1930s radio comedian Harry Einstein changed his name to Harry Parke. But, he was most famous as “Parkyakarkus”, a name taken from a line in his act. When he asked you to sit down, hed say park yer carcass! He became known by his character name rather than his stage name. He was a featured performer …
You may not know Paul Frees, but you know his voice. Paul had one of the most sought after and recognizable voices in movie and television history. At one time, he was employed by nine different animation studios. He started as a voice actor in the 1940s in radio. His career led him to movies, …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “rambunctious”. Carl Switzer, and his older brother Harold, were discovered by producer Hal Roach while they were on a studio tour with their parents. The Switzer brothers were singing in the studio commissary and Roach was impressed by the performance. He signed the Switzer kids to appear in …
Mary Kay Bergman’s idols were Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner, Tracey Ullman and Lucille Ball. She wanted to be like those funny women. Mary Kay became a voice actress. At different times, she provided the voice for Daphne on “Scooby-Doo”, Timmy on “The Fairly Odd-Parents“, Ariel’s sister in “The Little Mermaid” cartoon series and the modern …
Kirsty MacColl couldn’t get a break. She wrote great, heartfelt songs that were humorous, biting, and, at times, achingly sad. She had a lovely voice tinged with a slightly smoky British accent. But, major success somehow eluded her. After a brief stint as a singer in a punk band, Stiff Records signed Kirsty to a contract. …
Joe Meek was a pioneering record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the world’s first and most imaginative independent producers. His service in the Royal Air Force as a radar operator spurred a life-long interest in electronics and outer space. His most famous work was The Tornados’ 1962 hit “Telstar”, which became the first …
Spotted by a Warner Brothers talent scout while acting in a local Pasadena play, 27 year-old Byron Barr was off to Hollywood. After two years of bit parts, he starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck and Geraldine Fitzgerald in The Gay Sisters in 1942. He played a character named “Gig Young”. He and the studio liked the …
When Herbert Khaury was five, his father brought a gramophone to their small New York City apartment. Young Herbert immersed himself in the music of the past. He would spend hours in his room listening to artists like Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson, and Bing Crosby. He began singing and playing the ukulele in his naturally …
Joe Flynn almost made his motion picture debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, however his scene was left on the cutting room floor. But after a run of bit parts in movies and TV through the 1950s and early 1960s, Joe’s career took off. He enjoyed major success as Captain Binghamton, the spoiler to Ernest …
James Whale didn’t care what people in Hollywood thought of him. Whale was openly gay in 1930s Hollywood, at time when gay actors and actresses had to hide their sexual orientation at a risk of jeopardizing their careers. He was an innovative director. Universal Pictures owed its stellar success in the 1930s much in part …
