Hollywood Songsters Garland To O Connor

For fans of musicals, singing, Hollywood history, and the lives of stars, no other work equals this new three-volume reference to the on- and off-camera careers of more than 100 performers who made major contributions to the American screen musical. From June Allyson to Mae West, Hollwood Songsters provides a detailed narrative-ranging from 2,000 to 5000 words each-of the lives and careers of stars forever etched in our memories. Each entry includes a filmography, discography (of both albums and CDs), Broadway appearances, radio work, television appearances and series, and a full-page photo of the subject. This is the ideal reference work for everyone one from the mildly curious to the devoted fan.

Histories of women in Hollywood usually recount the contributions of female directors, screenwriters, designers, actresses, and other creative personnel whose names loom large in the credits. Yet, from its inception, the American film industry relied on the labor of thousands more women, workers whose vital contributions often went unrecognized. Never Done introduces generations of women who worked behind the scenes in the film industry—from the employees’ wives who hand-colored the Edison Company’s films frame-by-frame, to the female immigrants who toiled in MGM’s backrooms to produce beautifully beaded and embroidered costumes. Challenging the dismissive characterization of these women as merely menial workers, media historian Erin Hill shows how their labor was essential to the industry and required considerable technical and interpersonal skills. Sketching a history of how Hollywood came to define certain occupations as lower-paid “women’s work,” or “feminized labor,” Hill also reveals how enterprising women eventually gained a foothold in more prestigious divisions like casting and publicity. Poring through rare archives and integrating the firsthand accounts of women employed in the film industry, the book gives a voice to women whose work was indispensable yet largely invisible. As it traces this long history of women in Hollywood, Never Done reveals the persistence of sexist assumptions that, even today, leave women in the media industry underpraised and underpaid. For more information: http://erinhill.squarespace.com

Ann Miller (1923-2004) was an American actress, dancer, singer and author. Best known as a tap dancer, Miller practiced all forms of dance, and some of her solo routines are considered as good as any recorded in film musical history. Despite a reputation as a kook who believed she was psychic, and the potentially flat image of a "glamour girl," Miller's wit, charm and genuine ability to act gave her and her characters depth. This biography presents Ann Miller's career in the context of her fascinating life. Her career began with child acting and included three Hollywood studio contracts, two retirements for marriage, and appearances in film, stage, variety shows, sitcoms and more. She made a comeback in the stage musical Sugar Babies, earning a Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Award nomination. She was even appointed an international spokesperson for MGM in the ailing years of the studio.

"Waters transformed such songs as "Dinah," "Am I Blue?," "Stormy Weather," and Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave" into classics and inspired the next generation of black female vocalists. She gave sophistication and class to the blues and American popular song, influencing countless singers, including Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Tough, uncompromising, courageous, and ambitious, Waters became one of the first African American women to be given equal billing with white stars on Broadway. In 1943, the film version of her Broadway success Cabin in the Sky established her as Hollywood's first black leading lady. In such plays as Mamba's Daughters and films as The Member of the Wedding, she shattered the myth that black women could perform only as singers. For her work in Pinky, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the second African American to be so honored.".

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.