Author: James D. Taylor Jr.
Publisher: Algora Publishing
ISBN: 1628942991
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Author: Dan Dietz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538102773
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 713

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Book Description
Despite the stock market crash of October 1929, thousands of theatregoers still flocked to the Great White Way throughout the country’s darkest years. In keeping with the Depression and the events leading up to World War II, 1930s Broadway was distinguished by numerous political revues and musicals, including three by George Gershwin (Strike Up the Band, Of Thee I Sing, and Let ’Em Eat Cake). The decade also saw the last musicals by Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Vincent Youmans; found Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in full flower; and introduced both Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen’s music to Broadway. In The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway from 1930 through 1939. This book discusses the era’s major successes, notorious failures, and musicals that closed during their pre-Broadway tryouts. It includes such shows as Anything Goes, As Thousands Cheer, Babes in Arms, The Boys from Syracuse, The Cradle Will Rock, The Green Pastures, Hellzapoppin, Hot Mikado, Porgy and Bess, Roberta, and various editions of Ziegfeld Follies. Each entry contains the following information: Plot summary Cast members Names of all important personnel, including writers, composers, directors, choreographers, producers, and musical directors Opening and closing dates Number of performances Critical commentary Musical numbers and the performers who introduced the songs Production data, including information about tryouts Source material Details about London and other foreign productions Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers numerous appendixes, including a discography, filmography, and list of published scripts, as well as lists of black-themed and Jewish-themed productions. This comprehensive book contains a wealth of information and provides a comprehensive view of each show. The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals will be of use to scholars, historians, and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre history.

Author: Alec Robbins
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781945509803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
The beloved webcomic collected in its entirety for the first time in a beautiful deluxe edition! Author Alec Robbins is deeply in love with his wife, 1930s cartoon superstar Betty Boop. And wouldn't you know it, she loves him back! It's the perfect marriage, and nothing will ever go wrong. They'll be happy together forever and nothing will ever come between them--not other famous cartoon characters, not intellectual property law, and certainly not Alec's own towering insecurities. Basically, they're just both really happy together and everything's good and nice and that's the end of it. No more questions. Don't even bother reading this comic. Absurdist humor, a middle finger to corporate IP, and a sweetly romantic heart blend together into one of the most inventive comics of the Twitter age.

Author: James D. Taylor
Publisher: Algora Publishing
ISBN: 1628942428
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Betty Boop is an iconic figure that will endure through the decades. Recognizable from cartoons and film shorts, she can be found adorning almost everything from motorcycle merchandise to household items and clothing. Just about anything you can think of, her sexy little figure can be seen on it. But few people know the voice that helped make her into the icon she is.Mae Questel was an American actress and vocal artist who put the boop in the boop boop a doop. It was because of Mae Questel that Betty Boop has a characteristic voice heard and remembered by millions. Historian James D. Taylor provides a look into the life of a wonderful woman and the contributions she made to American pop culture. She was dedicated to her work and remained active until the last ten years of her long life.Woody Allen, Lou Hirsch, Doris Roberts and Bob Newhart shared their accounts of Mae Questel with the author, and he listened to hundreds of hours of old audio recordings and viewed many hours of film to accumulate material for this biography. With every hour, he says, his respect grew for this admirable and talented woman who entertained millions of people.

Author: Reid Mitenbuler
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 0802147054
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
“A thoroughly captivating behind-the-scenes history of classic American animation . . . A must-read for all fans of the medium.” —Matt Groening In 1911, famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted one of the first animated cartoons, based on his sophisticated newspaper strip “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” itself inspired by Freud’s recent research on dreams. McCay is largely forgotten today, but he unleashed an art form, and the creative energy of artists from Otto Messmer and Max Fleischer to Walt Disney and Warner Bros.’ Chuck Jones. Their origin stories, rivalries, and sheer genius, as Reid Mitenbuler skillfully relates, were as colorful and subversive as their creations—from Felix the Cat to Bugs Bunny to feature films such as Fantasia—which became an integral part and reflection of American culture over the next five decades. Pre-television, animated cartoons were aimed squarely at adults; comic preludes to movies, they were often “little hand grenades of social and political satire.” Early Betty Boop cartoons included nudity; Popeye stories contained sly references to the injustices of unchecked capitalism. During WWII, animation also played a significant role in propaganda. The Golden Age of animation ended with the advent of television, when cartoons were sanitized to appeal to children and help advertisers sell sugary breakfast cereals. Wild Minds is an ode to our colorful past and to the creative energy that later inspired The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman. “A quintessentially American story of daring ambition, personal reinvention and the eternal tug-of-war of between art and business . . . a gem for anyone wanting to understand animation’s origin story.” —NPR

Author: Ray Pointer
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147666367X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The history of animated cartoons has for decades been dominated by the accomplishments of Walt Disney, giving the impression that he invented the medium. In reality, it was the work of several pioneers. Max Fleischer--inventor of the Rotoscope technique of tracing animation frame by frame over live-action footage--was one of the most prominent. By the 1930s, Fleischer and Disney were the leading producers of animated films but took opposite approaches. Where Disney reflected a Midwestern sentimentality, Fleischer presented a sophisticated urban attitude with elements of German Expressionism and organic progression. In contrast to Disney's naturalistic animation, Fleischer's violated physical laws, supporting his maxim: "If it can be done in real life, it isn't animation." As a result, Fleischer's cartoons were rough rather than refined, commercial rather than consciously artistic--yet attained a distinctive artistry through Fleischer's innovations. This book covers his life and work and the history of the studio that bore his name, with previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

Author: Robert G. O'Meally
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231123507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
'Uptown Conversation' asserts that jazz is not only a music to define, it is a culture. The essays illustrate how for more than a century jazz has initiated a call and response across art forms, geographies, and cultures, inspiring musicians, filmmakers,painters and poets.

Author: Leslie Cabarga
Publisher: Da Capo Press, Incorporated
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave, were animation pioneers. Creators of Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, and the Bouncing Ball, they also brought Popeye the Sailor Man to the screen and produced the first feature-length animated cartoon—on the theory of relativity! Max invented the Rotoscope and for a while the brothers kept pace with Disney in performance and profit. But after 1942 the studio closed and their films vanished. What happened and how they developed are examined for the first time in this work—for many years out of print and a collector's item. It is here, updated and enlarged with hundreds of sketches and storyboard layouts where these classic cartoons can once again receive the attention and adulation they deserve.

Author: Richard Fleischer
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813172098
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Max Fleischer (1883–1972) was for years considered Walt Disney’s only real rival in the world of cartoon animation. The man behind the creation of such legendary characters as Betty Boop and the animation of Popeye the Sailor and Superman, Fleischer asserted himself as a major player in the development of Hollywood entertainment. Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution is a vivid portrait of the life and world of a man who shaped the look of cartoon animation. Also interested in technical innovation, Fleischer invented the rotoscope—a device that helped track live action and allowed his cartoons to revolutionize the way animated characters appeared and moved on-screen. In the 1920s, Fleischer created a series of “Out of the Inkwell” films, which led to a deal with Paramount. Their character KoKo the Clown introduced new animation effects by growing out of Fleischer’s pen on-screen. As the sound revolution hit film, the studio produced shorts featuring the characters interacting with songs and with the now-famous bouncing ball that dances across lyrics projected on the screen. Max Fleischer’s story is also one of a creative genius struggling to fit in with the changing culture of golden age cinema. Out of the Inkwell captures the twists and turns, the triumphs and disappointments, and most of all the breathless energy of a life vibrantly lived in the world of animation magic.

Author: Josephine Elizabeth Grey Butler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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