Winnie Lightner

Winnie Lightner PDF Author: David L. Lightner
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 149680984X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Winnie Lightner (1899–1971) stood out as the first great female comedian of the talkies. Blessed with a superb singing voice and a gift for making wisecracks and rubber faces, she rose to stardom in vaudeville and on Broadway. Then, at the dawn of the sound era, she became the first person in motion picture history to have her spoken words, the lyrics to a song, censored. In Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies, David L. Lightner shows how Winnie Lightner's hilarious performance in the 1929 musical comedy Gold Diggers of Broadway made her an overnight sensation. She went on to star in seven other Warner Bros. features. In the best of them, she was the comic epitome of a strident feminist, dominating men and gleefully spurning conventional gender norms and moral values. So tough was she, the studio billed her as “the tomboy of the talkies.” When the Great Depression rendered moviegoers hostile toward feminism, Warner Bros. tried to craft a new image of her as glamorous and sexy. Executives assigned her contradictory roles in which she was empowered in the workplace but submissive to her male partner at home. The new persona flopped at the box office, and Lightner's stardom ended. In four final movies, she played supporting roles as the loudmouthed roommate and best friend of actresses Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, and Mona Barrie. Following her retirement in 1934, Lightner faded into obscurity. Many of her films were damaged or even lost entirely. At long last, this biography gives Winnie Lightner the recognition she deserves as a notable figure in film history, in women's history, and in the history of show business.

Winnie Lightner

Winnie Lightner PDF Author: David L. Lightner
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 149680984X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book

Book Description
Winnie Lightner (1899–1971) stood out as the first great female comedian of the talkies. Blessed with a superb singing voice and a gift for making wisecracks and rubber faces, she rose to stardom in vaudeville and on Broadway. Then, at the dawn of the sound era, she became the first person in motion picture history to have her spoken words, the lyrics to a song, censored. In Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies, David L. Lightner shows how Winnie Lightner's hilarious performance in the 1929 musical comedy Gold Diggers of Broadway made her an overnight sensation. She went on to star in seven other Warner Bros. features. In the best of them, she was the comic epitome of a strident feminist, dominating men and gleefully spurning conventional gender norms and moral values. So tough was she, the studio billed her as “the tomboy of the talkies.” When the Great Depression rendered moviegoers hostile toward feminism, Warner Bros. tried to craft a new image of her as glamorous and sexy. Executives assigned her contradictory roles in which she was empowered in the workplace but submissive to her male partner at home. The new persona flopped at the box office, and Lightner's stardom ended. In four final movies, she played supporting roles as the loudmouthed roommate and best friend of actresses Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, and Mona Barrie. Following her retirement in 1934, Lightner faded into obscurity. Many of her films were damaged or even lost entirely. At long last, this biography gives Winnie Lightner the recognition she deserves as a notable figure in film history, in women's history, and in the history of show business.

Winnie Lightner

Winnie Lightner PDF Author: David L. Lightner
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496809866
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Winnie Lightner (1899-1971) stood out as the first great female comedian of the talkies. Blessed with a superb singing voice and a gift for making wisecracks and rubber faces, she rose to stardom in vaudeville and on Broadway. Then, at the dawn of the sound era, she became the first person in motion picture history to have her spoken words, the lyrics to a song, censored. In Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies, David L. Lightner shows how Winnie Lightner's hilarious performance in the 1929 musical comedy Gold Diggers of Broadway made her an overnight sensation. She went on to star in seven other Warner Bros. features. In the best of them, she was the comic epitome of a strident feminist, dominating men and gleefully spurning conventional gender norms and moral values. So tough was she, the studio billed her as "the tomboy of the talkies." When the Great Depression rendered moviegoers hostile toward feminism, Warner Bros. tried to craft a new image of her as glamorous and sexy. Executives assigned her contradictory roles in which she was empowered in the workplace but submissive to her male partner at home. The new persona flopped at the box office, and Lightner's stardom ended. In four final movies, she played supporting roles as the loudmouthed roommate and best friend of actresses Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, and Mona Barrie. Following her retirement in 1934, Lightner faded into obscurity. Many of her films were damaged or even lost entirely. At long last, this biography gives Winnie Lightner the recognition she deserves as a notable figure in film history, in women's history, and in the history of show business.

Performing Gender and Comedy

Performing Gender and Comedy PDF Author: Shannon Eileen Hengen
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9789056995393
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Wild Bill Elliott

Wild Bill Elliott PDF Author: Gene Blottner
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 078646903X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Wild Bill Elliott was a major western star. His screen persona met evil head-on and emerged victorious, bringing cheers from Saturday audiences. This book covers Elliott's entire career. It begins with a biographical sketch and then discusses each of his 78 starring roles as well as his more than 130 supporting roles. The film entries include studio, release date, alternate titles, cast and credit listings, songs, location filming, color, running time, source, story synopsis, notes and commentary, quotations from published reviews and a critical summation of the film. Appendices include Elliott's short films, TV and radio appearances and comic books.

The First Hollywood Musicals

The First Hollywood Musicals PDF Author: Edwin M. Bradley
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786420292
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
As Hollywood entered the sound era, it was rightly determined that the same public fascinated by the novelty of the talkie would be dazzled by the spectacle of a song and dance film. In 1929 and 1930, film musicals became the industry's most lucrative genre--until the greedy studios almost killed the genre by glutting the market with too many films that looked and sounded like clones of each other. From the classy movies such as Sunnyside Up and Hallelujah! to failures such as The Lottery Bride and Howdy Broadway, this filmography details 171 early Hollywood musicals. Arranged by subgenre (backstagers, operettas, college films, and stage-derived musical comedies), the entries include studio, release date, cast and credits, running time, a complete song list, any recordings spawned by the film, Academy Award nominations and winners, and availability on video or laserdisc. These data are followed by a plot synopsis, including analysis of the film's place in the genre's history. Includes over 90 photographs.

Chester Morris

Chester Morris PDF Author: Scott Allen Nollen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147663839X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
 The prodigious but humble scion of a New York theatrical family, Chester Morris acted on Broadway as a teenager and earned an Academy Award nomination for his first role in a Hollywood "talkie," Alibi (1929). He became leading man to filmdom's top female stars and starred in the popular series of "Boston Blackie" mysteries before creating substantial characters in the theater and the burgeoning medium of television. This first book about Morris provides a detailed account of his life and career on stage, film, radio and television, and as a celebrated magician. It also constructs a fascinating record of his previously undocumented labor activism during the early years of the Screen Actors Guild and his tireless efforts to aid U.S. troops on the home front during World War II.

Vaudeville old & new

Vaudeville old & new PDF Author: Frank Cullen
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415938538
Category : Entertainers
Languages : en
Pages : 1362

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Book Description


A Song in the Dark

A Song in the Dark PDF Author: Richard Barrios
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195088115
Category : Musical films
Languages : en
Pages : 509

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Book Description
Chronicling the early musical film years from 1926 to 1934, A Song in the Dark offers a fascinating look at these innovative films, the product of much of the major experimentation that went on during the development of sound technology. The triumphs, disasters and offscreen intrigue of this era form a remarkable story of this vital and unique film history.

Nick Lucas

Nick Lucas PDF Author: Michael R. Pitts
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476648514
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
For more than seven decades Nick Lucas was an entertainer, beginning as a child street musician and becoming one of the most popular singer-guitarists of all time. He was a popular sideman in bands, and his solo career conquered radio, recordings, vaudeville, Broadway, films, night clubs and television. He is credited with being the first musician to replace the banjo with the guitar in big bands and on records, and with initiating the "intimate style" of singing, making him the first crooner. Nick Lucas' guitar playing contributed significantly to the instrument's popularity, and he influenced generations of players with his instruction books and by having a line of popular guitar picks bearing his name. He was the first guitarist to have a custom-made model, "The Nick Lucas Special." This biography comprehensively covers Nick Lucas' career as he entertained audiences in the United States, England and Australia, becoming a beloved star and influencing popular music to the present day.

The Ultimate Broadway Fake Book (Songbook)

The Ultimate Broadway Fake Book (Songbook) PDF Author: Hal Leonard Corp.
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 1458489515
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1368

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Book Description
(Fake Book). This fifth edition has been completely revised and now includes over 820 standards from 260 shows. Perfect for professional gigging musicians or hobbyists who simply want all their favorites in one collection! Songs include: Ain't Misbehavin' * All I Ask of You * And All That Jazz * And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going * Another Op'nin', Another Show * Another Suitcase in Another Hall * At the Ballet * Any Dream Will Do * Beauty and the Beast * Before the Parade Passes By * Big Girls Don't Cry * Bring Him Home * Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad * Castle on a Cloud * A Change in Me * Circle of Life * Close Every Door to Me * The Color Purple * Comedy Tonight * Consider Yourself * Don't Cry for Me Argentina * Edelweiss * Footloose * Getting to Know You * Hakuna Matata * Heat Wave * Hello, Dolly! * I Wanna Be a Producer * I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today * If I Said I Loved You * The Impossible Dream (The Quest) * It Only Takes a Moment * The Light in the Piazza * Love Changes Everything * Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now * Mama Who Bore Me * Mamma Mia * Memory * My Junk * On My Own * People * Popular * Prepare Ye (The Way of the Lord) * Seasons of Love * Seventy Six Trombones * The Song That Goes like This * Springtime for Hitler * The Surrey with the Fringe on Top * There Is Nothin' like a Dame * Tomorrow * Transylvania Mania * Try to Remember * and hundreds more!