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Celebrities of the 30's and 40's
A list of the celbrities that are mentioned in the book, in the order they appear:
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Here is a sampling of some of his quotes:
*Politics is applesauce.
Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was.
Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their
product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have
to advertise it.
If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?
Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we
have rushed through life trying to save.
Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there!
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Will Rogers
Will Rogers represented all that was good about America. He represented the honest majority.
In the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Will Rogers (1879 - 1935) is mentioned in The Weem's Weekly, page 100:
"Everyone here is still hearbroken over the death of Will Rogers. We all loved him so much, and wonder who can replace our beloved Doctor of Applesauce [*].
How many of us remember those happy evenings at the cafe, listening to him on the radio? In these hard times, he made us forget our trouble for a little while, and gave us a smile. We are sending his wife and children our sympathy and good wishes, and Sipsey is sending one of her pecan pies, so you all come by the post office and sign the card that's going with it."
Beginning in 1918 Rogers appeared in many feature and short silent films. Once the sound era began, however, he quickly became one of the nation's most popular performers -- his folksy wit and down-home philosophy making him an ambassador of rural America and spokesman of the common folk. He also was on radio and wrote newspaper columns.
*Rogers was opposed to anybody getting an honorary degree from any college or university. He said that his limit on such degrees was "a plain A.D.,
doctor of applesauce from the Oologah (Oklahoma) kindergarten".
Here is a site that lists many famous quotes from WIll Rogers, if you want to see more.
The Will Rogers organization home page an excellent and comprehensive site -- for everything you'd want to know!
This a site that commemorates Will Rogers and has photos of the memorial in Oklahoma.
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Cab Calloway
Calloway already had a strong following thanks to his recordings, when, in 1931, he replaced Duke Ellington as orchestra leader at Harlem's fabled Cotton Club. His lively, athletic performing style, coupled with his trademarked "Hi De Ho" delivery, was given nationwide exposure via his guest appearances in such movies as The Big Broadcast (1932) and International House (1933). He also appeared in animated form in a cluster of Betty Boop cartoons.
Calloway's renditions of "Minnie the Moocher" (number 3 on this web site) and "St. James Infirmary Blues" are among his most famous.
Here's another site where you can hear some of his great music
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Ginger Rogers
In step with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers was one half of the most legendary dancing team in film history; she was also a successful dramatic actress, even winning a "Best Actress" Oscar in 1940.
She rose to major stardom alongside Astaire in classics like Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time and Shall We Dance. Even without Astaire, Rogers found success in musicals, and in 1937 she and Katherine Hepburn teamed brilliantly in Swing Time.
Many say she is as great if not better than Astaire. "After all", they say,"she did everything Astaire did, but she did it backwards, too!
This site offers a great biography of Ginger Rogers
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Duke Ellington
Composer/ musician Duke Ellington was leader of the house band at New York's Cotton Club when talking pictures first gained popularity in 1928-1929. Ellington was one of many performers who showed up in quickie musical short subjects designed to show off the new sound system. He and his band made their feature-film debut in Check and Double Check, which starred radio's famed comedy duo Amos 'N' Andy (featured later in this website).
He was top-lined in such pictures as The Duke is Tops and also made guest appearances in minor musicals as Hit Parade, New Faces and Reveille With Beverly. Duke Ellington was given his best movie break by director Otto Preminger, who engaged Ellington to write the now-famous jazz score for 1959's Anatomy of a Murder, and also wedged in a brief on-screen cameo for the Duke.
Among Ellington's many honors and awards were honorary doctorates from Howard and Yale Universities, membership in the American Institute of Arts and Letters, election as the first jazz musician member of the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Click on these links to hear some of his world-famous music, and find out why he is so highly esteemed by musicans everywhere.
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Shirley Temple
At age three Temple began taking dancing lessons. In 1934 she attracted attention in a song-and-dance number she performed in the film Stand Up and Cheer; and, within months, she was enormously popular. At the end of her first year as a star, she received a special Academy Award "in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934."
By 1938 she was the top box-office attraction, and a whole industry had developed around her: Shirley Temple dolls, coloring books, clothes, etc.
Generations of Americans remember her most for charming us with her singing, dancing and acting the the movie The Good Ship Lollipop. Click here to hear the song.
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Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly was a situation comedy radio show that was broadcast from 1935-1959 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and can still be heard today on various local stations broadcasting old-time radio programs. The show was known for its vaudeville humor and Midwestern flavor. The
action revolved mainly around Fibber and Molly McGee. Their friends and neighbors would visit the McGees' home and discuss events of the day, or join
in on whatever the McGees were doing.
Fibber was a braggart. He could never finish anything he started, and many times became involved in crusades that he couldn't win, as well as other
ill-fated schemes.
Molly was the antithesis to Fibber. She was patient, kind, and level-headed. She always had a kind word for everyone and was the only person who could
keep Fibber in check.
If you'd like to order a tape of their famous radio show, here's
the site that can help you!
Here is a fan site with lots of info.
Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy was a famous radio show, mentioned in Dot Weem's the Weems Weekly, (p.44). Amos 'n' Andy was one of the very first nationally-famous entertainment shows in history. Popular in the days before TV, families would gather around the radio to hear these funny broadcasts.
Here is a quote from an old-time radio site that fully describes this show:
"Amos 'n' Andy" wasn't just a radio program during
the Depression -- especially during 1930-31, it was an
obsession. This simple little fifteen minute serial gripped
the attention of as many as forty million listeners six nights
a week. Why?
...it was a masterfully written serial drama with
humorous overtones -- a series that depended
as much on suspense for its appeal as it did comedy.
... The characters are not stereotypes, not
cardboard cutouts. They react in different ways
to changing circumstances, and they grow and
change themselves over time.
The performances which brought these characters
to life were equally masterful. Gosden in particular
was a brilliant radio actor, a master of inflection and vocal
shading, and especially gifted in multiple roles.
Correll's perfect sense of timing meshed perfectly
with his partner's more intense performances, to create a
program which, in its prime, had no equal.
...The comedy serial was perhaps the most imitated
format of the Depression, on and off the networks. "
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"American boxer and former Heavyweight Champion of the World, Joe Louis (left), retaliates from boxer Lee Savold's hard right with a left during a match in Madison Square Garden in New York City, June 15, 1951"<
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Joe Louis
Joe Louis was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion that no one could beat!
Again and again, as he won victory after victory in the ring, Joe Loius captured the imagination of the American public. His prowess would not be matched for decades, not until Mohammed Ali stepped into the ring.
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Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball -- America's Sweetheart, the Queen of Comedy, cultural icon.
Almost everyone remembers seeing the old black and white shows. A genius at the timing and action required to make great comedy, even today, she causes audiences to laugh right out loud.
Working her way up from bit roles Lucille Ball finally attained stardom in 1938.
Here are some great photos of Lucy!
A Classic TV web site, featuring I Love Lucy. Nice photos, links and a FAQ!
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Lucy is such a legend,
they even made a stamp
to commemorize her!!
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The I Love Lucy Show
Ball sought out professional work in which she could work with husband, Desi Arnez, and started her own starring TV series in 1950.
Television was a godsend for them; Desi discovered he had a natural executive ability, and soon he was calling all the shots for what would become I Love Lucy.
From 1951 through 1957, I Love Lucy was the most popular sitcom on television, and Lucille Ball, after years of career stops and starts, was firmly established as a megastar in her role of zany, disaster-prone Lucy Ricardo. Lionized as the First Lady of Television, she accumulating numerous awards and honorariums. Despite her many latter-day attempts to change her image -- and despite her blunt, commandeering offstage personality -- Lucille Ball would forever remain the wacky "Lucy" that all Americans had loved intensely in the 1950s.
This is an image of one her mosf famous (and funniest) scenes ever. In the famous chocolate factory scene from the TV show I Love Lucy , Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) try to eat and otherwise dispose of the candies rushing past them on a conveyor belt, 1952.
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Sources
A salute to each of these websites! Each website that you and I casually visit for a few seconds or for many hours is the result of love, sweat and dedication, not to mention many many hours worth of keyboarding. I thank these webmaster for their unselfish efforts to share themselves with the world and the internet community.
http://www.newsherald.com/archive/gulf/ns082798.htm
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/rogers/quote.html
http://www.willrogers.org/
http://www.willrogers.org/memorial.html
http://www.gingerrogersfanclub.com/index.html
http://cdnow.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://209.110.48.171//c2-fm.html
http://www.oldtimeshowbiz.com/
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mcgee/fibnmol.html
http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/rfy.html
http://multimedia.lycos.com
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Studio/9683/gallery2.html
http://members.aol.com/luvlucy500/index.html
http://www.hicksfromthesticks.com/lucySigns.html
Note: All efforts have been made to give correct and proper credit. If you see a source that has not been credited, please let me know and I will make every effort to correct the oversight.
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