Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington said it better than anyone possibly could: “If I’m the duke, man, Peggy Lee is the queen.” Sir Duke went on to further note: “I consider her as great a musician as F ...
Happy Birthday, Judy Garland!(Post)For generations both old and new, Judy Garland—born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota on this date in 1922—will be forever known as Dorothy Gale, the young Kansas girl who gets an oppo ...
The Fabulous Frank Morgan(Post)On this date in 1890, actor-comedian Frank Morgan came into this world…born Frances Phillip Wupperman in New York City. The youngest of eleven children (six girls, five boys), the Wupperman family w ...
Happy Birthday, Dean Martin!(Post)“His vocal style was something of a cross between Crosby and Como, mixing with a helping of roguish sexuality that no one, not even Sinatra, could claim,” declares author Michael J. Hayde in his fa ...
Happy Birthday, Dale Evans!(Post)On January 14, 1953, TV’s This is Your Life paid tribute to “The King of the Cowboys”—none other than Roy Rogers himself. Host Ralph Edwards presided over some predictably teary-eyed moments duri ...
“Good girl!”(Post)Family members of all sizes and ages have watched with admiration and fascination at the adventures of the world’s most famous collie dog, Lassie, ever since the first of seven films produced at M-G- ...
Happy Birthday, Clark Gable!(Post)In Hollywood, he was reverentially referred to as “The King.” William Clark Gable, born in Cadiz, OH on this date in 1901, would celebrate an acting career that spanned over 35 years—23 of them w ...
“Across the rugged Indian Territory, rides a tall young man on a mission of mercy…”(Post)With the introduction of Gunsmoke to audiences in April of 1952, the “adult western” soon began to come into fashion on radio. Gunsmoke would soon be joined by The Six Shooter, a Western drama tha ...
Happy Birthday, Charles Boyer!(Post)Any self-respecting impressionist attempting to imitate actor Charles Boyer—born in Figeac, Lot, France on this date in 1899—had only to utter this phrase: “Come wiz me to the Cazbah…” It’s a ref ...
Happy Birthday, Parker Fennelly!(Post)It would become one of radio’s most beloved weekly rituals in the late 1940s: comedian Fred Allen would venture into “Allen’s Alley” to ask its inhabitants a topical question about a recent event ...
Happy Birthday, Van Heflin!(Post)“Louis B. Mayer once looked at me and said, ‘You will never get the girl at the end,’” recalled actor Van Heflin once in an interview. “So I worked on my acting.” The man born Emmett Evan Heflin ...
Happy Birthday, Doris Day!(Post)After a lengthy career that encompassed radio, motion pictures, and many, many million-selling records as one of the 20th century’s most popular vocalists, the woman born Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff ...
Celeste Holm (1917-2012)(Post)A surviving excerpt of radio’s The Fitch Bandwagon from April 23, 1944 features Broadway sensation Celeste Holm singing (complete with Brooklyn accent) the song written by Duffy’s Tavern’s Ed Gar ...
Happy Birthday, Jack Carson!(Post)If you’re familiar with the career of the comic actor born John Elmer Carson on this date in 1910, you’ve no doubt heard Jack Carson constantly joke about the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jack ev ...
Happy Birthday, Edward G. Robinson!(Post)To start off our birthday tribute today…a bit of trivia: the “G” in actor Edward G. Robinson’s name stands for “Goldenberg”—for Eddie G. was born Emanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania one hundr ...
Happy Birthday, Robert Young!(Post)During his lengthy career in show business, Robert George Young—born on this date in 1907—cultivated a characteristic that’s best described in one word: dependable. He was a reliable leading man f ...