The Eton Boys

Last updated

The Eton Boys, or The Four Eton Boys, [1] were an American all-male musical quartet from the St. Louis, Missouri area, [2] whose members were Earl Smith, tenor; Art Gentry, 2nd tenor; Charles Day, baritone; and Jack Day, bass. [3] In the 1930s they headlined Broadway with their act, [4] frequently appeared in short musical films such as Broadway Brevities and the animated Screen Songs, and often appeared on radio via the Columbia Network.

Contents

History

They went to schools in the St. Louis area, and the original two performed first as acrobats in a vaudeville act. [1] [5] [4] Art Gentry, was once the youngest regular radio announcer and he worked for KMOX, [5] [6] and he is the grandfather of television personality Matt Lauer. [7]

The Eton Boys were featured in Screen Songs film series during the 1930s, appearing in short films (including as the musical accompaniment to animated films). They appeared on popular radio shows, and were heard in the Columbia Varieties program. [8] In 1941 they recorded on Victor Records. [9] Castle Films released an album of their soundies. [10]

Their short musical film A Bicycle Built for Two screened at the Moore College of Art and Design in May 2009. [11]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1933 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1933 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Ames</span> American actor

Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing father figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) with Lucille Bremer, Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland as his daughters, Little Women (1949), On Moonlight Bay (1951) and By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). His best-known dramatic role may have been as DA Kyle Sackett in the crime film The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Ruggles</span> American actor (1886–1970)

Charles Sherman Ruggles was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the elder brother of director, producer, and silent film actor Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Etting</span> American singer and actress (1896–1978)

Ruth Etting was an American singer and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes were "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Byron</span> American comedian and actress (1911–1985)

Marion Byron was an American movie comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906)</span> American actor and singer (1906–1990)

Erik Rhodes was an American film and Broadway singer and actor. He is best remembered today for appearing in two classic Hollywood musical films with the popular dancing team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Froman</span> American actress (1907–1980)

Ellen Jane Froman was an American actress and singer. During her thirty-year career, she performed on stage, radio, and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bernie</span> American jazz violinist and radio personality

Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie, was an American jazz violinist, bandleader, and radio personality, often introduced as "The Old Maestro". He was noted for his showmanship and memorable bits of snappy dialogue, being part of the first generation of "stars" of American popular music, alongside other artists such as Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis and Al Jolson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Green</span> American songwriter

John Waldo Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul" from the revue Three's a Crowd. Green won four Academy Awards for his film scores and a fifth for producing a short musical film, and he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. He was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Clyde</span> American actress (1909–1987)

June Clyde was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as A Strange Adventure (1932) and A Study in Scarlet (1933).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niles Welch</span> American actor

Niles Eugene Welch was an American performer on Broadway, and a leading man in a number of silent and early talking motion pictures from the early 1910s through the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernice Claire</span> American singer and actress (1906–2003)

Bernice Claire was an American singer and actress. She appeared in 13 films between 1930 and 1938.

<i>Moonlight and Pretzels</i> 1933 film by Karl Freund

Moonlight and Pretzels is a 1933 American Pre-Code musical film, directed by Karl Freund, about a man who puts on a Broadway show. The film was released by Universal Studios and featured Mary Brian and William Frawley, now best-known as "Fred Mertz" on the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy; Freund was the groundbreaking cinematographer for I Love Lucy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verree Teasdale</span> American actress

Verree Teasdale was an American actress born in Spokane, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leila Bennett</span> American actress (1892–1965)

Leila Bennett was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles as either slapstick sidekicks, mousy maids, and scatterbrains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Miller (actor)</span> American actor, director and songwriter

Sidney L. Miller was an American actor, director and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Watson (actor)</span> American actor (1888–1965)

Bobby Watson was an American theater and film actor, playing a variety of character roles, including, after 1942, Adolf Hitler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Pryor (actor)</span> American actor (1901–1974)

Roger Pryor was an American film actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvia Froos</span> American actress and singer

Sylvia Froos, sometimes spelled as Sylvia Fross, was an American actress and singer who appeared on stage, radio, recordings, television, and film during the 1920s through the 1940s. She was a child star that was sometimes billed as Baby Sylvia and as the "Little Princess of Song" and in the UK as "America's Queen of Song". She was also referred to as "The Miniature Belle Baker", with her ability to mimic the vocal performances of celebrities being particularly noted by the media, and was additionally likened to Sophie Tucker and Marion Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Andjelkovitch</span> British violinist

Eileen Andjelkovitch, LRAM, born Eileen Constance Smith, was a British violinist, music educator, and musical director.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Four Eton Boys" (PDF). Radio Personalities 1935. p. 210. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Listening In". The Tampa Times . February 16, 1932. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Secrets from the Broadcasting Studios". Buffalo Evening News . January 21, 1933. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Today's Success Story". Orlando Evening Star . April 27, 1934. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Quartettes". The Courier-Journal . June 8, 1932. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Anyway, May Breen Likes It". The Brooklyn Citizen . February 16, 1932. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Hirsch, Stephanie (2008-03-25). Mother Nurture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest. HarperCollins. p. 159. ISBN   978-0-06-118920-3.
  8. ↑ "WABC - New York - 869 (Columbia Network)". Waterville Morning Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Eton Boys". Discography of American Historical Recording. U.C. Santa Barbara, Regents of the University of California.
  10. ↑ MacGillivray, Scott (February 14, 2004). Castle Films: A Hobbyist's Guide. iUniverse. ISBN   9780595324910 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 Rea, Steven (May 29, 2009). "Freewheeling series of bicycle shorts". inquirer.com.
  12. ↑ ""Broadway Babies" At the Strand". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Last of Dual Bills Opening Thursday". Buffalo Evening News . September 7, 1933. Retrieved 2023-04-21– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Moonlight and Pretzels". Variety . August 29, 1933. p. 14 – via Internet Archive.
  15. 1 2 Webb, Graham (July 13, 2020). Encyclopedia of American Short Films, 1926-1959. McFarland. pp. 220, 456, 588. ISBN   9781476681184 – via Google Books.
  16. ↑ "The Gem of the Ocean". prod-www.tcm.com.
  17. ↑ "Movie Machine Review". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 27, 1942. p. 73 – via Google Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.