While undergoing routine surgery to remove a benign tumor, Ruby Elzy died. She was only thirty-five. Had she lived, she would have been one of the first Black artists to appear in grand opera.Although now in the shadows, she was a shining star in her day. She entertained Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. She was Paul Robeson's leading lady in the movie version of The Emperor Jones. She starred in Birth of the Blues opposite Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. She san...

God speaks to his children in stories and parables. The Old Testament is an epic saga of God’s chosen people, and in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ teaches the people using everyday stories that are relatable and insightful.The Holy Ghost Stories continues this tradition and shares a collection of stories and parables about growth in God and humankind’s need for a relationship with God. Author David E. Weaver narrates these God-given stories, which contain both fictional ...

While undergoing routine surgery to remove a benign tumor, Ruby Elzy died. She was only thirty-five. Had she lived, she would have been one of the first black artists to appear in grand opera.Although now in the shadows, she was a shining star in her day. She entertained Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. She was Paul Robeson's leading lady in the movie version of The Emperor Jones. She co-starred in Birth of the Blues opposite Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. She ...

In Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, Donald Bogle tells–for the first time–the story of a place both mythic and real: Black Hollywood. Spanning sixty years, this deliciously entertaining history uncovers the audacious manner in which many blacks made a place for themselves in an industry that originally had no place for them.Through interviews and the personal recollections of Hollywood luminaries, Bogle pieces together a remarkable history that remains largely obscure to this day. W...

Here is the vibrant, colorful, high-stepping story of tap--the first comprehensive, fully documented history of a uniquely American art form, exploring all aspects of the intricate musical and social exchange that evolved from Afro-Irish percussive step dances like the jig, gioube, buck-and-wing, and juba to the work of such contemporary tap luminaries as Gregory Hines, Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker, and Savion Glover. In Tap Dancing America, Constance Valis Hill, herself an accomplished ...

Blonde, vivacious Jean Arthur is best remembered today for her unizue, childlike voice and for the handful of classic Thirties and Forties movies she made for directors Frank Capra and George Stevens, such as You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The More the Merrier and her last picture Shane, released in 1953. But not many know that her 30-year film career dates from the early Twenties, when she was an inexperienced contract player at Fox. In fact, Arthur appeared in ...

In Michael Tisserand's biography Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, the creator of history's greatest comic strip finally gets his due.A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKWINNER OF THE EISNER AWARDFINALIST FOR THE NBCC AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY AND THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHYKrazy is an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about Georg...

Clad in white tie and tails, dancing and scatting his way through the "Hi-de-ho" chorus of "Minnie the Moocher," Cab Calloway exuded a sly charm and sophistication that endeared him to legions of fans. In Hi-de-ho, author Alyn Shipton offers the first full-length biography of Cab Calloway, whose vocal theatrics and flamboyant stage presence made him one of the highest-earning African American bandleaders. Shipton sheds new light on Calloway's life and career, explaining how he traversed ra...

Around 500 movies from the silent and early talkie era are now available on DVD. Of course this figure includes shorts as well as features, plus 40 or 50 films that are available in multiple versions. This handbook reviews 178 movies, dating from 1918 through 1934, that are now available to purchase in DVD format from reputable suppliers. Almost all these 178 films are full-length features that showcase stars like Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Louise Brooks, Char...

This "remarkable" biography of the pioneering jazz composer offers "a truly fresh, clear-eyed view of the musician's career" ( Houston Chronicle).Jelly's Blues vividly recounts the tumultuous life of Jelly Roll Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph Lamonthe in 1890 to a large extended family in New Orleans. A virtuoso pianist with a larger-than-life personality, he composed such influential early jazz pieces as "Kansas City Stomp" and "New Orleans Blues."...

Paul Bern, known throughout the movie business as "Hollywood's Father Confessor," earned a reputation for being a loyal and supportive friend and for becoming one of MGM's most respected and creative directors. After his death, though, he was said to have grown so depressed and despondent over his own apparent sexual inadequacies that he committed suicide, and he would be denounced for attempting to rape his new bride Jean Harlow.In this biography, the author uncovers startling new...

The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville provides a unique record of what was once America's preeminent form of popular entertainment from the late 1800s through the early 1930s. It includes entries not only on the entertainers themselves, but also on those who worked behind the scenes, the theatres, genres, and historical terms. Entries on individual vaudevillians include biographical information, samplings of routines and, often, commentary by the performers. Many former vaudevillians wer...