When A Raisin in the Sun opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in 1959, it was the first Broadway show written by an African-American playwright. Lorraine Hansberry, at 29, was also the youngest to win a New York Critics’ Circle award. Lorraine grew up in Chicago’s South Side, where her father, a successful real estate …
Recy Taylor died on December 28, 2017 at the age of 97. In September 1944, Recy Taylor, a newly married 25-year old sharecropper was walking home from church with her friend Fannie Daniel and Daniel’s teenage son. The trio was accosted by a car with Hugo Wilson behind the wheel. One of the passengers, US Army Private Herbert …
Jean Porter was one of those actresses that appeared in over three dozen films but you never knew her name. The button-cute, petite blonde was fourteen when she made her motion picture debut in an uncredited role in Song and Dance Man with Claire Trevor. She went on to land bit parts in numerous films throughout the …
France Gall won the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest with “Poupée de cire, poupée de son,” penned by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. It was the first non-ballad song to win the competition. The song, a sort of double meaning of the phrase “rag doll,” implied a Svengali-like power Gainsbourg possessed over his young protege, as well …
Despite a surprisingly successful career, Jerry Van Dyke spent most of it in the shadow of his older brother Dick. His talents were often compared to Dick’s successes. Granted, Jerry made some questionable career choices, but he was an in-demand, working actor for the better part of six decades. A budding stand-up comedian in his …
Just out of her teens, aspiring actress Carolyn Craig landed small roles in a variety of TV shows, including a few Westerns and popular anthology series. Moving to the big screen, she was cast as “Lacey Lynnton,” Elizabeth Taylor‘s sister, in 1956’s Giant, James Dean‘s final film. She followed that role with the female lead …
Rose Marie did it all. One of the few survivors from vaudeville, she began her career delighting audiences as a three-year-old songstress. Rose Marie made her mark in film, radio, records, theater, night clubs and television, over a career that spanned nine decades. Nine! Enjoying a career in short films, where she appeared alongside W. C. …
I should stay away but what can I do? I hear your name and I’m aflame Aflame with such a burning desire That only your kiss can put out the fire
Joseph and Fanny Feinberg owned a jewelry and watch repair shop in Philadelphia. One day, their young son, Larry, reached for a bottle of acid that was used to test the gold content of jewelry. Larry mistook the liquid for a drink and raised the bottle to his mouth. Joseph panicked and knocked the bottle …
I have been a frequent attendee at memorabilia and autograph shows for over twenty-five years. Among the special celebrity guests, seated at long tables stacked with a modest selection of eight-by-ten glossy photos depicting their most notable roles, I always spotted this spry little man at a table overflowing with photos, scripts, booklets, DVDs and …
