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1-12 of 12
- Actor
- Soundtrack
William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Paul's Catholic Church and played at the Burlington Opera House. His first job was as a stenographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He did vaudeville with his brother Paul, then joined pianist Franz Rath in an act they took to San Francisco in 1910. Four years later he formed a light comedy act with his new wife Edna Louise Broedt, "Frawley and Louise", touring the Orpheum and Keith circuits until they divorced in 1927. He next moved to Broadway and then, in 1932, to Hollywood with Paramount. By 1951, when he contacted Lucille Ball about a part in her TV show I Love Lucy (1951), he had performed in over 100 films. His Fred Mertz role lasted until the show ended in 1960, after which he did a five-year stint on My Three Sons (1960). Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged 79, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Making a career out of a post-nasal drip, this scene-stealing character comedienne was one of the best Broadway and Hollywood had to offer. It's too bad, then, that she wasn't utilized in films more often for this slight, chinless, parrot-faced, squawky-voiced bundle of (kill)joy could draw laughs from a well with a mere sniffle, gulp, or stare.
Plaintive Alice Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of a bank vice-president, but was raised in different European schools -- wherever her father had business. Eventually Alice settled back in NYC and began to gather experience in summer stock shows. She became a huge hit on the nightclub circuit which eventually paved the way to Broadway. She drew raves in the "New Faces of 1943" and was sensational in the role of Lucy Schmeeler, the sexless, adenoidal blind date, in the New York smash "On the Town" the very next year. As a testament to her talent, Alice was the only performer kept on board when Gene Kelly transferred the sailors-on-leave musical to film. Strangely, this did not lead to a slew of comedy vehicles, but Alice certainly sparked a number of fluffy films, even in the tiniest of roles -- never more so than as the hypochondriac patient who expounds on her physical ailments ad nauseam while overly-attentive Jerry Lewis suffers through a wrenching series of "sympathy pains" in The Disorderly Orderly (1964). It's slapstick comedy at its very best.
TV proved an attractive medium for her as well, hosting her own variety show briefly in 1949. Her career ended on a high note as the nagging, irrepressibly nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in the Bewitched (1964) sitcom. Ideally teamed with George Tobias as her hen-pecked husband, Abner, the two provided non-stop hilarity -- her frightened gulps, blank gaze and confused exasperation coupled with his dour disgust was comedy heaven. Sadly, Pearce developed ovarian cancer and died in 1966, only two seasons into the show. She was only 48. She quite deservedly won an Emmy trophy for her work a few months after her death. Hollywood lost a treasured talent in Alice Pearce, gone way before her time.- William Wilkerson was born on 18 September 1902 in Cobb, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Juarez (1939), Singin' Spurs (1948) and California Conquest (1952). He died on 3 March 1966 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hal Thompson was born on 28 August 1899 in Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Animal Crackers (1930), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1947) and The Playboy (1938). He died on 3 March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Al Siegel was born on 4 July 1906. He is known for Moonlight and Pretzels (1933), Swing High, Swing Low (1937) and When You're in Love (1937). He died on 3 March 1966 in Sawtelle, California, USA.- Writer
- Producer
Joseph Fields was born on 21 February 1895 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Flower Drum Song (1961) and Lightning Strikes Twice (1934). He died on 3 March 1966 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator who was the highest-paid commercial artist in the United States by the 1920s. Born on July 25, 1870 in Philadelphia. Trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Drexel Institute of Art, he was the highest-paid commercial artist and muralist in the U.S. by the 1920s. He is best known for his depictions of fantasy landscapes populated by attractive young women. He died in 1966.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Gustav Wally, born Gustaf Axelsson Wallenberg 1905 in Stockholm, was a Swedish dancer, actor, impresario and theatre manager. He was a member of the the industrialist Wallenberg family. His father was the diplomat and business man Axel Wallenberg and his mother Elsa, nee Lilliehöök af Fårdala, descended from a very old noble family. Gustav Wallenberg deserted his position in the financial world in 1929 for the ballet in New York, and a part in the chorus line of the operetta "Bitter Sweet" , as Gustav Wally. Together with the Danish dancer Niels Wessel Bagge he created the dance company, The Wally Brothers. They were successful in the USA but never succeeded in getting contracted by the movie industry. Gustav Wally returned to Sweden in 1939 to manage a theater and to expand his dance company to a revue company, including comedians and singers. He managed theaters, staged shows, recorded several albums and appeared in nine feature films, before he took off to New York, now entering the career of a shipowner. In the 50's he teamed up with the Swedish producer Lars Schmidt to stage international productions of the musical "My Fair Lady". Gustav Wally died in a heart attack March 4, 1966, while flying from New York to Panama .- Robert Peiper was born on 25 March 1902 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was an actor, known for Flottans kavaljerer (1948) and Bärande hav (1951). He died on 3 March 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Rupert Doone was born on 14 August 1903 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Rainbow Dance (1936). He died on 3 March 1966.
- Production Manager
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Jack Fier was born on 8 November 1896 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a production manager and producer, known for The Blonde from Singapore (1941), Stand by All Networks (1942) and Jungle Menace (1937). He died on 3 March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
Paul Siegel was born on 4 July 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor. He died on 3 March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.