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1-50 of 195
- Actor
- Writer
William J. Burns was born on 19 October 1861 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Squaw Man (1914), The Argyle Case (1917) and The Argyle Case (1929). He was married to Annie M. Ressler. He died on 14 April 1932 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Indiana-born Harry Benham grew up in Chicago, Illinois. As a child he was possessed of a fine singing voice and sang in the local church choir. In 1904 the traveling musical "Peggy from Paris" was playing in Chicago and he got a job in the chorus. He soon graduated to singing the lead role. His success in that production led to roles in other plays, such as "The Sultan of Sulu", "Woodland" and "Marrying Mary".
He joined the Thanhouser film company in 1910 and stayed there five years, appearing in dozens of the company's productions while continuing his stage work. After leaving Thanhouser he went over to Famous Players, then signed with Universal Pictures, for whom he made such films as The Doll Doctor (1916), Love's Masquerade (1916) and The Capital Prize (1916). He also appeared in productions for other studios, such as Pathe's The Last of the Carnabys (1917), Warren Productions' The Warfare of the Flesh (1917) and American's The Frame-Up (1917). After leaving Universal he freelanced for quite a few studios, both minor and major, including Select's Cecilia of the Pink Roses (1918) (which was Marion Davies' second film), Paramount's Hush Money (1921) and Vitagraph's The Prey (1920). He made his final film in 1922, after which he retired from the movie industry and went into the clothing business.
His wife, actress Ethyle Cooke, died in 1949, and Harry remarried four years later to a widow he met in Florida. He died on July 17, 1969, in Sarasota, Florida, after a long illness. - Writer
- Editor
William B. Laub was born on 14 July 1889 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. William B. was a writer and editor, known for The Fair Cheat (1923), The Broadway Drifter (1927) and Out of the Chorus (1921). William B. died on 24 November 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Paul Jerome was born on 30 September 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Unwilling (2007), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and The Greatest Challenge (2004). He died on 14 November 1960 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Camera and Electrical Department
Hal Phyfe was born on 21 January 1892 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. Hal died on 12 September 1968 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
The 1926 publication of "Topper" brought writer Thorne Smith immediate acclaim. A sophisticated spoof of middle-class manners and morals, it chronicles the madcap adventures of Cosmo Topper, a mild-mannered bank executive who is rescued from his drab "summer of suburban Sundays" by fun-loving ghosts George and Marion Kerby. A sequel, "Topper Takes a Trip" (1932), records the further ribald escapades of Topper and the Kerbys on the French Riviera. The improbable trio went on to inspire several movies, notably the 1937 film Topper (1937) starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, as well as a hit television series Topper (1953)). Following the success of "Topper", Smith enhanced his reputation with a number of clever fantasies. "The Stray Lamb" (1929) features a Topper-like hero whose complacent life is upset when he is transformed into an assortment of animals. In "The Night Life of the Gods" (1931) Smith captivated readers with the nocturnal antics of an oddball inventor who cavorts around Manhattan with reincarnated Greek and Roman deities, and in "Turnabout" (1931) he offered up a screwball comedy about a jaded husband and wife who temporarily switch identities. "Rain in the Doorway" (1933) transports a harassed lawyer from the gloom of the Depression through a portal into a department store tinged with The Marx Brothers lunacy, and "Skin and Bones" (1933) tells of a fashionable photographer who becomes a nearly invisible skeleton at the most inopportune moments. "Did She Fall?", Smith's one mystery, came out in 1930. During this period Smith also wrote "Lazy Bear Lane" (1931), a children's novel, and "The Bishop's Jaegers" (1932), a metaphorical tale about chance-met passengers on a lost ferry boat who find unexpected sanctuary in a nudist colony. "The Glorious Pool" (1934), in which a group of aging hedonists happen upon the fountain of youth, was the last fantasy Smith completed. While vacationing in Florida with his wife and two young daughters, Smith died suddenly of a heart attack on June 21, 1934. His unfinished novel, "The Passionate Witch", was published posthumously in 1941 and adapted for the screen the following year by director René Clair as I Married a Witch (1942), starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March. It was not, as often claimed, the inspiration for the long-running television series Bewitched (1964) with Elizabeth Montgomery.
As recently as 1997 The New York Times rated Smith "one of America's most significant humorous writers" and credited his mischievous ghosts with inspiring such movies as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Beetlejuice (1988), Ghost (1990), Always (1989) and A Life Less Ordinary (1997).- Writer
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Ted Parsons was born on 24 September 1892 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer, known for Darkest Africa (1936), Hell in the Heavens (1934) and Bat Men of Africa (1966). He died on 2 May 1968 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Alma Kitchell was born on 29 June 1893 in Superior, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for H.M.S. Pinafore (1939), The Pirates of Penzance (1939) and In the Kelvinator Kitchen (1947). She died on 13 November 1996 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- James B. Morley was born on 5 February 1894 in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, USA. James B. was an editor, known for Professional Sweetheart (1933), Beauty and the Boss (1932) and Frisco Jenny (1932). James B. died on 27 January 1981 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Music Department
Merle Slease Evans was a cornet player and circus band conductor who conducted the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for fifty years. He was known as the "Toscanini of the Big Top." Evans was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 1947 and the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1975.
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus performance in Hartford, Connecticut. The fire killed around 168 people. The quick reaction of Merle Evans and his band is credited with saving thousands of lives. When Evans saw the fire, he signaled that the band should play John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," used in the circus as the "disaster march," indicating an emergency. The performers heard the music and immediately began the evacuation. Accounts state that Evans and his band played until it was no longer safe to do so, and then evacuated and reformed outside, where their playing helped to pace the evacuation and steady the crowd- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Author and lyricist ("Gone Fishin'", "Love Letters in the Sand"), educated at Columbia University and the brother of Charles F. Kenny. During World War I, he served in the US Navy, then joined the US MS. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Bayonne, New Jersey, Boston and New York, and was a radio editor and columnist for the New York Mirror between 1930 and 1963, and produced an early radio amateur show. Joining ASCAP in 1932, his chief musical collaborator was his brother Charles. His other popular-song compositions include "Nobody Knows the Power of Prayer", "Paradise Valley", "Make Believe Island", "Laughing at Life", "Every Minute of the Hour", "There's a Goldmine in the Sky", "Little Old Cathedral in the Pines", "It's a Lonely Trail When You're Traveling All Alone", "Running Through My Mind", "Leanin' on the Old Top Rail", "Beyond the Purple Hills", "Carelessly", "Just a Letter From Home", "Little Skipper", "I Met God on the Highway", "I Heard a Voice from the Infinite Sky", and "Violins Were Playing".- Sound Department
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nelson Minnerly was born on 19 January 1896 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an assistant director, known for Before Morning (1933), The Marines Come Thru (1938) and Love in Syncopation (1946). He was married to Mildred E McGalliard. He died on 20 July 1980 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Lee Frederic was born on 9 September 1897 in San Jose, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Two Lost Worlds (1951), Song of India (1949) and Northwest Stampede (1948). He was married to William R. Cox. He died in October 1968 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- A native of Stonington, Connecticut, General Elliott R. Thorpe's military career encompassed two world wars, the reconstruction of Japan, and a tour of duty in post-war Thailand. He stood guard in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles when the World War I treaty was signed in 1919 and was also on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur in 1945. He was one of the last survivors of both ceremonies. General Thorpe's unheeded warning about the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 was arguably his most memorable moment. Serving as a military attaché in Dutch-controlled Java (Netherlands Indies) in 1941 when the Dutch broke a Japanese diplomatic code, Thorpe was informed that intercepted messages referred to planned Japanese attacks on Hawaii, the Philippines and Thailand. He immediately cabled the information to Washington, but his warnings were ignored. A week later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
In 1943 then Colonel Thorpe was knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands for his work as American Liaison in the Netherlands Indies. He was promoted to Brigadier General and served as Assistant Chief of Staff G-2 and chief of counter-intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur. He played a crucial role in the reconstruction of Japan immediately following the surrender, overseeing the custody of Emperor Hirohito and covertly preventing Japan from becoming communist. General Thorpe was honored in 1949 with the title of Knight Commander in the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand for his work as military attaché of the American Embassy in Bankok.
He retired in 1949 after serving 32 years in the US Army and wrote "East Wind, Rain -- A Chief of Counter-Intelligence Remembers Peace and War in the Pacific," published in 1969 by Gambit Press, Boston. He had two sons Elliott Jr. and Donald (both deceased), and four grandchildren, including actor Bill Thorpe. General Thorpe is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his wife Emily L. Thorpe. - Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Emmett Kelly was born on 9 December 1898 in Sedan, Kansas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Wind Across the Everglades (1958), General Electric Theater (1953) and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He was married to Elvira Gebhardt, Mildred Richey and Eva Mae Moore (actress). He died on 28 March 1979 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Actress
Gracie Doll was born on 12 March 1899 in Stolpen, Germany. She was an actress. She died on 8 November 1970 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Production Designer
- Writer
- Art Department
Mordecai Gorelik, who was brought to the United States from Russia at the age of five, deserted his father's lumberyard, becoming, eventually, an internationally-known stage and film designer, instructor, and theatre historian. He is the author of a classic textbook, "New Theatres for Old," and of innumerable other writings, including a contribution to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His work as a designer of professional plays for The Group Theatre on Broadway, for the Actors Laboratory Theatre, Hollywood, and for other stage managements, has been varied by jobs as production designer of American and foreign films, and by official stage research abroad. He has represented the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Fulbright Grant in theatre studies throughout Europe (Eastern as well as Western) and as far abroad as Japan, India, Israel, and Australia. At the end of the War, in 1945-46, he served as designer and director for the Biarritz American University, France, under U.S. Army auspices; and in 1949 he was an Expert Consultant in theatre for the American Military Government in Germany. From 1960 to 1972, as Research Professor in Theatre, he carried on class work and staged plays at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. As an Emeritus Professor on theater research, his work was anthologized in Best Short Plays of the World Theater' (1976).- Olga Belajeff was born on 16 March 1900. She was an actress, known for Store forventninger (1922), Olga, Dik e Puk (1921) and Beloe i chernoe (1919). She died in 1976 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Julio De Diego was born on 9 May 1900 in Spain. He was an actor, known for The Buccaneer (1958), Omnibus (1952) and The Mike Douglas Show (1961). He was married to Gypsy Rose Lee and Rosalind Mallery. He died on 22 August 1979 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Philip Van Doren Stern was born on 10 September 1900 in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and It Happened One Christmas (1977). He died on 31 July 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Additional Crew
Hilda Nelson was born on 8 October 1900 in Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA. Hilda is known for Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928). Hilda died in October 1969 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Herman Wallenda was born on 11 June 1901 in Bördekreis, Germany. He was married to Edith Wallenda, Elizabeth (Lee) Peters and LuLu. He died on 22 January 1985 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Harry/Kurt (stage name/real name) came over to the U.S. from Germany around 1915 with his sister, Grace/Freida. Once they arrived, they worked for a man named Earles, at which time they adopted his last name. In the early 1920s, their sister Daisy/Hilda joined them and in the mid- to late 1920s, their sister Tiny/Elly arrived. The four worked in the movies while simultaneously working for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. Around 1930, the four left the movie business in favor of the circus, where they worked until the mid-1950s. During this time, they made very few film appearances (most notably The Wizard of Oz (1939) as Munchkins and Daisy's brief blink-and-you-miss-it shot in Best Picture winner The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)). The foursome retired in the mid-1950s. Grace died in 1970, Daisy in 1980 and Harry in 1985. For more info on Harry Doll/Harry Earles/Kurt Schneider, check out Steven Cox's book "The Munchkins of Oz".- Irving Vendig was born on 11 October 1902 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA. He was a writer, known for The Edge of Night (1956), Hidden Faces (1968) and Paradise Bay (1965). He died on 7 January 1995 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Lou Jacobs was born on 1 January 1903 in Bremerhaven, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: Be a Clown (1987) and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College: 20th Anniversary (1987). He died on 13 September 1992 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
Paul Waner was born on 16 April 1903 in Harrah, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Mildred. He died on 29 August 1965 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Buzzy Potts was born on 8 August 1903 in Ottumwa, Idaho. He was an actor, known for The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He died on 9 March 1973 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- MacKinlay Kantor was born on 4 February 1904 in Webster City, Iowa, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Gun Crazy (1950) and Happy Land (1943). He was married to Florence Irene Layne. He died on 11 October 1977 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Billie Jenks was born on 2 June 1904 in Grattan, Michigan. She died on 22 October 1996 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Guy Bonham was born on 24 November 1904 in Fortyforte, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Presumed Innocent (1990), Cowboy in the Clouds (1943) and Doughboys in Ireland (1943). He died on 26 February 1989 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Additional Crew
- Music Department
- Actress
Edith Barstow was born on 25 September 1905 in Ashtabula, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for The Gem of the Ocean (1934), The Best of Broadway (1954) and The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950). She died on 6 January 1960 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Nita Krebs was born on 8 October 1905 in Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Terror of Tiny Town (1938). She died on 18 January 1991 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- John Cameron Swayze was born on 4 April 1906 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Boston Strangler (1968), Inside Detroit (1956) and Producers' Showcase (1954). He was married to Beulah Mae ?. He died on 15 August 1995 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Paul Derringer was born on 17 October 1906 in Springfield, Kentucky, USA. He died on 17 November 1987 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Daisy Earles came to the U.S. from Germany in the early 1920s, joining her brother and sister Harry Earles and Gracie Doll. The three of them, soon joined by sister Tiny Doll, made a handful of appearances in films before retiring from the film business in 1930 in favor of working for the Ringling Brothers Circus. From 1930 until the mid-1950s, the four siblings made very few film appearances (with the exception of The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Daisy's blink-and-you-miss-it shot in Best Picture winner The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)). The four retired in the mid-1950's. Grace died in 1970, Daisy in 1980, and Harry in 1985.
- Howard Taubman was born on 4 July 1907 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Howard was a producer, known for Vladimir Horowitz: A Television Concert at Carnegie Hall (1968). Howard was married to Lori March and Nora Stern. Howard died on 8 January 1996 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
Bob Russell was born on 1 January 1908 in Passaic, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Name That Tune (1953), Your Pet Parade (1951) and Jack and Jill Varieties (1950). He was married to Mignon Simpson Russell. He died on 24 January 1998 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Tommy Tucker was born on 18 May 1908 in Souris, North Dakota, USA. He died on 13 July 1989 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Ben Parker was born on 16 September 1908 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Thunder Mountain (1964), Invisible Avenger (1958) and Guerrilla Girl (1953). He died in December 1983 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- George Crothers was born on 8 January 1909 in Fort Morgan, Colorado, USA. He was a producer, known for Crossroads in Asia (1954), Look Up and Live (1954) and Lamp Unto My Feet (1948). He died on 27 November 1998 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Antonina Pirojkova was born on 1 July 1909 in Krasny Yar, Siberia, Russian Empire. She died on 12 September 2010 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Loel Steuart was born on 20 January 1910 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Rip Van Winkle (1914), The Marriage Bond (1916) and East Lynne (1916). She died on 1 January 1994 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Antoinette Concello was a member of the famous "Flying Concello" aerial troupe, a family of flying trapeze artists. In the 20th Century multi-ring circus, the flying trapeze was the main attraction in the center ring of the "Big Top." The Flying Concellos were the premier troupe of aerialists in the 1920s, and Antoinette became known as the "greatest woman flyer of all time" because she was the only woman to complete the fabled "triple" (see Carol Reed's 1956 film "Trapeze" for background about this legendary stunt). A triple means that the aerialist completes three full somersaults while "flying" through the air after leaving their bar and being caught by a "catcher" hanging upside down on the opposite bar. It is a dangerous stunt.
Antoinette appeared with the troupe as one of the acts in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 Best Picture Oscar-winning movie "The Greatest Show on Earth," which uses Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Baily Circus as a backdrop. The red-coated Ringling ringmaster Fred Brandna would introduce her act by announcing that Antionette was the first and only woman to achieve the triple, and added that she did it with "incomparable grace". The legendary flyer did not disappoint her audience, performing the fabled triple at every performance.
Antoinette Concello was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame in 1963. - Ben Stahl was born on 7 September 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for The Magical World of Disney (1954), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) and The Joy of Painting (1983). He was married to Ella Maria Lehocky. He died on 19 October 1987 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Ira Yarbrough was born on 10 December 1910 in Webster, Missouri, USA. Ira was a writer, known for Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008). Ira died on 28 February 1983 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Harry Kramer was born on 9 February 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Winner Take All (1948), The Edge of Night (1956) and The Red Buttons Show (1952). He died on 23 January 1996 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Additional Crew
Arthur M. Concello was born on 26 March 1911 in Starbuck, Washington, USA. He is known for The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He was married to Antoinette Concello. He died on 5 July 2001 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
Veteran New York City organist who provided background music for some of the most popular quiz shows of the 1950s and early 1960s, including "Tic Tac Dough," "Dough-Re-Me." and "Concentration." He also served as the music director for "Twenty-One," the prime time quiz show whose demise over fixing was replayed in the 1995 Oscar winner, Quiz Show. Taubman also played on the long-running soap opera, "The Edge of Night."
Taubman owned a club overlooking Central Park called the Penthouse Club where he appeared nightly playing his organ and piano stylings. All four of his albums that were recorded at the club in the early 1960s. This is genuine lounge music.
Recordings 40 All-Time Song Favorites, Columbia CL 1363 Paul Taubman At The Penthouse Organ With His Trio: Medleys For Dancing from Ten Hit Broadway Shows, Columbia CL 1468 Penthouse Paradise, Columbia CL 1800 Organ And Chimes For Christmas: 40 Hymns And Carols, Columbia CS 8875.- Gus Tyler was born on 18 October 1911 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He died on 10 June 2011 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
Jerry Jerome was born on 19 June 1912 in East St. Louis, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Madame Spy (1934), Mystery Plane (1939) and Public Enemies (1941). He died on 17 November 2001 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.