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Leo F. Forbstein was an American film music director and orchestra conductor. He was originally from St. Louis, Missouri and worked with orchestras throughout the state including that of the Newman Theater in Kansas City where he was the principal conductor. He later signed with Warner Bros. as one of the directors of...

American silent film actor Wallace Reid was referred to as “the screen’s most perfect lover.” Reid born in St. Louis, Missouri, had theatrical roots stemming from both sides of his parentage. Reid’s mother, Bertha Westbrook, was a stage actress, and his father, James Halleck Reid, was a playwright and actor. Reid’s...

Clifton Webb's mother, with whom he lived until her death at age 91, transferred her own theatrical ambitions to the son she called "little Webb." He performed in Vaudeville and on Broadway, primarily in musicals, before director Otto Preminger took notice and brought him to Hollywood to appear in the 1944 film noir "L...

George Augustus Andrews was born in London. Known professionally as George Arliss, he began his stage career at the age of 18 and then came to the United States in his mid-30s where he appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films. He successfully made the conversion from theater to silent film and then from sile...

Beverly Bayne walked into Chicago’s Essanay Studios when she was 16 years old and immediately turned heads with her big brown eyes and soft, dark hair. She became a pioneering silent film star of the 1910s, forming a popular romantic duo with matinee idol Francis X. Bushman – most notably in 1916’s Romeo and Juliet....

Born Muriel Harding in England, Olga Petrova adopted her more exotic stage name as she became a successful actress in musicals and the London and New York Vaudeville scenes. Her American film career, which began with "The Tigress" in 1914, spanned more than two dozen silent pictures from 1914-1918. Petrova expressed di...

Before they endeared themselves to film audiences in "The Wizard of Oz," the Singer Midgets were stars on Broadway. Organized and managed by Viennese-born Leo Singer, all were from Austria or Hungary. The troupe averaged about 20 members, although many more were added along with a number of young girls aged 7-9 for the...

The number of girls named Marilyn rose exponentially in the 1920s and early 30s in homage to Marilyn Miller, one of the era's most popular Broadway stars. An actress, dancer and singer, she was the daughter of Vaudeville-performing parents who incorporated her into their family act when she was 5 years old. Miller join...

Born in New Orleans and the son of a producer and stage manager, Robert Edeson spent nearly 30 years on Broadway and became one of the first stage performers to embrace film and move to Hollywood. The beloved character actor first appeared in a series of silent shorts in 1912 and 1913 and went on to forge an associatio...

Eddie Cantor, born Edward Israel Iskowitz, became a show business legend who excelled on stage, in radio, film, television, and in the nightclubs. He also made records and wrote books. Cantor's big expressionistic eyes, unique dialogue delivery, and energetic singing made him a hit in a series of lavish, escapist movie...