Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-5 of 5
- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Born Peter Schmidt in New York City, Pete Smith got a job after graduating business college with The Player magazine and later with Billboard magazine. That led to his being hired as a publicist for Famous Players-Lasky and Artcraft Pictures, and he was later appointed publicity director at Paramount Pictures. Director Marshall Neilan hired Smith to be the publicist for his own production company, and Smith left New York for Hollywood. After Neilan's company closed, Smith freelanced for a short period before being hired by MGM in 1925 as the head of its publicity department, a position he held until 1930. The job that really brought him recognition, however, was his producing, writing and narrating a series of shorts known as "Pete Smith Specialties" for MGM. The one-reelers covered just about every subject imaginable, from the animal world to the latest technology to how to handle annoying patrons in movie theaters, all delivered with Smith's trademark wry, bemused narration. Many of the later shorts were written and directed by actor Dave O'Brien, using the name David Barclay. Sixteen entries in the series were nominated for Oscars, and two of them won. The series came to an end in 1954, though there were enough made to continue releasing into 1955.
Smith's later years were plagued by bad health, and he spent more and more time being hospitalized. In 1979, with his health deteriorating rapidly, he committed suicide by jumping out of the window of his ninth-floor hospital room. He was 86 years old.- Arvo Sakrelius was born on 23 December 1898 in Turku, Finland. He was a producer, known for Miehen vankina (1943), Minä jätän sinut (1944) and Pajasta palatsiin (1946). He died on 12 January 1979 in Turku, Finland.
- Johnny Dio was born on 29 April 1914 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Anne Chrostek. He died on 12 January 1979 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Ivy Troutman was born on 23 September 1883 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The House with Nobody in It (1915). She was married to Waldo Peirce (artist). She died on 12 January 1979 in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, USA.
- Sound Department
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 27, 1898 to English parents, Fred Casey immigrated to the U.S. in 1916 at the age of 18. He wound up in Chicago sometime before September of 1918, at which time he registered for the draft and was working as an "assistant physical director" at the Illionois Athletic Club on Michigan Avenue. By the time of the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, still in Chicago, Fred listed his occupation as "actor" in the "show business" industry and in later records he listed his occupation as "vaudeville actor." In 1922 Fred married Marie Harand and the couple moved to Los Angeles sometime between then and 1930. The 1930 Federal Census shows he was once again working at an athletic club, but by the 1940 Census, his declared profession was "sound technician" in "motion pictures." Fred Casey died on January 12, 1979 and is buried, together with his wife Marie (who died a little over a year after Fred) at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.