Martha Raye

After graduating from West Point in 1892, Charles Pelot Summerall (1867Ð1955) launched a distinguished military career, fighting Filipino insurgents in 1899 and Boxers in China in 1900. His remarkable service included brigade, division, and corps commands in World War I; duty as chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1926 to 1930; and presidency of the Citadel for twenty years, where he was instrumental in establishing the schoolÕs national reputation. Previously available only in the CitadelÕs archives, SummerallÕs memoir offers an eyewitness account of a formative period in U.S. Army history. Edited and annotated by Timothy K. Nenninger, the memoir documents critical moments in American military history and details SummerallÕs personal life, from his impoverished childhood in Florida to his retirement from the Citadel in 1953. From the perspective of both a soldier and a general, Summerall describes how the very nature of war changed irrevocably during his lifetime.

On stage from her childhood, Martha Raye (1916-1994) proudly embraced the role of the clown, her gift for slapstick comedy enhanced by a fine singing voice. She became a star with her first feature film, Rhythm on the Range (1936), as the zany, loudmouthed girl looking for love--or chasing it as it ran away. She won popular and critical acclaim with The Martha Raye Show (1954-1956) before it was abruptly cancelled, partly because of her chaotic personal life. Drawing on new interviews with her colleagues, this retrospective covers the life and career of an enduringly funny lady who influenced a generation of women comedians. Her reign as a top NBC star of the 1950s is covered, along with her appearances on popular variety shows, her roles in fondly remembered series like The Bugaloos, McMillan and Alice, and her film career that teamed her with the likes of Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin and Doris Day.

"This is the first paperback edition of the only biography of Louis Prima, one of the most underrated jazz musicians and entertainers of the twentieth century. In a career that spanned four decades, Prima infused the grit and grace of Dixieland jazz with swing and big band sounds, the first whiffs of rock 'n' roll, and a vaudevillian-like stage presence. A native of New Orleans, the Guy Lombardo protg known as ""The Italian Satchmo"" was the country's smashing new jazz sensation at New York's Famous Door in the 1930s. He went on to be a successful big band leader and a Vegas nightclub staple, and he virtually created the concept of the lounge act. Despite his longstanding success, Prima's over-the-top on-stage antics induced critics to not take him seriously and he was relegated to the status of mere ""entertainer.""Married five times and involved with numerous women in between, Prima has more often been remembered for his colorful relationships and quirky personality than for his abilities as a trumpeter and singer. After his death in 1978, his music gradually disappeared and jazz scholars rarely mentioned his name.Nudging Prima's legacy into the limelight the musician deserved, Garry Boulard nimbly explores Prima's ability to maintain a lifelong career, his knack for self-promotion, and how the cities in which he lived and performed--New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas--uniquely and indelibly informed his style. In a new preface, the author considers how the resurgence of big band and swing music in the late 1990s catapulted Prima and his music back into the public eye."

A collection of previously published works on performance and stardom, examining the relationship between genre and performance, the position of the star within ideology, the construction of a semiotics of performance and stardom, the function of the actor within experimental or independent cinema, and the distinction between performance and everyday behavior. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Can comedy on television harbour elements of gender transgression or subversion? If a man is permitted to be 'funny peculiar' – playing the underdog or misfit – does a woman seem stranger in his place? Mapping examples from British and American comedy television over the past 60 years, from I Love Lucy to The Big Bang Theory and Smack the Pony to Waiting For God, this book asks: are particular forms of television comedy gendered in specific ways? Paying attention to series which have not been addressed in academic work, as well as more established shows, White offers fresh insights for the fields of television studies, gender and women's studies, cultural history and comedy.

The unique story of Martha Raye and her military experience.

Committee Serial No. 22. pt.1/v.1: Includes CAB report "Transcontinental Coach-Type Service Case," Nov. 7, 1951 (p. 421-515). pt.1/v. 2: Includes S. Rpt. 82-540 "Report on Role of Irregular Airlines in U.S. Air Transportation Industry," July 10, 1951 (p. 851-941). pt.2/v.1: Includes FCC Order No. 37, docket No. 5060 "Report on Chain Broadcasting," May, 1941 (p. 3533-3690) and FCC "Sixth Report and Order," Apr. 14, 1925 (p. 3785-3956). pt. 2/v. 2: Includes discussion of television industry impact on songwriter royalties. Hearings were held in NYC. pt. 2/v.3: Includes Columbia Broadcasting System report "Network Practices," June 1956 (p. 5099-5245); and Cravath, Swaine, and Moore report "Opinion of Counsel and Memorandum Concerning the Applicability of the Antitrust Laws to the Television Broadcast Activities of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.," June 4, 1956 (p. 5313-5406); and Columbia Broadcasting System report "Analysis of Senator John W. Bricker's Report Entitled "The Network Monopoly,"' June 1956 (p. 5407-5486).