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1-6 of 6
- Gladys Gale was born on 15 January 1891 in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Smart Woman (1931), Sing While You're Able (1937) and Find the Witness (1937). She died on 4 October 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Soviet composer, sound engineer and conductor. Organizer (1941) and first head of the State Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Cinematography. Honored Artist of the Tajik SSR (1940). He began his creative career in 1905 as a conductor of an orchestra accompanying silent films. Studied at the Rostov Conservatory (1913-1918). During the silent film period, he led orchestras in major cinemas, scoring silent films and composing music for them. Since 1930, he began working in sound films (in 1931-1947 - sound designer and sound engineer). Since 1938, he was also a conductor at the Soyuzdetfilm film studio, in 1948 - Mosfilm. Conducted the premiere of the Second Suite by S.S. Prokofiev from Romeo and Juliet. David Blok wrote and edited music for more than 200 films. He was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. He was buried at the Vostryakovsky cemetery.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jacob Sarvetnick was a child prodigy on the violin, destined to become Jan Savitt, leader of a popular swing band. Of Russian-Jewish ancestry, his father had variously worked as a motor mechanic and as a drummer in Tsar Nicholas II's Imperial Regimental Orchestra. In the U.S. from the age of fifteen, Jan became the youngest musician to play in the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, and, from there, he advanced to concert master for the great Leopold Stokowski. In the wake of multiple scholarships and being recipient of the Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal Award, he was soon leading his own string quartet. In 1935, after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music with a B.A., Jan suddenly decided to forsake classical for popular music and organise a dance band. He was eventually engaged by Philadelphia radio station KYW as musical director. The resulting national broadcasts proved popular with audiences and 'Jan Savitt & His Top Hatters' (so named, because their ensemble uniform consisted of white tie, tails and top hat) soon became one of the most highly rated big bands in America, playing the swank hotels, theatres and ballrooms. The band featured a unique beat called 'shuffle rhythm' (which may, or may not, have been originated by another bandleader, Henry Busse).
The 'Top Hatters' comprised between fifteen and eighteen musicians, plus vocalists. Famous sidemen included trombonist and future television composer Earle Hagen, drummer Nick Fatool and trombonist Urbie Green. Among the vocalists were Carlotta Dale, future movie actress Gloria DeHaven and Bon Bon (aka George Tunnell), the first black musician to work long-term in a white orchestra. Jan's theme song was "Quaker City Jazz". Other unique compositions for the band included the swinging "720 In the Books" (by arranger Johnny Watson), "Meadowbrook Shuffle", "It's a Wonderful World" and "Now and Forever". Jan also had noteworthy hits with his interpretation of "Tuxedo Junction" and "Make Believe Island". By the early 1940's, he added swing versions of classical compositions (mostly arranged by Jack Pleis), such as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "Prelude to Carmen" and Claude Debussy's "Afternoon of a Faun" to his repertoire. The band was featured in several B-movies, released by Warner Brothers and Columbia.
After World War II, Jan was forced to reduce the size of his band (now based on the West Coast) to eight musicians, due to tax debts. In 1948, on his way to a one-nighter in Sacramento, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and later died in a local hospital at the age of just thirty-six.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Axel Breidahl was born on 30 January 1876 in Randers, Denmark. He was a writer and actor, known for Kärleken rår (1913), Den levande Döde (1912) and Potteplanten (1922). He died on 4 October 1948 in Denmark.- Valentin Shcheglov was born in April 1903. He was an actor, known for Mechta (1943) and Rodnye berega (1943). He died on 4 October 1948.
- Arthur Whitten Brown was born on 23 July 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He died on 4 October 1948 in Swansea, Wales, UK.