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1-4 of 4
- Alfonso Torres was born on 27 March 1907 in Havana, Cuba. He was an actor, known for Con el dedo en el gatillo (1958), La sombra del Caudillo (1960) and ¡Cielito lindo! (1957). He was married to Isabel Costa. He died on 7 October 1968 in Mexico, D.F., Mexico.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Arranger, composer ("Young at Heart"), multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Johnny Richards was a child prodigy, adept at playing trumpet, violin and banjo by the age of ten and performing in vaudeville. He later added saxophone to his repertoire and learned the art of arranging at Syracuse University. In 1931, he went to England and then to Hollywood to write film music, at which time he enjoyed a stint under maestro Victor Young at Paramount. Having established something of a reputation as a progressive arranger, Richards formed his own orchestra in the early 1940's. He claimed to have written 408 of the 500 scores of the band's library, but many of these were so complex that he found few musicians willing to take them on. After little commercial success, he disbanded in 1947 and went back to arranging, initially writing romantic ballads for Boyd Raeburn's big band ("Prelude to the Dawn", "Man With The Horn"). Following that, he arranged and conducted the album "Dizzy Gillespie With Strings" in 1950 and went on to further (more modernist) arranging work for Stan Kenton (notably on his 1957 "Cuban Fire!" album), Charlie Barnet and Sarah Vaughan. His most significant contribution to films is undoubtedly the theme for Young at Heart (1954) (with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh), which became a signature piece for Frank Sinatra.- Gina Amendola was born on 1 September 1896 in Grottaminarda, Italy. She was an actress, known for Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), Il marito bello: Il nemico di mia moglie (1959) and Le due sorelle (1950). She died on 7 October 1968 in Rome, Italy.
- Flora Zabelle (nee Mangasarian) was a Broadway actress and one of the first stars of American silent film.
Born Flora Mangasarian, she took the stage name Flora Zabelle. Her family had fled Constantinople (now Istanbul) as a result of the Armenian Genocide massacres in the Ottoman Empire. She attended Wellesley College and decided upon an acting career. After establishing herself on Broadway as a stage performer, she married famed actor Raymond Hitchcock. They appeared in several silent films together and although some of the movies remain, others have been lost.
Zabelle had several bizarre and unfortunate experiences in her personal life. Upon being accused of some crimes (which were later proved to have been fabricated), her husband disappeared for several days, Zabelle believing that he was kidnapped and possibly killed. In another case, her father returned to Constantinople on a supposedly secret mission and was arrested by Turkish authorities. As a result, she led a fund-raising campaign in the United States to help secure his freedom.
Following her husband's death, Zabelle became progressively reclusive until she eventually stopped acting altogether.
Interesting fact
At the height of her fame, Zabelle's likeness was used on collectible cards to promote Fatima cigarettes.