25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

Lillian Gish

October 25, 2019

Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987.

She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith’s seminal Birth of a Nation. Her sound-era film appearances were sporadic, but included memorable roles in the controversial western Duel in the Sun and the offbeat thriller Night of the Hunter. She did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing, for the first time, opposite Bette Davis in the 1987 film,

The Whales of August.

The American Film Institute named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1971, and in 1984 she received an AFI Life Achievement Award.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

Lillian Roth

October 25, 2019

Lillian Roth was an American singer and actress.

Born as Lillian Rutstein in Boston, Massachusetts, she was only 6 years old when her mother took her to Educational Pictures, where she became the company’s trademark, symbolized by a living statue holding a lamp of knowledge. In her book, she described being molested by the man who painted her as a statue. The following year she made her Broadway debut in The Inner Man. Her motion picture debut came in 1918 in Pershing’s Crusaders. Together with her sister Ann she toured as “Lillian Roth and Co.” At times the two were billed as “The Roth Kids.” One of the most exciting moments for her came when she met U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The President took Lillian and her sister for a ride around the block in his chauffeur driven car, after attending a performance of their vaudeville act.

Roth entered the Clark School of Concentration in the early 1920s. She appeared in Artists and Models in 1923 and went on to make Revels with Frank Fay. During production for the former show, she told management she was nineteen years of age. When she was seventeen, she made the first of three Earl Carroll Vanities with comedienne Ray Dooley. This was soon followed by Midnight Frolics, a Flo Ziegfeld production.

Soon the young actress signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. Among the films she made for Paramount were The Love Parade with Maurice Chevalier, “The Vagabond King,” the all-star revue Paramount on Parade, Honey, in which she introduced “Sing You Sinners,” Cecil B. DeMille’s Madam Satan with Reginald Denny, “Sea Legs” with Jack Oakie, and the classic comedy Animal Crackers with the Marx Brothers. She also played Ethel Merman’s stage role in the film version of “Take a Chance,” singing “Eadie Was a Lady.” After leaving Paramount, she had a supporting role in the women’s prison film Ladies They Talk About with Barbara Stanwyck.

25 Oct 2019
Recording Permalink

Lily Pons

October 25, 2019

Lily Pons was a French-American coloratura soprano.

Born as Alice “Lili” Joséphine Pons in Draguignan near Cannes, Pons first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, winning the First Prize at the age of 15. At the onset of World War I in 1914, she moved with her mother and younger sister Juliette to Cannes, where she played piano and sang for soldiers at receptions given in support of the French troops and at the famous Hotel Carlton that had been transformed into a hospital, and where her mother, Marie Pons, worked as a volunteer nurse orderly. In 1925, encouraged by soprano Dyna Beumer, she started taking singing lessons from Alberto de Gorostiaga in Paris.

She successfully made her operatic debut in the title role of Léo Delibes’ Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928 and went on to sing several coloratura roles in French provincial opera houses.

She was discovered by the impresario Giovanni Zenatello, who took her to New York where she auditioned for Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera.The Met needed a star coloratura after the retirement of Amelita Galli-Curci in January 1930. On January 3, 1931, Pons, unknown in the U.S., made an unheralded Met debut as Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and on that occasion the spelling of her first name was changed to “Lily”. Against all odds, her performance received tremendous acclaim. She became a star overnight and inherited most of Galli-Curci’s important coloratura roles. She also signed a recording contract with RCA Victor Records.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Recording Permalink

Lina Basquette

October 25, 2019

Lina Basquette was an American actress noted as much for her more than 75 years in entertainment beginning in the silent film era, as her tumultuous personal life and nine marriages.

She was born Lena Copeland Baskette to shop owner Frank Baskette and Gladys Rosenberg in San Mateo, California. After the death of her father and subsequent marriage of her mother to dance director Ernest Belcher, she and half-sister Marge Champion got an early start in dance and entertaining. She danced in the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City, and secured her first film contract at the age of nine in 1916 with Universal Studios for the silent film series, Lena Baskette Featurettes.

In 1923, Ziegfeld Follies producers officially dubbed her “America’s Prima Ballerina.” Basquette was named one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1928 and the following year made The Younger Generation with Frank Capra.

In 1929, she also made The Godless Girl with Cecil B. DeMille, arguably the role for which she was best remembered, for she named her 1990 autobiography Lina: DeMille’s Godless Girl. In this film, made at the transition from the silent era to the talkies, she played the title character. Judith is based on Queen Silver, a child prodigy and socialist orator The character, leader of a high school atheist society, forces members to renounce The Bible while placing a hand on the head of a live monkey. In the climactic scene, DeMille insisted on realism in filming a last shot of the reformatory going up in flames.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

Linda Darnell

October 25, 2019

Linda Darnell was an American film actress. Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s. She rose to fame with co-starring roles opposite Tyrone Power in adventure films and established a main character career after her role in Forever Amber. Furthermore, she won critical acclaim for her work in Unfaithfully Yours and A Letter to Three Wives. Notorious for her unstable personal life, Darnell was incapable of dealing with Hollywood, and landed in a downward spiral of alcoholism, unsuccessful marriages and highly publicized or scandalous affairs. She failed to receive recognition from the industry and its critics, and disappeared from the screen in the 1950s. Darnell died from burns sustained in a house fire.

Born Monetta Eloyse Darnell in Dallas, Texas, as one of four children, to postal clerk Calvin Roy Darnell and Pearl Brown. She was the younger sister of Undeen, born in March 1918, and the older sister of Monte Maloya and Calvin Roy, Jr. Her parents were not happily married, and she grew up as a shy and reserved girl in a house of domestic turmoil. Starting at an early age, her mother Pearl had big plans for Darnell in the entertainment industry. Her mother believed that Darnell was her only child with potential as an actress, and ignored the raising of her other children.

According to her siblings, Darnell enjoyed the limelight and shared her mother’s dream. Darnell herself, though, once commented: “Mother really shoved me along, spotting me in one contest after another. I had no great talent, and I didn’t want to be a movie star particularly. But Mother had always wanted it for herself, and I guess she attained it through me.” One elocution teacher recalled: ” didn’t stand out particularly, except that she was so sweet and considerate. In her theater work she wasn’t outstanding. But her mother was right behind her everywhere she went.”

25 Oct 2019
Recording, Television Permalink

Linda Evans

October 25, 2019

Linda Evans is a Norwegian American actress known primarily for her roles on television. She rose to fame playing Audra Barkley, the daughter of Barbara Stanwyck’s Victoria Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley. Evans’ most prominent role was that of longsuffering heroine Krystle Carrington in the 1980s ABC prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a role she played from 1981 to 1989.

She was born Linda Evenstad in Hartford, Connecticut, the second of three daughters to a couple who were professional dancers. “Evenstad” was the name of the small farm in Nes, Hedmark in Norway from where her paternal great-grandmother emigrated to the US in 1884 with her young son and a couple of relatives. When Linda was six months old, the family moved from Hartford to North Hollywood. To bring her out from her shyness, her parents insisted that she take drama at school. When she started her professional career, she changed her last name to “Evans”.

Evans has been married twice. She was first married to actor and film producer John Derek from 1968 to 1974. Evans’ second marriage was to Stan Herman, a property executive, from 1976 to 1981. In the 1990s Linda dated new age musician Yanni.

25 Oct 2019
Live Performance Permalink

Linda Hopkins

October 25, 2019

In memory of Walk of Famer Linda Hopkins, flowers were placed on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The star in category of Live Performance is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard. “Linda, you are singing with the angels. RIP!” Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame signed the card on behalf of the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Linda Hopkins is an African American actress and blues and gospel singer.

She was born as Melinda Helen Matthews in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second child of the Reverend Fred Matthews, Sr. and Hazel Smith. She grew up in the section of New Orleans known by the locals as "Zion City". She went to school in "Gert Town" which border Xavier University.

Known as "Lil Helen Matthews" as a child, she was discovered at the age of eleven by Mahalia Jackson when she persuaded Jackson to perform at a fundraiser at her home church, St. Mark's Baptist Church. Lil Helen opened the children's fundraising program with a rendition of Jackson's gospel hit, God Shall Wipe Your Tears Away. Jackson was reportedly so impressed by Helen's determination and talent that she arranged for the young girl to join the Southern Harp Spiritual Singers in 1936. Hopkins remained with the group for a decade.

She first saw Bessie Smith perform Empty Bed Blues at The New Orleans Palace Theatre in 1936. Hopkins greatly admired Smith and later won critical plaudits for her rendition of Smith in the 1959 theatrical presentation Jazz Train. Matthews left New Orleans in the 1950s, and, in 1951, began performing at Slim Jenkin's Night Club in the Oakland/Richmond area. There she met Johnny Otis and Little Esther Phillips who created her stage name, Linda Hopkins. In 1952, Hopkins toured Hawaii and Japan for two years which included a stint with Louis Armstrong at The Brown Derby in Honolulu. She recorded for the Crystalette, Forecast, Federal and Atco labels and often appeared at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

Lindsay Wagner

October 25, 2019

Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably most widely known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman, though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.

Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Marilyn Louise and William Nowels Wagner. When she was seven years old, her parents divorced and her mother moved with her to the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, near Pasadena. Another move with her mother and stepfather brought her to Portland, Oregon, where she attended David Douglas High School and appeared in a number of school plays. She studied at the University of Oregon.

Wagner worked as a model in Los Angeles, and gained some television experience by appearing as a hostess in Playboy After Dark. However, it was not until she contacted a friend at Universal Studios and was cast in a small part in Marcus Welby, M.D. that her acting career gained momentum. Her appearances helped her win roles in the films Two People and The Paper Chase. Wagner played a total of four different roles on the Marcus Welby, M.D. series between 1971-75, as well as a recurring guest role in The Rockford Files.

In 1975, Wagner played the role of Jaime Sommers, a former tennis pro who was the childhood sweetheart of Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin. In a two-part episode entitled “The Bionic Woman”, Jaime was critically injured in a skydiving accident and, at Steve’s request, she was equipped with bionic limbs similar to his own. Unfortunately, Jaime’s body rejected her new bionics and she later died.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Radio Permalink

Lionel Barrymore

October 25, 2019

Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul. He is well known for the role of the villainous Henry Potter in Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life.

Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of actors Georgiana Drew and Maurice Barrymore. He was the elder brother of Ethel and John Barrymore, the uncle of John Drew Barrymore and Diana Barrymore, and the granduncle of Drew Barrymore. Barrymore was raised Roman Catholic. He attended the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In her autobiography Eleanor Farjeon recalled that she and Barrymore were friends as toddlers; she would take off her shoes and he would kiss her feet.

During World War I Lionel staved off the deadly Spanish Influenza by taking cold alcohol baths as an antiseptic.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Recording Permalink

Lionel Hampton

October 25, 2019

Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich to Charlie Parker and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Lionel Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1908, and was raised by his grandmother. Shortly after he was born, he and his mother moved to her hometown Birmingham, Alabama. He spent his early childhood in Kenosha, Wisconsin before he and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1916. As a youth, Hampton was a member of the Bud Billiken Club, an alternative to the Boy Scouts of America due to segregation. During the 1920s?while still a teenager?Hampton took xylophone lessons from Jimmy Bertrand and started playing drums. Hampton was raised Roman Catholic, and started out playing fife and drum at the Holy Rosary Academy near Chicago.

Lionel Hampton began his career playing drums for the Chicago Defender Newsboy's Band while still a teenager in Chicago, a group that was led by Major N. Clark Smith. He moved to California in 1927 or 1928, playing drums for the Dixieland Blues-Blowers. He made his recording debut with The Quality Serenaders led by Paul Howard, then left for Culver City and drummed for the Les Hite band at Sebastian's Cotton Club. During this period he began practicing on the vibraphone. In 1930 Louis Armstrong came to California and hired the Les Hite band, asking Hampton if he would play vibes on two songs. So began his career as a vibraphonist, popularizing the use of the instrument ever since.

While working with the Les Hite band, Hampton also occasionally did some performing with Nat Shilkret and his orchestra. During the early 1930s he studied music at the University of Southern California. In 1934 he led his own orchestra, and then appeared in the 1936 Bing Crosby film Pennies From Heaven alongside Louis Armstrong .