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- Actor
- Soundtrack
This owl-faced comic actor enjoyed his first featured film role in the RKO production Too Many Girls (1940), in which he reprised the role of "JoJo Jordan" that he had played in the Broadway stage version of that musical. (Into the pantheon of pop-music standards came one that Bracken had introduced in "Too Many Girls", the melancholy "I Didn't Know What Time It Was"). But the then 20-year-old Eddie Bracken was by no means new to show business in general or Hollywood in particular. He had played in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs by the time he was 9, and had just later appeared on screen in four of the Hal Roach "Our Gang" comedy two-reeler film shorts. It was on account of his appearances in musicals and comedies as a shy, giggling, clumsy, stammering, sentimental, self-effacing, would-be hero that Bracken achieved popularity, not to say star status, among movie audiences of the 1940s. The director Preston Sturges served up those attributes of Eddie Bracken particularly well in two of Sturges's more memorable comedies. As "Norval Jones" in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943) (filmed in 1942; released 1944), Bracken portrays a man whose destiny others have foisted upon him. A certain "Trudy Kockenlocker" (played by Betty Hutton), having attended a party for military servicemen, later finds herself to be pregnant but has no recollection of who the father might be. So she persuades the always-befuddled Norval to take credit for the child and marry her. Somehow, Norval emerges a true hero in the end, but you'll have to see the film to discover why. As Norval Jones was physically unfit for military service, so also was "Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith", with Eddie Bracken in the role, in Preston Sturges's Hail the Conquering Hero (1944). Solely on the basis of his father's reputation as a World War I U.S. Marine hero, a group of saloon-hopping World War II-era U.S. Marines, led by a crusty senior-level sergeant (played to a tee by William Demarest), elevate the physical reject Truesmith into a modern, combat-decorated veteran, and then usher him into an election campaign for Truesmith's hometown mayoralty. The complications, including a love interest (in the person of actress Ella Raines, are by now well under way. As Eddie Bracken's age increased his popularity -- or perhaps that of the genre of film vehicles that was his forte -- decreased, and in 1953 he essentially retired from the screen, moving on to pursue theatrical ventures. But he would return to Hollywood eventually, and we have been fortunate to see him in character roles in theatrical and TV films through the 80's and 90's.- Edgar Stehli was born on 12 July 1884 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was an actor, known for Executive Suite (1954), 4D Man (1959) and Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961). He was married to Emeline C Greenough. He died on 25 July 1973 in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Anthony Chisholm was born on 9 April 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Premium Rush (2012), Going in Style (2017) and Oz (1997). He was married to Gloria Nixon and Valerie Moore. He died on 16 October 2020 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.- Actor
- Executive
- Music Department
He may have made TV history as the first black game show host back in the 1970s, but the talents of singer/actor/musician Adam Wade extend far wider. Born Patrick Henry Wade, he grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the late 1950s he served as a lab assistant for Dr. Jonas Salk, who invented the polio vaccine.
In 1959, he switched to performing and found in himself a smooth, gifted vocalist, his early influences being Johnny Mathis and Nat 'King' Cole. In 1960, he decided to make the journey to New York and pursue his dream. He signed with CoEd Records within a very short time and scored quickly with a string of mild successes including "Ruby" and "I Can't Help It." He also started traveling as a night-club entertainer playing all over the world and highlighting in such important venues as the Copacabana. The next year (1961) proved to be the peak of his recording success with "Take Good Care of Her," "Writing on the Wall" and "As If I Didn't Know" making the charts. Comparisons to Mathis at CoEd Records, however, damaged his momentum and he looked elsewhere, moving to Epic Records. Only one of his singles, "Crying in the Chapel," broke the "Top 100" charts.
In the late 1960s, he discovered voiceover work and started grooving as an actor. After appearing in the national tour of the musical "Hallelujah, Baby!" with Kim Weston and Julius LaRosa, the became a part of the film "blaxploitation" scene of the early 1970s. He bounced around in a few hip support roles such as Shaft (1971), Come Back Charleston Blue (1972), Across 110th Street (1972) and The Education of Sonny Carson (1974), among others. On television, he was seen in the soaps "The Guiding Light" and "Search for Tomorrow," and was a familiar presence on the popular black-oriented sitcoms of the day including "Sanford & Son", "The Jeffersons", "What's Happening", and "Good Times." The handsome actor became the first African-American to host a national television game show with Musical Chairs (1975). The resulting attention encouraged him to restart his recording career in a funkier vein on Kirshner Records in 1978 with songs including "Alexander's Soul Time Band".
He returned to acting and, in 1978, co-starred in an all-black cast of "Guys and Dolls" starring Leslie Uggams in Las Vegas. He also gave able support in such films as Texas Lightning (1981) and Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). An occasional stage director ("Cafe Society," "Guys and Dolls"), the gray-haired actor understudied Ben Vereen on Broadway in "I'm Not Rappaport" in 2002, and subsequently appeared in the movie Brother to Brother (2004). He took time out to go back to school (after forty years) and earned his BA and Master's degrees, at Lehman College and Brooklyn College, respectively. He was a speech and theater adjunct at LIU and Bloomfield College for some time and appears frequently on the L.A.-area stage.
Formerly married to Kay Wade, with whom he had three children, Adam remarried to entertainer Jeree Wade. They produced shows and performed together on cruise ships and in concert forums.- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Bruce Sinofsky was born on 31 March 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Brother's Keeper (1992), Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996). He was married to Florence Sinofsky. He died on 21 February 2015 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Dennis D.T. Thomas was born on 9 February 1951 in Orlando, Florida, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Nutty Professor (1996) and Nick of Time (1995). He was married to Phynjuar. He died on 7 August 2021 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.- Lin Carter was born on 9 June 1930 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He was a writer, known for Spider-Man (1967). He was married to Noel Vreeland and Judith Ellen Hershkovitz. He died on 7 February 1988 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Songwriter ("As Time Goes By"), composer, singer, author and pianist who followed his high school education with United States Navy military service in World War I. He sang his own songs in the Broadway revue "Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic" (1912) and wrote songs for the musicals "A la Carte", "The Little Show", "Second Little Show", "Everybody's Welcome", and "Murder at the Vanities". He was later a singer and pianist throughout the United States and Europe, and during World War II, he entertained in military camps and hospitals. Joining ASCAP in 1931, his other popular-song compositions include "Sing Something Simple", "When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba", "Let's Put Out the Lights and Go to Sleep", "Are You Making Any Money?", "Savage Serenade", "Down the Old Back Road", "A Hut in Hoboken", "Night Owl", "Honey Ma Love", "Baby's Blue", and "The Calinda".- June Preston was a Hollywood child star who went on to become a distinguished opera singer and, at the tender age of 24, toured with The Metropolitan Opera "Stars of the Metropolitan Opera" tour in 1952 in the lead role of "Mimi" in La Bohème opposite Metropolitan star, Jan Peerce as Adolfo. On the same tour she also performed the lead role of "Floria Tosca" in "Tosca", opposite Tenor Walter Fredericks and Salvatore Baccaloni both of the Metropolitan Opera.
Preston was born in Glendale, California. She made her screen debut at age 4 after being spotted on the [film studio] lot and landed her first role as Mrs. Blewett's Daughter in the 1934 film "Anne of Green Gables", and went on to do various other movies including Christmas in July, Have A Heart, In Love With Life, Maytime, Second Fiddle, History Is Made at Night, and Our Gang Follies. With her increasing popularity, she then went on to sign on with major merchandising contracts for various apparel lines including June Preston Frocks, JP Fairy Tale Frocks, a June Preston doll, suites, hats, shoes and toys, paint sets, paper cut out books, and more.
Film career: June Preston had paid a visit to the studio where an executive saw her and called for an immediate screen test, which resulted in a long-term 7-year contract at RKO Film Studios and a 3 film commitment which included, "Anne of Green Gables" with the role of Mrs. Blewett's daughter, then "Have A Heart", and "In Love With Life". Seven years later she entered another 7-year contract with RKO. Preston was also loaned out to various other studios for films such as "Christmas In July", "Maytime", "Second Fiddle", "History Is Made at Night", "Happy Land", and several others.
Preston quickly gained international popularity and went on to work under contract with Paramount, MGM, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Republic Pictures, followed by various merchandising contracts such as the "June Preston Frocks" apparel lines and a "June Preston Doll". She was considered to be one of the "Big Pay Babes" in Hollywood alongside Shirley Temple and Virginia Weidler. She was known for her Golden curls, cherub like features and charismatic nature. Preston was considered "One of the most beautiful children every seen in films."
Meglin Kiddies: June Preston was also one of the prestigious Meglin Kiddies. She joined in 1934 and was a favorite of Neil Albright, Manager/Owner of the Meglin Dance Studio in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica who signed Preston on and said, "She is expected to develop her into a brilliant child star, under The Meglin artistic training." And she did... in addition to her movie contracts, June Preston had feature parts in numerous Meglin Kiddie short films, radio shows, Our Gang Follies movies featuring Meglin Kiddies. Preston also performed at multiple Hollywood theaters singing and dancing and was a regular at the historic Wadsworth Theatre. Other child stars to come out of The Meglin Dance Studios were Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, Virginia Grey, Jane Withers, Ann Miller, and several of the Our Gang child stars.
Merchandising: After signing with RKO, she quickly achieved international fame, the name of June Preston was trademarked on 1934 through 1950. She then signed with various manufacturers including the then famous Edward D. Schuwall Clothing Firm in New York, who established her first apparel line bearing the name "June Preston Frock" RKO Film Star by JP Loomcraft, better known now as Fruit of the Loom and "Dixie Swirl" dresses. Other manufacturers included were Edward Shuwall & Co., Blossom Infants Coat Co. Inc., H & S Sportswear, I. Schneierson & Son Co. and many more. Her apparel lines included the favored June Preston Frocks, JP Dixie Dresses, JP Sheer Frocks, and in 1944 the debut of the hugely popular JP Fairy Tale Frocks (Cinderella dresses, Alice and Wonderland dresses etc.), as well as undergarments, swimsuits, snowsuits, coats, shoes, purses, hats, gloves, and handkerchiefs all sold worldwide.
Publicity: June Preston and Shirley Temple were similar in style. Shirley Temple was one year older than June Preston and even though they were contracted to separate film studios, they both were often billed together for singing and dancing appearances to publicity autograph events for their own apparel lines and other merchandise. Despite being friends in real life the two girls were often publicized from the very beginning as "Rivals" by the studios and trade publications, which made things a little difficult for June Preston professionally.
Opera: After her film career June Preston went on to become a world famous opera singer. She was always known to have interest in the classics early on and at age 14, Preston was already memorizing opera scores while still in the movie industry. Upon leaving the movie industry Preston moved to Seattle, Washington with her parents and was discovered by maestro Gustavo Stern, a German conductor who had recently moved to Seattle. Stern was at a reception in his honor and heard June Preston singing in the background while everyone was having a good time and singing around the piano, which he was playing, and he immediately stopped and said, who has that voice! Within a week, Stern began coaching Preston from Junior High throughout her university years at the University of Washington, where he was also a professor. Within this time period, Preston performed with the Seattle Civic Light Opera Company with which Stern conducted several operettas featuring Preston in the lead role of Camille in "The Merry Widow", Marietta in "Naughty Marietta", Micaëla in "Carmen", Gianetta in "Gondoliers" "New Moon", and "Der Fledermaus". In that time Preston also performed in the Metropolitan Theater, Seattle Civic Auditorium under the baton of Gustav Stern.
At age 22, Preston was sponsored by CocaCola, McCann-Erickson, Gaseosas, Fridgidaire, and the US Embassy for Radio & TV tours in over 6 countries, Coca Cola publicized Preston as "The Golden Voice" and she was the exclusive artist for McCann-Erickson. In late 1949 Preston began her tour in North and South America performing in top Opera Houses such as, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires which has near-perfect acoustics, Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. As well as performing recitals for Kings, Presidents, and Diplomats. There were several US Embassy galas in honor of June Preston throughout Central and South America where she also performed as the featured guest. Preston was considered the "Established favorite in the lyric theaters in Central and South America." In 1952, she joined the cast of the Metropolitan Opera on the "Stars of the Metropolitan Opera" tour in the lead role of "Mimi" in La Bohème opposite Metropolitan star, Jan Peerce as Rodolfo and Nicola Moscona, Stefan Ballarini, Uta Graf, and the great Salvatore Baccaloni. On a separate tour Preston performed in the lead as "Floria Tosca" in "Tosca", opposite Tenor Walter Fredericks, Salvatore Baccaloni and others of the Metropolitan Opera.
In 1960 Preston returned to the US and made her debut at the St. Louis Symphony Hall as a guest star under the baton of Leopold Stokowski as the soloist in the thrilling last movement finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Other guest stars included, Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein, Leslie Chabay and Jean Madeira. Also within this time in New York City, Preston and Maestro Edwin McArthur were working on her presentation of a new series of compositions to perform on her upcoming European Tour in in 1961.
European Tour: Preston debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and thereafter touring throughout Europe performing in the most prestigious Opera Houses in Europe such as Palais Garnier, Teatro alla Scala, Parnassos Concert Hall in Athens Greece, Teatro Municipal, Lisbon Portugal, El Palacio de la Música, Barcelona Spain, Teatre del Liceu, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, and many more. The majority of Preston's performances were overseas. All these concerts, programs, reviews, interviews and photos can be seen on her Pinterest Board: Pinterest, June Preston Opera.
Walter Winchell was feared by many, he could make you or break you in the entertainment world, but Winchell had admiration for June Preston and followed her career early on. She was mostly performing abroad but Winchell still would find the time to drop her a line from time to time.
Walter Winchell Column: Paper: New York Mirror, 1/25/1960, page 10: "June Preston is back from the South American show-circuit ", Philladelphia Inquirer: December 20 1962: Page 24. "June Preston, American opera-lark, is getting rave notice in Europe. From an Amsterdam critic: "A smash! Every area a jewel!" June shrugged off the stallers along Broadway and is booked solid around the world..."
While on her European tour, Preston met her future husband at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruxelles, Belgium where she was performing a solo recital with pianist Stranton Carter. Prior to the performance that evening, she arrived with her accompanist for rehearsal but the page turner did not arrive, then in her words, "A handsome man came up to her and offered to turn the pages." This man was Belgian soloist concert violinist Saul Hoüben. He was rehearsing earlier that day for an upcoming performance of his own and "came to her rescue". Saul Hoüben, was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium who had been following his progress since he was a child and later presented him with an award for excellence in 1955. He was considered a child prodigy performing his first concerto at age 4. Saul Hoüben and Yehudi Menuhin became childhood friends as they both studied with Georges Enescu in Paris, France. Georges Enescu was a famous Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher.
Repertoire: (Role and "Opera"): Carmen, "Carmen", Mercédès, "Carmen", Mimi, "La bohème", Floria Tosca, "Tosca", Violetta, Valéry, "La Traviata", Cio-Cio-san, "Madame Butterfly", Lulu, "Turandot, Aida, "Aida", Salome, "Salome", Berta, "The Barber of Seville", Desdemona, "Otello", Octavian Count Rofrano, "Der Rosenkavalier", Gilda, "Rigoletto", Suzel, "L'amico", Adele, "Die Fledermaus", Marguerite, "Faust", Margherita, "Mefistofele", Camille, "The Merry Widow", Cunegonde, "Candide", Countess Rosina Almaviva, "The Marriage of Figaro", Charlotte, "Werther", Clara, "Porgy and Bess".
Preston favored recitals above all, and was also particularly well known for her concert recitals ranging from Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Brahms to Puccini, Strauss, Mahler, Schubert, Hahn, Debussy, and many more. Preston was known to have an extremely large concert recital repertoire and could perform multiple recital concerts without ever repeating the works.
Marriage: Preston married Belgian soloist concert violinist, Saul Hoüben and they had one child at which point Preston retired from touring. In 1982 Preston's husband, Saul Hoüben passed away. Preston never re-married. She performed various concert recitals for benefits and for friends, but did not want to return into the circuit.
Induction: In 1989, Preston was inducted into the WSHS Hall of Fame for her Film and Opera career. In 1994, Preston came out of retirement for a farewell concert performance in Seattle, WA where it all began, which included an aria "Lamento" specifically written for her by her long time friend Writer/Composer Martin Kalmanoff.
Death: June Preston passed away at the age 93 from complications of dementia. She is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California and survived by her Daughter, son-in-law, and her sister. - Ben Lackland came to New York in 1925 to study at the Theater Guild School and lived in Manhattan until 1958. During his career, he appeared in many plays with such figures as Josephine Hull, Walter Hampden, Ruth Gordon, Otis Skinner and Ethel Barrymore. He met his future wife, stage actress Marjorie Dulin, during the Lakeland Players' production of "Yes, My Darling Daughter" in Maine, and he played in thirty Broadway productions before switching to the infant medium of television in 1946. By 1950 he was a five-night-a-week regular on "Captain Video and His Video Rangers" as the benevolent Commissioner of Public Safety Charles Carey. He was 58 when he died at home from an overdose of barbiturates. The Essex County Medical Examiner's Office's autopsy report said that Ben Lackland was a "suicide by ingestion of an overdose of sleeping pills."
- Hy R. Agens was born on 4 July 1940 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Without a Trace (1983). He was married to Melee Verro . He died on 11 March 2023 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Terry Kirkman was born on 12 December 1939 in Salina, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Annabelle (2014), Pretty in Pink (1986) and The Sweetest Thing (2002). He was married to Heidi Jo Berinstein and Judy Faye Hyatt. He died on 23 September 2023 in Montclair, California, USA.- Roy Kral was born on 10 October 1921 in Cicero, Illinois, USA. He was married to Jackie Cain and Dolores Donars. He died on 2 August 2002 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ted Curson was born on 3 June 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Brown Bunny (2003), Rampe & Naukkis - Kaikkien aikojen superpari (1990) and Hyvät herrat (1990). He was married to Madge. He died on 4 November 2012 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.- Soundtrack
Jackie Cain was born on 22 May 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. She was married to Roy Kral. She died on 15 September 2014 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.- Fred Ferretti was born on 3 March 1932 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. He died on 7 March 2022 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
George Reeder was born on 15 July 1931 in Pomona, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Androcles and the Lion (1967), Music from Shubert Alley (1959) and Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962). He died on 17 January 2015 in Montclair, California, USA.- Jennifer Davis was born on 13 December 1933 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. She was married to Michael Davis. She died on 15 October 2019 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Mattie Wilkes was born on 14 February 1875 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921) and For His Mother's Sake (1922). She was married to Ernest Hogan. She died on 9 July 1927 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Arthur Kinoy was born on 29 September 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Barbara S. Webster and Susan Knopf. He died on 19 September 2003 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Eugène Lauste was born on 17 January 1857 in Montmartre, Paris, France. He was a director, known for Bullfight (1896) and Drill of the Engineer Corps (1896). He died on 27 June 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Carl Oglesby was born on 30 July 1935 in Akron, Ohio, USA. He died on 13 September 2011 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Donald Bailey was born on 26 March 1933 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014) and Lawless Heart (2001). He died on 15 October 2013 in Montclair, California, USA.- Frank Dailey was born in 1901 in Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA. He died on 27 February 1956 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
- Larry Doby, the 7-time All-Star and 2-time American League home run leader, became the first African American to play in the A.L. when he made his debut on July 5, 1947. Doby's first appearance occurred less than three months after Jackie Robinson had become the first African American major leaguer in the 20th Century when he debuted with the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, breaking the ban on black players dating back to 1889. Doby's first season lasted but 29 games, but when he returned to the Big Leagues in 1948, it was for good and for real: batting 301 with 14 home runs and 66 runs batted in, the rookie's 83 runs scored helped the Cleveland Indians win the American League pennant and the 1948 World Series against the Boston Braves after they beat the Boston Red Sox in a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season.
Doby played in an era when the Yankees won the American League pennant every year, and the World Series almost as often, giving rise to the 1954 book by Douglas Wallop "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant", which required none other than a Washington Senators fan selling his soul to the devil. (The book was the basis of the smash-hit musical "Damn Yankees (1958)", which was not then an epithet used solely by Southerners but by all baseball fans who weren't American League affiliated New Yorkers.) Between 1947 and 1964, only teams that Doby played on (Cleveland Indians, 1948 & '54) and the Chicago White Sox (1959) beat the hated Yankees for the A.L. pennant. (Unfortunately, Doby -- then at the end of his career -- did not appear with the ChiSox in the '59 World Series, a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, having been released in June).
In 1954, the year Doby's Indians once again won the American League pennant, Doby hit .272 and tied his career best with 32 dingers while driving in 126 and scoring 94 runs, leading the A.L. in home runs and R.B.I. Inevitably, it seems, Doby lost the M.V.P. award to the Yankees' Yogi Berra, who had already won the award in 1951 and who would win it again the following year.
During his Major League career, Larry Doby batted in 100 runs five times. He also played in the Negro Leagues before being signed by the Indians, and was twice an All-Star for the Newark Eagles, which must be considered a team between Triple-A minor league ball and the major leagues, just as the Pacific Coast League was before expansion.
In 1943, Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck, the son of a former Chicago Cubs executive, had made an attempt to buy the floundering Philadelphia Phillies. It was Veeck's idea to stock the team with Negro League All-Stars such as 'Leroy 'Satchel' Paige' and disputed baseball home run king 'Josh Gibson' ("The Black Babe Ruth", who might have hit as many as 84 dingers in a season, but Negro League records are spotty) in order to take the place of departed white major leaguers, doing time in the military service. However, that plan was vetoed by Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis and by owners who made more money from the income derived from renting their stadia to Negro League teams, who frequently outdrew the white Major League clubs. When Veeck finally got his hands on a team, he did integrate it, first with Doby and then by realizing his dream of bringing up Satchel Paige to the Indians in 1948, the oldest rookie ever to play in the Bigs.
Most of the credit for integrating Major League Baseball has accrued to Jackie Robinson, as he was the first in 1947, played a full season, won Rookie of the Year honors and a Most Valuable Player award two years later on a team that while he was on it, nearly rivaled the Yankees in terms of its dominance of its league. However, Larry Doby's accomplishment in integrating the American League was not forgotten, and he justly was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1998.