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1-6 of 6
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Famed for his relentless ambition, bad temper and genius for publicity, Samuel Goldwyn became Hollywood's leading "independent" producer -- largely because none of his partners could tolerate him for long. Born Shmuel (or Schmuel) Gelbfisz, probably in 1879, in the Jewish section of Warsaw, he was the eldest of six children of a struggling used-furniture dealer. In 1895 he made his way to England, where relatives Anglicized his name to Samuel Goldfish. There he begged (or stole) enough money for a ticket in steerage across the Atlantic. He reached the US, probably via Canada, in 1898. He gravitated to Gloversville, New York, in the Adirondack foothills, which was then the capital of the US leather glove industry; he became one of the country's most successful glove salesmen. After moving his base of operations to Manhattan and marrying the sister of Jesse L. Lasky, who was then a theatrical producer, Goldfish convinced Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille to go into film production. The new company's first film, The Squaw Man (1914), was one of the first features made in Hollywood; the company later became the nucleus of what would later become Paramount Pictures. As his marriage fell apart, Goldfish dissolved his partnership with Lasky. His next enterprise was the Goldwyn Co., founded in 1916 and named for himself and his partners, brothers Edgar Selwyn and Archibald Selwyn--Goldfish liked the name so much he took it for his own. The Goldwyn Co.'s stars included Mabel Normand, Madge Kennedy and Will Rogers, but its most famous legacy was its "Leo the Lion" trademark, which was adopted by its successor company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Goldwyn himself was ousted from his own company before the merger, which was why his name became part of MGM even though he himself had nothing to do with the company. After his firing Goldwyn would have nothing to do with partners and went into independent production on his own, and for 35 years was the boss and sole proprietor of his own production company, a mini-studio specializing in expensive "quality" films, distributed initially by United Artists and later by RKO. His contract actors at various times included Vilma Bánky, Ronald Colman, Eddie Cantor, Gary Cooper, David Niven and Danny Kaye. In some cases, Goldwyn collected substantial fees for "lending" his stars to other producers. Touted by publicists for his "Goldwyn touch" and loathed by many of his hirelings for his habit of ordering films recast, rewritten and recut, Goldwyn is best remembered for his films that teamed director William Wyler and cinematographer Gregg Toland.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Actor Roger Pryor was considered the "poor man's Clark Gable" at Universal and Columbia studios where he held long-term contracts during the 30s and 40s. The son of the popular composer/band leader Arthur Pryor (1869-1942) and his wife Maude Russell, the mustachioed leading man used his slick, roguish looks to good effect, enabling him to become a durable co-star of breezy "B" level musicals and stylish dramas.
Born in New York City (Manhattan) close to the turn of the 20th century on August 27, 1901, Roger made his stage debut at 18 in a New Jersey stock play called "Adam and Eva." He went on to also work with the Myskle-Harder Stock Company in Connecticut. After years of touring in repertory companies, he finally hit the Broadway lights in 1925 with a production of "The Back Slapper" and went on to appear with Ruth Gordon in "Paid (1926), as well as "Saturday's Children" (1927), "The Royal Family" (1927), "See Naples and Die" (1929), "Up Pops the Devil" (1930) and "Here Goes the Bride" (1931). While he did a fine job replacing Lee Tracy in the popular classic "The Front Page," it was his role in the 1932 play "Blessed Event" that got the Universal New York movie studio paying special attention.
Taking his initial film bow opposite lovely Mary Brian in the second-string Universal musical Moonlight and Pretzels (1933) , Roger was sent straight to Hollywood where he starred in the musical I Like It That Way (1934) and the sparkling comedy I'll Tell the World (1934) both paired with equally lovely Gloria Stuart. Roger was also Heather Angel's leading man in the light comedy Romance in the Rain (1934) before appearing in his biggest pre-Code picture as one of Mae West's paramours, the prizefighting Tiger Kid, in her bawdy vehicle Belle of the Nineties (1934).
Roger continued on the "B" Hollywood romantic path for the next several years. He was part of a vaudeville trio act in the musical Wake Up and Dream (1934) with ill-fated Russ Columbo and pert blonde June Knight; appeared in Lady by Choice (1934) opposite Carole Lombard; starred in Strange Wives (1934) with June Clayworth; headlined both Straight from the Heart (1935) and Dinky (1935) opposite Mary Astor; appeared in The Headline Woman (1935) again with Heather Angel; starred in $1000 a Minute (1935) with Leila Hyams; and was front and center in To Beat the Band (1935) co-starring Helen Broderick.
Married in 1926 to Priscilla Mitchell, the mother of his only child, Roger fell in love with his co-star Ann Sothern of the romantic musical comedy The Girl Friend (1935). They were wed the following year (1936) months after his divorce was finalized. Experiencing the height of his cinematic career, Roger went on to play reporters in both The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936) and Missing Girls (1936), an amnesiac in the comedy Ticket to Paradise (1936) and a songwriter in Sitting on the Moon (1936).
As he began to decline into second leads and support roles (often as a heavy), Roger turned more and more to radio hosting, possessing a perfectly rich voice that suited the medium quite well. He also carried on the family tradition as a dance band leader and trombonist. At one time, wife Ann Sothern briefly toured with Pryor's band but the union began to crumble and they divorced in 1943.
Roger's film career continued throughout WWII with secondary roles in such secondary films as I Live on Danger (1942), A Man's World (1942), Smart Alecks (1942), Submarine Alert (1943) and High Powered (1945). Occasional leads still came his way occasionally with Gambling Daughters (1941) and The Kid Sister (1945). The actor made his last appearance on film with the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans oater Man from Oklahoma (1945).
Though his work as a bandleader was personally satisfying, it wasn't profitable and it drove Roger into bankruptcy. In 1947, he retired from show business altogether and turned to business, finding a comfortable niche as an ad executive and vice president in charge of broadcasting at Foote, Cone and Belding advertising agency.
Roger remarried a third time and the couple settled comfortably in Florida. He died of cardiac arrest at age 72 on January 31, 1974, while in Puerta Valarta, Mexico. His elder brother, Arthur Pryor, Jr. (1897-1954) was a radio pioneer who ran a prime agency in the 1930s and 1940s.- Glenn Morris was the fourth Olympic athlete to play Tarzan. He was the 1936 decathlon champion and won the Sullivan Award (outstanding amateur athlete of the year) over the more famous Olympian Jesse Owens. Sol Lesser cast Morris for an independent Tarzan, filmed on Twentieth Century-Fox back lots. The reviews were so thoroughly bad that Morris never made another movie. He went into the insurance business in Los Angeles. He enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor, was wounded in combat from which he spent much time in San Francisco's Navy Hospital.
- Pina Gallini was born on 19 March 1888 in Bondeno, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress, known for Il fu Mattia Pascal (1937), Addio Kira! (1942) and Sangue sul sagrato (1950). She died on 31 January 1974 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
- Hal Hoadley was born on 7 September 1893 in Defiance, Ohio, USA. Hal was a writer, known for The Day She Paid (1919), Burnt Wings (1920) and The Triflers (1920). Hal was married to Violet Shannon. Hal died on 31 January 1974 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Paul Haesaerts was born on 15 February 1901 in Boom, Belgium. He was a director and writer, known for Bezoek aan Picasso (1950), Rubens (1948) and Een gouden eeuw-de kunst der Vlaamse primitieven (1954). He died on 31 January 1974 in Brussels, Belgium.