Download or read book Ann Miller Tops in Taps written by Jim Connor and published by Franklin Watts. This book was released on 1981 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ann Miller written by Peter Shelley and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-09-24 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ann Miller (1923-2004) was an American actress, dancer, singer and author. Best known as a tap dancer, Miller practiced all forms of dance, and some of her solo routines are considered as good as any recorded in film musical history. Despite a reputation as a kook who believed she was psychic, and the potentially flat image of a "glamour girl," Miller's wit, charm and genuine ability to act gave her and her characters depth. This biography presents Ann Miller's career in the context of her fascinating life. Her career began with child acting and included three Hollywood studio contracts, two retirements for marriage, and appearances in film, stage, variety shows, sitcoms and more. She made a comeback in the stage musical Sugar Babies, earning a Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Award nomination. She was even appointed an international spokesperson for MGM in the ailing years of the studio.
Download or read book Tap written by Rusty E. Frank and published by William Morrow. This book was released on 1990 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the voices and memories of thirty American tap dance stars, and includes a comprehensive listing of tap acts, recordings, and films
Download or read book Black Tap Dance and Its Women Pioneers written by Cheryl M. Willis and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-04-13 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While tap dancers Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Eleanor Powell were major Hollywood stars, and the rhythms of Black male performers such as the Nicholas Brothers and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson were appreciated in their time, Black female tap dancers seldom achieved similar recognition. Who were these women? The author sought them out, interviewed them, and documented their stories for this book. Here are the personal stories of many Black women tap dancers who were hailed by their male counterparts, performed on the most prominent American stages, and were pioneers in the field of Black tap.
Download or read book Hermes Pan written by John Franceschina and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-08 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Armed with an eighth-grade education, an inexhaustible imagination, and an innate talent for dancing, Hermes Pan (1909-1990) was a boy from Tennessee who became the most prolific, popular, and memorable choreographer of the glory days of the Hollywood musical. While he may be most well-known for the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals which he choreographed at RKO film studios, he also created dances at Twentieth Century-Fox, M-G-M, Paramount, and later for television, winning both the Oscar and the Emmy for best choreography. In Hermes Pan: The Man Who Danced with Fred Astaire, Pan emerges as a man in full, an artist inseparable from his works. He was a choreographer deeply interested in his dancers' personalities, and his dances became his way of embracing and understanding the outside world. Though his time in a Trappist monastery proved to him that he was more suited to choreography than to life as a monk, Pan remained a deeply devout Roman Catholic throughout his creative life, a person firmly convinced of the powers of prayer. While he was rarely to be seen without several beautiful women at his side, it was no secret that Pan was homosexual and even had a life partner. As Pan worked at the nexus of the cinema industry's creative circles during the golden age of the film musical, this book traces not only Pan's personal life but also the history of the Hollywood musical itself. It is a study of Pan, who emerges here as a benevolent perfectionist, and equally of the stars, composers, and directors with whom he worked, from Astaire and Rogers to Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Bob Fosse, George Gershwin, Samuel Goldwyn, and countless other luminaries of American popular entertainment. Author John Franceschina bases his telling of Pan's life on extensive first-hand research into Pan's unpublished correspondence and his own interviews. Pan enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers of any Hollywood dance director, and because his work also spanned across Broadway and television, this book will appeal to readers interested in musical theater history, dance history, and film.
Download or read book The Agency written by Frank Rose and published by Frank Rose. This book was released on 1996 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the William Morris Agency is the stoyr of show business itself. Founded at the turn of the century, it stood as the premier agency in Hollywood for 80 years. With unvarnished descriptions of the board that runs William Morris and the needy and demanding stars they represent, The Agency is a compelling tale that lifts the curtain on the most intriguing business in Americ today. Photos.
Download or read book Vaudeville old new written by Frank Cullen and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 1362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Screen written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hollywood Heyday written by David Fantle and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-04-04 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What audacity!" exclaimed actor Robert Wagner when he heard about the authors' adolescent exploits in nabbing interviews with Hollywood celebrities. In 1978, Fantle and Johnson, St. Paul teenagers, boarded a plane to meet with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. They had written the stars requesting interviews--and to their amazement, both agreed. Over the years, more than 250 other stars also agreed--Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, George Burns, Rod Steiger, Milton Berle, Frank Capra and Hoagy Carmichael, to name a few. Published for the first time and with exclusive photos, this selection of 75 interviews chronicles the authors' 40-year quest for insights and anecdotes from iconic 20th century artists.
Download or read book The Man Who Made the Jailhouse Rock written by Mark Knowles and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-09-06 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Choreographer Alex Romero created Jailhouse Rock, the iconic Elvis Presley production number, but never received screen credit for his contribution. This book tells his story. The son of a Mexican general, Romero escaped the Mexican Revolution, joined his family's vaudeville dance act and became a dancer in Hollywood. Part of Jack Cole's exclusive Columbia dance troupe, he was eventually hired as a staff assistant at MGM, where he worked on Take Me Out to the Ballgame, American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and On the Town, among many others. When Romero transitioned into full-time choreography, he created the dances for numerous films, including Love Me or Leave Me, I'll Cry Tomorrow, tom thumb, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and three additional movies for Elvis. Known for his inventive style and creative use of props, Romero was instrumental in bringing rock and roll to the screen. This biography includes first-person accounts of his collaborations with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and others.
Download or read book Dancing on the Ceiling written by Stephen M. Silverman and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2019-04-03 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to explore the life and extraordinary work of the legendary moviemaker who directed Singin' in the Rain, On the Town, and Funny Face, from the author of David Lean ("Silverman has captured one of the world's truly great filmmakers"—Billy Wilder). Stanley Donen is the man who forever changed the Hollywood musical, moving it away from the Busby Berkeley extravagance to a felt integration of the songs and dances. He is also the man who helped shape the sophisticated romance exemplified by Indiscreet and Charade. The author, with Donen's cooperation, has brilliantly revealed Donen's fifty-year career—first in the theater, next in Hollywood, and then abroad. We see Donen's collaborations with Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. And we see his work with Rodgers and Hart, Alan Lerner, Comden and Green, Roger Edens, Arthur Freed, Michael Kidd, and Bob Fosse. We watch Donen growing up in the South in the 1930s, seeking refuse at movies, watching Fred Astaire dance on the screen, and forever changed by it. And then at sixteen, fleeing to New York, where he lands his first job in the chorus of the groundbreaking musical Pal Joey, directed by George Abbott, starring Gene Kelly...and appearing next in Best Foot Forward. We follow Donen west to MGM (first he was a chorus boy, then assistant choreographer)...next embellishing Anchors Aweigh, dreaming up the almost technically impossible notion of having its star, Gene Kelly, dance with a cartoon character, Jerry the Mouse...and in the next decade making one great musical after another. We hear Donen's recollections of life and work on the sets of Singin' in the Rain, Royal Wedding, Funny Face, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, The Pajama Game, Indiscreet, Charade, Two for the Road, Arabesque, Bedazzled, and other movies he directed. We see him through the eyes of more than one hundred of his contemporaries whom, in addition to Donen himself, Silverman has interviewed at length, from Kay Thompson and Billy Wilder to Deborah Kerr, Audrey Hepburn, Debbie Reynods, Gregory Peck, and Cyd Charisse. Dancing on the Ceiling gives, close up, a great director and a lost Hollywood on whose silver screen wit and charm abounded.
Download or read book The Movie Musical written by Jeanine Basinger and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irresistible and authoritative, The Movie Musical! is an in-depth look at the singing, dancing, happy-making world of Hollywood musicals, beautifully illustrated in color and black-and-white--an essential text for anyone who's ever laughed, cried, or sung along at the movies. Leading film historian Jeanine Basinger reveals, with her trademark wit and zest, the whole story of the Hollywood musical--in the most telling, most incisive, most detailed, most gorgeously illustrated book of her long and remarkable career. From Fred Astaire, whom she adores, to La La Land, which she deplores, Basinger examines a dazzling array of stars, strategies, talents, and innovations in the history of musical cinema. Whether analyzing a classic Gene Kelly routine, relishing a Nelson-Jeanette operetta, or touting a dynamic hip hop number (in the underrated Idlewild), she is a canny and charismatic guide to the many ways that song and dance have been seen--and heard--on film. With extensive portraits of everyone from Al Jolson, the Jazz Singer; to Doris Day, whose iconic sunniness has overshadowed her dramatic talents; from Deanna Durbin, that lovable teen-star of the '30s and '40s; to Shirley T. and Judy G.; from Bing to Frank to Elvis; from Ann Miller to Ann-Margret; from Disney to Chicago . . . focusing on many beloved, iconic films (Top Hat; Singin' in the Rain; Meet Me in St. Louis; The Sound of Music) as well as unduly obscure gems (Eddie Cantor's Whoopee!; Murder at the Vanities; Sun Valley Serenade; One from the Heart), this book is astute, informative, and pure pleasure to read.
Download or read book Tap Dancing America written by Constance Valis Hill and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-11-12 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is the vibrant, colorful, high-stepping story of tap -- the first comprehensive, fully documented history of a uniquely American art form. Writing with all the verve and grace of tap itself, Constance Valis Hill offers a sweeping narrative, filling a major gap in American dance history and placing tap firmly center stage.
Download or read book Notable Women in the American Theatre written by Alice M. Robinson and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 1989 with total page 1036 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reference book has entries for some 300 women in American theater, ranging from actors, directors, choreographers, playwrights, and designers, to critics, agents, and managers, and should provide focus for future scholars of women's studies and theater. . . . . The volume will prove valuable to scholars and the curious. Library Journal The current and thoughtful treatment of this book will be valuable for academic and large public libraries, especially those that support research in women's studies, theater, American studies, and biography. Booklist From Mrs. Lewis Hallam, the first known professional actress in America to outstanding women of the present era, this biographical dictionary alphabetically examines some 300 notable women who had distinguished careers in the American theatre. Not simply a list of names and activities, the volume--to the extent possible--narrates and evaluates the women's lives and accomplishments providing not only relevant biographical information and bibliographical materials but also describing the women's professional contributions. In representing the careers of theatre artists from actors, directors, and designers, to choreographers, managers, playwrights, educators, critics, variety performers, and agents, this first reference of its kind devoted exclusively to women also serves as a unique survey of the history of American theatre. Notable Women in the American Theatre documents the widespread activities of women in the American theatre. As many of them functioned in more than one capacity, one of the two appendixes lists names in the various professional categories. Each entry describes the pertinent facts of biography and contains a descriptive narrative relating to the individual's career with a special notation of her distinguished role in the American theatre. A bibliography of the featured woman, including sources to be found in books, magazines, and newspapers, is also part of the alphabetical entry. To aid readers and researchers, 2 separate appendixes contain listings by place of birth and by profession and collate the interrelatedness of the careers of many of the women. Compiled primarily as a reference for college and university libraries, the volume would be a useful supplement to courses in women's studies, American studies, drama courses taught in English and theatre departments, courses in the history of the theatre, American history, and biography.
Download or read book 25 Years of Celebrity Interviews from Vaudeville to Movies to TV Reel to Real written by David Fantle and published by Badger Books Inc.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a compilation of 25 years of interviews with stars ranging from vaudeville to Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Bob Hope with rare photos taken by the authors themselves.
Download or read book The Cinematic Legacy of Frank Sinatra written by David Wills and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2016-01-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh new perspective on Sinatra's cinematic legacy.
Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors written by Barry Monush and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2003-04-01 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, Screen World has been the film professional's, as well as the film buff's, favorite and indispensable annual screen resource, full of all the necessary statistics and facts. Now Screen World editor Barry Monush has compiled another comprehensive work for every film lover's library. In the first of two volumes, this book chronicles the careers of every significant film actor, from the earliest silent screen stars – Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks – to the mid-1960s, when the old studio and star systems came crashing down. Each listing includes: a brief biography, photos from the famed Screen World archives, with many rare shots; vital statistics; a comprehensive filmography; and an informed, entertaining assessment of each actor's contributions – good or bad! In addition to every major player, Monush includes the legions of unjustly neglected troupers of yesteryear. The result is a rarity: an invaluable reference tool that's as much fun to read as a scandal sheet. It pulsates with all the scandal, glamour, oddity and glory that was the lifeblood of its subjects. Contains over 1 000 photos!
