Zaza

Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie 'Lily' Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the "The Barker" in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role: "I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven". She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929). Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.

Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who, despite losing a leg during the First World War, starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the United Kingdom and North America, he became an in-demand Hollywood leading man, frequently appearing in romantic melodramas and occasional comedies. In his later years, he turned to character acting.

Bert Lahr (born Irving Lahrheim; August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967) was an American actor and comedian. Lahr is remembered today for his roles as the Cowardly Lion and the farmworker Zeke in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, but was also well-known for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bert Lahr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She made her stage debut at the age of three, when she played Fairy Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and later appeared in several Shakespearean stage plays. Her brief visit to New York in the 1910s yielded her work in a few silent films. When she was diagnosed with diabetes, she became the first ever patient in Europe to receive insulin treatment following its recent discovery. She served as an acting coach for many silent film stars in 1920s Hollywood following the tumultuous change to "talkies". While her most famous pupil was arguably Colleen Moore, her most acclaimed lifelong friend was fellow Stage Door co-star, Katharine Hepburn. Collier has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Genevieve Tobin (November 29, 1899 – July 21, 1995) was an American actress. The daughter of a vaudeville performer, Tobin made her film debut in 1910 in Uncle Tom's Cabin as Eva. She appeared in a few films as a child, and formed a double act with her sister Vivian. Their brother, George, also had a brief acting career. Following her education in Paris and New York, Tobin concentrated on a stage career in New York. Although she was seen most often in comedies, Tobin also played the role of Cordelia in a Broadway production of King Lear in 1923. Popular with audiences, she was often praised by critics for her appearance and style rather than for her talent, however in 1929 she achieved a significant success in the play Fifty Million Frenchmen. She introduced and popularized the Cole Porter song "You Do Something to Me" and the success of the role led her back to Hollywood, where she performed regularly in comedy films from the early 1930s. She played prominent supporting roles opposite such performers as Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, Joan Blondell and Kay Francis, but occasionally played starring roles, in films such as Golden Harvest (1933) and Easy to Love (1934). She played secretary Della Street to Warren William's Perry Mason in The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935). One of her most successful performances was as a bored housewife in the drama The Petrified Forest (1936) opposite Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart. She married the director William Keighley in 1938 and made only a couple more films; her final film before her retirement was No Time for Comedy (1940) with James Stewart and Rosalind Russell. Description above from the Wikipedia article Genevieve Tobin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ann E. Todd (born Ann Todd Phillips, later Ann Basart or Ann Phillips Basart; August 26, 1931 – February 7, 2020) was an American child actress. Later in life she became a noted music librarian. Todd made her acting debut in 1939 in Zaza directed by George Cukor. In a career spanning over 14 years, she appeared in almost 40 movies alongside notable stars such as Ingrid Bergman, Shirley Temple, James Stewart, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck and Marlene Dietrich. Due to the similarities between her name and the then already established British actress Ann Todd, she added the middle initial E. to her name. Todd was a regular in The Stu Erwin Show between 1950–53 before quitting show business for good. She became a teacher and librarian in her later life before retiring in California.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Dorothy Tree (May 21, 1906 – February 13, 1992) was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 motion pictures between 1927 and 1951. Her best-known roles were probably as Martha, mother of Knute Rockne, in Knute Rockne, All American and as May Emmerich, invalid wife of Louis Calhern, in The Asphalt Jungle. After being blacklisted as a communist because of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, she began a second career as a voice teacher in New York. Emphasizing good diction and clarity, and the subtleties of intonation, she published four books on the subject. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dorothy Tree, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888 – May 6, 1963) was an American actor. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play The Man Who Came to Dinner and its 1942 film adaptation. Description above from the Wikipedia article Monty Woolley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including Casablanca (a Moroccan rug merchant), Now, Voyager and The Jungle Book.

Janet Marie Waldo Lee (February 4, 1920 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson, Nancy in Shazzan, Penelope Pitstop, Princess from Battle of the Planets, and Josie in Josie and the Pussycats. On radio, she voiced the title character in Meet Corliss Archer.

Maurice Murphy was born on October 3, 1913 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Tailspin Tommy (1934), Beau Geste (1926) and Peter Pan (1924). He died on November 23, 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.