Saturday, July 2, 2011

Bing Crosby



Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.

A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. Crosby's early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music. Source: Wikipedia

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Jack Elam




William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1918[1] – October 20, 2003) was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films.Elam was born in Miami, Arizona, to Millard Elam and Alice Amelia Kerby. Kerby died in 1924, when young Jack was not quite five years old. By 1930, he was once again living with his father, older sister Mildred, and their stepmother, Flossie (Varney).

He grew up picking cotton. He lost the sight in his left eye during a boyhood accident.[2] He was a student of both Miami High School in Gila County and Phoenix Union High School in Maricopa County and graduated from the latter in the late 1930s.

He attended Santa Monica Junior College in California and subsequently became an accountant in Hollywood; one of his clients was movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn.[3] At one time, he was the manager of the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles. Source: Wikipedia

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Nat King Cole



Nat King Cole - Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death. Source: Wikipedia

Friday, May 6, 2011

Jackie Cooper



Jackie Cooper
(September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.[1] At age 9, he was also the youngest performer to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role—an honor that he received for the film Skippy (1931).[2] For nearly 50 years, Cooper remained the youngest Oscar nominee in any category, until he was surpassed by Justin Henry's nomination, at age 8, in the Supporting Actor category for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).