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- Reedy, balding, often bespectacled American character actor with pencil-thin moustache, once described as the man with TV's 'most deceptive face'. He looked like - and was - a certified public accountant, graduate from Northeastern University. A struggling actor in his youth, he worked in stock, tent shows and on radio. After army service in World War II, he became a prolific performer in early anthology series on television (eg. Kraft Theatre (1947) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)), though he continued to alternate these with appearances on the New York stage. He was also glimpsed in movies, invariably in small supporting roles, most notably as Deacon Davis in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and as George Lowery, boss to doomed Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960).
Vaughn reserved his best for the small screen, where he showed his versatility in genial or waspish roles, often as doctors, judges and bankers. He was capable of portraying benevolence as easily as taking on the mantle of greedy or corrupt attorneys, or second-string grifters. He also played George 'Pa' Barker, in an episode of The Untouchables (1959)). Among his numerous TV credits, his five journeys into The Twilight Zone (1959) stand out in particular.
Severe spinal deterioration brought about Vaughn's retirement from acting in 1976. His wife of many years, Ruth Moss, a fellow graduate of the Leland Powers School, was a noted Boston radio personality and Broadway actress. - Vivacious, sunny, blue-eyed Shirley Deane first trained as a dancer from the age of seven and learned to play the piano. She began her professional career on stage in San Francisco and arrived in Hollywood via winning a dancing beauty contest. Signed by 20th Century Fox primarily on the strength of her singing voice, she spent several years training in 'stock school' and assigned mainly extra work. Graduating to featured roles, her first significant speaking part was in Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936), appearing as a platinum blonde. She was then picked from fourteen other hopefuls for a lead in a comedy-drama about newly-weds, The First Baby (1936). This, in turn, led to her becoming a fixture in the series of low-budget, family-oriented Jones Family films, a modest rival to MGM's popular Hardy family. Jed Prouty and Spring Byington headed the small-town clan, Shirley often second-billed as Bonnie, the eldest daughter. With the end of the series came the end of her contract with Fox. Her final lead was in a minor crime drama, Undercover Agent (1939). After that, she appeared in the supporting cast, as Princess Aura, in Buster Crabbe's cult Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). Ironically, though Shirley's voice appears to have been a major asset, it was used in the movies just once, warbling a number in a minor Gene Autry western, Prairie Moon (1938).
With her movie career on the wane after a mere four years of moderate success, Shirley turned towards radio, appearing on Kraft Music Hall and Lux Radio Theatre. For most of the 1940's, she performed on stage on the East Coast, guested as occasional vocalist with swing bands and sang at USO canteens. Her contribution to the war effort also consisted of putting together musical reviews and selling war bonds and stamps in theatre lobbies between shows. However, after 1952, Shirley essentially forsook her show business career and devoted herself to raising a family. She died in April 1983 of cancer in Glendale, California, at the age of seventy. - Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Born: February 5, 1902 in Warsaw, Poland Died: April 25, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA Kaper displayed musical talent as early as the age of seven when his family acquired a piano. His inclination to music led him to study both piano and composition, while also taking courses in law to satisfy his father. At twenty-one he graduated from The Chopin Music School. To continue his musical education he went to Berlin. In order to support himself during this period he began writing songs for a cabaret. Later he worked as an arranger and a composer for both stage and film productions. In 1933, as the Nazis rose to power in Germany, Kaper moved to Paris and worked in the French film industry. This phase of his career lasted only two years, for in 1935 MGM executive Louis B. Mayer was on vacation in Europe and happened to hear one of Kaper's songs. Mayer offered the composer a contract, and Kaper soon found himself working in Hollywood. One of his first efforts for MGM was the title tune for the film San Francisco (1936), a song which was so appealing to the American public that it became a standard. During his early years at MGM, the studio kept Kaper busy as a songwriter. But the composer looked for opportunities to write complete background scores. In the forties he did provide music for dramatic films such as Gaslight (1944), Green Dolphin Street (1947) and Act of Violence (1949). This last film, a disturbing thriller directed by Fred Zinneman, shows how sophisticated and daring Kaper's music could be. Drawing on his knowledge of modern composition, he was surprisingly successful at incorporating dissonant, abstract sounds into his film scores considering the conservative tastes that prevailed in Hollywood. But it is important to note that the composer always depended on others to orchestrate his work. Kaper wrote his scores at the piano. Then he would give what he'd written to an orchestrator and they would discuss how to expand on the piano reduction. In the fifties Kaper was given more opportunities to show his range. He created edgy, modern scores for films like Them! (1954) and rich, romantic scores for films like The Brothers Karamazov (1958), while still turning out catchy melodies for musicals like Lili (1953). By the end of the decade, though, it was clear that the Hollywood studios were in decline and that the days of in-house music departments were over. When the ax fell at MGM, Kaper went on working as a freelance film composer. One of his last major film assignments was Lord Jim (1965), an adaptation of the Conrad novel. To complement the epic scope of the film, Kaper used not only a large symphony orchestra but also many instruments indigenous to the story's Asian setting. Like most Hollywood composers of the studio era, Kaper found himself working on fewer movies during the sixties. His last credit on a theatrical release was A Flea in Her Ear (1968). Though he was later hired to work on The Salzburg Connection (1972), his score was discarded. Kaper died at his home in Los Angeles in 1983. by Casey Maddren Bibliography The Film Music of Bronislaw Kaper, notes by Tony Thomas, Delos Records, 1975 Variety, obituary, May 4, 1983 Interview with Pete Rugolo conducted by the author, 1998- Rocky Gunn was born on 31 July 1940 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Return of Charlie Chan (1972). He died on 26 April 1983 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Composer, author, pianist and teacher, educated in African, English, and German schools. He was a pianist in music stores and film theatres, and founded piano schools in Africa, He was piano soloist with the Cape Town Symphony, and toured Africa and the USA with his own show "Comedy in Concert". Coming to Hollywood in 1938, he taught music and performed in concerts and on college campuses, on radio and television and in night clubs, and wrote music for films.
- Reg Quartly was born on 19 March 1912 in Hackney, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Cheaters (1930), Trooper O'Brien (1928) and Alabama Jubilee (1960). He died on 26 April 1983 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- J.G. Smyth was born on 25 October 1893 in Teignmouth, England, UK. He died on 26 April 1983 in Marylebone, London, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
Walter Pritchard was born on 11 February 1888 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a cinematographer, known for The Drifter (1916), Home-Keeping Hearts (1921) and His Temporary Wife (1920). He died on 26 April 1983 in Sterling, Wayne, Ohio, USA.- Caspar Bröcheler was born on 7 October 1911 in Vaals, Netherland. He was an actor, known for Die Banditen (1962), Der Trunkenbold in der Hölle (1954) and Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (1963). He died on 26 April 1983 in Bremen, Germany.
- Director
- Writer
Walter Konrad was born in 1921 in Saargebiet. Walter was a director and writer, known for Menschen der Gräser (1963). Walter died on 26 April 1983 in Hildesheim, Niedersachsen, Germany.