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Post by christine on Aug 2, 2024 17:01:33 GMT
Rose Marie also sang this sweet song with Dean on his Variety Show - 1966.
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Post by kims on Aug 2, 2024 17:34:51 GMT
Yesterday I watched a doc about Rose Marie: WAIT FOR YOUR LAUGH. Wow, what a career. Even if you don't care for her, it is interesting to watch a career from radio/Vaudeville star and beyond. Only performer profiled I've seen who spoke openly about the "mob" including Capone and Bugsy. Most performers say there were gangsters, but they left them alone. Put it on a watchlist if you want a story of survival.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 3, 2024 12:44:23 GMT
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was the stage name of an Irish comedian born John F. Sullivan. He was raised by an aunt after his mother died, and there was a lot of commotion in the family– especially when his father remarried, and his younger brother left to live with their father. Maybe it’s ironic that while juggling family loyalty and early jobs as a teenager, he took up juggling for real. He also developed a ventriloquist act and other comedy routines. During one of his early jobs, he was chosen to entertain coworkers at a party and was an overwhelming hit. He was encouraged to quit and hit the road as a comedian and juggler (at least that’s what he writes in his autobiography). He toured for quite a few years, perfecting his act.
Some of his travels took him to other countries, but eventually, he wound up back on the east coat. Now billed as ‘Fred Allen,’ he really began to make his mark. He was appearing in vaudeville as well as in more legitimate stage shows. Plus he and a girlfriend (who became his wife) began to get jobs on radio.By the mid-30s, Fred became a major star on national radio.  His witty sense of humor and ease with audiences made him quite popular. In real life, he and fellow radio star Jack Benny were very close friends. But the two men and their gag writers cooked up a long-running “feud” that went back on forth on their various shows. This so-called rivalry, which people believed was real, lasted for over a decade. It was also the basis for a film the two made at Paramount in 1940, called LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. In the mid-40s, Fred Allen had a starring role in the film IT’S IN THE BAG!, which also featured Benny. On radio, his format changed, and he became a lot more topical. He made wry quips about his bosses, his sponsors, about the increasing popularity of television, and other things that sometimes found him censored. His style would influence comedians who came after him, like Johnny Carson.
In the early 50s, he was semi-retired due to hypertension and other related health issues. But 20th Century Fox managed to get his services for two anthology films in ’52. In one of these, he was a radio star (what else?) with Ginger Rogers.
 Suggested Viewing:THANKS A MILLION (1935)SALLY, IRENE AND MARY (1938)LOVE THEY NEIGHBOR (1940)IT'S IN THE BAG! (1945)WE'RE NOT MARRIED! (1952)O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE (1952)
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Post by topbilled on Aug 4, 2024 15:52:43 GMT
Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg started on radio when she played bass as part of a popular musical group. She and her fellow musicians enjoyed mild success, but Virginia became more interested in doing roles on dramatic series. From the late 1930s until the early 1960s, she worked with practically everyone on radio. Listeners heard her in shows with Jack Webb, who became a close friend; and in shows with Dick Powell, another friend. Meanwhile Virginia began to perform small roles in feature films. She was usually typecast as stern, authoritarian types who could instill the wrath of God in others. She had a memorable turn in the big screen version of DRAGNET in 1954. Webb had already used her for the radio program, and later she would be a frequent guest star on both television versions. In addition to her work on DRAGNET, she provided the voice for Mother Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO. She would reprise the character in two sequels a few decades later.
In between films Virginia continued to take other roles. During the 60s, after radio dramas gave way to television, she appeared on virtually every major TV series. Sometimes she turned up on crime shows; other times she was cast in westerns, like Wanted: Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen.
Audiences recognized her voice and her face, though they might not have always known her name. In the 70s, she was still working steadily. She had a good supporting role in A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN, opposite Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman. And she was fourth-billed in a blaxploitation picture called NO WAY BACK. When Virginia was not on screen, she was involved in charity work. Utilizing skills she had developed in radio, she would lend her voice to make recordings that assisted the blind. By the time Virginia passed away in 1986, she had amassed countless radio credits and over 200 screen credits.
 Suggested Viewing:DRAGNET (1954)CRIME IN THE STREETS (1956)PORTLAND EXPOSE (1957)
OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959)PSYCHO (1960)HOUSE OF WOMEN (1962)SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN (1963)JOY IN THE MORNING (1965)TWO ON A GUILLOTINE (1965)A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN (1970)
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Post by NoShear on Aug 4, 2024 17:57:33 GMT
Rose Marie also sang this sweet song with Dean on his Variety Show - 1966.
Darn: I was about to post this for you, christine, as I was looking up another "Rose Marie" for BunnyWhit and had forgotten about this Dean Martin post of yours. |
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Post by NoShear on Aug 4, 2024 17:59:56 GMT
Rose Marie -- can't wait, TopBilled! Thought of this song with Rose Marie, BunnyWhit: |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 5, 2024 13:30:30 GMT
Joe Penner
Comedian Joe Penner perfected many zany routines during his early years in vaudeville. He also gained valuable experience in two Broadway productions when he was still making a name for himself. When he wasn’t on stage, he found an opportunity to bring his brand of humor to radio audiences on Rudy Vallee’s variety show. His sketches were well-received by Vallee’s listeners. As a result of his increasing popularity, Joe was offered the chance to headline his own weekly program. His absurd shtick went over like gangbusters, and he offered up memorable catchphrases such as ‘wanna buy a duck?’ Hollywood studios did not want to buy a duck, but they did want to buy Joe’s movie services. Quickly he was signed for his first feature film. He made people laugh in two college musicals at Paramount in which he costarred with Jack Oakie. The success of the first picture, plus the success of his radio series, led to Joe being named top comedian of 1934.
He would continue to be a fan favorite for most of the 1930s. After he left Paramount, Joe signed with RKO to made a series of modestly budgeted screwball comedies. In these productions, he was cast opposite Lucille Ball in GO CHASE YOURSELF; and he starred with Betty Grable in THE DAY THE BOOKIES WEPT. Joe’s slapstick foolishness enlivened the pictures he made, and his style made him extremely well-liked by kids. In some ways, he was the PeeWee Herman of his time. When he finished at RKO, Joe appeared in the big screen adaptation of THE BOYS OF SYRACUSE at Universal. He had a dual role (twice the fun) and worked with Martha Raye. It would be his most popular movie, but unfortunately it was also his last one. A short time later, he was touring in a comedy show and suffered from a heart attack. He was only 36 years old.
 Suggested Viewing:
COLLEGE RHYTHM (1934)COLLEGIATE (1936)NEW FACES OF 1937 (1937)THE LIFE OF THE PARTY (1937) GO CHASE YOURSELF (1938) I'M FROM THE CITY (1938)MR. DOODLE KICKS OFF (1938) THE DAY THE BOOKIES WEPT (1939)MILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY (1940)THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (1940)
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Post by topbilled on Aug 5, 2024 13:42:22 GMT
Group 7: Popular on TV
Patty Duke; William Frawley; Barbara Eden; George Peppard; Donna Reed; Peter Falk; Joan Collins; Vince Edwards; Irene Ryan; Jackie Gleason; Amanda Blake
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Post by topbilled on Aug 6, 2024 12:54:28 GMT
Patty Duke
Patty Duke gained favorable notices when she costarred with Anne Bancroft on Broadway in a hit dramatization about Helen Keller’s life, THE MIRACLE WORKER. It was a role the young child star played 719 times on the stage from 1959 to 1961. She was captivating, and there was no doubt she would be asked to repeat her performance in the big screen version. In the process she gained more fans appreciative of her unique talents. And for the first time in Oscar history, she became the first child performer to receive a competitive award. This was not in a special juvenile category but as best supporting actress, beating out other performers much older than she was at the time. To say Patty Duke had become a star would be putting it mildly. However, she wouldn’t make another hit film until a few years later. In the meantime, her star quality was put to good use in a self-titled television sitcom where she played “identical cousins.” The Patty Duke Show was created by her lifelong friend Sidney Sheldon, who later became a bestselling novelist. Audiences watched two sides to Patty in this weekly series.
Off-screen the budding actress dealt with a failing marriage, abuse and clinical depression. She tapped into her private inner turmoil when she was cast in 20th Century Fox’s THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. She stunned everyone with a shattering performance of a drug-addicted beauty. Despite this portrayal, her feature film career did not regain the momentum it had in the beginning. Eventually Patty would become typecast on television. However, there were notable roles in horror films during the 1970s: a Universal production filmed in Canada; and a sequel to ROSEMARY’S BABY.
In between acting jobs, she married again and had children. Both her sons would also become actors. In the late 70s, she appeared in an interesting telefilm for NBC. It was a remake of THE MIRACLE WORKER. This time Patty played teacher Anne Sullivan, and Little House on the Prairie‘s Melissa Gilbert was Helen. It earned plaudits from critics and was a hit. Patty and Melissa remained good friends after the production finished. In the 80s, Patty returned to the weekly TV grind in a new sitcom, It Takes Two, opposite Richard Crenna. It lasted a season, and they played parents to future stars Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards. For the rest of the decade and into her later years, Patty kept busy with guest appearances on various programs. She also wrote her autobiography, ‘Call Me Anna’ (her given name)– it detailed the abuses she endured as a youngster as well as her bipolar diagnosis. She even found time in 2002 to return to her Broadway roots in a revival of the musical ‘Oklahoma!’
 Suggested Viewing:THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962)The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966)
BILLIE (1965)VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)ME, NATALIE (1969)MY SWEET CHARLIE (1970)YOU'LL LIKE MY MOTHER (1972)LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY'S BABY (1976)THE SWARM (1978)THE MIRACLE WORKER (1979)
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Post by NoShear on Aug 6, 2024 15:34:39 GMT
Patty Duke
Patty Duke gained favorable notices when she costarred with Anne Bancroft on Broadway in a hit dramatization about Helen Keller’s life, THE MIRACLE WORKER. It was a role the young child star played 719 times on the stage from 1959 to 1961. She was captivating, and there was no doubt she would be asked to repeat her performance in the big screen version.In the process she gained more fans appreciative of her unique talents. And for the first time in Oscar history, she became the first child performer to receive a competitive award. This was not in a special juvenile category but as best supporting actress, beating out other performers much older than she was at the time. To say Patty Duke had become a star would be putting it mildly. However, she wouldn’t make another hit film until a few years later.In the meantime, her star quality was put to good use in a self-titled television sitcom where she played “identical cousins.” The Patty Duke Show was created by her lifelong friend Sidney Sheldon, who later became a bestselling novelist. Audiences watched two sides to Patty in this weekly series.
Off-screen the budding actress dealt with a failing marriage, abuse and clinical depression. She tapped into her private inner turmoil when she was cast in 20th Century Fox’s THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. She stunned everyone with a shattering performance of a drug-addicted beauty.Despite this portrayal, her feature film career did not regain the momentum it had in the beginning. Eventually Patty would become typecast on television. However, there were notable roles in horror films during the 1970s: a Universal production filmed in Canada; and a sequel to ROSEMARY’S BABY.
In between acting jobs, she married again and had children. Both her sons would also become actors. In the late 70s, she appeared in an interesting telefilm for NBC. It was a remake of THE MIRACLE WORKER. This time Patty played teacher Anne Sullivan, and Little House on the Prairie‘s Melissa Gilbert was Helen. It earned plaudits from critics and was a hit. Patty and Melissa remained good friends after the production finished.In the 80s, Patty returned to the weekly TV grind in a new sitcom, It Takes Two, opposite Richard Crenna. It lasted a season, and they played parents to future stars Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards. For the rest of the decade and into her later years, Patty kept busy with guest appearances on various programs. She also wrote her autobiography, ‘Call Me Anna’ (her given name)– it detailed the abuses she endured as a youngster as well as her bipolar diagnosis. She even found time in 2002 to return to her Broadway roots in a revival of the musical ‘Oklahoma!’
Suggested Viewing:THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962)The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966)
BILLIE (1965)VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)ME, NATALIE (1969)MY SWEET CHARLIE (1970)YOU'LL LIKE MY MOTHER (1972)LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY'S BABY (1976)THE SWARM (1978)THE MIRACLE WORKER (1979) It seems she's had her critics, TopBilled, so it was nice reading an overview which is both supportive and sympathetic of Patty Duke. |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 7, 2024 0:06:56 GMT
NoShear I am not aware of her detractors...I have always been a fan of Patty Duke's acting. My first exposure to her was watching It Takes Two in the 80s as a pre-teen. I just thought that was a great sitcom and wished it had lasted a few more seasons.
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Aug 7, 2024 0:23:22 GMT
I admit that when I see her on game shows like Password, during what would be one's prime years for other actors, and she is introduced as an Oscar winner, I do wonder: Patty, you weren't offer better gigs (e.g. films, Broadway plays, star of the TV series), then these game shows?
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Post by I Love Melvin on Aug 7, 2024 12:38:28 GMT
My favorite Christmas story is Truman Capote' s A Christmas Memory. Geraldine Page did a definitive version for television in 1966, but I also love Patty's TV adaptation from 1997. She was 51 at the time and playing older, but did a beautiful job and I find myself also rewatching that version at Christmastime.  |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 7, 2024 13:35:01 GMT
William Frawley
William Frawley and his brother were entertainers who came from a family that disapproved of show business. While his brother gave up entertaining and went back home, Bill stayed on the road. He moved around a lot in the early days, taking jobs as a singer and as a comedian. Eventually he made his way to the east coast where he found legitimate stage work. He also found opportunities to make silent films. However, he was not too interested in a cinematic career in those days, and he continued to focus on his musical comedy routines. He married, and his wife joined him in the act; this continued until their divorce. When sound films came in, Bill had the chance to appear on screen again, and he did a few short films. This led to his being offered a seven-year contract with Paramount in 1933. At Paramount he became one of the studio’s go-to character actors. He was utilized in practically every genre, working with top directors and stars. One of the stars he worked with on the Paramount lot in the 30s was Fred MacMurray. They appeared together in the comedy THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS and in the action flick CAR 99. At the time they had no idea they would become television costars 25 years later. But a friendship was formed, and of course, it was a lasting one. Bill also became friends with Lucille Ball when she was under contract at MGM in the mid-40s. Both of them appeared in the Technicolor musical ZIEGFELD’S FOLLIES, though they were featured in separate sequences. In the early 50s, Bill’s movie career was in decline. By that point he had done over 100 screen roles, including a well-regarded turn in the holiday classic MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, as well as Chaplin’s MONSIEUR VERDOUX. Realizing he needed to switch to television to stay employed, he learned that Lucy and her husband Desi were looking for a dependable actor to play the role of a tough but likable landlord on their new sitcom. Of course, this led to Bill’s role as Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy. The show ran for six seasons (in the half-hour version), plus there were three additional seasons of specials (in a one-hour format). He was nominated several times for an Emmy for his performances. In 1960 he signed on to play the cook and all around caregiver Bub on MacMurray’s sitcom My Three Sons. It had a different production model than the Ball-Arnaz programs, but it was a hit and Bill had a lot of fun doing it.
 Suggested Viewing:THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS (1937)SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (1937)MAD ABOUT MUSIC (1938)ST. LOUIS BLUES (1939)THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (1939)THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. (1941)ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946)MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947)MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)KILL THE UMPIRE (1950)
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Post by NoShear on Aug 7, 2024 18:32:37 GMT
NoShear I am not aware of her detractors...I have always been a fan of Patty Duke's acting. My first exposure to her was watching It Takes Two in the 80s as a pre-teen. I just thought that was a great sitcom and wished it had lasted a few more seasons. Sorry I'm late to this, TopBilled... It may have just been one really negative review aimed at Patty Duke that I read, and that's why I prefaced it with "It seems..." |
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