Grant Hayter-Menzies

Charlotte Greenwood

The Life and Career of the Comic Star of Vaudeville, Radio and Film

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Charlotte Greenwood never intended to become a comedienne, but she was unfashionably tall at 5' 10" and her early aspirations to become a great dramatic actress eventually led her to the field of comedy. Greenwood, whose early life had taught her nothing if not how to be optimistic, stifled her disappointment and used her considerable skill to become one of the greatest comedic actresses of the early twentieth century. Based on Greenwood's unpublished memoirs, this biography presents a personal, detailed look at her colorful life. Beginning with her early years in Philadelphia, Boston and Norfolk, it relates her struggles with ill health, her social difficulties caused by her then unusual height and her realization of her ambition to become an actress. The main focus of the work is her career, which spanned more than 50 years and ranged from vaudeville to the dramatic stage and, finally, to films (during the World War II years she starred in Twentieth Century Fox musicals with Cesar Romero, Betty Grable, Edward Everett Horton, Jack Haley, Don Ameche, and Carmen Miranda). Her roles in a variety of works including The Passing Show of 1912, So Long Letty (both stage and film), and I Remember Mama are also discussed. Special emphasis is placed on her career-defining (and best-known) role as Aunt Eller Murphy in the 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma! Charlotte Greenwood's performance history, a list of her known recordings, and a filmography for her husband Martin Broones are also included, along with a collection of rare photographs and memorabilia.

---

Hinweis: Dieser Artikel kann nur an eine deutsche Lieferadresse ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: McFarland
• Seitenzahl: 266
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. April 2007
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 254mm x 178mm x 14mm
• Gewicht: 507g
• ISBN-13: 9780786429950
• ISBN-10: 078642995X
• Artikelnr.: 22602107

Autorenporträt

Biographer Grant Hayter-Menzies lives in British Columbia. His works include biographies of Charlotte Greenwood, Princess Der Ling, Sarah Pike Conger, Pauline Benton, and Lillian Carter, along with the life of a dog, military mascot Rags of the First Division in World War I. He is the literary executor of playwright William Luce.

Inhaltsangabe

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments      
Foreword by Brian Kellow     
Preface     
Introduction     
Part One
1. "I come from a long line of Philadelphia barbers!"     
2. Illness and Abandonment     
3. Near Death in Boston, New Life in Virginia     
4. "Show people were my people"     
5. The White Cat     
6. A Wayburn Girl     
7. Two Girls and a Piano     
8. The Passing Show of 1912     
9. The Birth of Letty     
10. Love and War     
11. Trotting Tintypes and the Music Box Revue     
12. "My darling"     
13. Mrs. Martin Broones     
14. Back to Hollywood     
15. "Life is just a circus"     
16. To London on the Santa Fe Express     
Part Two
17. Wild Violets     
18. Toast of the West End     
19. "Charlotte Greenwood, the actress"     
20. The Late Christopher Bean     
21. Gay Deceivers     
22. Letty's Last Dance     
23. "To the Antipodes and back"     
24. Battle Drums     
25. Zanuck and Stardust     
26. Down Argentine Way     
27. The Stars at War     
28. Home in Indiana     
29. Mrs. Eddy     
30. Doris Day     
31. Out of This World     
32. Oklahoma!     
33. "She knew what she had and she knew who she was"     
34. Farewell Performance     
Epilogue     
Afterword by William Luce     
Appendix A: Greenwood's Performance History     
Appendix B: Known Vocal Recordings of Greenwood     
Appendix C: Lyrics Credited to Greenwood     
Appendix D: Shows with Songs or Scores by Martin Broones     
Appendix E: Martin Broones Filmography     
Appendix F: Known Piano Recordings of Martin Broones     
Appendix G: GUPPA (Greenwood's Unusual Painless Pound Annihilator)     
Appendix H: Greenwood's Family Circle     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index