Download or read book Martha Raye written by David C. Tucker and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On stage from her childhood, Martha Raye (1916-1994) proudly embraced the role of the clown, her gift for slapstick comedy enhanced by a fine singing voice. She became a star with her first feature film, Rhythm on the Range (1936), as the zany, loudmouthed girl looking for love--or chasing it as it ran away. She won popular and critical acclaim with The Martha Raye Show (1954-1956) before it was abruptly cancelled, partly because of her chaotic personal life. Drawing on new interviews with her colleagues, this retrospective covers the life and career of an enduringly funny lady who influenced a generation of women comedians. Her reign as a top NBC star of the 1950s is covered, along with her appearances on popular variety shows, her roles in fondly remembered series like The Bugaloos, McMillan and Alice, and her film career that teamed her with the likes of Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin and Doris Day.
Download or read book Take It from the Big Mouth The Life of Martha Raye written by Jean Maddern Pitrone and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 1999 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After graduating from West Point in 1892, Charles Pelot Summerall (1867Ð1955) launched a distinguished military career, fighting Filipino insurgents in 1899 and Boxers in China in 1900. His remarkable service included brigade, division, and corps commands in World War I; duty as chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1926 to 1930; and presidency of the Citadel for twenty years, where he was instrumental in establishing the schoolÕs national reputation. Previously available only in the CitadelÕs archives, SummerallÕs memoir offers an eyewitness account of a formative period in U.S. Army history. Edited and annotated by Timothy K. Nenninger, the memoir documents critical moments in American military history and details SummerallÕs personal life, from his impoverished childhood in Florida to his retirement from the Citadel in 1953. From the perspective of both a soldier and a general, Summerall describes how the very nature of war changed irrevocably during his lifetime.
Download or read book Take It from the Big Mouth written by Jean Maddern Pitrone and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "She was one of the world's four best comediennes," said Milton Berle, "but she lived a life of personal disaster." Martha Raye sang, danced, and joked her way into the spotlight of the entertainment world with a career that spanned seven decades and encompassed everything from vaudeville to television commercials to entertaining U.S. troops. Take It from the Big Mouth, the first full-fledged biography of the multi-talented performer, explores Raye's life and career with candor and insight. Raye got her big break when she caught the attention of a film director as she kidded with audience members Joe E. Lewis and Jimmy Durante during an engagement at the Trocadero in Hollywood. In the late 1930s, Raye appeared in a number of films, and the press heralded her as a "stridently funny comedienne with a Mammoth Cave mouth." From there her career soared. She landed a role in Charlie Chaplain's film Monsieur Verdoux, and the New York Post commented that Raye was the only one who could hold her own with the comic master. By the 1950s she hosted her own highly rated television show, reaching millions with her clowning. Behind the huge smile and raucous laugh, though, there was a darker side to Martha Raye. She found solace from her insecurities and a frenzied schedule in the use of drugs and alcohol. Her seven rocky marriages, the last to a man 33 years her junior whom she had known less than two weeks, fueled headlines and gossip columns. Particularly painful was her turbulent relationship with her only daughter, Melodye. She was passionately committed to entertaining troops abroad during World War II, and she worked tirelessly as both entertainer and nurse in the remote jungles of Vietnam. Bob Hope commented that "she was Florence Nightingale, Dear Abby, and the only singer who could be heard over the artillery fire." The Green Berets designated her an honorary lieutenant colonel, and she later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After her death in 1994, "Colonel Maggie" became the only civilian laid to rest among the Green Berets at the Fort Bragg military cemetery.
Download or read book Louis Prima written by Garry Boulard and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the first paperback edition of the only biography of Louis Prima, one of the most underrated jazz musicians and entertainers of the twentieth century. In a career that spanned four decades, Prima infused the grit and grace of Dixieland jazz with swing and big band sounds, the first whiffs of rock 'n' roll, and a vaudevillian-like stage presence. A native of New Orleans, the Guy Lombardo protg known as ""The Italian Satchmo"" was the country's smashing new jazz sensation at New York's Famous Door in the 1930s. He went on to be a successful big band leader and a Vegas nightclub staple, and he virtually created the concept of the lounge act. Despite his longstanding success, Prima's over-the-top on-stage antics induced critics to not take him seriously and he was relegated to the status of mere ""entertainer.""Married five times and involved with numerous women in between, Prima has more often been remembered for his colorful relationships and quirky personality than for his abilities as a trumpeter and singer. After his death in 1978, his music gradually disappeared and jazz scholars rarely mentioned his name.Nudging Prima's legacy into the limelight the musician deserved, Garry Boulard nimbly explores Prima's ability to maintain a lifelong career, his knack for self-promotion, and how the cities in which he lived and performed--New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas--uniquely and indelibly informed his style. In a new preface, the author considers how the resurgence of big band and swing music in the late 1990s catapulted Prima and his music back into the public eye."
Download or read book Star Texts written by Jeremy G. Butler and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of previously published works on performance and stardom, examining the relationship between genre and performance, the position of the star within ideology, the construction of a semiotics of performance and stardom, the function of the actor within experimental or independent cinema, and the distinction between performance and everyday behavior. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Martha Raye in the 30 s 40 s written by G. D. Hamann and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Memories of Maggie written by Noonie Fortin and published by Langmarc Publishing. This book was released on 1995 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unique story of Martha Raye and her military experience.
Download or read book Television Comedy and Femininity written by Rosie White and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can comedy on television harbour elements of gender transgression or subversion? If a man is permitted to be 'funny peculiar' – playing the underdog or misfit – does a woman seem stranger in his place? Mapping examples from British and American comedy television over the past 60 years, from I Love Lucy to The Big Bang Theory and Smack the Pony to Waiting For God, this book asks: are particular forms of television comedy gendered in specific ways? Paying attention to series which have not been addressed in academic work, as well as more established shows, White offers fresh insights for the fields of television studies, gender and women's studies, cultural history and comedy.
Download or read book California Court of Appeal 2nd Appellate District Records and Briefs written by California (State). and published by . This book was released on with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Monopoly Problems in Regulated Industries written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 1996 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Television June 27 28 July 11 12 13 September 13 14 17 18 19 20 24 25 26 and 27 1956 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee No. 5 and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 1844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Committee Serial No. 22. pt.1/v.1: Includes CAB report "Transcontinental Coach-Type Service Case," Nov. 7, 1951 (p. 421-515). pt.1/v. 2: Includes S. Rpt. 82-540 "Report on Role of Irregular Airlines in U.S. Air Transportation Industry," July 10, 1951 (p. 851-941). pt.2/v.1: Includes FCC Order No. 37, docket No. 5060 "Report on Chain Broadcasting," May, 1941 (p. 3533-3690) and FCC "Sixth Report and Order," Apr. 14, 1925 (p. 3785-3956). pt. 2/v. 2: Includes discussion of television industry impact on songwriter royalties. Hearings were held in NYC. pt. 2/v.3: Includes Columbia Broadcasting System report "Network Practices," June 1956 (p. 5099-5245); and Cravath, Swaine, and Moore report "Opinion of Counsel and Memorandum Concerning the Applicability of the Antitrust Laws to the Television Broadcast Activities of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.," June 4, 1956 (p. 5313-5406); and Columbia Broadcasting System report "Analysis of Senator John W. Bricker's Report Entitled "The Network Monopoly,"' June 1956 (p. 5407-5486).
Download or read book Hearings written by United States. Congress. House and published by . This book was released on 1956 with total page 2568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hearings written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 1902 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book King of the Half Hour written by David Everitt and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regarded by his contemporaries as one of television’s premier comedy creators, Nat Hiken was the driving creative force behind the classic 1950s and 1960s series Sgt. Bilko and the hilarious Car 54, Where Are You? King of the Half Hour, the first biography of Hiken, draws extensively on exclusive first-hand interviews with some of the well-known TV personalities who worked with him, such as Carol Burnett, Fred Gwynne, Alan King, Al Lewis, and Herbert Ross. The book focuses on Hiken’s immense talent and remarkable career, from his early days in radio as Fred Allen’s head writer to his multiple Emmy-winning years as writer-producer-director on television. In addition to re-establishing Hiken's place in broadcast history, biographer, David Everitt places him in the larger story of early New York broadcasting. Hiken’s career paralleled the rise and fall of television’s Golden Age. He embodied the era’s best qualities—craftsmanship, a commitment to excellence and a distinctive, uproariously funny and quirky sense of humor. At the same time, his uncompromising independence prevented him from surviving the changes in the industry that brought the Golden Age to an end in the 1960s. His experiences bring a fresh and until now unknown perspective to the medium’s most extraordinary period.
Download or read book Reality TV written by Susan Murray and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2004-04-01 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Survivor. The Bachelor. Extreme Makeover. Big Brother. Joe Millionaire. American Idol. The Osbournes. It is virtually impossible to turn on a television without coming across some sort of reality programming. Yet, while this genre has rapidly moved from the fringes of television culture to its lucrative core, critical attention has not kept pace. Beginning by unearthing its historical roots in early reality shows like Candid Camera and wending its way through An American Family, Cops, and The Real World to the most recent crop of reality programs, Reality TV is the first book to address the economic, visual, cultural, and audience dimensions of reality television. The essays provide a complex and comprehensive picture of how and why this genre emerged, what it means, how it differs from earlier television programming, and how it engages societies, industries, and individuals. Topics range from the construction of televisual "reality" to the changing face of criminal violence on TV, to issues of surveillance, taste, and social control. By spanning reality television's origins in the late 1940s to its current overwhelming popularity, Reality TV demonstrates both the tenacity of the format and its enduring ability to speak to our changing political and social desires and anxieties. Contributors include: Nick Couldry, Mary Beth Haralovich, John Hartley, Chuck Kleinhans, Derek Kompare, Jon Kraszewski, Kathleen LeBesco, Justin Lewis, Ted Magder, Jennifer Maher, Anna McCarthy, Rick Morris, Chad Raphael, Elayne Rapping, Jeffrey Sconce, Michael W. Trosset, Pamela Wilson.
Download or read book A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers written by Will Friedwald and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will Friedwald’s illuminating, opinionated essays—provocative, funny, and personal—on the lives and careers of more than three hundred singers anatomize the work of the most important jazz and popular performers of the twentieth century. From giants like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland to lesser-known artists like Jeri Southern and Joe Mooney, they have created a body of work that continues to please and inspire. Here is the most extensive biographical and critical survey of these singers ever written, as well as an essential guide to the Great American Songbook and those who shaped the way it has been sung. The music crosses from jazz to pop and back again, from the songs of Irving Berlin and W. C. Handy through Stephen Sondheim and beyond, bringing together straightforward jazz and pop singers (Billie Holiday, Perry Como); hybrid artists who moved among genres and combined them (Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé); the leading men and women of Broadway and Hollywood (Ethel Merman, Al Jolson); yesterday’s vaudeville and radio stars (Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor); and today’s cabaret artists and hit-makers (Diana Krall, Michael Bublé). Friedwald has also written extended pieces on the most representative artists of five significant genres that lie outside the songbook: Bessie Smith (blues), Mahalia Jackson (gospel), Hank Williams (country and western), Elvis Presley (rock ’n’ roll), and Bob Dylan (folk-rock). Friedwald reconsiders the personal stories and professional successes and failures of all these artists, their songs, and their performances, appraising both the singers and their music by balancing his opinions with those of fellow musicians, listeners, and critics. This magisterial reference book—ten years in the making—will delight and inform anyone with a passion for the iconic music of America, which continues to resonate throughout our popular culture.
Download or read book The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals written by Dan Dietz and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-02-02 with total page 611 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The debut of Oklahoma! in 1943 ushered in the modern era of Broadway musicals and was followed by a number of successes that have become beloved classics. Shows produced on Broadway during this decade include Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon, Carousel, Finian’s Rainbow, Pal Joey, On the Town, and South Pacific. Among the major performers of the decade were Alfred Drake, Gene Kelly, Mary Martin, and Ethel Merman, while other talents who contributed to shows include Irving Berlin, Gower Champion, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Agnes de Mille, Lorenz Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, Jerome Robbins, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II. In The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines every musical and revue that opened on Broadway during the 1940s. In addition to providing details on every hit and flop, this book includes revivals and one-man and one-woman shows. Each entry contains the following information: Opening and closing dates Plot summary Cast members Number of performances Names of all important personnel, including writers, composers, directors, choreographers, producers, and musical directors Musical numbers and the names of performers who introduced the songs Production data, including information about tryouts Source material Critical commentary Details about London and other foreign productions Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers numerous appendixes, such as a discography, film versions, published scripts, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and non-musical productions that utilized songs, dances, or background music. A treasure trove of information, The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals provides readers with a complete view of each show. This significant resource will be of use to scholars, historians, and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre history.
