Rhythm on the Range

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian and actor. The first multimedia star, Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1931 to 1954. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, Music Digest estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music. Crosby won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way and was nominated for his reprise of the role in The Bells of St. Mary's opposite Ingrid Bergman the next year, becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with longtime friend Bob Hope, starring in the Road to... films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby influenced the development of the postwar recording industry. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to America by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in a California electronics company called Ampex to build copies. He then convinced ABC to allow him to tape his shows. He became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Through the medium of recording, he constructed his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) used in motion picture production, a practice that became an industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, he helped to finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

Frances Elena Farmer (September 19, 1913 – August 1, 1970) was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital. Farmer was the subject of three films, three books, and numerous songs and magazine articles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frances Farmer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.                    

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875 – October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authoritarian figures and appeared in over 200 films until his death. Hinds was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joseph E. Hinds and Mary A. Beetham Hinds. He was a graduate of Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard Law School and worked for over 32 years as a lawyer before becoming a professional actor. After he lost most of his money in the financial crisis of 1929, Hinds retired as a lawyer and joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He started acting in Broadway shows at age 54. Hinds is perhaps best remembered for playing Peter Bailey, the father of James Stewart and founder of the Bailey Building and Loan, in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and for his part as Paul Sycamore in You Can't Take It With You (1938), both films directed by Frank Capra. Hinds was also known for his roles in the Abbott & Costello films such as Buck Privates (1941), Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942) and Pardon My Sarong (1942). He also portrayed Lew Ayres' father in the Dr. Kildare film series during the early 1940s. Hinds mostly played supporting roles, often kind and dignified authority figures; often lawyers, doctors, mayors, judges or the father of the main figure. Hinds' first film was If I Had a Million (1932); his second film was The Road Is Open Again (1933) where he portrayed President Woodrow Wilson. His earlier career was reflected in the role of Judge Thatcher, tortured by the mad Dr. Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi) in The Raven (1935). Hinds acted in a total of 214 films. His last film was The Bribe, released in 1949, after his death. Hinds died of pneumonia in Pasadena, California, on October 13, 1948 at age 73. He was married to Dorothy Cruickshack, they had two children.

George E. Stone (born Gerschon Lichtenstein; May 18, 1903 – May 26, 1967) was a Polish-born American character actor in movies, radio, and television. Description above from the Wikipedia article George E. Stone, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), was an American singer and cowboy actor, as well as the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants chain. He and his wife Dale Evans, his golden palomino, Trigger, and his German Shepherd dog, Bullet, were featured in more than 100 movies and The Roy Rogers Show. The show ran on radio for nine years before moving to television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured a sidekick, often either Pat Brady, (who drove a Jeep called "Nellybelle"), Andy Devine, or the crotchety George "Gabby" Hayes. Rogers's nickname was "King of the Cowboys". Evans's nickname was "Queen of the West." Description above from the Wikipedia article Roy Rogers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Lucile Gleason was born on February 6, 1888 in Pasadena, California, USA as Lucile Webster. She is known for her work on The Clock (1945), Woman Unafraid (1934) and She's in the Army (1942). She was married to James Gleason. She died on May 18, 1947 in Brentwood, California. The first treasurer of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She along with Alden Gay were the two women among the 21 founding members of SAG.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap. In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer. Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Clem Bevans (October 16, 1879 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Bevans had a very long career, starting in vaudeville in 1900 in an act with Grace Emmett. He progressed to burlesque, Broadway, and even light opera, before making his film debut at the age of 55 in Way Down East (1935). His portrayal was so good, he became stereotyped and played mostly likable old codgers for the rest of his life. Bevans played the neighbour of Gregory Peck in The Yearling and the gatekeeper in Harvey (1950). However, he did occasionally play against type, for example as a Nazi spy in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942). He also made some television appearances, including the role of murderer Captain Hugo in the 1958 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Demure Defendant" and as Pete in The Twilight Zone episode "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" (1962). He played Captain Cobb in Disney's TV miniseries Davy Crockett. His first cousin was actress Merie Earle, best known as Maude Gormley on The Waltons.

Leonid Kinskey (April 18, 1903 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born movie and television actor who enjoyed a long career. Kinskey is best known for his role as Sascha in the film Casablanca (1942). Kinskey was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He fled the Russian Revolution and acted on stage in Europe and South America before arriving in New York City in 1921. He joined the road production of Al Jolson's musical Wonder Bar, before making his first film appearance, in the 1932 Trouble in Paradise. His looks and accent helped him land supporting roles in numerous movies, including Duck Soup and Nothing Sacred, and on television, well into the 1960s. It is said that he got perhaps his best-known role, Sascha in Casablanca, because he was a drinking buddy of star Humphrey Bogart. Kinskey was in the pilot episode for Hogan's Heroes, but turned down a regular role in the series because he thought the subject matter was being taken too lightly. Kinskey was married three times. His second wife was actress Iphigenie Castiglioni, to whom he remained married until her death in 1963. He was married to Tina York from 1983 to his death. He died of complications of a stroke in Fountain Hills, Arizona, at the age of 95. Description above from the Wikipedia article Leonid Kinskey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Charles Williams was born on September 27, 1898 in Albany, New York. He was an actor and writer, known for It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Hollywood and Vine (1945) and Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938). He was married to Isabel and Virginia Josephine Evans. He died on January 3, 1958 in Hollywood, California.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Arnt (August 20, 1906 – August 6, 1990) was an American film actor from 1933 to 1962. Arnt was born in Michigan City, Indiana, the son of a banker. He graduated from Phillips Academy and Princeton University. While at Princeton, he helped to found the University Playes and was president of the Princeton Triangle Club theatrical troupe. He became a banker after he graduated from college. In the early 1930s, Arnt acted with the University Repertory Theater in Maryland. On Broadway, he appeared in Carry Nation (1932), Three Waltzes (1937), and Knickerbocker Holiday (1938). Arnt appeared as a character actor in more than 200 films. In 1962, Arnt retired from acting and began to import and breed Charolais cattle on a ranch in Washington state. Arnt died in Orcas Island, Washington from pancreatic and liver cancer. He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and four grandchildren.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irving Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1920. He was sometimes cast in films directed by Lloyd Bacon (incorrectly named as his brother in some sources) such as The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). He often played comical "average guys". In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he played the weary postman Mr. Crumb in Columbia Pictures' Blondie film series. One of his bigger roles was as a similarly flustered postman in the thriller Cause for Alarm! in 1952. During the 1950s, Bacon worked steadily in a number of television sitcoms, most notably I Love Lucy, where he appeared in two episodes, one which cast him as Ethel Mertz's father.

The diminutive (5 feet 2 inches/1.57 meters) Bletcher appeared on-screen in films and later television from the 1910s to the 1970s, including appearances in several Our Gang and Three Stooges comedies.Bletcher was also famous as a voice actor. Uncharacteristically for someone of his size, his voice was a deep and strong-sounding baritone. He provided the voices of various characters for Disney (Black Pete and the Big Bad Wolf in Three Little Pigs and its spin-offs), MGM (Spike the Bulldog and in some occasions even Tom, in Tom and Jerry), and Warner Bros. (many characters, most notably the Papa Bear of Chuck Jones' The Three Bears after Mel Blanc had performed the role in the initial entry). He appeared opposite Blanc in Little Red Riding Rabbit, where he played another famous wolf. Bletcher's booming voice can also be heard as "Dom Del Oro" the Yacqi Indian god in the 1939 Republic serial, Zorro's Fighting Legion. He also voiced Owl Jolson's disciplinarian violinist father in the 1936 short subject based on the song I Love to Singa and the menacing spider in Bingo Crosbyana. Both he and Mel Blanc did voice acting in the 1944 Private Snafu WWII training film "Gas", where Bletcher plays the villainous Gas Cloud (with Mel Blanc voicing Private Snafu and a cameo of Bugs Bunny) as an opponent of Snafu. Bletcher also played The Captain in Captain and the Kids with MGM cartoons.

Heinie Conklin (born Charles John Conklin; July 16, 1880 – July 30, 1959) was an American actor and comedian whose career began in the silent film era.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edward Frank Dunn (March 31, 1896 – May 5, 1951) was an American actor best known for his roles in comedy films, supporting many comedians such as Charley Chase (with whom he co-directed several short films), Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, and Laurel and Hardy. Dunn also appeared as Detective Grimes in several of The Falcon series of films in the 1940s which starred George Sanders and later on Sanders' brother Tom Conway, and in many small and uncredited parts in many feature films until his death in 1951 aged 55.

Sam McDaniel was an American screen and television actor, as well as a jazz musician. He was the brother of actresses Hattie and Etta McDaniel.

Dennis O'Keefe (March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor. He was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States. As a small child he joined his parents' act and later wrote skits for the stage. O'Keefe started in films as an extra in the early 1930s. After a small but impressive role in Saratoga, Clark Gable recommended O'Keefe to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which signed him to a contract in 1937. His film roles were bigger after that, starting with The Bad Man of Brimstone and Burn 'Em Up O'Connor. O'Keefe left MGM around 1940 but continued to work in mostly lower budget productions. In the 1950s he did some directing, wrote mystery stories and by the mid-1950s found work on television shows such as Justice, The Martha Raye Show, The Ford Show as well as his own series The Dennis O'Keefe Show.

Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Larry Steers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Francis Thomas Sullivan, aka Frank Sully, was an American character actor. Beefy and square-jawed, he was usually cast as rustic types or dumb heavies. He was a regular feature in Three Stooges shorts. Sully started his career as a comedian in vaudeville and appeared on Broadway from the late 1920s. He is known for the films The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The More the Merrier (1943) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Emmett Vogan was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934–54, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time.

Henry Edward Waller (April 3, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor.

Otto Yamaoka was one of the few people of Japanese decent working in Hollywood during the 1930s. He is known mostly for comic character actor roles.

Duke York Jr. has a long resume as one of Hollywood's best stunt men. He is still often seen on TV today although audiences may not recognize him. He is most often seen today as the various "monsters" that confronted The Three Stooges during the 1940s, and as King Kala (wearing a bald cap) in the first Flash Gordon serial.

Robert Burns appeared in at least 33 films.