William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood star James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.
George Thomas Regas was a Greek American actor.
Waikiki Wedding is a 1937 American musical film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, and Shirley Ross. Crosby plays the part of Tony Marvin, a PR man charged with extolling the virtues of the Territory of Hawaii. The female lead, played by Shirley Ross is a local beauty queen who makes unhelpful comments about the islands. Bob Burns, along with Martha Raye, are the "comic relief". Amongst the supporting cast was a young Anthony Quinn. It was made by Paramount Pictures as a rival to the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films then being made by RKO Pictures.
Harry Lewis Woods was an American film actor.
Evalyn Knapp was an American film actress of the late 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s. She was a leading B-movie serial actress in the 1930s. She was the younger sister of the orchestra leader Orville Knapp.
Rawhide is a 1938 American Western film starring Lou Gehrig and made by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. The movie was directed by Ray Taylor and produced by Sol Lesser from a screenplay by Jack Natteford and Daniel Jarrett. The cinematography was by Allen Q. Thompson. This is the only Hollywood movie in which baseball great Lou Gehrig made a screen appearance, playing himself as a vacationing ballplayer visiting his sister Peggy on a ranch in the fictional town of Rawhide, Montana. The film remains available on DVD and VHS formats.
"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose referencing Avalon, California. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals Sinbad and Bombo. Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a performer allowed him to claim composer co-credit. Originally, only Rose and Jolson were credited, and DeSylva's name was added later.
Sinners' Holiday is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking crime drama film starring Grant Withers and Evalyn Knapp, and featuring James Cagney, Lucille La Verne, and Joan Blondell. It is based on the 1930 play Penny Arcade by Marie Baumer. Both Cagney and Blondell reprised the roles they played in the original Broadway production.
Ladies Crave Excitement is a 1935 American action–comedy drama film released by Mascot Pictures, directed by Nick Grinde and starring Norman Foster, Evalyn Knapp and Esther Ralston.
Racing Lady is a 1937 American drama film produced by RKO Radio Pictures, which premiered in New York City on January 12, 1937, and was released nationally on January 29. Directed by Wallace Fox, the screenplay was written by Dorothy Yost, Thomas Lennon, and Cortland Fitzsimmons, based on a story by Damon Runyon, which had been further expanded by J. Robert Bren and Norman Houston.
The Vanishing Frontier is a 1932 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Stuart Anthony, and starring Johnny Mack Brown, Evalyn Knapp, ZaSu Pitts, Raymond Hatton, Ben Alexander, J. Farrell MacDonald and Wallace MacDonald. It was released on July 29, 1932, by Paramount Pictures.
Panamint's Bad Man is a 1938 American Western film directed by Ray Taylor and written by Luci Ward and Charles Arthur Powell. The film stars Smith Ballew, Evelyn Daw, Noah Beery, Sr., Stanley Fields, Harry Woods and Pat J. O'Brien. The film was released on July 8, 1938, by 20th Century Fox.
When a Man's a Man is a 1935 American Western film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Frank Mitchell Dazey and Agnes Christine Johnston. The film stars George O'Brien, Dorothy Wilson, Paul Kelly, Harry Woods, Jimmy Butler and Richard Carlyle. The film was released on February 15, 1935, by Fox Film Corporation.
Laughing Irish Eyes is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Olive Cooper, Ben Ryan and Stanley Rauh. The film stars Phil Regan, Walter C. Kelly, Evalyn Knapp, Ray Walker, Mary Gordon and Warren Hymer. The film was released on March 4, 1936, by Republic Pictures.
Confidential is a 1935 American crime film directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Wellyn Totman and Olive Cooper. The film stars Donald Cook, Evalyn Knapp, Theodore von Eltz, Warren Hymer, J. Carrol Naish and Herbert Rawlinson. The film was released on October 16, 1935, by Mascot Pictures.
Destination Unknown is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Tay Garnett and written by Tom Buckingham. The film stars Pat O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale, Sr., Russell Hopton, Tom Brown and Betty Compson. The film was released on April 1, 1933, by Universal Pictures.
Dance Girl Dance is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Frank Strayer from an original screenplay by Robert Ellis. The picture stars Alan Dinehart, Evalyn Knapp, and Edward Nugent, and premiered on September 1, 1933.
Song of the Buckaroo is a 1938 American Western film directed by Albert Herman and written by John Rathmell. The film stars Tex Ritter, Jinx Falkenburg, Mary Ruth, Tom London, Frank LaRue and Charles King. The film was released on December 7, 1938, by Monogram Pictures.
Hollywood Showcase is the title of two American old-time radio talent shows, both of which were broadcast on CBS in the 1930s and 1940s. During some intervals, the program was carried only on CBS's west-coast stations.
