bgcolour	silver
name	Ruby Keeler
birth name	Ethel Hilda Keeler
birth date	August 25, 1910
birth place	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
death date	February 28, 1993 (aged 82)
death place	Rancho Mirage, California, USA
years active	1933–1989
spouse	John Homer Lowe (1941-1969; his death; four children)Al Jolson (1928-1939; divorced; 1 child) }}

Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, (August 25, 1910 – February 28, 1993) was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly ''42nd Street'' (1933). From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson. She retired from show business in the 1940s but made a widely publicized comeback on Broadway in 1971.

Early life

Keeler was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada to an Irish Catholic family, one of six siblings. Two sisters, Helen and Gertrude, had brief performing careers. Her father was a truck driver, and when she was three years old, her family packed up and moved to New York City where he knew he could get better pay. But it was not enough: there were six children, and although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.

Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena parochial school on New York's East Side, and one period each week a dance teacher would come and teach all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio. Though her mother declined, apologizing for the lack of money, the teacher wanted to work with her so badly that she asked her mother if she would bring her to class lessons on Saturdays, and she agreed. During the classes, a girl she danced with told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law said you had to be 16 years old, and although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition. It was a tap audition, and there were a lot of other talented girls there. The stage was covered, except for a wooden apron at the front. When it was Ruby's turn to dance, she asked the dance director, Julian Mitchell, if she could dance on the wooden part so that her taps could be heard. He did not answer, so she went ahead, walked up to the front of the stage, and started her routine. The director said, ''"who said you could dance up there?"'' She replied, "I asked you!" and she got a job in George M. Cohan's ''The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly'' (1923), in which she made forty-five dollars a week to help her family.

Early dance career

She was only fourteen when she was hired by Nils Granlund, the publicity manager for Loew's Theaters who also served as the stageshow producer for Texas Guinan at Larry Fay's El Fay nightclub, a speakeasy frequented by gangsters. She was noticed by Broadway producer Charles B. Dillingham, who gave her a role in ''Bye Bye Bonnie'', which ran for six months. She then appeared in ''Lucky'' and ''The Sidewalks of New York'', also produced by Dillingham. In the later show, she was seen by Flo Ziegfeld, who sent her bunch of roses and a note, ''"May I make you a star?"''. She would appear in Ziegfeld's ''Whoopee!'' in 1928, the same year she married Al Jolson.

The two met in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan's as he would claim), where Nils Granlund had sent her to assist in Loew's marketing campaign for ''The Jazz Singer''. Jolson was smitten and immediately proposed. Keeler reportedly initially declined but later relented. The couple married September 21, 1928 in Port Chester, New York in a private ceremony performed by Surrogate Judge G. A. Slater of Westchester County, New York. The two had hoped to be wed aboard the White Star Liner Olympic, but were informed that company regulations no longer allowed ship's captains to perform "at sea" ceremonies. The two sailed the following morning for a brief honeymoon before she began her tour with ''Whoopee!''. The marriage (during which they adopted a son) was reportedly a rocky one. They moved to California, which took her away from the limelight. In 1929, at the urging of Ziegfeld, Jolson agreed to Keeler's returning to Broadway to star in ''Show Girl''.

In 1933, producer Darryl F. Zanuck cast Keeler in the Warner Bros. musical ''42nd Street'' appearing opposite Dick Powell and Bebe Daniels. The film was a huge success due to Busby Berkeley's lavish innovative choreography. Following ''42nd Street'', Jack Warner gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in ''Gold Diggers of 1933'', ''Footlight Parade'', ''Dames'', and ''Colleen''. Keeler and Jolson starred together in ''Go Into Your Dance''. Frank Tashlin's 1937 cartoon, ''The Woods are Full of Cuckoos'', featuring a porcine caricature called "Ruby Squealer". . Jolson and Keeler appeared on Broadway one last time together for the unsuccessful show ''Hold On To Your Hats'' in 1940.

Later life

After a difficult marriage, Keeler and Jolson were divorced in 1940. Keeler remarried in 1941 to John Homer Lowe. Keeler left show business the same year. Keeler and Lowe had four children. Lowe died of cancer in 1969.

In 1963, she appeared in ''The Greatest Show on Earth'', Jack Palance's revival on television of the earlier Charlton Heston circus film of the same name. In 1972, Keeler starred in the successful Broadway revival of the 1920s musical ''No, No, Nanette'', along with fellow Irish-Americans Helen Gallagher and Patsy Kelly. The production was directed by Keeler's ''42nd Street'' director, Busby Berkeley, and choreographed by Donald Saddler.

Family members in acting

Keeler had two nephews who also worked in the film business. Joey D. Vieira, also known as Donald Keeler, is best remembered for portraying chubby, beanie-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway on TV's ''Lassie'' (retitled ''Jeff's Collie'' in syndicated reruns and on DVD) from 1954-57. Vieira's brother, Ken Weatherwax, played Pugsley Addams on the 1960s TV series ''The Addams Family''.

Death

Ruby Keeler died of cancer in Rancho Mirage, California and is interred in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Orange, California. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6730 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

;Features:

''Show Girl in Hollywood'' (1930)

''42nd Street'' (1933)

''Gold Diggers of 1933'' (1933)

''Footlight Parade'' (1933)

''Dames'' (1934)

''Flirtation Walk'' (1934)

''Go Into Your Dance'' (1935)

''Shipmates Forever'' (1935)

''Colleen'' (1936)

''Ready, Willing and Able'' (1937)

''Mother Carey's Chickens'' (1938)

''Sweetheart of the Campus'' (1941)

''The Phynx'' (1970)

''Beverly Hills Brats'' (1989)

;Short Subjects:

''Ruby Keeler'' (1929)

''Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 20'' (1930)

''And She Learned About Dames'' (1934)

''Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7'' (1937)

''A Day at Santa Anita'' (1937)

''Hollywood Handicap'' (1938)

''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Recreation'' (1940)

References

Sources

External links

Category:1910 births Category:1993 deaths Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American tap dancers Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian tap dancers Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Category:People from New York City Category:People from Riverside County, California Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area

de:Ruby Keeler es:Ruby Keeler fr:Ruby Keeler it:Ruby Keeler pt:Ruby Keeler ru:Килер, Руби sh:Ruby Keeler sv:Ruby Keeler

name	Busby Berkeley
birth name	Busby Berkeley William Enos
birth date	November 29, 1895
birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death date	March 14, 1976
death place	Palm Desert, California, U.S.
occupation	film director, choreographer
years active	1901–1971 }}

Busby Berkeley (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.

Career

Berkeley was born to stage actress Gertrude Berkeley. Among Gertrude's friends were actress Amy Busby and actor William Gillette, then only four years away from playing Sherlock Holmes. Gertrude apparently named her son after both Busby and Gillette after they agreed to be the boy's godparents. The boy was named Busby Berkeley William Enos.

In addition to her stage work, Gertrude played mother roles in silent films while Berkley was still a child. Berkeley made his stage debut at five, acting in the company of his performing family. During World War I, Berkeley served as a field artillery lieutenant. Watching soldiers drill may have inspired his later complex choreography. During the 1920s, Berkeley was a dance director for nearly two dozen Broadway musicals, including such hits as ''A Connecticut Yankee''. As a choreographer, Berkeley was less concerned with the terpsichorean skill of his chorus girls as he was with their ability to form themselves into attractive geometric patterns. His musical numbers were among the largest and best-regimented on Broadway.

His earliest movie jobs were on Samuel Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor musicals, where he began developing such techniques as a “parade of faces” (individualizing each chorus girl with a loving close-up), and moving his dancers all over the stage (and often beyond) in as many kaleidoscopic patterns as possible. Berkeley's top shot technique (the kaleidoscope again, this time shot from overhead) appeared seminally in the Cantor films, and also the 1932 Universal programmer ''Night World'' (where he choreographed the number "Who's Your Little Who-Zis?"). His numbers were known for starting out in the realm of the stage, but quickly exceeding this space by moving into a time and place that could only be cinematic, only to return to shots of an applauding audience and the fall of a curtain. As choreographer, Berkeley was allowed a certain degree of independence in his direction of musical numbers, and they were often markedly distinct from (and sometimes in contrast to) the narrative sections of the films. The numbers he choreographed were mostly upbeat and focused on decoration as opposed to substance; one exception to this is the number “Remember My Forgotten Man” from ''Gold Diggers of 1933'', which dealt with the treatment of soldiers in a post-World War I Depression.

Berkeley's popularity with an entertainment-hungry Great Depression audience was secured when he choreographed four musicals back-to-back for Warner Bros.: ''42nd Street'', ''Footlight Parade'', the aforementioned ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' and ''Fashions of 1934'', as well as ''In Caliente'' and ''Wonder Bar'' with Dolores del Río. Berkeley's innovative and often sexually-charged dance numbers have been analyzed at length by cinema scholars. In particular, the numbers have been critiqued for their display (and some say exploitation) of the female form as seen through the “male gaze”, and for their depiction of collectivism (as opposed to traditionally American rugged individualism) in the spirit of Roosevelt's New Deal. Berkeley always denied any deep significance to his work, arguing that his main professional goals were to constantly top himself and to never repeat his past accomplishments.

As the outsized musicals in which Berkeley specialized became passé, he turned to straight directing. The result was 1939's ''They Made Me a Criminal'', one of John Garfield's best films. Berkeley had several well-publicized run-ins with MGM stars such as Judy Garland. In 1943, he was removed as director of ''Girl Crazy'' because of disagreements with Garland, although the lavish musical number "I Got Rhythm", which he directed, remained in the picture.

His next stop was at 20th Century-Fox for 1943's ''The Gang's All Here'', in which Berkeley choreographed Carmen Miranda's “Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” number. The film made money, but Berkeley and the Fox brass disagreed over budget matters. Berkeley returned to MGM in the late 1940s, where among many other accomplishments he conceived the Technicolor finales for the studio's Esther Williams films. Berkeley's final film as choreographer was MGM's ''Billy Rose's Jumbo'' (1962).

Later career

In the late 1960s, the camp craze brought the Berkeley musicals back to the forefront. He toured the college and lecture circuit, and even directed a 1930s-style cold medication commercial, complete with a top shot of a dancing clock. In his 75th year, Busby Berkeley returned to Broadway to direct a successful revival of ''No No Nanette'', starring his old Warner Brothers colleague and “42nd Street” star Ruby Keeler.

Berkeley was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 1988.

Personal life

Berkeley was married six times and was survived by his wife Etta Dunn. He was also involved in an alienation of affections lawsuit in 1938 involving Carole Landis. In September 1935, Berkeley was the driver responsible for an automobile accident in which two people were killed, five seriously injured; Berkeley himself was badly cut and bruised. Berkeley, brought to court on a stretcher, heard testimony that ''Time'' magazine said made him wince: :'Witnesses testified that motorist Berkeley sped down Roosevelt Highway in Los Angeles County one night, changed lanes, crashing headlong into one car, sideswiped another. Some witnesses said they smelled liquor on him'. After the first two trials for second degree murder ended with hung juries, he was acquitted in a third trial.

Berkeley died on March 14, 1976 in Palm Springs, California at the age of 80 from natural causes. He is buried in the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Selected works

''A Connecticut Yankee'' (1927) (Broadway)

''Whoopee!'' (1930) (choreographer)

''Kiki'' (1931) (choreographer)

''Palmy Days'' (1931) (choreographer)

''Flying High'' (1931) (choreographer)

''The Kid from Spain'' (1932) (choreographer)

''42nd Street'' (1933) (choreographer)

''Gold Diggers of 1933'' (1933) (choreographer)

''Footlight Parade'' (1933) (choreographer)

''Roman Scandals'' (1933) (choreographer)

''Fashions of 1934'' (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''Wonder Bar'' (1934) (designer of musical numbers)

''Dames'' (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''Gold Diggers of 1935'' (1935) (also director)

''In Caliente'' (1935) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''I Live For Love'' (1935) (director)

''Gold Diggers of 1937'' (1936) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''Stage Struck'' (1936) (director)

''The Singing Marine'' (1937) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''Hollywood Hotel'' (1937) (director)

''Varsity Show'' (1937) (director of finale)

''Gold Diggers in Paris'' (1938) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

''They Made Me a Criminal'' (1939) (director)

''Fast and Furious'' (1939) (director)

''Broadway Serenade'' (1939) (director of finale)

''Babes in Arms'' (1939) (director)

''Strike Up the Band (film)'' (1940) (director)

''Forty Little Mothers'' (1940) (director)

''Ziegfeld Girl'' (1941) (director of musical numbers)

''Babes on Broadway'' (1941) (director)

''Lady Be Good'' (1941) (director of musical numbers)

''For Me and My Gal'' (1942) (director)

''Cabin in the Sky'' (1943) (director of "Shine" sequence)

''Girl Crazy'' (1943) (director of "I Got Rhythm" finale)

''The Gang's All Here'' (1943) (director)

''Cinderella Jones'' (1946) (director)

''Romance on the High Seas'' (1948) (choreographer)

''Take Me Out to the Ball Game'' (1949) (director)

''Two Weeks with Love'' (1950) (choreographer)

''Call Me Mister'' (1951) (choreographer)

''Two Tickets to Broadway'' (1951) (choreographer)

''Million Dollar Mermaid'' (1952) (choreographer)

''Small Town Girl'' (1953) (choreographer)

''Easy to Love'' (1953) (choreographer)

''Rose Marie'' (1954) (choreographer)

''Billy Rose's Jumbo'' (1962) (choreographer)

''No, No, Nanette'' (1971) (production supervisor) (Broadway)

See also

Busby Berkeley using alternate takes to circumvent censorship

References

;Notes

External links

Hooray for Hollywood: Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley at Classic Movie Favorites Tribute site: galleries, bio, filmography and more.

bio & pics on Busby Berkeley

Category:1895 births Category:1976 deaths Category:Burials at Desert Memorial Park Category:American choreographers Category:American film directors Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Film choreographers

ca:Busby Berkeley de:Busby Berkeley es:Busby Berkeley fr:Busby Berkeley it:Busby Berkeley he:באזבי ברקלי ja:バスビー・バークレー pl:Busby Berkeley pt:Busby Berkeley ru:Беркли, Басби sv:Busby Berkeley

name	Roy Del Ruth
birth date	October 18, 1893
death date	April 27, 1961
occupation	Film director
yearsactive	1929 – 1961 }}

Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893 – April 27, 1961) was a Hollywood film director. Del Ruth, who started out as a screenwriter in 1915 writing gags for Mack Sennett, began directing feature films in the 1920s. He became known for directing urban and crime dramas including the 1931 version of ''The Maltese Falcon''. He also directed the universally panned ''The Babe Ruth Story'' (1948) and the 20th Century Fox B-movie ''Alligator People'' (1959).

Roy Del Ruth died in 1961 at age 67 and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California.

For his contributions to the motion picture industry, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6150 Hollywood Blvd.

Selected filmography

''The Desert Song'' (1929)

''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' (1929)

''The Aviator

''Hold Everything'' (1930)

''The Life of the Party'' (1930)

''Blonde Crazy'' (1931)

''The Maltese Falcon'' (1931; aka ''Dangerous Female'')

''Blessed Event'' (1932)

''Taxi!'' (1932)

''Lady Killer'' (1933)

''The Little Giant'' (1933)

''Bureau of Missing Persons'' (1933)

''Employees' Entrance'' (1933)

''Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back'' (1934)

''Broadway Melody of 1936'' (1935)

''Born to Dance'' (1936)

''Broadway Melody of 1938'' (1937)

''On the Avenue'' (1937)

''He Married His Wife'' (1940)

''Topper Returns'' (1941)

''The Chocolate Soldier'' (191)

''DuBarry Was a Lady'' (1943)

''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1946)

''It Happened on 5th Avenue'' (1947)

''The Babe Ruth Story'' (1948)

''Red Light'' (1949)

''The West Point Story'' (1950)

''On Moonlight Bay'' (1951)

''Starlift'' (1951)

''Three Sailors and a Girl'' (1953)

''Alligator People'' (1959)

External links

Category:American film directors Category:1893 births Category:1961 deaths Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction

de:Roy Del Ruth es:Roy Del Ruth fr:Roy Del Ruth it:Roy Del Ruth

bgcolour	silver
name	Dick Powell
birth name	Richard Ewing Powell
birth date	November 14, 1904
birth place	Mountain View, Arkansas, U.S.
death date	January 02, 1963
death place	West Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor, singer, producer, director
years active	1932–63
spouse	Mildred Maund (1925-27)Joan Blondell (1936-44)June Allyson (1945-63) }}

Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.

Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.

Biography

Born in Mountain View, the seat of Stone County in northern Arkansas, Powell attended the former Little Rock College in the state capital, before he started his entertainment career as a singer with the Charlie Davis Orchestra, based in the midwest. He recorded a number of records with Davis and on his own, for the Vocalion label in the late 1920s.

Powell moved to Pittsburgh, where he found great local success as the Master of Ceremonies at the Enright Theater and the Stanley Theater. In April 1930, Warner Bros. bought Brunswick Records, which at that time owned Vocalion. Warner Bros. was sufficiently impressed by Powell's singing and stage presence to offer him a film contract in 1932. He made his film debut as a singing bandleader in ''Blessed Event''. He went on to star as a boyish crooner in movie musicals such as ''42nd Street'', ''Footlight Parade'', ''Gold Diggers of 1933'', ''Dames'', ''Flirtation Walk'', and ''On the Avenue'', often appearing opposite Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell.

Powell desperately wanted to expand his range but Warner Bros. wouldn't allow him to do so, although they did (mis)cast him in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1935) as Lysander. This was to be Powell's only Shakespearean role and one he did not want to play, feeling that he was completely wrong for the part. Finally, reaching his forties and knowing that his young romantic leading man days were behind him, he lobbied to play the lead in ''Double Indemnity''. He lost out to Fred MacMurray, another Hollywood nice guy. MacMurray’s success, however, fueled Powell’s resolve to pursue projects with greater range.

In 1944, Powell was cast in the first of a series of films noir, as private detective Philip Marlowe in ''Murder, My Sweet'', directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film was a big hit, and Powell had successfully reinvented himself as a dramatic actor. He was the first actor to play Marlowe — by name — in motion pictures. (Hollywood had previously adapted some Marlowe novels, but with the lead character changed.) Later, Powell was the first actor to play Marlowe on radio, in 1944 and 1945, and on television, in a 1954 episode of ''Climax!''

In 1945, Dmytryk and Powell re-teamed to make the film ''Cornered'', a gripping, post-WWII thriller that helped define the film noir style. He became a popular "tough guy" lead appearing in movies such as ''Johnny O'Clock'' and ''Cry Danger''. But 1948 saw him step out of the brutish type when he starred in ''Pitfall'', a film noir that sees a bored insurance company worker fall for an innocent but dangerous femme fatale, played by Lizabeth Scott. Even when he appeared in lighter fare such as ''The Reformer and the Redhead'' and ''Susan Slept Here'' (1954), he never sang in his later roles. The latter, his final onscreen appearance in a feature film, did include a dance number with costar Debbie Reynolds.

From 1949–1953, Powell played the lead role in the National Broadcasting Company radio theater production ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective''. His character in the 30-minute weekly was a likable private detective with a quick wit. Many episodes ended with Detective Diamond having an excuse to sing a little song to his date, showcasing Powell's vocal abilities. Many of the episodes were written by Blake Edwards. When ''Richard Diamond'' came to television in 1957, the lead role was portrayed by David Janssen.

In the 1950s Powell produced and directed several B-movies and was one of the founders of Four Star Television, along with Charles Boyer, David Niven and Ida Lupino. He appeared in and supervised several shows for that company. Powell played the role of Willie Dante in ''Four Star Playhouse'', in episodes entitled "Dante's Inferno" (1952), "The Squeeze" (1953), "The Hard Way" (1953), and "The House Always Wins" (1955). In 1961 Howard Duff, husband of Ida Lupino, assumed the Dante role in a short-lived NBC adventure series ''Dante'', set at a San Francisco nightclub called "Dante's Inferno".

Powell guest-starred in numerous Four Star programs, including a 1958 appearance on the Duff-Lupino sitcom ''Mr. Adams and Eve''. He appeared in 1961 on James Whitmore's legal drama ''The Law and Mr. Jones'' on ABC. In the episode "Everybody Versus Timmy Drayton", Powell played a colonel having problems with his son. He hosted and occasionally starred in his ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater'' on CBS from 1956–1961, and his final anthology series, ''The Dick Powell Show'' on NBC from 1961 through 1963: after his death, the series continued through the end of its second season (as ''The Dick Powell Theater''), with guest hosts.

Powell's film ''The Enemy Below'' (1957), based on the novel by Denys Rayner, won an Academy Award for special effects.

Powell also directed ''The Conqueror'' (1956), starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan. The exterior scenes were filmed in St. George, Utah, downwind of U.S. above-ground atomic tests. The cast and crew totaled 220, and of that number, 91 had developed some form of cancer by 1981 and 46 had died of cancer by then, including Wayne. This cancer rate is about three times higher than one would expect in a group of this size and many have argued that radioactive fallout was the cause.

Powell himself died from lymphoma at the age of fifty-eight on January 2, 1963, seven years after ''The Conqueror'' was made. His body was cremated and his remains were interred in the Columbarium of Honor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Personal life

Dick Powell was married three times:

Mildred Maund (1925–1927) — although most biographies say they were divorced in 1927, there are strong indications this is not true. They appear on the 1930 census in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is working in a theater, and they appear on a 1931 passenger list where they are returning from Havana, Cuba aboard the SS ''Oriente''.

actress Joan Blondell (married September 19, 1936, divorced 1944), with whom he had two children, Ellen and adopted son Norman

actress/singer June Allyson (August 19, 1945, until his death), with whom he had two children, Pamela (adopted) and Richard Powell, Jr.

Powell's ranch-style house in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, was used as the setting for the television show ''Hart to Hart.'' Robert Wagner, the actor who portrayed Jonathan Hart in the series, was a close friend of Powell's. Dick Powell also was a major television player with his own production company, Four Star, owning several network shows.

Popular culture references

Frank Tashlin's 1937 cartoon ''The Woods are Full of Cuckoos'' features an avian caricature of Mr. Powell called "Dick Fowl".

Filmography

As actor

Features

''Blessed Event'' (1932)

''Big City Blues'' (1932)

''Too Busy to Work'' (1932)

''The King's Vacation'' (1933)

''42nd Street'' (1933)

''Gold Diggers of 1933'' (1933)

''Footlight Parade'' (1933)

''College Coach'' (1933)

''Convention City'' (1933)

''Wonder Bar'' (1934)

''Twenty Million Sweethearts'' (1934)

''Dames'' (1934)

''Happiness Ahead'' (1934)

''Flirtation Walk'' (1934)

''Gold Diggers of 1935'' (1935)

''Broadway Gondolier'' (1935)

''Page Miss Glory'' (1935)

''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1935)

''Shipmates Forever'' (1935)

''Thanks A Million'' (1935)

''Colleen'' (1936)

''Hearts Divided'' (1936)

''Stage Struck'' (1936)

''Gold Diggers of 1937'' (1936)

''On the Avenue'' (1937)

''The Singing Marine'' (1937)

''Varsity Show'' (1937)

''Hollywood Hotel'' (1937)

''Cowboy from Brooklyn'' (1938)

''Hard to Get'' (1938)

''Going Places'' (1938)

''Naughty but Nice'' (1939)

''I Want a Divorce'' (1940)

''Christmas in July'' (1940)

''Model Wife'' (1941)

''In the Navy'' (1941)

''Star Spangled Rhythm'' (1942)

''Happy Go Lucky'' (1943)

''Riding High'' (1943)

''True to Life'' (1943)

''It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944)

''Meet the People'' (1944)

''Murder, My Sweet'' (1944)

''Cornered'' (1945)

''Johnny O'Clock'' (1947)

''To the Ends of the Earth'' (1948)

''Pitfall'' (1948)

''Station West'' (1948)

''Rogues' Regiment'' (1948)

''The Carpa Follies'' (1949)

''Mrs. Mike'' (1949)

''The Reformer and the Redhead'' (1950)

''Right Cross'' (1950)

''Cry Danger'' (1951)

''The Tall Target'' (1951)

''You Never Can Tell'' (1951)

''Callaway Went Thataway'' (1951) (scenes deleted)

''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952)

''Susan Slept Here'' (1954)

Short subjects

''The Road Is Open Again'' (1933)

''Just Around the Corner'' (1933)

''Hollywood on Parade No. A-9'' (1933)

''And She Learned About Dames'' (1934)

''Hollywood Newsreel'' (1934)

''A Dream Comes True'' (1935)

''Hollywood Hobbies'' (1939)

As director

''Split Second'' (1953)

''The Conqueror'' (1956)

''You Can't Run Away from It'' (1956)

''The Enemy Below'' (1957)

''The Hunters'' (1958)

Notable Recordings

"Dames"

"Roses In December"

References

External links

Dick Powell Photo Gallery

Dick Powell.net, a Fansite

Photographs and literature

Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American film directors Category:Actors from Arkansas Category:American Christian Scientists Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:People from Stone County, Arkansas Category:California Republicans Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Deaths from lymphoma Category:1904 births Category:1963 deaths Category:Bell Records artists Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:20th-century actors Category:Arkansas Republicans

ca:Dick Powell de:Dick Powell es:Dick Powell fr:Dick Powell it:Dick Powell nl:Dick Powell ja:ディック・パウエル pt:Dick Powell ro:Dick Powell ru:Пауэлл, Дик sh:Dick Powell fi:Dick Powell sv:Dick Powell

name	Ozzie Nelson
birth name	Oswald George Nelson
birth date	March 20, 1906
birth place	Jersey City, New Jersey
death date	June 03, 1975
death place	Hollywood, California
occupation	Actor, band leader, television producer and director
spouse	Harriet Hilliard (1935-1975) (his death) 2 children }}

Oswald George "Ozzie" Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American entertainer and band leader who originated and starred in ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' radio and television series with his wife and two sons.

Early life

The second son of George Waldemar and Ethel Irene (Orr) Nelson, Ozzie Nelson was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His ancestry was Swedish and English. Nelson was raised in Ridgefield Park. He graduated from Ridgefield Park High School, where he played on the football team. The street Nelson grew up on is now named after him. Nelson became an Eagle Scout at 13 and was a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated from Rutgers University, where he also played football despite his slight build. He was a member of the Cap and Skull fraternity, and entered Rutgers School of Law Newark. As a student he made pocket money playing saxophone in a band and coaching football. During the Depression he turned to music as a full-time career.

Early career

Ozzie started his entertainment career as a band leader. He formed and led the ''Ozzie Nelson Band'', and had some initial limited success. He made his own "big break" in 1930. The ''New York Daily Mirror'' ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. He knew that news vendors got credit from the newspaper for unsold copies by returning the front page and discarding the rest of the issue. Gathering hundreds of discarded newspapers, the band filled out ballots in their favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners.

From 1930 through the 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941) and finally back to Bluebird (1941-through the 1940s). Nelson's records were consistently popular and in 1934 Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder" which he introduced. Nelson was their primary vocalist and (from August 1932) featured in duets with his other star vocalist, Harriet Hilliard. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick's voice and Harriet's perky vocals added to the band's popularity.

In 1935, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra had a number one hit with "And Then Some", which was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Ozzie Nelson composed several songs, including "Wave the Stick Blues", "Subway", "Jersey Jive", "Swingin' on the Golden Gate", and "Central Avenue Shuffle".

In October 1935 he married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard. The couple had two children. David (1936–2011), became an actor and director. Eric ("Ricky") (1940–1985), became an actor and singer.

Movies

Ozzie Nelson appeared with his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor (as in the 1942 musical ''Strictly in the Groove''). He shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to appear in soundies, three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" of the 1940s. In 1952, when he and his family were established as radio and TV favorites, they starred in a feature film, ''Here Come the Nelsons'' (which actually doubled as a "pilot" for the TV series).

Radio and television

In the 1940s, Nelson began to look for a way to spend more time with his family, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, he and Harriet had been regulars on Red Skelton's radio show. He developed and produced his own radio series, ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. The show went on the air in 1944, with their sons played by actors until 1949, and in 1952 it moved over to television (the radio version continued for another two years). The show starred the entire family, and America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and co-writer of the entire series. He was very hands-on and involved with every aspect of the radio and then TV program.

Neither Ozzie or Harriet made any references to their prior successful bandleading and singing careers on their TV program, not even when Ricky started his own singing career. This led to younger people who watched the program to wonder what Ozzie's character did for a living! However in the previously mentioned pilot/feature film ''Here Come the Nelsons'' it was revealed that Ozzie did indeed have a job working for an advertising agency. His boss was portrayed by ''Frank Nelson'' (no relation), best remembered as the "Eeeeeyesss!" guy from the Jack Benny Show.

His last television show was in the fall of 1973 and entitled ''Ozzie's Girls'', and lasted for a year. Syndicated only, the premise was Ozzie and Harriet renting their son's room to two college girls- one white, one black- and concerned Ozzie's difficulties in living with two teenage girls as opposed to David and Ricky.

Death

In 1973, Ozzie Nelson published his autobiography, ''Ozzie'', (Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-647768-2). He suffered from recurring malignant tumors in his later years, died of liver cancer and is interred with his wife (1909–1994) and son, pop singer Ricky (1940–1985) in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has an additional star with his wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.

Trivia

For those who started watching the popular TV show, no mention was ever made as to Ozzie's profession; his band-leading career was never referred to.

Ozzie was a prolific home movie taker and made many 16mm reels of his family from the 1930s and these have been referred to in the TV series.

Listen to

Ozzie Nelson Orchestra at Chicago's Blackhawk (March 24, 1940)

References

External links

Museum of Broadcast Communications: Ozzie and Harriet Nelson

Category:1906 births Category:1975 deaths Category:American actors Category:American film directors Category:American radio actors Category:American television actors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from liver cancer Category:Distinguished Eagle Scouts Category:People from Jersey City, New Jersey Category:People from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Category:Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:Swing saxophonists Category:Vaudeville performers

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