Given name: Eugene Gero Szakall; born in Hungary. Character actor on stage and in vaudeville. In films from 1916; in Hollywood films from around 1939. Though he was not a musical person, he probably played in more musicals than any musical star ever did! Another of my personal favorites. The "S. Z." comes from the first two letters of his last name (spelled properly), Szakall. It is said that everyone always spelled his name without the z so he was forever saying "S-Z Sakall!" which is how he came to be known as S. Z. Sakall.

Famous quotes: "Sheeesh!"; "Nya! Nya! Nya!"

Very cute singer / dancer / actress / comedienne of Puerto Rican descent born in Brooklyn, NY. Worked in nightclubs and some movies.

Given name: Augustus Schilling; born in New York, New York. Actor / comedian from stage and burlesque. In films from early 1940s, generally in support roles.

Popular, sophisticated pianist / organist / singer born in Trinidad. Had a nightclub act in Paris for many years. Appeared in a few films as a guest musician, usually with her own solo act. Also recording artist.

Given name: Emma Matzo; born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Discovered by producer Hal Wallis in 1945, Lizabeth appeared in 21 films between 1945 and 1957. Most of her work was at Paramount. She was known primarily for her work in film noir, though she did appear in other genres on occasion.

Given name: Harry Warnow, born in Brooklyn. Jazz pianist, composer, band leader. Famous for his experimental music, inventing all kinds of electronic contraptions long before they were popular, just for the sake of making strange sounds and effects. Much of his music ended up being used in cartoon scores.

Character actress who made a life-long career playing bit parts in scores of films. Sometimes she had a line or two, or even a short scene, but usually she was just a face in a crowd at a party. She was good at playing the busy-body gossip type. And she was always a standout. In at least two films, Dixie Jamboree and The Heat's On, she had substantial roles. There may have been others.

Given name: Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; born in New York, NY; grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. Orchestra leader, clarinet player; married six times including Lana Turner, Ava Gardner and Evelyn Keyes. Played with various bands from 1925 to 1931, then worked as a studio musician. Formed his first orchestra around 1936. Between that time and about 1950, he formed four more orchestras. Retired from music in the mid-1950s.

See also Composers: Artie Shaw

Given name: Alfred Schoenberg; born in Germany, Vaudvillian remembered for his Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean act with his vaudeville partner Ed Gallagher, reprised in Ziegfeld Girl with Charles Winninger, 1941.

Given name: Clara Lou Sheridan; born in Denton, Texas. Often referred to as the "Oomph Girl." Beauty contest winner turned actress. Bit parts at Paramount in the mid-1930s left her frustrated, and she moved to Warner Bros. There she started in "B" films and worked her way up to lead roles in "A" films. She became very popular in the 1940s.

Very popular singer / TV personality. Given name: Frances Rose Shore; born in Winchester, Tennessee. Known as Fanny Rose as a child. Began singing on local radio while a teenager. Later she went to New York and worked with Xavier Cugat. She then went solo and became very popular by the late 1940s with "Blues in the Night," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "I'll Walk Alone." She continued recording in the 1950s and had her own television show. One of the most popular pop singers of all time!

Given name: Philip Silversmith; born in Brooklyn, New York. Very popular actor / comedian. Began in vaudeville and burlesque. Contracted to MGM around 1940. Moved into television in the late 1940s.

Born in Texas, raised in California. Actress / big band singer, usually with Kay Kyser. Began singing at local nightclubs while in college and was "discovered" by Kay Kyser. She joined Kyser and sang with his orchestra and on his radio show into the early 1940s. She had her own radio show during the war years, and was contracted to MGM. Musical tastes changed after the war, and Ginny's music went out of fashion. She retired from movies and music in the early 1950s.

Given name: Francis Albert Sinatra; born in Hoboken, New Jersey. Not only was Sinatra a legendary singer, but he was also a legendary actor. He began his singing career in "dreary dives of Hoboken," but soon hooked up with Harry James and later with Tommy Dorsey. By the early 1940s, he was working in Hollywood and making young ladies swoon and scream. Frank started his film career at RKO, but moved over to MGM in the mid-1940s. Most of his vehicles were musicals at that time, but by the 1950s, he was featured in comedies, dramas and westerns. And more musicals. He continued in recording, movies and television through the late 1970s.

Vocal group performing as recording artists, radio artsts and background vocals for films. Pauline Byrne is the "miss."

Given name: Richard Skelton; born in Vincennes, Indiana. Legendary actor / comedian in movies, on television and in nightclubs. Started his career when still a child - working circuses, vaudeville and burlesque. By 1938, RKO picked him up for Ginger Rogers' new movie Having Wonderful Time, which he basically walked away with. MGM signed him in 1940 and cast him in a series of musicals and comedies. By the early 1950s, however, his television career was taking off and his movie career was fizzling out. He appeared in a few films in the 1950s and 1960s, but was primarily in television and nightclub work after 1953.

Given name: Fredrick Charles Slack; born in Wisconsin. Drummer / pianist / orchestra leader. Played with many bands throughout the 1930s, formed his own orchestra in the early 1940s. Had two well-known hits: "Cow Cow Boogie" and "Strange Cargo." Appeared in some movies.

Novely music duo (formed in 1936 and disbanded in 1943) consisting of guitarist / singer Slim Gaillard (1916 - 1991) and bassist Slam Stewart (1914 - 1987). Best remembered for their biggest (and first) hit "Flat Foot Floogie."

Given name: Gladys Smith. Actress.

Given name: Charles Aubrey Smith; born in London, England. Stage and film actor. Began acting on stage in the 1890s; moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. Became one of Hollywood's quintessential old-world Britsh aristocrats on screen. Still working in films when he died in 1948.

Bit actor in many "A" films and second lead in some "B" films for about twenty years.