Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 103
- Actor
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Al Jolson was known in the industry as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," for well over 40 years. After his death his influence continued unabated with such performers as Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis all mentioning him as an inspiration.
Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson in Seredzius, Lithuania, to a Jewish family, the son of Naiomi Etta (Cantor) and Moise Rubin Yoelson, who emigrated alone to Washington, D.C., to establish himself. After four years he sent for his family. Nine months later his wife died (apparently during childbirth), which devastated the eight-year-old Asa. Young Al would soon find his outlet in the theater. Soon he was singing with his older brother, Harry, for senators and soldiers. He entertained the troops that were headed for the Spanish-American War.
Jolson's career in vaudeville started with his brother in New York, but never really got off the ground. Different partners allowed Jolson to experiment, but it was as a solo act in San Francisco that he finally hit it big. He was signed eventually by Lew Dockstaders' Minstrels. It is important to note that, although performing in blackface, Dockstader's was not a minstrel show in the traditional sense of the "Tambo and Bones" variety of the previous century. It was a sophisticated, topical, Broadway-style revue. The myth lingers to this day that Jolson was a minstrel. He most certainly was not.
Jolson's stay in vaudeville was relatively short, as his talent was quickly recognized by the Shubert Brothers, who signed him to appear in the opening show of their new Winter Garden Theater on Broadway in April of 1912. Thus began what many consider to be the greatest career in the history of Broadway. Not a headliner initially, Jolson soon became "King of the Winter Garden," with shows specifically written for him. "Winter Garden" and "Jolson" became synonymous for close to 20 years. During that time Jolson received reviews that have yet to be matched. Audiences shouted, pleaded and often would not allow the show to proceed, such was the power of his presence. At one performance in Boston, the usually staid and conservative Boston audience stopped the show for 45 minutes! He was said to have had an "electric' personality, along with the ability to make each member of the audience believe that he was singing only to them.
In 1927 Jolson starred in the New York-shot The Jazz Singer (1927) and the rest is film history. But just before it was theatrically released, producer, Warner' His appearance in that film, nowadays considered a somewhat creaky, stodgy and primitive museum piece, electrified audiences and caused a sensation. Jolson was bigger than ever and Hollywood came a-calling. However, Jolson on film was a pale version of Jolson on stage. His screen appearances, with some exceptions, are stiff and wooden. Though he continued into the 1930s to star on radio, he was no longer quite the star he had been.
During World War II, Jolson entertained troops in Africa and Sicily but was cut short by a bout of malaria and pneumonia. Always a favorite with audiences, he continued to entertain in the United States when he met his fourth wife, Erle Chenault Galbraith, an x-ray technician.
By the mid-'40s, though. his stardom had faded quite a bit. Columbia Pictures, inspired by the success of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), decided that a Jolson biography might work as well. In 1946 it released The Jolson Story (1946), with song-and-dance man Larry Parks miming to Jolson's vocals. It was the surprise smash hit of the season and the highest grossing film of the year. Parks received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Jolson was now as big, or bigger, than ever. So successful was the film that Columbia made a sequel, Jolson Sings Again (1949), which remains one of a few biography sequels in film history (Funny Girl/Funny Lady - the story of fellow Winter Garden performer Fannie Brice is another rare example). It was also quite successful at the box office. So big had Jolson's star risen that in 1948, when Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como were at their peaks, Jolson was voted "The Most Popular Male Vocalist" by a Variety poll.
In 1950, against his doctor's orders, Jolson went to Korea to entertain his favorite audience, American troops. While there his health declined and shortly after his return to the U.S. he suffered a massive heart attack and died.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Although his name nowadays means very little except to animation buffs (and even they have to be pretty well informed), Wladyslaw Starewicz ranks alongside Walt Disney, as one of the great animation pioneers, and his career started nearly a decade before Disney's. He became an animator by accident - fascinated by insects, he bought a camera and attempted to film them, but they kept dying under the hot lights. Stop-motion animation provided an instant (if slow) solution, and Starewicz discovered that he had a natural talent for it. He subsequently made dozens of short films, mostly featuring his trademark stop-motion puppets, but also live action films (some blending live action and animation), moving to France after the Russian Revolution to continue his career. His longest and most ambitious film was the feature-length 'Tale of the Fox', which took ten years to plan and eighteen months to shoot. Starewicz' films were virtually one-man shows (writer/director/cameraman/designer/animator), though other important contributions (in front of and behind the camera) were made by his daughters.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Romain Gary was born on 8 May 1914 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was a writer and actor, known for The Longest Day (1962), Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! (1971) and Birds in Peru (1968). He was married to Jean Seberg and Lesley Blanch. He died on 2 December 1980 in Paris, France.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Maurice Cass was born on October 12, 1884, in Vilnius, Lithuania (then Vilno, Russian Empire). He emigrated to the USA, and in his pursuit of an acting career, he began as announcer and comedian in New York. Cass had a pleasant face, a small body and a big voice.
With his nearsightedness and his inevitable pince-nez adding weight to his intelligent face, Cass was destined to play professors, doctors, writers, and managers with his special brand of genial, slightly absent-minded officiousness. He started playing bit parts, often uncredited, and made a career as a character actor in more than 120 film and television productions. His best known work was Professor Newton, a supporting role in a series of space adventure movies made for TV and shown over the period from 1954 to 1956. Cass's snow-white haired Professor Newton could always be counted on to provide the scientific explanation for all the fantastic events that unfolded before the viewer. Professor Newton had his own observatory (which was filmed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles) and although elderly, he would often accompany the astronauts on their adventurous space flights.
Maurice Cass's character, Professor Newton, was replaced by Professor Mayberry upon Cass's death of a heart attack, at the age of 69, on June 8, 1954, in Hollywood, California.- Actor
Sol Horwitz was born on 4 November 1872 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He was an actor. He was married to Jennie Horwitz. He died on 19 December 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Soundtrack
Shimen Ruskin was born on 25 February 1907 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), The Producers (1967) and Love and Death (1975). He was married to Kate Urkowitz and Rae Spiegel. He died on 23 April 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jascha Heifetz came to the USA in 1917, became a citizen in 1925, and joined ASCAP in 1937. He was educated at the Royal School of Music in Vilna (which he entered at five and from which he graduated at nine), the St. Petersburg Conservatory (with Leopold Auer, earning an Honorary Music Degree), the New York College of Music, and Northwestern University. His first professional appearance was at age five, during which he gave his first concert, then at St. Petersburg, in 1911, in Berlin in 1912, and at Carnegie Hall in 1917. Eventually he concertized throughout the world, and made many recordings, becoming also a Commander in the French Legion of Honor. He also composed several popular songs, among them "When You Make Love to Me" and "So Much in Love".- Actor
- Writer
Lithuanian-born Ivan Lebedeff was educated at the University of St. Petersburg. He was slated for a diplomatic career in the Imperial Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo - a natural progression, since his aristocratic father was a highly-placed advisor to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. However, the outbreak of World War I changed all that. Ivan enlisted as a volunteer in the Third Regiment of the Imperial Dragoons and was soon decorated and promoted after capturing a German general near Pskov, at the small town of Nevel. He was wounded in action on more than one occasion, as well as suffering from the effects of mustard gas. Transferred to the Romanian front, he found himself deserted by nearly everyone under his command as the Russian Revolution took hold.
Ivan and other Tsarist supporters made their way to Odessa on the Black Sea, which had been occupied by French and allied forces. Ivan was made impromptu food administrator for the beleaguered city, but was soon captured and imprisoned after the Bolsheviks forced an allied withdrawal. Being a resourceful chap, he was able to escape, and, briefly, led another White Russian contingent in what was - by now - clearly a futile campaign. Ivan eventually slipped across the Turkish border and found sanctuary in Constantinople. From there, he went on to Vienna and then Germany, where he found his first acting opportunities. He later proceeded to Paris, where a chance meeting with legendary director D.W. Griffith led to his being cast as Amiel in The Sorrows of Satan (1926).
Ivan arrived in the U.S. in 1925 and became a naturalised citizen within the year. After another good supporting role opposite Gloria Swanson in The Love of Sunya (1927), he had a good spell in dashing secondary leads at RKO between 1929 and 1931. After that, the stature of his roles began to diminish. He was increasingly typecast as suave continental rogues, gigolos and con-men (if not Russian/Spanish/French counts, princes and army officers - many of them phony), invariably sporting a thin moustache and slicked back hair. By the mid-1940's, Ivan had slipped into relative obscurity with just a few more bit parts and cameos, before his early death from a heart attack in March 1953.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Joseph Buloff was born on 20 January 1899 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for Silk Stockings (1957), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Reds (1981). He was married to Luba Kadison. He died on 27 February 1985 in New York City, New York, USA.- Nina Star was born in 1913 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. She was an actress, known for The Scarecrow (1921), Nina Star (1927) and L'horloge magique ou La petite fille qui voulait être princesse (1928). She died in 1984 in France.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Abram Room was born on 28 June 1894 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was a director and writer, known for Nashestvie (1945), Sud chesti (1949) and Belated Flowers (1970). He died on 26 July 1976 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Saul Martell was born on 22 September 1901 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for The Man Called X (1956), Celebrity Playhouse (1955) and The Ford Television Theatre (1952). He died on 1 July 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mitchell Parish was born Michael Hyman Peretz in Lithuania. He came to USA at age seven months and lived in Louisiana until about age four when he moved to New York City. His whole family changed its name to Parish soon after arriving in America; Parish changed his first name to Mitchell when he became a songwriter in 1919. Parish penned many outstanding song hits, including "Sweet Lorraine" (1927), "Star Dust" (1929), "Mood Indigo" (1931, uncredited), "Sophisticated Lady" (1933), "Don't Be That Way" (1936), "Deep Purple, " "Moonlight Serenade" (both 1939), "Sleigh Ride" (1950), and "Volare" (1958). Only one hit came from a film: 1953's "Ruby." Parish returned to college at mid-life and graduated from New York University summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1950. He married Molly Lillienfeld (d. 1979) in 1922. They had two daughters and a son. Mitchell Parish died in New York City on 31 March 1993. He is buried at Beth David Cem. in Elmont, L.I., N.Y.- Director
- Writer
- Animation Department
Irene Starewicz was born on 24 September 1907 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. She was a director and writer, known for The Story of the Fox (1937), Fleur de fougère (1949) and Fétiche en voyage de noces (1936). She died on 15 December 1992 in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Val-de-Marne, France.- Emma Goldman was born on 27 June 1869 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. She was a writer, known for Good Enough for the People (2011). She died on 14 May 1940 in Toronto, Canada.
- Soundtrack
Songwriter ("Bell Bottom Trousers", "The Gypsy in My Soul", "If You Are But a Dream", "I'm My Own Grandpaw"), composer and author. He came to the USA in 1902 and was educated at the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he wrote Mask & Wig shows. He wrote songs for Broadway musicals, including "A Night in Venice" and "A Wonderful Night". Joining ASCAP in 1929, his chief musical collaborators included Clay Boland, Nat Bonx, Richard Hardt, Ludwig Flato, Dwight Latham, ted Weems, Fred Waring, Jack O'Brien, Larry Fotine, Jack Fulton, Henry Tobias, and Larry Vincent. His other popular-song compositions include "Collegiate", "If I Had My Life to Live Over Again", "Oh You Sweet One", "An Apple a Day", "Actions Speak Louder than Words", "The Morning After", "High School", "These Things are Known", "Pray", "Get Together With the Lord", "Just Whisper", "My Lady Won't Be Here Tonight", "That Kind of Love Is Not for Me", "They Can't Make A Lady Out of Me", "Let Me Love You", "On the Island of Catalina", "Poetry", "Something Has Happened to Me", "Thanks to You Mother", "Watch that First Step", "When You Love", and "Yum-Yum".- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Clara Rockmore studied violin in Leningrad with Leopold Auer, and both emigrated in the mid 20s to the USA. Her violin career was stopped due to muscular problems, but due to the fact that she knew Leon Theremin, who had recently developed his Theremin, she soon became a virtuoso on this new electronic instrument, performing with the first orchestras of the USA.- Waclaw Zastrzezynski was born on 22 March 1900 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for Ashes and Diamonds (1958) and Poscig (1954). He died on 22 November 1959 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.
- Alexander Asro was born on 10 February 1888 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for Room Service (1938) and Bashful Ballerina (1937). He was married to Sonia Asro. He died in January 1963 in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Avrom Morewski was born on 18 March 1886 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for The Dybbuk (1937), Al khet (1936) and Der Turm des Schweigens (1925). He died on 3 October 1964 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Sergei Yermolinsky was born on 14 December 1900 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was a writer, known for Doroga (1955), Neulovimye mstiteli (1967) and Robinzon Kruzo (1947). He died on 18 February 1984 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Alter Kacyzne was born on 31 May 1885 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. Alter was a writer, known for On a heym (1939). Alter died on 7 July 1941 in Tarnopol, Tarnopolskie, Poland [now Ternopil, Ukraine].
- Alexander Schneider was born on 21 October 1908 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was married to Geraldine Page and Gerda Benfey. He died on 2 February 1993 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Writer
Jaroslaw Brzozowski was born on 22 June 1911 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Interpretacje (1965), W zatoce bialych niedzwiedzi (1961) and Helioplastika (1965). He died on 29 August 1969 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Sergiusz Sprudin was born on 2 February 1913 in Stracza Mala, Lithuania, Russian Empire [now Lithuania]. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Uczta Baltazara (1954), Dezerter (1958) and Czekam w Monte-Carlo (1969). He died on 2 January 1996 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.