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1-19 of 19
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Amanda Blake was born in Buffalo, NY, of English and Scottish descent. She and her parents moved to Claremont, California, while Amanda was still in high school, and she graduated from Claremont High. She enrolled at Pomona College but, due to her avid participation in community and theater productions, she was devoting much more time to acting than her schoolwork. Amanda started on a full acting schedule, doing summer stock in New England. She followed that up with theater and radio acting in Buffalo and then movies in Hollywood. While acting in small theater and stock companies she also painted backdrops and scenery. She was still in her teens when she debuted in MGM"s Stars in My Crown (1950), and her first television role was in Double Exposure (1952). Her most famous role, however, came in 1955, when she starred in the classic western series Gunsmoke (1955) as "Miss Kitty" Russell, the feisty madame and proprietor of Dodge City's Long Branch Saloon opposite James Arness' Marshal Matt Dillon.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ann B. Davis made her debut in show business at age 6 earning $2.00 in a puppet show. At the University of Michigan, Ann planned to study medicine but got the acting bug from her brother who was the lead dancer in the national company of "Oklahoma" for over a year. Ann then spent six years in little theaters, stock companies, touring musicals, and such until she got her break as "Schultzie", the secretary on "The Bob Cummings Show." Before Hollywood, Ann spent a summer at the Cain Park Theater and, during a year at the Erie Playhouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, she studied everything about show production and played dozens of roles ranging from teenagers to characters over 60. In 1949, she arrived at Porterville, California and spent three years at the Barn theater.
She then moved down the coast to Monterey, where she appeared at the Wharf theater. From there she decided to try Hollywood. Anne has also played many parts on stage including "The Women", "Twelfth Night", "Dark Of The Moon", and others. Her mother, Marguerite Scott Davis, appeared with professional stock companies for over thirty years.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Annette Joanne Funicello achieved teenage popularity starting in October 1955 after she debuted as a Mouseketeer. Born on October 22, 1942 in Utica, New York, the family had moved to California when she was still young. Walt Disney himself saw her performing the lead role in "Swan Lake" at her ballet school's year-end recital in Burbank and decided to have her audition along with two hundred other children. Annette became the last Mouseketeer of the twenty-four that was picked. By the run-through in 1958 of The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) in which she appeared in her own multi-segmented series entitled "Annette", she had become the most popular Mousketeer of them all and the only one kept under contract by Walt Disney after he canceled the show. Her popularity was such that by the late 1950s, she was simply known as "Annette" -- America's sweetheart and the first "crush" for many a teenage baby boomer. Whenever anyone spoke of Annette, no last name was ever needed as everyone knew who you were talking about.
The popular teenager became synonymous with wholesome entertainment and was borrowed by Danny Thomas in 1959 to play Gina, a foreign exchange student, on The Danny Thomas Show (1953) (aka "The Danny Thomas Show") and also that same year had a recurring role on the Disney television series Zorro (1957). She made her well as other Disney film vehicles for several years, including The Shaggy Dog (1959), Babes in Toyland (1961) and The Monkey's Uncle (1965). During this time, the modest young singer had a couple of hit singles on the "Hot 100" charts, notably, "Tall Paul", and as a result, traveled with Dick Clark's caravan on singing tours around the country. At one point, she and teen idol Paul Anka became an item and he wrote both "Puppy Love" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" with her in mind. Their busy careers led to them parting ways.
During the early 1960s, American International Films wanted to use her in a fun-on-the-beach movie. They presented the idea to "Mr. Disney", as Annette always called him and with whom she was still under contract. To everyone's surprise, he gave his consent, with the only condition being that she make sure her navel was completely covered by a one piece bathing suit. The first movie, aptly titled Beach Party (1963) starred Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone as the older generation who explore the younger set represented by Annette (as "Dee Dee") and her love interest Frankie Avalon (as "Frankie"). The "teenage" couple (actually she was 20 and he 23) proved so popular in this that they were whisked into a number of sand-and-surf romps (Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)) that showcased the actors engaging in harmless fun while singing and dancing in the sand, and falling into silly slapstick.
After the surfing craze died out in 1965, Annette married Jack Gilardi, Paul Anka's agent, and became the mother of his three children -- Gina, Jack Jr. and Jason. While appearing in a few other movies that did nothing to further her career, including Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967) and Head (1968), she appeared as a guest on shows and, most famously, became the spokesperson for Skippy Peanut Butter in a host of commercials. But she phased out her career in favor of family.
She and Gilardi divorced in 1983. Three years later, she married Glen Holt, a harness racing horse breeder/trainer. Within a year into her second marriage, Annette was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She hid her condition for five years before making a formal announcement (in 1992) for fear that her uncontrollable movements might be characterized as drunkenness. She became the most famous spokesperson for the disease. Annette's life was filmed as a television movie with A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995) co-starring her good friend, Shelley Fabares. Receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, Annette was eventually wheelchair-ridden and went into complete seclusion.
Following a tragic March 2011 incident in which their Los Angeles house burnt to the ground and both Annette and husband Glen were hospitalized with smoke inhalation, the couple moved to Bakersfield, California. A little more than a year later, and over 25 years after she was diagnosed with this long and painful illness, Annette passed away on April 8, 2013 from complications at age 70. To the present, her foundation continues to raise money to help find cures for this and other debilitating disorders, including Lou Gehrig's disease.- Dr. Bergen Evans was a disseminator of knowledge to thousands on the Northwestern U. Campus before serving as the chairman of the board of editors for the CBS television "The $64,000. Question". Dr. Evans was born in 1904 in Franklin, Ohio and was the son of a physician. his father entered the U.S. Consular service in 1909 and was assigned to England and Bergen entered school there at age four. When World War 1 came around in 1915 , Bergen and his four siblings were sent back to the U.S. Bergen entered Franklin High School in Ohio and worked afternoons and nights in the local paper mill. Bergen entered Miami U. in Oxford, Ohio and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received his Master of Arts degree from Harvard and returned to Miami U. as an assistant professor of English. He won a Rhodes scholarship in 1928 and attended Oxford in England for three years. He received a B. Litt. degree. He returned to the U.S. and added a Ph.D. at Harvard. He then returned to teaching at Northwestern as a full professor. He wrote several books including ""Natural History of Nonsense" and "Spoor of Spooks". Following that he edited a new dictionary published by Random House. He also wrote the "Skeptics Corner" for Mercury magazine.
- Bob Amsberry was born in Boring, Oregon. He worked as a radio disc jockey for KEX in Portland for eight years before getting his chance in television almost by accident. Bob was brought to Hollywood by Walt Disney to write songs for The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). He did so well that when the time came to add another entertainer with Jimmie Dodd and Roy Williams on the Mouseketeers segment of "The Mickey Mouse Club", the job was offered to Bob.
In addition to his acting chores on the show, Bob also handled some special sound effects and donned whiteface and costume to star as Bob-O, the Disneyland clown at Disneyland (interesting bit of trivia: while a student at Franklin High School in Portland, he did musical shows with Johnnie Ray, a classmate who later became a famous singer. The interesting part is that Bob did the singing while Johnnie played the piano). Bob met his wife Beverly at station KEX and they had two children, Kevin and Kelly. Beverly was a blues singer and once won a contest on Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948). - Carmel came to the U.S. in 1954 with her husband, Bill Fuller, on a business trip. Back in Ireland she had done some professional singing but gave it up when she married. While in new York city, she missed singing and refrained from doing so thinking the other apartment occupants would object. A voice instructor permitted her to use his studio and after hearing her, he submitted her name for an audition on the Lipton Talent Scout show. She won the show which started her on a great career. It was quite a change for the woman who was afraid of disturbing her neighbors and never dreamed that millions of Americans would tune in their TV sets just to hear her sing. After appearing on the "Arthur Godfrey Show", she became America's favorite Irish lass. She later drew and overflow crowd to Carnegie Hall and published a book of Irish songs.
- Actor
- Art Director
- Producer
In 1930, Claude, who was a stage-struck set designer at the Oden Theater, a repertory house in Paris, learned an ailing actor's part in two hours and took it over without a rehearsal. Tristan Bernard, the famous French playwright and producer took notice of this feat. He engaged Dauphin for the leading role of his next play "La fortune" was was also made into a film the next year. Dauphin's next break came when Charles Boyer left for American movies. As Boyer left for America, Dauphin succeeded in the Henri Bernstein organization, outstanding stage producers of Paris. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, Dauphin starred in several plays as well as sixty five French made pictures. Dauphin received his elementary education at Ecole Fenelon and high school at Lycee Condorcet. he also graduated from Lycee Louis de Grand in literature and philosophy, all of these school located in Paris. Between 1940 and 1945, he was a solider in the French and allied armies. he was a lieutenant in the French tank service and shuttered later in life at his memories of that kind of grisly warfare. After the fall of France, he organized his own stock company and toured non-occupied cities and small towns. he was also serving in the French underground movement. Threatened with exposure, he escaped by buying a small fishing boat in the south of France and sailing to Gibraltar. After reaching London in 1942, he first served with the British Secret Service and then joined the Free French forces of DeGaulle. Claude quickly learned English, of which he was devoid of, and became a liaison officer between the French LeClerc division and the press corps of the American Army of General Patton. Because of this association, he was one of the first to enter Paris on Liberation Day. Dauphin's American film debut was in the movie "Deported" produced largely in Italy. He later appeared in many stage productions on Broadway including "No Exit" and "Happy Time". He later had a screen test with Warner Bros. and then returned to France. Having almost forgotten about the test, he was summoned to Hollywood for "April in Paris" starring Doris Day and Ray Bolger.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Don DeFore toured the country in stock companies for several years before making his Broadway debut in 1938. In films since 1941, he occasionally played leads in B pictures, but was more often cast as the good-natured buddy of the hero or a likable but gullible character whom the hero has to bail out of trouble. DeFore found much more success on television, and was a regular in the hit series Hazel (1961) and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952).- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Born Don Agrati in San Diego, California, Don Grady became a Mousekeeter, along with 23 others, when that show debuted in 1955. In 1960, he joined My Three Sons (1960), which debuted in 1960 and ran for 12 years. As an enthusiast of music after "My Three Sons" ended, he continued in music as a composer and songwriter. One of his songs was the theme for Donahue (1967). Don appeared in many other shows as a guest star but he will always be known as "Robbie Douglas", the eldest son from "My Three Sons". The show ran for 12 years and 356 episodes.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Author, actor, comedian, composer and producer. He was educated at the New York School of Theatre, and received the Sylvania Television Award. Joining the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1957, he composed a number of songs and themes, a number of which were used in his famed television comedy sketches including "Mr. Question Man". His other popular-songs included "Ugly Duckling", "So Good to Me", "The Patty Cake", "The Irving Wong Song", and many more.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
George Lindsey quickly became an icon on television in the 1960's playing the part of 'Goober Pyle" on the The Andy Griffith Show (1960). He replaced Jim Nabors who portrayed "Gomer Pyle" who ran the "fillin station" on "The Andy Griffith Show." As Jim Nabors was tapped for his own show Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), cousin "Goober" was introduced to become the new mechanic and running the "fillin station" on "The Andy Griffith Show." He fit in perfectly with his country wit, impersonations of Cary Grant, "Judy, Judy, Judy," and playing the a dim-witted bulb often to the consternation of Sheriff Andy Taylor. He always wore his stocking type cap which always looked worn and dirty. Lindsay played this role also in Mayberry R.F.D. (1968) and continued playing basically the same and other characters on Hee Haw (1969) for many years. Although he did not perform in a myriad of shows, he was always recognizable as Goober and did not have a shortage of work. Between "The Andy Griffith show" and "Hee Haw," this provided him with almost 25 years worth of work a busy schedule for anyone. George frequented other country and western TV shows and movies including Gunsmoke (1955), Cannonball Run II (1984), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), and others. But he also found work on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), The Rifleman (1958), The Twilight Zone (1959), and many others. George provided much comedic relief to millions of viewers for over a generation and will never be forgotten by those who enjoyed him.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Gertrude was born in New York City and her father owned a summer resort hotel. In her teens she wrote dialogues about her father and grandfather and recited them to guests at the hotel. This was the beginning of her writing which eventually led her to write "The Goldbergs." She married British-born chemical engineer Lewis Berg and they moved to Louisiana, where they lived on a sugar plantation for many years. Eventually they moved back to New York and to the same neighborhood where Gertrude had grown up. In her late 20s she returned to college; during this time a friend took her to a radio network executive, to whom she read one of her scripts. He liked it so much that he said he would put the show on the radio as a series if she would play the leading role. It premiered in 1929 and lasted until 1946 with over 5000 scripts. In 1949, "The Goldbergs" debuted on television and had a five-year run. According to Gertrude, she turned out over 15 million words and 10,000 performances during this run. Gertrude was a lady of great modesty who was universally loved and respected. But she did keep track of career with scrapbooks that reached over 100. She was regarded as homey as apple pie. Milton Berle called her "Goodness personified." Actress Faye Emerson said she had "the face of mother." Gertrude's career included stage, screen, record albums, books, and live television.- Jack Kelly started acting at age two, modeling in soap ads and garnering a lifetime supply of soap for his pay. He continued to model until the age of nine when he appeared in his first play with Hope Emerson called "Swing Your Lady". Broadway shows and radio followed until his family moved to California in 1938. He attended St. John's Military Academy and spent two years as a law student at UCLA. For three years, he dropped acting to concentrate on school and making money. He worked as a shoe salesman, gas station attendant, lifeguard, grocery delivery boy, and men's clothing salesman. In 1945, Kelly was inducted into the army taking basic training at Camp Roberts in California. He was sent to Alaska as a weather observer and was on the first B-29 to fly over the Arctic Circle. After his discharge in 1946, Kelly returned to UCLA and worked nights on such radio programs as "Lux Radio theater", "Suspense", "Tell It Again", and "Romance of the Ranchos".
Upon leaving school he joined the Circle Theater in Los Angeles appearing in "Time of Your Life", "The Adding Machine", and "Love On The Dole". In 1949, he acted in "Anna Lucasta" at the coronet Theater. This performance brought Kelly to the attention of several Hollywood directors. He then made his film debut in "Fighting Man Of The Plains", starring Randolph Scott. In 1955, Kelly was signed by Warner Bros. to star as Dr. Parris Mitchell in the "King's Row" series of "Warner Bros. Presents". The show debuted in September 1955. Kelly was best known as Bart Maverick on Maverick (1957). His hobbies included ship models, reading historical literature, sculpting, and listening to show tunes records. He also enjoyed sailing, badminton, skin diving, golf, horseback riding and flying. - Born in Los Angeles, Jeff was the eldest child and had a brother named John. While still a baby he and his family moved to San Jose. Jeff graduated from grammar school and high school there as well as San Jose State Teachers College. In college Jeff studied to be a writer. He was also an amateur boxer and was runner up in the Pacific Coast Golden Gloves competition. When he found that he had no talent for writing he entered professional boxing. He fought for a year and a half. Jeff managed to bluff his way into a stock company and then joined the Federal Theater Project. That role led to what Jeff regarded as his best to date in Terry and the Pirates (1940). He then played the lead in Li'l Abner (1940). The army called in 1941 which brought his promising start to an abrupt halt. "I was discharged in October, but that didn't help. There were no pictures waiting for me." As luck would have it, he met Garson Kanin in the army and he directed Jeff to a screen test in New York. This test was seen by Louis B. Mayer of MGM and was offered a contract. After no sooner signing a contract Jeff was recalled by the army in February, 1942 until he was discharged in March, 1945. Returning to MGM, he received roles in They Were Expendable (1945), and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). However, after that his option was dropped. TV, though, was in the offing and Jeff took full advantage of it. Jeff's role as John L. Sullivan on a national television show led to his role as Mike Fink, the legendary American keel-boat king. Walt Disney had two prerequisites -- that the person for the role must have a big bluff build and personality to match. On the strength of this performance, Jeff was signed for Disneyland TV productions. Jeff joined co-stars Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen depicting fictional adventures of Davy Crockett. Jeff exercised regularly and dined on steaks and salads. He also possessed a resonant singing voice. In the Davy Crockett show, he sang "The Mike Fink Boatman's Song."
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The Dave Garroway show auditioned for female singers and there was a premium on time and studio space. There was no piano and Skitch Henderson, the music director, had to accompany the young hopefuls on a celeste, and instrument, which despite its similarity to a piano is very difficult to sing with. Jill was very nervous during the hustle and bustle of all this, but Garroway reassured her and she won the audition. Jill was raised by an older sister after her mother had died and then began singing with a small band which played in towns near Avonmore for $5. a night. One evening when the band traveling to Pittsburgh, the manager of a LaTrobe radio station was in the audience. He was impressed with her and asked he to make a tape recording for him as he thought it would help her. The station manager sent it to a recording executive in New York and two days later she was signed to a recording contract. She later became the top female singer on the "Dave Garroway Show", and later the "Johnny Carson Show."- Kim Winona was enrolled as Constance M. Marlow in the Santee Sioux tribe of Nebraska and spent her childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When she was 17, she and her parents moved to Spokane, Wash. where she met her husband who was also of Indian extraction. At this time she had no theatrical aspirations. Soon after her marriage they moved to Los Angeles. Harvey was a printer by trade and established his own business. Kim took a secretarial job in the office of a commercial artist. The firm in which she was employed had many artists and photographers, many of whom noticed Kim and her unusual natural beauty. Soon after, Kim was supplementing her income as a model. A talent scout spotted one of her pictures, interviewed her, and shortly had a screen test for a role in The Last Hunt (1956). She lost the part to a better known actress but was soon named "Miss Apache", and toured the U.S. to promote the film. In June of 1955 Roy rogers' Frontier Productions was looking for someone to play the tribal maiden Morning Star in the Brave Eagle (1955) series. Mike North, the executive producer was having trouble finding someone with the unique requirements that they needed for the role of Morning Star which called for riding ability, physical stamina to meet the active pace of location shooting, and a player with more than a token knowledge of Indian lore. Kim filled all those perfectly. Kim was also an accomplished painter and sculptress. One sculpture, in wood, on display at the Carnegie Institute. Kim's husband's grandmother was a Custer.
- Writer
- Actor
Born in New York, Coates worked as a press agent, drama critic, and crime reporter before heading west to work in Hollywood. He caught on as a columnist for a newspaper and became the widest read man in the city. Coates broke into TV as a celebrity interviewer in Los Angeles, a job he maintained in addition to his main duties as a crusading columnist for the Los Angeles Mirror-News. It was while doing this show that Paul came up with the idea for "Confidential File" a documentary half live half film show that explores the big issues facing U.S. communities of the day. He was then tapped for several TV shows. The first was a panel show "Bachelor's Heaven," where he caustically tangled horns with Zsa Zsa Gabor on men versus woman subjects. He also did a celebrity interview program, "Table at Ciro's", and moderated "Our Famous Husbands," a program for stars' wives. In a short time he rocketed to the top of his industry with his two Emmys and for championing the best regional cultural and educational show over television. Coates married Renee Demarco of the Dancing Demarcos and had three children.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Red Foley made his professional debut as a singer in Chicago. He was later discovered by a talent scout at Kentucky's Georgetown College. His mother and father operated a little store at the crossroads in Blue Lick, Kentucky. His father took an old guitar as part payment on an account and gave it to Red. By the time he was seven he was playing with the best of them. Later his family moved Berea, Kentucky while Red continued his "musical education'. In high school he played basketball and ran track. At this time he entered an Atwater-Kent amateur contest and reached the state finals in Louisville. Red was on his way. In the 1930's Red shared the stage on "National Barndance", with Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and a pint-size yodeling cowboy named George Goebel. He left there in 1937 and moved to Cincinnati, and joined the cast of a cross-the-board network show on which he starred with Red Skelton and singer Jeannette Davis. Red signed with Decca records in 1939 and had only ordinary success for several years. Red thought he needed greater exposure and in 1944, he headline R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's Saturday night portion n Nashville "Grand Ole Opry. " From that time he was one of America's best loved country singers. Some of his all-time great hits included "Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy", "Peace In The Valley", "Just A Closer Walk With Thee", and "Steal Away". After the death of his first wife, Eva, in 1952, he departed the "Grand Ole Opry", to care for his remaining three unmarried daughters. He remained in virtual retirement until 1954 when Razorback Productions of Springfield, Mo., then the nation's largest producers of country music shows, persuaded Red to star in a new quarter hour series. Sparking Red's interest, he wanted to produce an "Opry" type show. The result was "The Ozark Jubilee", which opened in Springfield's Jewell Theater on July 17, 1954. Only three weeks after the show debuted, the ABC radio network began carrying a 25 minute portion every Saturday night. It's immediate popularity led to the new ABC TV show "Ozark Jubilee". Red remarried to Sally Sweet and made his home in Springfield, Mo. Red sang in the Inaugural Ball for President Truman in 1949 and also in a federal court(as a witness to the ownership rights to "Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy".- Actress
- Soundtrack
Susanne apparently had a tumultuous private life. She married actor Hermann Nehlsen in 1956. Apparently that did not go well, as she tried to commit suicide twice in 1957 and was soon divorced. In 1958, she married actor Helmuth Lohner and was divorced five months later. She married Helmut a second time, which produced a child, daughter Konstanze Lohner. But a second divorce soon followed. In 1966, she married actor Kevin Hagen. Soon after, she left for Munich, Germany to visit her friend, Renate Ewert, whom she found dead. Reports were anywhere from six days to three weeks. In late 1968, she entered a private clinic in Hollywood, never to emerge, as she died on January 7, 1969. There were reports of a medical malpractice.