Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-5 of 5
- The memories are vague when it comes to recalling this London-born leading lady, but Muriel Angelus did have her moments. She managed to appear in a few classic Broadway musical shows and Hollywood films before her early retirement in the mid-1940s.
Of Scottish parentage and the daughter of a chemist, the former Muriel Findlay was born on March 10,1909. Developing a sweet-voiced soprano at an early, Muriel made her singing debut at 12, eventually changing her last name and becoming a popular music hall performer. She made her West End debut in the musical production of "The Vagabond King" in 1927.
Muriel entered films toward the end of the silent era with The Ringer (1928), the first of three movie versions of the Edgar Wallace play. Her second film Sailors Don't Care (1928) (1928) was important only in that she met her first husband, Scots-born actor John Stuart. Her part was excised from the film. Other silents included The Infamous Lady (1928) and the German film Mascottchen (1929).
Muriel moved into leading femme parts in sound pictures with Night Birds (1930) in which she got to sing a number, but most of her films would not usurp her musical talents. The sweet-natured actress who played both ingenues and 'other woman' roles, went on to co-star with her husband in the romantic comedy No Exit (1930), and appeared opposite others in the Edgar Wallace crimer Red Aces (1930), the comedies Let's Love and Laugh (1931) and My Wife''s Family (1931), again with her husband in Hindle Wakes (1931). After co-starring in the crime stories Detective Lloyd (1932) and Blind Spot (1932) and the comedy Don't Be a Dummy (1932), she co-starred with British star Monty Banks in one of his farcical comedies So You Won't Talk (1935).
Muriel received a career lift with the glossy musical London stage hit "Balalaika" and a chain of events happened with its success. It led to her securing the pivotal role of Adriana in "The Boys From Syracuse" and, in turn, a contract with Paramount Pictures. Divorced from Stuart by this time, Muriel settled in Hollywood and made her best known films while there. She was quite touching as girlfriend to blind painter Ronald Colman in The Light That Failed (1939), a second remake of the Rudyard Kipling novel, and appeared to great advantage as a con-artist in The Way of All Flesh (1940). She was given the second lead in the romantic adventure Safari (1940) and appeared in her last film, Preston Sturges' classic satire The Great McGinty (1940), as Brian Donlevy's secretary.
After scoring another long-running Broadway hit with "Early To Bed" in 1943, Muriel met Radio City Music Hall orchestra conductor Paul Lavalle while appearing on radio in New York and married him in 1946. She retired to raise a family in New England. They had a daughter, Suzanne, who later worked for NBC. Muriel pretty much stayed out of the limelight for the remainder of her life.
Muriel died at age 95 in a Virginia nursing home in August 22, 2004, some seven years after her husband's death. - Robert Bragg was born on 14 September 1937 in Ward, Alabama, USA. He was married to Dorothy A. Boyd. He died on 9 February 2017 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Joey Baker was born on 28 May 1967 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Killing Time (2001), Afghan Knights (2007) and Universal Dead (2010). He died on 16 May 2011 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
One of America's most noted bandmasters and conductors was also an arranger, composer, clarinetist and saxophonists. He was educated at Juilliard on a scholarship and studied with Joseph Schillinger, then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra as a clarinetist under Arturo Toscanini. He was the conductor of the Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street for NBC radio, and during 1944 he organized the Stradivari Orchestra. He was the bandmaster of the Band Of America, the New York World Fair's official band during 1964 and 1965. His guest conducting appearances included concerts with New York Philharmonic, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, the ABC Symphony Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic. Joining ASCAP in 1950, his popular instrumental compositions include "Deep Melody", "United States March", "The Merrymakers", "Memoirs of a Dilemma", "Dance of the Woodwinds", "Big Joe, the Tuba", and "Good Fellowship".- Sonny Randle was born on 6 January 1936 in Cohasset, Virginia, USA. He died on 24 May 2017 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.