Ed Grier was named dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business on February 8, 2010. Previously, he was President of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, which comprises the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park theme parks, the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, and the Downtown Disney retail, dining and entertainment district. He reports to Al Weiss, president of operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. He announced his retirement from the company on October 5, 2009.

Before joining the Disneyland Resort in July 2006, Grier served as executive managing director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan, where he supervised Disney operations for the Tokyo Disney Resort and the day-to-day relationship with the Oriental Land Company, which owns the property.

Previously, Grier held executive positions at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort Paris in France. At the Florida resort, he served as general manager for the operation lines of business at the Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios theme parks.

A certified public accountant, Grier worked for Ernst & Young before joining The Walt Disney Company in 1981. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

External links[link]

• Walt Disney Company profile of Ed Grier

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David Alan Grier
Grier, August 2007
Born	(1955-06-30) June 30, 1955 (age 56) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Comedian
Years active	1980—present

David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1955),^[1] also known as "D.A.G." (DAG), is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.

Early life[link]

Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Aretas Ruth (née Dudley) and William Henry Grier, a psychiatrist and writer who co-wrote the book Black Rage.^[2] He graduated from Detroit's magnet high school, Cass Tech and received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama. Immediately after graduating, he landed the role of Jackie Robinson in the short-lived Broadway musical The First, directed by Martin Charnin and written by Joel Siegel.

Career[link]

Grier got his start on the National Public Radio radio drama adaptation of Star Wars in 1980. He was the voice of a nameless X-Wing fighter pilot during the Battle of Yavin.

Grier was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award for The First. He later starred as James "Thunder" Early in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Grier made his film debut in 1983 in Streamers, directed by Robert Altman. He won the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the film. He also appeared in the Negro Ensemble Company production A Soldier's Play and reprised his role in the film version A Soldier's Story. Grier also appeared as a geology professor at the fictitious Hillman College in the show A Different World where he was a crush of several of the girls on the show including lead character Denise Huxtable played by actress Lisa Bonet.

[edit] In Living Color

Although primarily known for his dramatic work, Grier began to shift towards comedy, making memorable appearances in the cult films Amazon Women on the Moon and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Keenen Ivory Wayans, the director of Sucka, cast Grier in his new variety show In Living Color. It became a ratings hit and won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series. Grier became a popular cast member through his characters, which ranged from hyperactive children to crotchety old men. Among his prominent characters were obnoxious, megaphone-blaring shop teacher Al MacAfee; the elderly Mr. Brooks, whose autumn years are a never-ending verbal battle with his wife; Calhoun Tubbs, a blues musician with very limited creativity; a member of Funky Finger Productions, a production company with more ambition than resources; and, most famously, flamboyant and effeminate Antoine Merriweather in the "Men on..." sketch series. He also played Rev. Leon Lonnie Love on the TV series Martin. After his success on the show, Grier began appearing in comedies such as Boomerang (as Eddie Murphy's shy friend Gerard) Blankman (with Damon Wayans), In the Army Now (as Fred Ostroff) along with Pauley Shore and Andy Dick in 1994, and as a policeman whose car is memorably crushed and eaten by a giant pod in Jumanji. Grier also gave a strong dramatic performance as an abusive father in Rusty Cundieff's horror anthology Tales from the Hood.Grier appeared with Tom Arnold in the 1997 comedy McHale's Navy as Ensign Charles Parker. In 1999, he made a guest appearance as himself on the Aw, Here it Goes to Hollywood episode of Nickelodeon's sitcom, Kenan & Kel.^[3]

[edit] After In Living Color

After the cancellation of In Living Color, Grier starred in the short-lived sitcoms The Preston Episodes, Damon (with In Living Color co-star Damon Wayans), and DAG.

Grier had a cameo in the Robert DeNiro /Edward Burns movie 15 Minutes as a Central Park mugger. In a departure from the childlike roles he often played on In Living Color, he portrayed an abusive father in Rusty Cundieff's anthology film Tales From the Hood. He began doing stand-up comedy and was an instant success.^{[citation needed]} He hosted the Comedy Central series Premium Blend.

Grier returned to Broadway to perform in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In 2002, Grier joined the cast of the improv-based ABC sitcom and Bonnie Hunt vehicle Life with Bonnie which ran only two seasons. During this time, he continued to appear in comedy films but also returned to drama in the films BAADASSSSS! and The Woodsman. He starred in his own Comedy Central stand-up special The Book of David: The Cult Figure's Manifesto. He is also a frequent guest on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers. Grier was the host of the NBC show Thank God You're Here. He will also host his own national late night syndicated TV show in early 2007. He also appeared in the revival production of The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse directed by Des McAnuff.

Grier starred in Gym Teacher: The Movie playing the villain, Shelly Bragg. He appeared as Uncle Henry in the ABC 2005 television movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.

From October 2008, Grier hosted Chocolate News, a Comedy Central spoof of a TV news magazine show. Comedy Central did not renew the show for a second season.

Grier appeared as Sugar Bear in the 2009 movie Dance Flick. He also provided the voice for Kobe Bryant in the Nike puppet commercials.

Grier's first book Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009.^[4][5] The book recounts Grier's own life story, and was co-authored by Alan Eisenstock.

He returned to Broadway for the premiere of Race, written and directed by David Mamet, opposite James Spader, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas, which opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 6, 2009. Grier received his second Tony Award nomination for his role.^[6]

Grier is currently appearing on Broadway as Sportin' Life in 'The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on January 12, 2012, alongside Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald. He is nominated for a Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony award for this role.^[7]

Grier guest-starred in Season 6 of FOX's Bones. He played Professor Bunsen Jude the Science Dude, the host of a children's TV program.^[8]

[edit] Loveline

He was often referred to as the third host of the radio show Loveline, as he was a frequent guest and guest host (usually filling in for Adam Carolla). One of his most famous contributions was a bit where he began calling out various pharmaceutical drugs Dr. Drew was recommending to a caller as though they were the names of black children being yelled at by their parents. The episode aired on 09/07/2005 towards the end of the show.

Also, on one of his other infamous episodes on September 25, 2002, David stops by lamenting his recent breakup with his girlfriend of four years. He recently (at the time) found out she had been cheating on him with multiple famous actors, at one point in the show DAG coughs while saying the names to avoid legal troubles. During the show Engineer Anderson slows down the recording and plays it back, and the listeners are able to discern the names Tom Sizemore, Colin Farell and Cuba Gooding Jr. from them.

Grier's supposed last appearance on Loveline was April 16, 2006.^[9] On his MySpace page, Grier posted:

On March 3, 2009, David was a guest on The Adam Carolla Podcast. He explained that the reason he was not asked back on Loveline was because the producers of the show did not want him back on despite Dr. Drew pushing for him to again be a guest. While Dr. Drew wasn't initially upfront with him about this, David has no hard feelings toward him and Dr. Drew has since apologized for what happened. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Drew explained on Loveline what had happened and expressed his intent to petition the producers for David to return, and on August 10, 2009, his request was finally granted: After over 3 years, David was once again on Loveline, joining former host Adam Carolla and Dr. Bruce Heischober.

[edit] The Adam Carolla Show

Grier has made many guest appearances on the Adam Carolla Show (97.1 FreeFM), usually to plug his improv performances. One of his recurring bits is where he enacts a heavy-set black woman named Peanut who does a terrible job answering the phones at FreeFM. He also frequently antagonizes the co-host Teresa Strasser. This is done most often by snoring loudly while Teresa reads the news. Carolla's radio show is off the air, but Grier regularly appears on the Adam Carolla Podcast.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

David was a contestant on the 8th season of Dancing with the Stars,^[10] partnered with Kym Johnson. By the fourth week of the competition, Grier announced that he had lost 26 pounds.^[11] He was eliminated in the fifth week.

[edit] Other Work

Grier co-starred with Jon Stewart in Elmopalooza, as the director of Jon's production crew.

In 2008 Grier starred in the Comedy Central TV seris Chocolate News which had satirical sketches about current events and news stories. It lasted for 1 season (10 episodes).

Personal life[link]

Grier was previously married to Maritza Rivera but they were divorced in 1995. In July 2007, he married Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Kim gave birth to their daughter Luisa Danbi Grier-Kim on January 10, 2008 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.^[12] On June 9, 2009, according to TMZ, Christine filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.^{[citation needed]}

Grier is a fan of motorcycles^{[13][14][15][16][17]} and owns the rare Yamaha YZF-R1 Limited Edition^[18] and on the August 10, 2009 episode of Loveline agreed to auction it to aid Bryan Bishop's Tumor Fund before storming out while Carolla and the audio engineer bickered on air.

Grier is also a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Grier was able to showcase his skills in the 1994 film Blankman as his character, Kevin Walker (The Other Guy) was shown to be particularly adept in martial arts.

[edit] In Living Color

Characters[link]

• Al MacAfee
• Antoine Merriweather ("Men on...")
• Calhoun Tubbs
• Cephus (Cephus & Reesie)
• Clavelle (Funky Finger Productions)
• David (Life with Bonnie)
• Doug McPherson (Hemorrhoid Guy)
• Hoke (Driving Miss Schott)
• Jazz Mo' (Life with Bonnie)
• Lamont Hightower
• Leon (Snack 'n Shack)
• Lil' Magic's Mom
• Little Kid (Homey D. Clown)
• Lonnie Anderson
• Loomis Simmons
• Mac
• Mr. Brooks
• Phat Man (Chocolate News)
• Sammy (Zodiac Comedy Shack)
• Tiny (Prison Cable Network)
• Don 'No Soul' Simmons (Amazon Women on the Moon)
• Candleopra (Chocolate News)
• Seemingly homeless man in the soul diner (blurts out such classic lines as "I pop my pimples cuz they tell me to" and "I have a boil with an eye on it.")

Other notable roles / characters[link]

• Da Samurai (Samurai Jack)
• Memnon (Hercules: The Animated Series)
• Jimmy (My Wife and Kids)
• Kevin Walker / That Other Guy (Blankman)
• Sugar Bear (Dance Flick)
• Carl (Jumanji)
• Rev. Leon Lonnie Love (Martin)
• Performed as himself in a video installation created by artist Edgar Arcenaeux called The Alchemy of Comedy... Stupid. The work was originally commissioned by Gallery 400^[19] at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was later shown at the 2008 Whitney Biennial.^[20]

Impressions[link]

• Al Sharpton
• Kobe Bryant in Nike MVPuppets Commercials
• Clarence Thomas
• Colin Powell
• Dr. Dre
• Gary Coleman
• Ike Turner
• Joe Jackson
• Leonard Nimoy
• Marion Barry
• Maya Angelou
• Michael Winslow
• Muhammad Ali
• Ray Charles
• Rodney King
• Sinbad
• Dr. Drew Pinsky^[21]
• Rev. Jeremiah Wright^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Alan Grier

• David Alan Grier's Myspace
• David Alan Grier's Official Site
• David Alan Grier at the Internet Movie Database
• David Alan Grier at the Internet Broadway Database
• David Alan Grier at Internet Off-Broadway Database
• David Alan Grier - 'Thank God You're Here' Host
• TV.com information
• Hollywood.com information
• TheLoop21.com interview with David Alan Grier

Marty Reasoner
Born	(1977-02-26) February 26, 1977 (age 35) Honeoye Falls, NY, USA
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	New York Islanders St. Louis Blues Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins Atlanta Thrashers Florida Panthers
National team	United States
NHL Draft	14th overall, 1996 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1998–present

Martin Reasoner, (born February 26, 1977) is an American professional ice hockey center for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. After the Florida Panthers traded away captain Bryan McCabe, Reasoner was named assistant captain.

Playing career[link]

He was selected in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 14th overall, by the St. Louis Blues. This followed two years of high school hockey at McQuaid Jesuit High School, two years of high school at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and three years at Boston College, where he was named Rookie of the Year his freshmen year, and named All-American his junior season when he led the Eagles to the NCAA finals. He skated alongside the BC legends Andy Powers and Brian Gionta.^[1] Reasoner split 1998–2001 between the Blues and their top minor-league affiliate, the Worcester IceCats. In 2003, he was voted a starter on the IceCats' tenth-anniversary All-Time Team.

Reasoner was traded on July 1, 2001, to the Edmonton Oilers, along with Jochen Hecht and Jan Horacek in exchange for Oilers' captain Doug Weight and Michel Riesen. In November 2003, Reasoner suffered a severe knee injury when he crashed into the end boards. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Reasoner played 11 games for EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian League. On August 9, 2005, Reasoner and the Oilers came to terms on a one-year deal. He was traded from Edmonton to the Boston Bruins on March 9, 2006, along with Yan Stastny and a second-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft (Milan Lucic) in exchange for Sergei Samsonov, thus missing the incredible playoff run of the Oilers that year.

On July 4, 2006, Reasoner signed a two-year contract to return to Edmonton. After spending two more seasons with the Oilers, Reasoner signed a contract with the Atlanta Thrashers on July 17, 2008.^[2] On June 24, 2010, Reasoner, along with the Thrashers' first (24th overall) and second round picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Joey Crabb and Jeremy Morin, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in a multi-player deal for Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, and Akim Aliu.^[3] A month later on July 22, 2010, due to salary cap restrictions within the Blackhawks he was again traded to the Florida Panthers for center Jeff Taffe.^[4]

Reasoner signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders on July 1, 2011.^[5]

Awards[link]

• 1995–96 HE All-Rookie Team
• 1995–96 HE Rookie of the Year
• 1996–97 HE First All-Star Team
• 1997–98 HE First All-Star Team
• 1997–98 HE Tournament MVP Award
• 1997–98 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
• 1997–98 NCAA East First All-American Team

Career statistics[link]

Regular season and playoffs[link]

International[link]

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
World Junior Championships
Silver	1997 Geneva

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marty Reasoner at TSN.ca
• Marty Reasoner's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Marty Reasoner's biography at Legends of Hockey

Rosey Grier

Grier at the 2008 Movieguide Faith and Value Awards Gala.
No. 76
Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1932-07-14) July 14, 1932 (age 79)
Place of birth: Cuthbert, Georgia
Career information
College: Penn State
NFL Draft: 1955 / Round: 3 / Pick: 31
Debuted in 1955
Last played in 1966
Career history
New York Giants (1955-1962) Los Angeles Rams (1963-1966)
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl selection (1956, 1960)
Career NFL statistics
Sacks 44.5 Games 141 Safeties 2 Stats at NFL.com

Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Cuthbert, Georgia) is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for The Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary list of 100 most influential student athletes. As a professional player, Grier was a member of the New York Giants, and the original Fearsome Foursome of the Los Angeles Rams and played in the Pro Bowl twice.

After Grier's professional sports career he worked as a bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was guarding the senator's wife, Ethel Kennedy, during the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan.

Grier's other activities have been colorful and varied. He hosted his own Los Angeles television show and made approximately 70 guest appearances on various shows during the 1960s and 1970s.

As a singer, Grier first released singles on the A label in 1960, and over the following twenty-five years he continued to record on various labels including Liberty, Ric, MGM and A&M.^[1] His recording of a tribute to Robert Kennedy, "People Make The World" (written by Bobby Womack) was his only chart single, peaking at #128 in 1968.

Grier is known for his serious pursuit of hobbies not traditionally associated with men such as macrame and needlepoint. He has authored several books, including Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men in 1973. Grier became an ordained Christian minister in 1983 and travels as an inspirational speaker. He founded American Neighborhood Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that serves inner city youth. He is also the cousin of movie actress Pam Grier.

Early life[link]

One of twelve children, Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time of Grier's birth and was elected president later that year.^[2]

He played high school football at Abraham Clark High School in Roselle, New Jersey.^[3]

Professional career[link]

After playing on the defensive line on the Penn State University football team, Grier was drafted as the 31st overall pick in the third round of the 1955 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played with the Giants from 1955 to 1962, during which he led the team to a NFL Championship in 1956 and the Eastern Conference Championship in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. Grier was selected for the Pro Bowl in 1956 and 1960, and was named All-Pro at the defensive tackle position in 1956 and 1958–1962.^[4]

Grier was then traded in July 1963 to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for defensive tackle John LoVetere and a high future draft pick.^[5][6] He was part of the "Fearsome Foursome", along with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Lamar Lundy,^[7] often considered one of the best defensive lines in football history, along with the Purple People Eaters of the Minnesota Vikings, the Steel Curtain of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Dallas Cowboys' Doomsday Defense. His career ended in 1967 due to a torn Achilles tendon.

Sacks with Rams: 1963 (6), 1964 (6.5), 1965 (1.5), 1966 (7)

Post-football career[link]

Evan Freed (left), Roosevelt Grier (right), 1967

After his retirement, Grier hosted the Rosey Grier Show on KABC-TV, a weekly half-hour television show discussing community affairs in Los Angeles.^[8] Grier served as a bodyguard for his friend, United States senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. He was guarding Ethel Kennedy, the Senator's wife, who was then expecting a child, the night that Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968. Grier and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson heard shots fired ahead of them. Reacting first, Johnson subdued the shooter followed by Grier (as seen in official White House archives). As Johnson grabbed the gun, Grier placed his hand over Johnson's to help secure the weapon. Grier later said, "I grabbed the man's legs and dragged him onto a table. There was a guy angrily twisting the killer's legs and other angry faces coming towards him, as though they were going to tear him to pieces. I fought them off. I would not allow more violence."^[9][10]

Grier was well known in the 1970s for his hobbies of needlepoint and macrame, practices not normally associated with "macho" sports figures. Grier has a daughter from a previous relationship named Sherryl Brown-Tubbs. He later married Bernice Lewis, who had one child, Denise, whom he adopted before getting divorced. He then married Margie Grier, whom he divorced in 1978 and remarried in 1980. Margie Grier died on June 10, 2011. A nephew, Mike "Big Daddy" Grier, followed his uncle's career in sports when he enrolled as a student at Boston University, but he played ice hockey instead of football.^[11] Grier released his autobiography 'Rosey: The Gentle Giant' in 1986.^[12]

Movies and television[link]

Grier and comedian Don Rickles in a Kraft Music Hall skit, 1968.

Grier has appeared in a number of films and television shows. One of the first football stars to successfully transition to acting, he made about 70 television guest appearances, including a role as one of the security contingent in The Brain Killer Affair episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) as well as a cameo playing an athletic trainer in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie. He became a regular cast member starting in 1969 on the series Daniel Boone^[13], Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow.^[14] Grier also sang the song "It's All Right to Cry" for the children's album and TV program Free to Be… You and Me. Grier appeared on the television game show Match Game 74 as a panelist. Grier starred in a handful of low-budget features, including The Thing with Two Heads (1972) and The Glove (1978). Grier appeared in the 1974-1976 NBC TV series Movin' On with Claude Akins, filmed in Grier's home state of Georgia. He appeared in a third season episode of Quincy, M.E. called Crib Job, in which he played himself as the director of a group called Giant Step, and 2 episodes of Kojak, one in the third season and one in the fourth season, as a bounty hunter called Salathiel Harms. He also appeared on an episode of CHiPs during the first season in 1977, where he plays a distraught motorist who, during a routine traffic stop, proceeds to destroy his car in frustration by pulling it apart piece by piece. Grier also guest voiced in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday".

Community service[link]

Grier has also written a number of books, and now travels the United States as an inspirational speaker, and is cofounder of American Neighborhood Enterprises, an organization that works to help disadvantaged city dwellers buy homes and receive vocational training. Grier was ordained a Christian minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.

Grier is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is also on the Milken Family Foundation board of trustees and serves as its program administrator of community affairs.

He has been honored by Penn State as recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1974, and the Alumni Fellow Award in 1991. He was named to the NCAA's "List of the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” published to commemorate the NCAA's 100th anniversary. In 1997, he was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.

Bibliography[link]

• Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men (1973)
• Rosey, an Autobiography: The Gentle Giant (1986)
• Winning (1990)
• Shooting Star: Sometimes You Find What You Didn't Even Know You Were Looking For... : A Novel (1993)
• The Glory Game:How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roosevelt Grier

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rosey Grier

• Rosey Grier filmography
• Rosey Grier football statistics
• Needlepoint for Men by Rosey Grier (1973)
• Rosey Grier at the Internet Movie Database
• NCCA Centennial "List of 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes" (PDF)
• Roosevelt Grier biography at All Music Guide
• Gallery of Rosey Grier football cards

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

Donald Novis (March 3, 1906 - July 23, 1966) was an English actor and tenor.

Life and career[link]

Born in Hastings, East Sussex, Novis went to the United States in the late 1920s to pursue an acting and singing career. He made his film debut as the Country Boy in the detective film Bulldog Drummond (1929). He appeared on screen in numerous films up through 1937, often as a singer in films like One Hour with You (1932) and This Is the Night (1932). His appearances in films were thereafter limited. He sang on several film soundtracks and notably recorded the Academy Award-nominated song "Love Is a Song" for the Disney animated feature film Bambi (1942).

In 1930, Novis made his Broadway debut as Hoheno in the original production of Rudolf Friml's Luana. He performed in only one other Broadway musical during his career, Matt Mulligan, Jr. in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Jumbo in 1935-1936. In 1938 he starred in a production of Jerome Kern's Roberta at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. He was also highly active as a singer with big bands and as a radio entertainer in the 1930s. He performed frequently with Anson Weeks and his band and was often heard on the radio programme Fibber McGee and Molly. From 1932-1934 he led his own orchestra which made several recordings for Brunswick Records.

In 1955 Novis co-created the script for the long-running “Golden Horseshoe Revue” at Disneyland’s Frontierland with Wally Boag. The show ran continuously to 1986, and Novis himself starred in the production from its inception until his retirement 9 years later in 1964. He died in Norwalk, California in 1966 at the age of 60.

External links[link]

• Donald Novis at the Internet Movie Database
• Donald Novis at the Internet Broadway Database

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