywoods highest-paid actress, but her popularity had peaked by the end of the decade. She reunited with Astaire in 1949 in the commercially successful The Barkleys of Broadway, after an unsuccessful period through the 1950s, Rogers made a successful return to Broadway in 1965, playing the lead role in Hello, Dolly. More lead roles on Broadway followed, along with her directorial debut in 1985 on an off-Broadway production of Babes in Arms. Rogers also made acting appearances until 1987. In 1992, Rogers was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors and she died of a heart attack in 1995, at the age of 83. A Republican and a devout Christian Scientist, Rogers was married five times, with all of her marriages ending in divorce, during her long career, Rogers made 73 films, and her musical films with Fred Astaire are credited with revolutionizing their genre. Rogers was successful during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and is considered an American icon. She ranks number 14 on the AFIs 100 Years.100 Stars list of stars of classic American cinema. Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath on July 16,1911, in her mothers rented home at 100 Moore Street, Independence and she was the only living child of William Eddins McMath, an electrical engineer, and his wife, Lela Emogene. She was of Scottish, Welsh, and English ancestry and her mother did not want her born in a hospital, having lost a previous child there. Her parents had separated shortly after she was born, but her grandparents, Walter and Saphrona Owens, after unsuccessfully trying to become a family again, McMath kidnapped his daughter twice. Rogers said that she never saw her father again
30.
Fred Astaire
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Fred Astaire was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and television presenter. His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films and several television specials, Astaire was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fifth greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years. Gene Kelly, another star in filmed dance, said that the history of dance on film begins with Astaire, later, he asserted that Astaire was the only one of todays dancers who will be remembered. Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Johanna Ann, Astaires mother was born in the United States to Lutheran German immigrants from East Prussia and Alsace. Astaires father was born in Linz, Austria, to Jewish parents who had converted to Roman Catholicism, Astaires mother dreamed of escaping Omaha by virtue of her childrens talents, after Astaires sister, Adele Astaire, early on revealed herself to be an instinctive dancer and singer. She planned a brother and sister act, which was common in vaudeville at the time, although Astaire refused dance lessons at first, he easily mimicked his older sisters steps and took up piano, accordion, and clarinet. Despite Adele and Freds teasing rivalry, they acknowledged their individual strengths, his durability. Fred and Adeles mother suggested they change their name to Astaire, Family legend attributes the name to an uncle surnamed LAstaire. They were taught dance, speaking, and singing in preparation for developing an act and their first act was called Juvenile Artists Presenting an Electric Musical Toe-Dancing Novelty. Fred wore a top hat and tails in the first half, in an interview, Astaires daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, observed that they often put Fred in a top hat to make him look taller. The goofy act debuted in Keyport, New Jersey, in a tryout theater, the local paper wrote, the Astaires are the greatest child act in vaudeville. As a result of their fathers salesmanship, Fred and Adele rapidly landed a contract and played the famed Orpheum Circuit in the Midwest, Western. Soon Adele grew to at least three inches taller than Fred and the pair began to look incongruous. The family decided to take a break from show business to let time take its course and to avoid trouble from the Gerry Society. In 1912, Fred became an Episcopalian, the career of the Astaire siblings resumed with mixed fortunes, though with increasing skill and polish, as they began to incorporate tap dancing into their routines. Astaires dancing was inspired by Bill Bojangles Robinson and John Bubbles Sublett, from vaudeville dancer Aurelio Coccia, they learned the tango, waltz, and other ballroom dances popularized by Vernon and Irene Castle. Some sources state that the Astaire siblings appeared in a 1915 film titled Fanchon, the Cricket, starring Mary Pickford, by age 14, Fred had taken on the musical responsibilities for their act. He first met George Gershwin, who was working as a song plugger for Jerome H. Remicks music publishing company, Fred had already been hunting for new music and dance ideas
31.
On the Town (film)
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On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. This caused Bernstein to boycott the film, the film was directed by Gene Kelly, who also choreographed, and Stanley Donen, and stars Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller, and features Jules Munshin and Vera-Ellen. The film was a success and won the Academy Award for Best Music—Scoring of a Musical Picture. Screenwriters Comden and Green won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical, in 2006, the film ranked No.19 on the American Film Institutes list of Best Musicals. Three sailors – Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie – begin their shore leave, riding the subway, Gabey falls in love with the picture of Miss Turnstiles, who is actually called Ivy Smith, and fantasises about what shes like in real life. The sailors race around New York attempting to find her in the period they have. They are assisted by, and become involved with, two women, and pair up, Ozzie with Claire, an anthropologist, and Chip with Hildy Esterhazy. Claire claims that shes found her passionate Prehistoric Man in Ozzie at the Museum of Anthropological History, Hildy invites Chip to Come Up to My Place. Finally finding Ivy, Gabey takes her on an imaginary date down his home town Main Street in a studio in Symphonic Hall - not realising that she is also from the same town. Later, Chip sincerely falls for Hildy telling her Youre Awful – that is and that evening, all the couples meet at the top of the Empire State Building to celebrate a night On the Town. They have a number of adventures before reuniting with Ivy at Coney Island just as their 24-hour leave ends, although their future is uncertain, the boys and girls share one last kiss on the pier as a new crew of sailors heads out into the city for their leave. This was Haneys screen debut Bea Benaderet has a small, uncredited role as a girl from Brooklyn on the subway, bern Hoffman has an uncredited role as the shipyard worker who sings the opening song. Alice Pearce was the original member of the Broadway cast to reprise her role. The location shots in New York took nine days, shooting in New York City was Kelly and Donens idea, which studio head Louis B. Mayer refused to allow, pointing out the studios excellent New York sets in its backlot. Kelly and Donen held their ground, and finally Mayer relented and allowed a number of days shooting in New York. The Breen Office of the MPAA refused to allow the use of the word helluva in the song New York, New York, arthur Freed USS Swanson, DD-443, the three sailors ship, which appears in the opening and closing scenes. On the Town at the Internet Movie Database On the Town at the TCM Movie Database On the Town at AllMovie On the Town at Rotten Tomatoes
32.
Frank Sinatra
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Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the music artists of all time. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants, Sinatra began his career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and he released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. Sinatras professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, and he turned to Las Vegas and his career was reborn in 1953 with the success of From Here to Eternity, with his performance subsequently winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra released several critically lauded albums, including In the Wee Small Hours, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice n Easy. Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own label, Reprise Records. It was followed by 1968s collaboration with Duke Ellington, using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until a short time before his death in 1998. Sinatra forged a successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm and he appeared in various musicals such as On the Town, Guys and Dolls, High Society, and Pal Joey, winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he associated with playing detectives. Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B, on television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While Sinatra never formally learned how to read music, he had a natural, intuitive understanding of it, a perfectionist, renowned for his impeccable dress sense and cleanliness, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname Ol Blue Eyes, Sinatra led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He went on to marry Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976, Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After his death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him the greatest singer of the 20th century, Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12,1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was the child of Italian immigrants Antonino Martino Marty Sinatra
33.
Gene Kelly
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Eugene Curran Gene Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director, producer and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his looks. Best known today for his performances in such as An American in Paris, Anchors Aweigh. He starred in musical films throughout the 1940s, including For Me and My Gal, Du Barry Was a Lady, Thousands Cheer, The Three Musketeers. In his later career, he starred in two films outside the genre, Inherit the Wind and What a Way to Go. Throughout his career, he directed films, most notably the 1969 film Hello. His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences, Kelly received an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors, in 1999, the American Film Institute also numbered him 15th in their Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood cinema list. Kelly was born in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh and he was the third son of James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman, and his wife Harriet Catherine Curran. His father was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Irish-Canadian family and his maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Derry, Ireland, and his maternal grandmother was of German ancestry. When he was eight, Kellys mother enrolled him and his brother James in dance classes and they both rebelled, as recalled by Kelly, We didnt like it much and were continually involved in fistfights with the neighborhood boys who called us sissies. I didnt dance again until I was fifteen, at one time his childhood dream was to play shortstop for the hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. By the time he decided to dance, he was an accomplished sportsman and he attended St. Raphael Elementary School in the Morningside neighborhood of Pittsburgh and graduated from Peabody High School at age sixteen. He entered Pennsylvania State College as a major, but the 1929 crash forced him to work to help his family. He created dance routines with his younger brother Fred to earn money in local talent contests. They also performed in local nightclubs, in 1931, Kelly enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to study economics, joining the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. He became involved in the universitys Cap and Gown Club, which staged original musical productions, after graduating in 1933, he continued to be active with the Cap and Gown Club, serving as the director from 1934 to 1938. Kelly was admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Law School and his family opened a dance studio in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh
34.
Singin' in the Rain
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Singin in the Rain is a 1952 American musical comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald OConnor, and Debbie Reynolds. It offers a depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s. The film was only a modest hit when first released and it topped the AFIs Greatest Movie Musicals list and is ranked as the fifth-greatest American motion picture of all time in its updated list of the greatest American films in 2007. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, Don Lockwood is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a singer, dancer, and stuntman. Don barely tolerates his vain, cunning, and shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont, though their studio, Monumental Pictures, Lina is convinced they are in love, despite Dons protestations otherwise. At the premiere of his newest film, The Royal Rascal, Don tells the crowd an exaggerated version of his life story, including his motto, Dignity. His words are humorously contradicted by flashbacks showing him alongside his best friend Cosmo Brown, to escape from his fans after the premiere, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden. She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress, later, at a party, the head of Dons studio, R. F. Simpson, shows a short demonstration of a picture. To Dons amusement, Kathy pops out of a mock cake right in front of him, furious at Dons teasing, she throws a real cake at him, only to hit Lina right in the face. Don is smitten with Kathy and searches for her for weeks, while filming a love scene, Lina tells him that she had Kathy fired. Don finally finds Kathy working in another Monumental Pictures production and she confesses to having been a fan of his all along. The production is beset with difficulties, including Linas grating voice, an exasperated diction coach tries to teach her how to speak properly, but to no avail. Don, Kathy and Cosmo come up with the idea to turn The Duelling Cavalier into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier, Cosmo, inspired by a scene in The Duelling Cavalier where Linas voice was out of sync, suggests that they dub Linas voice with Kathys. R. F. approves the idea but tells them not to inform Lina about the dubbing, when Lina finds out, she is infuriated. She becomes even angrier when she discovers that R. F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit, Lina threatens to sue R. F. unless he orders Kathy to continue working uncredited as Linas voice. R. F. reluctantly agrees to her demands, as a clause in her states that she can sue whenever denied a role of her choosing. The premiere of The Dancing Cavalier is a tremendous success, when the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo, and R. F. tell her to lip sync into the microphone while Kathy, hidden behind the curtain, sings into a second one
35.
American Film Institute
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The American Film Institute is an American film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the moving picture arts in America. AFI is supported by funding and public membership. The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, a board of trustees chaired by Sir Howard Stringer and a board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President and CEO Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens, Jr. and Jean Picker Firstenberg. <ref>AFI Board of Trustees etc. American Film Institute. October 2014. Retrieved December 24,2014. </ref>Two years later, in 1967, AFI was established, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Ford Foundation. The institute established a program for filmmakers known then as the Center for Advanced Film Studies. The institute moved to its current eight-acre Hollywood campus in 1981, the film training program grew into the AFI Conservatory, an accredited graduate school. AFI educates audiences and recognizes excellence through its awards programs and 10 Top 10 Lists. In 1969, the established the AFI Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies at Greystone. The first class included filmmakers Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader, mirroring a professional production environment, Fellows collaborate to make more films than any other graduate level program. Admission to AFI Conservatory is highly selective, with a maximum of 140 graduates per year, in 2013, Emmy and Oscar-winning director, producer and screenwriter James L. Brooks joined AFI as Artistic Director of the AFI Conservatory where he provides leadership for the film program. Brooks artistic role at the AFI Conservatory has a legacy that includes Daniel Petrie, Jr. Robert Wise. Award-winning director Bob Mandel served as Dean of the AFI Conservatory for nine years, jan Schuette took over as Dean in 2014. AFI Conservatorys alumni have careers in film, television and on the web and they have been recognized with all of the major industry awards – Academy Award, Emmy Award, guild awards, and the Tony Award. The AFI Catalog, started in 1968, is a web-based filmographic database, early print copies of this catalog may also be found at your local library. Each year the AFI Awards honor the ten outstanding films and ten outstanding television programs, the awards are a non-competitive acknowledgement of excellence. The Awards are announced in December and a luncheon for award honorees takes place the following January. The juries consisted of over 1,500 artists, scholars, critics and historians, with movies selected based on the films popularity over time, historical significance, citizen Kane was voted the greatest American film twice. AFI operates two film festivals, AFI Fest in Los Angeles, and AFI Docs in Silver Spring, Maryland, AFI Fest is the American Film Institutes annual celebration of artistic excellence
36.
The Band Wagon
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The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of a musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, the director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of Faust. Along with Singin in the Rain, it is regarded as one of the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, the songs were written by the team of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. The movies dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd, which Schwartz and Dietz wrote specifically for the film, was a hit and has become a standard. Another song orchestrated by Conrad Salinger, Dancing in the Dark, is considered part of the Great American Songbook and was from the original Broadway production. Astaires early number in the film, A Shine On Your Shoes was actually written for a 1932 Broadway revue with music and it had originally been performed by the dancing team of Buddy and Vilma Ebsen. In the movie version of The Band Wagon, the song was reworked to show off Astaires musical talents, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, Color, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay. In 1995, The Band Wagon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, in 2006, this film ranked #17 on the American Film Institutes list of best musicals. Stage and screen star Tony Hunter, a veteran of musical comedy, is concerned that his career might be in decline and his good friends Lester and Lily Marton have written a stage show that they believe is perfect for his comeback. Tony also feels intimidated by the youth, beauty, and classical background of his female co-star, unbeknownst to him, she is just as insecure in his presence, awed by his long stardom. Eventually, it all too much for Tony. He walks out, but Gaby speaks with him alone and they work out their differences and they also begin to fall in love, though she already has a commitment to the shows choreographer Paul Byrd. When the first out-of-town tryout in New Haven proves to be a disaster, Tony takes charge of the production, taking the show on tour to perfect the new lighthearted musical numbers. Since the original backers have walked out, Tony finances it by selling his art collection. Byrd walks out, but Gaby remains, the revised show proves to be a hit on its Broadway opening. Afterwards, Gaby and Tony confess their love for each other, as with the other Charisse songs, her singing was dubbed by India Adams. Adams recording of the song was reused for Torch Song for a number featuring Joan Crawford
37.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
38.
It's Always Fair Weather
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The film, co-directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, was made in CinemaScope and Eastmancolor. Although well-received critically at the time, it was not a commercial success, in recent years it has been recognized as a seminal film because of the inventiveness of its dance routines. Its Always Fair Weather is noted for its theme, which may have hurt it at the box office. Three ex-G. I. s, Ted Riley, Doug Hallerton and Angie Valentine have served in World War II together and become best friends. At the beginning of the film, set in October 1945, they dance through the street celebrating their upcoming release from the service and they vow eternal friendship, and before going their separate ways, promise to reunite exactly ten years later at the same spot. In the years after the war, the three men have taken different paths. Riley, who had wanted to become a lawyer, has become a fight promoter and gambler. Hallerton, who had planned to become a painter, has gone into a job in advertising. Valentine, who had planned to become a chef, is now running a hamburger stand in Schenectady, New York that he calls The Cordon Bleu. The three men keep their promise to meet at the bar ten years later, and quickly realize that now have nothing in common. Hallerton and Riley view Valentine as a hick, while Riley and Valentine think Hallerton is a snob, sitting together in an expensive restaurant as Hallertons guest, munching celery, they silently express their regrets in I Shouldnt Have Come, sung to the tune of The Blue Danube. At the restaurant, they encounter people from Hallertons advertising agency, including Jackie Leighton. Jackie gets the idea of reuniting the three men later that evening on a TV show hosted by Madeline Bradville and she and Riley gradually become involved, though at first Jackie seems motivated by wanting to get Riley on her show. She joins Riley at Stillmans gym, where Jackie demonstrates a knowledge of boxing while cavorting with beefy boxers. Riley gets into trouble with gangsters because he refuses to fix a fight, Hallerton, meanwhile, has misgivings about the corporate life. The three men are reluctantly coaxed into the TV reunion, with the gangsters tracking Riley to the studio and they jointly fight and defeat the gangsters, which brings them back together. At the end they are again, but go their separate ways without making plans for another reunion. At Kellys insistence, however, they made it into an MGM musical, Kelly at this point in his life had been making films in Europe such as Invitation to the Dance, to take advantage of a tax law for resident Americans
39.
Two on the Aisle
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Two on the Aisle is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The project marked Comden and Greens return to Broadway following their successful reign at MGM, an evening of comedy routines and splashy musical numbers with Las Vegas-type showgirls, it was developed specifically to showcase the talents of Bert Lahr. After one preview, the show, directed by Abe Burrows, and choreographed by Ron Fletcher, opened on July 19,1951 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, the marquee is briefly shown approximately 46 minutes into the movie, Pat and Mike. In addition to Lahr, the cast included Dolores Gray and Stanley Prager, Lahr and Gray disliked each other, with the trouble starting in New Haven. The lead spot for the first star was given to Lahr, but Gray argued that she should have it, the show became notorious for their efforts to upstage each other. An original cast album was released by Decca Records, Two on the Aisle at the Internet Broadway Database 2015 New York City Center interview with John Lahr about Two on the Aisle
40.
Bert Lahr
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Bert Lahr was an American actor, particularly of stage and film, and comedian. Lahr is known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker Zeke and he was well known for his explosive humor, but also adapted well to dramatic roles and his work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway. Lahr was born in New York City, the son of Augusta and his parents were German Jewish immigrants. Lahr grew up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, dropping out of school at 15 to join a juvenile vaudeville act, Lahr worked up to top billing on the Columbia Burlesque Circuit. In 1927 he debuted on Broadway in Delmars Revels and he played to packed houses, performing classic routines such as The Song of the Woodman. Lahr had his first major success in a stage playing the prize fighter hero of Hold Everything. Other musicals followed, notably Flying High, Florenz Ziegfelds Hot-Cha. in 1939, he co-starred as Louis Blore alongside Ethel Merman in the Broadway production of DuBarry Was a Lady. Lahr made his film debut in 1931s Flying High, playing the oddball aviator he had played on stage. He signed with New York-based Educational Pictures for a series of two-reel comedies, when that series ended, he went to Hollywood to work in feature films. Aside from The Wizard of Oz, his career was limited. In the 1944 patriotic film Meet the People, Lahr uttered the phrase Heavens to Murgatroyd, later popularized by cartoon character Snagglepuss. Lahrs most famous role was that of the Cowardly Lion in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers 1939 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, Lahr was signed to play the role on July 25,1938. He starred opposite Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, Lahrs lion costume was composed of lion fur and, under the high-intensity lighting required for Ozs Technicolor scenes, the costume was unbearably hot. Lahr contributed ad-lib comedic lines for his character, many of Lahrs scenes took several takes because other cast members, especially Garland, couldnt complete the scenes without laughing. The Wizard of Oz was Lahrs 17th movie, when warned that Hollywood had a habit of typecasting actors, Lahr replied, Yeah, but how many parts are there for lions. He made the transition to straight theater and he got a script of Waiting for Godot, and was greatly impressed but unsure of how the revolutionary play would be received in the United States. It was performed in Europe to great acclaim, but was somewhat obscure and he co-starred in the US premiere of Waiting for Godot in 1956 at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida, playing Estragon to Tom Ewells Vladimir. The performance bombed, with audience members walking out in numbers
41.
Dolores Gray
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Dolores Gray was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, both her mother and father were Vaudeville actors, which is how they met. Grays parents divorced when she was a young child, Dolores had an older brother, Richard Gray, who also had a career in Hollywood. While attending Polytechnic High School she was in the Girls Glee Club and she was discovered by Rudy Vallee, who gave her a guest spot on his nationwide radio show. Dolores Gray was briefly signed with MGM, appearing in Kismet and her career commenced as a cabaret artiste in restaurants and supper clubs in San Francisco. In 1945 she appeared in her own radio program, while she was appearing in Annie Get Your Gun in London, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1948. As a fundraiser to help rebuild the RADA theatre, she appeared as Nell Gwynne in In Good King Charless Golden Days at Drury Lane Theatre. She appeared at the London Palladium in 1958 while doing a tour of Europe. Among her many roles, she appeared in Two on the Aisle, Carnival In Flanders, Destry Rides Again, Sherry. She also performed the role in Annie Get Your Gun in its first London production. Gray won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her role in Carnival in Flanders, even though this Broadway musical, with a script by Preston Sturges, ran for only six performances. She therefore holds a record that is unlikely to be broken, portraying a singing and dancing stage actress, she appeared with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall in the highly successful film Designing Woman, as his former mistress. During her successful career, she sang Marilyn Monroes part on the Decca Records soundtrack album of Theres No Business Like Show Business. She was best known for her theatre roles and she recalled once, What a gift that would be to have more of a permanent record. A stage performance is just that, then its lost, when I see movies on TV, I think, How great to have that. The decisions I made, I made, Theatre critic Michael Phillips wrote Grays voice sounded like a freight-train slathered in honey. Apart from the soundtrack albums she appeared on, Gray recorded one album of songs in 1957 for Capitol Records with the title Warm Brandy. On September 24,1966, Dolores Gray married Andrew J. Crevolin, despite erroneous reports in the media that they divorced, they remained married until his death in 1992
42.
Wonderful Town
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Wonderful Town is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and actress respectively, seeking success from their basement apartment in New York Citys Greenwich Village. Only the last two stories in McKenneys book were used, and they were heavily modified and it is a lighter piece than Bernsteins later works, West Side Story and Candide, but none of the songs have become as popular. Act I During the summer of 1935 in Greenwich Village, New York, when the tourists have departed, the witty Ruth Sherwood arrives in Greenwich Village with Eileen, her younger sister. The two have just arrived from Columbus, Ohio, determined to forge a life in New York City as a writer, soon they are living in a basement apartment, recently vacated by Violet, loaned by the landlord, Mr. Appopolous. Their apartment building is shaken frequently by dynamite from the construction of a subway underneath them as well as Violets returning customers, the sisters are soon stricken with homesickness for Ohio. The next morning, Ruth and Eileen set out to try their hand at Conquering New York, only to find defeat and humiliation. Eileen, at least, has gotten food from a food samples man, as well as Mr. Valenti, but has also met Frank Lippencott, eventually, Ruth talks her way into the offices of a short story magazine, where she meets Bob Baker. Undaunted, Ruth leaves three stories with Bob in the hope that he read them. Bob arrives at the apartment, looking for Ruth, and Eileen invites him over for dinner as well, the phone rings, and it is Chick Clark, a newspaper editor, whom Eileen met in an elevator, wanting to see Eileen. Eileen happily agrees to him in their apartment, much to Ruths hesitation. Wreck describes his lucky history as a student at Trenton Tech, Eileen has invited Frank Lippencott, Bob Baker, and Chick Clark, a slimy newspaper scribe whom she has met with the object of furthering Ruths career, over for potluck supper. Unaware of each others feelings, both find themselves attracted to Bob. Soon, all five of them are seated around the apartment trying to fill the awkward silence. Meanwhile, Helen deals with her overbearing and exaggerated mother, Ruth and Bob talk over the quality of her stories, and he advises her to write about what she knows rather than flights of fancy. Both say several wrong things, and he tells her off. He soon regrets it as Ruth rushes inside in tears, while all this is happening, anxious to be alone with Eileen, Chick Clark creates a bogus assignment for Ruth. He sends her off to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to interview a group of Brazilian navy cadets and she quickly realizes that their sole interest is to learn and dance the Conga
43.
Rosalind Russell
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A noted comedian, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won a Tony Award in 1953 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town and she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times throughout her career. She had a career span from the 1930s to the 1970s. Catherine Rosalind Russell was one of seven children born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to James Edward, a lawyer, and Clara A. Russell and she was named after a ship on which her parents had traveled. Her parents thought Russell was studying to become a teacher, and were unaware that she was planning to become a comedic actress, Russell started her career as a fashion model and was in many Broadway shows. Against parental objections, she took a job at a company for seven months at Saranac Lake and then Hartford. Afterwards, she moved to Boston, where she acted for a year at a group for Edward E. Clive. Later, she appeared in a revue in New York, there, she took voice lessons and built a career in the opera, which was short-lived due to her difficulty in reaching high notes. In the early 1930s, Russell went west to Los Angeles, when she first arrived on the lot, she was ignored by most of the crew and later told the press she felt terrible and humiliated at Universal, which affected her self-confidence. Unhappy with Universals leadership, and second-class studio status at the time, when MGM first approached her for a screen test, Russell was wary, remembering her experience at Universal. When she met MGMs Benny Thau and Ben Piazza, she was surprised and her screen test was directed by Harold S. Bucquet, and she later recalled that she was hired because of a closeup he took of her. Under contract to MGM, Russell debuted in Evelyn Prentice, although the role was small, she received good notices, with one critic saying that she was convincing as the woman scorned. She starred in comedies such as Forsaking All Others and Fours a Crowd, as well as dramas, including Craigs Wife. Russell was first acclaimed when she co-starred with Robert Young in the MGM drama West Point of the Air, One critic wrote, Rosalind Russell as the other woman in the story gives an intelligent and deft handling to her scenes with Young. She quickly rose to fame, and by 1935, was seen as a replacement for actress Myrna Loy, in her first years in Hollywood, Russell was characterized, both in her personal life and film career, as a sophisticated lady. This dissatisfied Russell, who claimed in a 1936 interview, Being typed as a lady is the greatest misfortune possible to a motion picture actress and it limits your characterizations, confines you to play feminine sops and menaces and the public never highly approves of either. I earnestly want to get away from this, first, because I want to improve my career and professional life and, secondly because I am tired of being a clothes horse – a sort of hothouse orchid in a stand of wild flowers. Russell approached director Frank Lloyd for help changing her image, but instead of helping her, in 1939, she was cast as catty gossip Sylvia Fowler in the all-female comedy The Women, directed by George Cukor
44.
Edie Adams
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Edie Adams was an American businesswoman, singer, Broadway, television and film actress, and comedian. Adams was an Emmy and Tony Award winner and she was well known for her impersonations of sexy stars on stage and television, especially Marilyn Monroe. She was the wife and frequent television partner of Ernie Kovacs until his death in a 1962 car accident, Adams was born as Edith Elizabeth Enke in Kingston, Pennsylvania, the only daughter of Sheldon Alonzo Enke and his wife, Ada Dorothy. She had a brother, Sheldon Adams Enke. The family moved to areas such as Shavertown, Grove City and Trucksville and spent a year in New York City before settling in Tenafly, New Jersey. Ada Enke taught her singing and piano, mother and daughter were members of the Grove City Presbyterian church choir. Adams grandmother, a seamstress, taught her how to sew and she made her own clothing beginning in the sixth grade and Adams would later have her own designer line of clothing, called Bonham, Inc. She earned a degree from Juilliard, then graduated from Columbia School of Drama. She studied at the Actors Studio in New York and at the Traphagen School of Fashion Design, initially, Adams could not decide whether to pursue a career in fashion design or music, so she tossed a coin, and music won. In 1949-50, she appeared in the live television show Bonnie Maids Versatile Varieties as one of the original Bonnie Maids doing live commercials for the sponsor. In 1950, she won the Miss U. S, Television beauty contest, which led to an appearance with Milton Berle on his television show. Her earliest television work billed her as Edith Adams, one of her early appearances was on Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts. She was seen by the producer of the Ernie Kovacs show Three To Get Ready, Edie, who was well-trained in classical music, had very little experience with popular music and could perform only three songs. She later stated, I sang them all during the audition and she became part of the show in July 1951. Adams had never seen the program she was hired for, when he saw his daughter on the show, Adams father was upset to find her role involved trying to avoid pies in the face. In one of his last interviews, Ernie Kovacs looked back on the days, saying, I wish I could say I was the big shot that hired her. Later on I did have something to say and I said it, Adams began working regularly on television with comedian Ernie Kovacs and talk show pioneer Jack Paar. After a courtship that included mariachi bands and a diamond engagement ring, Adams and Ernie Kovacs eloped, they were married on September 12,1954
