Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors PDF Author: Charles Bickford
Publisher: New York : P. S. Eriksson ; Toronto : Copp Clark
ISBN:
Category : Actors
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Charles Bickford's ups and downs on the straw-hat circuit, in vaudeville, on Broadway and as a screen actor have been penned by hand and reveal his bull-headed Irish talent for non-conformity. The accent is on brawling vitality from his Massachusetts childhood to his present eminence at 75. Bickford is probably best-known for his fiery role opposite Garbo in Anna Christie, a film he did not want to make because it was a woman's picture. At this distance, Bickford understandably glosses his early years on the road, and then brings a romantic Gable-Tracy boom-town immediacy to Jobs he held with his best friend ... raunchy days selling exterminator fluid, harvesting wheat and bumming the rails. Still, he found his metier at 21 and had a considerable acting background (Laertes in Hamlet, Tybalt in Romeo, and a hundred schlock plays) before he hit Broadway. His first big hit was in a Maxwell Anderson play about hobos. He hit Hollywood like a meteor, was starred in a huge C.B. DeMille epic, followed this with Garbo, then was pushed into trashy scripts because he had offended studio heads. Since then he has had rare starring roles as a fine character actor before he gave up acting in dime-store flicks. Bickford's writing is not without non-book banality and Hollywood posturing; but there is also a fine honest anger which shows through his embarrassment at holding a pen. The title might be retranslated Anger, Manhood, the Stage and Craftsmen.

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors PDF Author: Charles Bickford
Publisher: New York : P. S. Eriksson ; Toronto : Copp Clark
ISBN:
Category : Actors
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Get Book Here

Book Description
Charles Bickford's ups and downs on the straw-hat circuit, in vaudeville, on Broadway and as a screen actor have been penned by hand and reveal his bull-headed Irish talent for non-conformity. The accent is on brawling vitality from his Massachusetts childhood to his present eminence at 75. Bickford is probably best-known for his fiery role opposite Garbo in Anna Christie, a film he did not want to make because it was a woman's picture. At this distance, Bickford understandably glosses his early years on the road, and then brings a romantic Gable-Tracy boom-town immediacy to Jobs he held with his best friend ... raunchy days selling exterminator fluid, harvesting wheat and bumming the rails. Still, he found his metier at 21 and had a considerable acting background (Laertes in Hamlet, Tybalt in Romeo, and a hundred schlock plays) before he hit Broadway. His first big hit was in a Maxwell Anderson play about hobos. He hit Hollywood like a meteor, was starred in a huge C.B. DeMille epic, followed this with Garbo, then was pushed into trashy scripts because he had offended studio heads. Since then he has had rare starring roles as a fine character actor before he gave up acting in dime-store flicks. Bickford's writing is not without non-book banality and Hollywood posturing; but there is also a fine honest anger which shows through his embarrassment at holding a pen. The title might be retranslated Anger, Manhood, the Stage and Craftsmen.

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles & Actors PDF Author: Charles Bickford
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Actors
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Get Book Here

Book Description
Charles Bickford's ups and downs on the straw-hat circuit, in vaudeville, on Broadway and as a screen actor have been penned by hand and reveal his bull-headed Irish talent for non-conformity. The accent is on brawling vitality from his Massachusetts childhood to his present eminence at 75. Bickford is probably best-known for his fiery role opposite Garbo in Anna Christie, a film he did not want to make because it was a woman's picture. At this distance, Bickford understandably glosses his early years on the road, and then brings a romantic Gable-Tracy boom-town immediacy to Jobs he held with his best friend ... raunchy days selling exterminator fluid, harvesting wheat and bumming the rails. Still, he found his metier at 21 and had a considerable acting background (Laertes in Hamlet, Tybalt in Romeo, and a hundred schlock plays) before he hit Broadway. His first big hit was in a Maxwell Anderson play about hobos. He hit Hollywood like a meteor, was starred in a huge C.B. DeMille epic, followed this with Garbo, then was pushed into trashy scripts because he had offended studio heads. Since then he has had rare starring roles as a fine character actor before he gave up acting in dime-store flicks. Bickford's writing is not without non-book banality and Hollywood posturing; but there is also a fine honest anger which shows through his embarrassment at holding a pen. The title might be retranslated Anger, Manhood, the Stage and Craftsmen.

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles and Actors

Bulls, Balls, Bicycles and Actors PDF Author: Ch Bickford
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description


Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965

Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965 PDF Author: Barry Monush
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 9781557835512
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 844

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Book Description
(Applause Books). For decades, Screen World has been the film professional's, as well as the film buff's, favorite and indispensable annual screen resource, full of all the necessary statistics and facts. Now Screen World editor Barry Monush has compiled another comprehensive work for every film lover's library. In the first of two volumes, this book chronicles the careers of every significant film actor, from the earliest silent screen stars Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks to the mid-1960s, when the old studio and star systems came crashing down. Each listing includes: a brief biography, photos from the famed Screen World archives, with many rare shots; vital statistics; a comprehensive filmography; and an informed, entertaining assessment of each actor's contributions good or bad! In addition to every major player, Monush includes the legions of unjustly neglected troupers of yesteryear. The result is a rarity: an invaluable reference tool that's as much fun to read as a scandal sheet. It pulsates with all the scandal, glamour, oddity and glory that was the lifeblood of its subjects. Contains over 1,000 photos!

Broadway Actors in Films, 1894-2015

Broadway Actors in Films, 1894-2015 PDF Author: Roy Liebman
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476626154
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Many Broadway stars appeared in Hollywood cinema from its earliest days. Some were 19th century stage idols who reprised famous roles on film as early as 1894. One was born as early as 1829. Another was cast in the performance during which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. One took her stage name from her native state. Some modern-day stars also began their careers on Broadway before appearing in films. This book details the careers of 300 performers who went from stage to screen in all genres of film. A few made only a single movie, others hundreds. Each entry includes highlights of the performer's career, a list of stage appearances and a filmography.

Gunmen and Gangsters

Gunmen and Gangsters PDF Author: Michael Schlossheimer
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476635463
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were considered by many people to be the most exciting personalities of the 1920s and 1930s. The public was hungry for press coverage about these mysterious and dangerous men. Most reports about them were sketchy, as the reporters did not want to get on the bad side of the racket bosses. Hollywood's response to the public's fascination was to portray the lives of gangsters on the movie screen, using actors such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. Perhaps surprisingly, these men received not-so-favorable reviews from the Academy Award voters, and as their popularity grew with the public, censorship dictated other actors be brought in to play the roles. That's what this book is about--the personal and professional lives of William Bendix, Charles Bickford, Ward Bond, Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Paul Douglas, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, and Lloyd Nolan, second-string actors who replaced the big names and did a memorable job. A filmography is supplied for each actor.

The Grove Book of Hollywood

The Grove Book of Hollywood PDF Author: Christopher Silvester
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802195490
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 911

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Book Description
A “treasure trove” of insider accounts of the movie business from its earliest beginnings to the present day—“exceedingly savvy . . . astute and entertaining” (Variety). The Grove Book of Hollywood is a richly entertaining anthology of anecdotes and reminiscences from the people who helped make the City of Angels the storied place we know today. Movie moguls, embittered screenwriters, bemused outsiders such as P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, and others all have their say. Organized chronologically, the pieces form a history of Hollywood as only generations of insiders could tell it. We encounter the first people to move to Hollywood, when it was a dusty village on the outskirts of Los Angeles, as well as the key players during the heyday of the studio system in the 1930s. We hear from victims of the blacklist and from contemporary players in an industry dominated by agents. Coming from a wide variety of sources, the personal recollections range from the affectionate to the scathing, from the cynical to the grandiose. Here is John Huston on his drunken fistfight with Errol Flynn; Cecil B. DeMille on the challenges of filming The Ten Commandments; Frank Capra on working for the great comedic producer Mark Sennett; William Goldman on the strange behavior of Hollywood executives in meetings; and much more. “A masterly, magnificent anthology,” The Grove Book of Hollywood is a must for anyone fascinated by Hollywood and the film industry (Literary Review, London).

The Film Encyclopedia

The Film Encyclopedia PDF Author: Ephraim Katz
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062277111
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 4150

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Book Description
“Wow! What a book!” — Katharine Hepburn “Recommended for any reference collection in need of a world view of film.” — Booklist “The best movie reference book, hands down.” — Newsweek

Kay Francis

Kay Francis PDF Author: Lynn Kear
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786454997
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Kay Francis came of age in the Roaring Twenties and relished the era's hedonistic pursuits. Her career as an actress was launched at the same time, and before her death in 1968, she had appeared on many theater stages, in more than 60 films, on radio, in USO tours, as a model, and on television. The tall, stylish actress had a husky voice and dark beauty that was striking on film. Despite her financial success, relaxed morals, and life as a socialite, the millionaire actress shunned luxuries such as limousines and sprawling estates popular among Hollywood elite. The actress, who insisted she wanted to be forgotten, left behind scrapbooks, boxes of memorabilia and detailed diaries. These rich resources help provide an exhaustive look at the life of one of Hollywood's most intriguing early stars. Francis' biography is the heart of this book, beginning with her family background and her upbringing by a vaudevillian actress mother. The story of her extensive career and never-ending romantic pursuits is peppered with comments from the media and her own diaries, and supplemented with ample photographs. A chronology gives dates of theater openings, film releases, marriages, television and radio appearances, births and deaths. A filmography includes complete cast and credit lists.

Enter the Players

Enter the Players PDF Author: Thomas S. Hischak
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 9780810847613
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
"Each player is discussed in a brief biography, followed by a complete list of every play and character they performed in New York. Also included are plays and musicals that were heading to New York but closed before opening. Cast replacements are indicated as well as Tony nominations and awards. Within Enter the Players, each actor comes alive as his or her career is revealed step-by-step, role-by-role. This book is an invaluable reference work and provides hours of fascinating browsing for anyone who loves theatre."--BOOK JACKET.