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Author: Martin Gottfried
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1996
Total Pages: 360
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Examines the person behind the persona of George Burns through his friendships with such contemporaries as Jack Benny, Groucho Marx, and Milton Berle, as well as his relationship with wife Gracie Allen.
Author: Martin Gottfried
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Published: 1996
Total Pages: 416
ISBN-13: 9780783816883
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A tribute to America's favorite centenarian provides an in-depth look at the personal and professional life of his nearly 100 years of show business.
Author: Lawrence J. Epstein
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2011-09-07
Total Pages: 213
ISBN-13: 0786487933
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Having entered the world in 1896 as a poverty-stricken child named Naftaly (Nathan) Birnbaum, George Burns rose from New York's Lower East Side to the uppermost heights of celebrity in the entertainment industry. His storied romance with Gracie Allen led to their success in vaudeville, films, radio and television as one of the greatest comedy teams in history. Burns experienced both tragedy and triumph during his 100-year lifespan, ultimately recovering from the death of his beloved Gracie in 1964 to re-emerge as a solo performer and an Oscar-winning actor. This all-inclusive biography explores George Burns's career against the backdrop of American entertainment history in the 20th century. His loves, his close friendship with Jack Benny, his rivalry with Groucho Marx, and his latter-day success in films are all carefully detailed.
Author: Richard Irvin
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2014-05-26
Total Pages: 197
ISBN-13: 0786494867
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →An elementary school dropout, George Burns went on to become one of America's most beloved entertainers. This book covers a neglected part of his career--his work as a television producer. Burns was not only a behind-the-scenes producer, but also filled the role of producer in various comedies in which he starred. Though his forte was situation comedies, Burns' company, McCadden Productions, also produced dramatic anthology series and pilots, including a pilot considered to be a precursor to the popular TV series Mission: Impossible. This book focuses on Burns' wide variety of production efforts, and follows his involvement in television productions from his 1950 comedy series with his wife, Gracie Allen, through his participation in the fantasy sitcom Mister Ed, and finally to his last producer credit in 1981, I Love Her Anyway, a remake of The Burns and Allen Show.
Author: George Burns
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing, Incorporated
Published: 1996
Total Pages: 199
ISBN-13: 9781568953267
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The great comedian celebrates his one hundredth birthday with a selection of his favorite and funniest stories that include reminiscences about his own past and anecdotes about friends, family, and colleagues
Author: David C. Tucker
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2015-03-26
Total Pages: 217
ISBN-13: 0786487321
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Most of the bright and talented actresses who made America laugh in the 1950s are off the air today, but their pioneering Hollywood careers irrevocably changed the face of television comedy. These smart and sassy women successfully negotiated the hazards of the male-dominated workplace with class and humor, and the work they did in the 1950s is inventive still by today's standards. Unable to fall back on strong language, shock value, or racial and sexual epithets, the female sitcom stars of the 1950s entertained with pure talent and screen savvy. As they did so, they helped to lay the foundation for the development of television comedy. This book pays tribute to 10 prominent television actresses who played lead roles in popular comedy shows of the 1950s. Each chapter covers the works and personalities of one actress: Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy), Gracie Allen (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), Eve Arden (Our Miss Brooks), Spring Byington (December Bride), Joan Davis (I Married Joan), Anne Jeffreys (Topper), Donna Reed (The Donna Reed Show), Ann Sothern (Private Secretary and The Ann Sothern Show), Gale Storm (My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna), and Betty White (Life with Elizabeth). For each star, a career sketch is provided, concentrating primarily on her television work but also noting achievements in other areas. Appendices offer cast and crew lists, a chronology, and an additional biographical sketch of 10 less familiar actresses who deserve recognition.
Author: Vicki K. Janik
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 1998-05-21
Total Pages: 571
ISBN-13: 0313033579
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Jesters and fools have existed as important and consistent figures in nearly all cultures. Sometimes referred to as clowns, they are typological characters who have conventional roles in the arts, often using nonsense to subvert existing order. But fools are also a part of social and religious history, and they frequently play key roles in the rituals that support and shape a society's system of beliefs. This reference book includes alphabetically arranged entries for approximately 60 fools and jesters from a wide range of cultures. Included are entries for performers from American popular culture, such as Woody Allen, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, and the Marx Brothers; literary characters, such as Shakespeare's Falstaff, Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Singer's Gimpel; and cultural and mythological figures, such as India's Birbal, the American circus clown, the Native American Coyote, Taishu Engeki of Japan, Hephaestus, Loki the Norse fool, schlimiels and schlimazels, and the drag queen. The entries, written by expert contributors, are critical as well as informative. Each begins with a biographical, artistic, religious, or historical background section, which places the subject within a larger cultural and historical context. A description and analysis follow. This section may include a discussion of the fool's appearance, gender role, ethical and moral roles, social function, and relationship to such themes as nature, time, and mortality. The entry then discusses the critical reception of the subject and concludes with an extensive bibliography of general works.
Author: Edward Hoffman
Publisher: Citadel Press
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780806521879
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Here's a book that quickly solves that thorny problem common to so many of us: What birthday gift would be perfect for that friend or loved one who has everything? The editor of The Book of Birthday Wishes has searched international sources and found the perfect present: a treasury of heartfelt wishes for a happy birthday and good cheer throughout the rest of the year. In this volume Dr. Edward Hoffman, editor of the popular Book of Fathers' Wisdom, presents a wise and witty collection of pithy statements, advice, encouragement, loving thoughts, memories, and warm wishes from family, friends, and even foes -- all acknowledging a birthday. The selections are drawn from the letters, memoirs, inscriptions, and cards sent by a variety of historically famous men and women, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Sigmund Freud, Harry Truman, George Burns, Isaac Asimov, D. H. Lawrence, Theodore Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, and John F. Kennedy. In their wide-ranging and often inspirational ways, all of the wishes repeated here will help to celebrate birthdays everywhere.
Author: Thomas S. Hischak
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2008-06-02
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 0199887322
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From the silver screen to the Great White Way, small community theatres to television sets, the musical has long held a special place in America's heart and history. Now, in The Oxford Companion to the American Musical, readers who flocked to the movies to see An American in Paris or Chicago, lined up for tickets to West Side Story or Rent, or crowded around their TVs to watch Cinderella or High School Musical can finally turn to a single book for details about them all. For the first time, this popular subject has an engaging and authoritative book as thrilling as the performances themselves. With more than two thousand entries, this illustrated guide offers a wealth of information on musicals, performers, composers, lyricists, producers, choreographers, and much more. Biographical entries range from early stars Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, and Mae West to contemporary show-stoppers Nathan Lane, Savion Glover, and Kristin Chenoweth, while composers Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and Andrew Lloyd Webber all have articles, and the choreography of Bob Fosse, Tommy Tune, and Debbie Allen receives due examination. The plays and films covered range from modern hits like Mamma Mia! and Moulin Rouge! to timeless classics such as Yankee Doodle Dandy and Show Boat. Also, numerous musicals written specifically for television appear throughout, and many entries follow a work-Babes in Toyland for example-as it moves across genres, from stage, to film, to television. The Companion also includes cross references, a comprehensive listing of recommended recordings and further reading, a useful chronology of all the musicals described in the book, plus a complete index of Tony Award and Academy Award winners. Whether you are curious about Singin' in the Rain or Spamalot, or simply adore The Wizard of Oz or Grease, this well-researched and entertaining resource is the first place to turn for reliable information on virtually every aspect of the American musical.
Author: William D. Pederson
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
Published: 2009
Total Pages: 497
ISBN-13: 0816074607
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Born in 1882 in New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered public service through the encouragement of the Democratic Party and won the election to the New York Senate in 1910. This book details his administration at the height of the Great Depression as he valiantly led the nation with the phrase, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
