Ginger Rogers

Born: 1911-07-16

Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the twentieth century. During her long career, she made a total of 73 films and is noted for her role as Fred Astaire's partner in a series of ten musical films. She achieved great success in a variety of film roles and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle. After winning a 1925 Charleston dance contest that launched a successful vaudeville career, she gained recognition as a Broadway actress for her stage debut in Girl Crazy. This led to a contract with Paramount Pictures, which ended after five films. Rogers had her first successful film role as a supporting actress in 42nd Street. In the 1930s, Rogers' nine films with Fred Astaire gave RKO Pictures some of its biggest successes, most notably Top Hat and Swing Time. But after two commercial failures with Astaire, she branched out into dramatic and comedy films. Her acting was well received by critics and audiences, and she became one of the biggest box-office draws and highest paid actresses of the 1940s. Her performance in Kitty Foyle won her the Oscar for Best Actress. Rogers' popularity peaked by the end of the decade. She reunited with Astaire in 1949 in the commercially successful The Barkleys of Broadway. After an unsuccessful period in the 1950s, she returned to Broadway in 1965, playing the lead role in Hello, Dolly!. More Broadway roles followed, along with her stage directorial debut in 1985 of an off-Broadway production of Babes in Arms. She also made television acting appearances until 1987. In 1992, Rogers was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors. She died of a heart attack in 1995, at age 83. Rogers is associated with the phrase "backwards and in high heels", which is attributed to Bob Thaves' Frank and Ernest 1982 cartoon with the caption "Sure he [Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did...backwards and in high heels". This phrase is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Ann Richards, who used it in her keynote address to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. A Republican and a devout Christian Scientist, Rogers married five times with all of them ending in divorce, and having no children. During her long career, Rogers made 73 films, and her musical films with Astaire are credited with revolutionizing the genre. Rogers was a major movie star during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and is often considered an American icon. She ranks number 14 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of female stars of classic American cinema. Her autobiography Ginger: My Story was published in 1991.


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Top Hat

as Dale Tremont
Released: 1935-08-29

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his...

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Cinderella

as Queen
Released: 1965-02-22

After the success of the live 1957 Cinderella on CBS (with Julie Andrews), the network decided...

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Gold Diggers of 1933

as Fay Fortune
Released: 1933-05-27

During the Great Depression, all Broadway shows are closed down. A group of desperate unemployed...

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42nd Street

as Ann Lowell
Released: 1933-03-11

A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has...

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The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

as Irene Castle
Released: 1939-03-29

In 1911, minor stage comic, Vernon Castle meets the stage-struck Irene Foote. A few...

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And the Oscar Goes To...

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2014-02-01

The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND...

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The Purple Rose of Cairo

as Dale Tremont (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1985-03-01

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only...

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Follow the Fleet

as Sherry Martin
Released: 1936-02-20

When the US Navy fleet docks at San Francisco, sailor Bake Baker tries to rekindle the flame...

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Shall We Dance

as Linda Keene
Released: 1937-05-07

Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical...

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Swing Time

as Penny Carrol
Released: 1936-08-28

Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father...

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That's Entertainment!

as (archive footage)
Released: 1974-06-21

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50...

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Finishing School

as Pony
Released: 1934-05-04

Virginia, who studies at a boarding school for upper-class girls, falls in love with a medical...

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The Gay Divorcee

as Mimi Glossop
Released: 1934-10-12

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort....

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Monkey Business

as Edwina Fulton
Released: 1952-09-03

Research chemist Barnaby Fulton works on a fountain of youth pill for a chemical company. One of...

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Storm Warning

as Marsha Mitchell
Released: 1951-02-10

A fashion model witnesses the brutal assassination of an investigative journalist by the Ku Klux...

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In Person

as Carol Corliss
Released: 1935-11-22

Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in...

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Flying Down to Rio

as Honey Hale
Released: 1933-12-22

A dance band leader finds love and success in Brazil.

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Kitty Foyle

as Kitty Foyle
Released: 1940-12-27

A hard-working, white-collar girl falls in love with a young socialite, but meets with his...

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Night of 100 Stars II

as Self
Released: 1985-03-10

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited...

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Vivacious Lady

as Francey
Released: 1938-05-13

College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a...

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The Barkleys of Broadway

as Dinah Barkley
Released: 1949-05-04

Josh and Dinah Barkley are a successful musical-comedy team, known for their stormy but...

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That's Dancing!

as uncredited
Released: 1985-01-18

A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the...

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Romance in Manhattan

as Sylvia Dennis
Released: 1935-01-11

Karel Novak is an incredibly naive Czech immigrant who is taken under the wing of streetwise New...

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Carefree

as Amanda Cooper
Released: 1938-09-02

Dr. Tony Flagg's friend Steven has problems in the relationship with his fiancée Amanda, so he...

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Stage Door

as Jean Maitland
Released: 1937-10-08

The ups and downs in the lives and careers of a group of ambitious young actresses and show...

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The Major and the Minor

as Susan Applegate
Released: 1942-09-16

Returning to her hometown from New York, Susan Applegate learns that she hasn't enough for the...

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Black Widow

as Carlotta Marin
Released: 1954-10-28

A young stage hopeful is murdered and suspicion falls on her mentor, a Broadway producer.

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Tight Spot

as Sherry Conley
Released: 1955-03-19

A former model, serving time in prison, becomes a key witness in a trial against a notorious...

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James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1988-11-22

Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.

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We're Not Married!

as Ramona Gladwyn
Released: 1952-07-11

A Justice of the Peace performed weddings a few days before his license was valid. A few years...

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I'll Be Seeing You

as Mary Marshall
Released: 1944-12-31

Mary Marshall, serving a six year term for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas...

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Roberta

as Comtesse Scharwenka
Released: 1935-03-07

Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an...

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Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1988-05-16

Stars celebrate Bob Hope's 50 years with NBC.

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Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm

as Various / Self (archive footage)
Released: 2006-10-24

Featuring clips from all 10 films which Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers made together from 1933 to...

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That's Entertainment, Part II

as (archive footage)
Released: 1976-05-16

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...

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Heartbeat

as Arlette Lafron
Released: 1946-05-01

A female escapee from a reform school joins a pickpocket academy in Paris.

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Bachelor Mother

as Polly Parrish
Released: 1939-06-30

Polly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of...

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Once Upon a Honeymoon

as Katherine Butt-Smith
Released: 1942-11-27

A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.

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Tales of Manhattan

as Diane
Released: 1942-08-05

Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed...

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Roxie Hart

as Roxie Hart
Released: 1942-02-20

A café in Chicago, 1942. On a rainy night, veteran reporter Homer Howard tells an increasing...

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Complicated Women

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2003-05-06

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound...

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Show-Business at War

as Self
Released: 1943-05-21

A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.

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Magnificent Doll

as Dolly Madison
Released: 1946-12-08

While packing her belongings in preparation of evacuating the White House because of the...

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The Groom Wore Spurs

as AJ Furnival
Released: 1951-03-13

Pretty female attorney Abigail "AJ" Furnival is hired to keep high-flying cowboy movie star Ben...

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Star of Midnight

as Donna Mantin
Released: 1935-04-19

When a dancer disappears from a theater, Clay Dalzell is asked to investigate, leading him on a...

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Hollywood on Parade

as Self
Released: 1932-06-05

A short featuring many stars

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Dreamboat

as Gloria Marlowe
Released: 1952-07-26

Thornton Sayre, a respected college professor - secretly formerly a silent films romantic action...

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George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

as Self
Released: 1985-03-03

Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

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Tom, Dick and Harry

as Janie
Released: 1941-06-13

Janie is a telephone operator who is caught up in the lines of love of three men: car salesman...

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Night of 100 Stars

as Self
Released: 1982-03-08

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took...

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Follow the Leader

as Mary Brennan
Released: 1930-12-06

A kooky waiter and sometimes vaudevillian promises to get his employer's daughter into a...

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Sem Título #1: Dance of Leitfossil

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2014-06-01

Experimental Short, Brazil

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The Thirteenth Guest

as Lela / Marie Morgan
Released: 1932-08-09

Thirteen years after a dinner party in which the thirteenth guest failed to arrive, the...

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The First Traveling Saleslady

as Rose Gillray
Released: 1956-08-01

At the turn of the century Rose and ex-showbiz friend Molly get involved in selling steel. When...

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Suicide Fleet

as Sally
Released: 1931-11-20

Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally...

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Chance at Heaven

as Marge Harris
Released: 1933-10-27

A young woman's ambitious boyfriend falls for a ditzy socialite.

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The Sap from Syracuse

as Ellen Saunders
Released: 1930-07-26

Ellen Saunders is an heiress on a cruise to Europe being pursued by a day laborer mistaken for a...

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Tender Comrade

as Jo Jones
Released: 1944-05-30

Jo Jones, a young defense plant worker whose husband is in the military during World War II,...

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You Said a Mouthful

as Alice Brandon
Released: 1932-11-18

Two men bear the name Joe Holt. One is a shipping clerk, the other a champion Canadian swimmer....

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Lucky Partners

as Jean Newton
Released: 1940-08-02

Two strangers split a sweepstake prize to go on a fake honeymoon with predictable results.

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Change of Heart

as Madge Rountree
Released: 1934-05-18

Catherine and Mack and their close friends Chris and Madge graduate from a West Coast college...

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Beautiful Stranger

as Johnny Victor
Released: 1954-07-13

An ex-chorus girl lives on the Riviera, supported by a married man she doesn't know is a crook.

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That's Entertainment! III

as (archive footage)
Released: 1994-07-01

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of...

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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2009-07-02

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips...

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Primrose Path

as Ellie May Adams
Released: 1940-03-22

Ellie Mae lives on Primrose Hill with her good-hearted and fancy free mother, her drunken...

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The Love Goddesses

as (archive footage)
Released: 1965-03-03

This insightful documentary features some of the major and most beautiful actresses to grace the...

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Forever Female

as Beatrice Page
Released: 1953-11-28

An aging actress has a hard time admitting she is too old to play the ingenue role anymore.

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A Shriek in the Night

as Pat Morgan
Released: 1933-07-22

Rival newspaper reporters Pat Morgan and Ted Rand find themselves unraveling the mystery behind...

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Upperworld

as Lilly Linda
Released: 1934-04-28

A railroad tycoon, disillusioned with his marriage, starts seeing a showgirl. Things go...

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Hollywood: The Dream Factory

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1972-01-10

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading...

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Perfect Strangers

as Terry Scott
Released: 1950-03-11

Romance at a murder trial with a pair of sequestered jurors who are the only ones who think that...

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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1975-08-06

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American...

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5th Ave Girl

as Mary Grey
Released: 1939-09-22

A wealthy man hires a poor girl to play his mistress in order to get more attention from his...

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Harlow

as Mama Jean Bello
Released: 1965-05-14

Loosely based biography of 1930s star Jean Harlow as she begins her climb to stardom. One of two...

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Young Man of Manhattan

as Puff Randolph
Released: 1930-04-19

Two flappers try to get their newspaper reporter boyfriends to pay attention to them.

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The Tip-Off

as Baby Face
Released: 1931-10-16

A young radio repairman becomes involved with gangsters and one of their girlfriends when he...

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Broadway Bad

as Flip Daly
Released: 1933-02-24

Showgirl Tony Landers, supported by her friend Flip Daly, fights for the custody of her son...

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It Had to Be You

as Victoria Stafford
Released: 1947-12-07

A chronic runaway bride is haunted by her conscience, who becomes reality.

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Honor Among Lovers

as Doris Brown
Released: 1931-02-28

Jerry Stafford falls for his secretary, Julia Traynor, but instead she marries a shady character...

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Twenty Million Sweethearts

as Peggy Cornell
Released: 1934-05-26

Unscrupulous agent Rush Blake makes singing waiter Buddy Clayton a big radio star while Peggy...

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Teenage Rebel

as Nancy Fallon
Released: 1956-11-01

Nancy Fallon gets her teenage daughter back from her ex-husband when she remarries and must win...

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Rafter Romance

as Mary
Released: 1933-09-01

A working girl shares her apartment with an artist, taking the place in shifts.

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Lady in the Dark

as Liza Elliott
Released: 1944-02-10

A neurotic editor sees a psychoanalyst about the advertising man, movie star and other man in...

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George White's Scandals

as Ginger Rogers (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1945-10-09

Two couples work through their issues in this backstage Broadway musical.

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A Day of a Man of Affairs

as uncredited
Released: 1929-11-06

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A Night in a Dormitory

as Ginger Rogers
Released: 1930-01-05

The adventures of a schoolgirl in a nightclub as related by her to her dormitory sisters.

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Having Wonderful Time

as Teddy Shaw
Released: 1938-07-01

Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and...

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Busby Berkeley: A Journey with a Star

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2007-02-20

Profile of famed dance director Busby Berkeley's career, in particular "The Gang's All Here"

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Professional Sweetheart

as Glory Eden
Released: 1933-06-09

Radio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood in order to sell the...

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Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2006-03-21

Short documentary about the Great Depression's impact on film, specifically Berkeley musicals.

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The Tenderfoot

as Ruth Weston
Released: 1932-05-23

Calvin Jones is a cowboy who wants to invest in a Broadway play. Joe Lehman's secretary Ruth...

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Hollywood on Parade No. A-1

as Self
Released: 1932-08-25

In the first entry of this series, the show open with a troupe of dancing chorus girls getting a...

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Hat Check Girl

as Jessie King
Released: 1932-10-08

Gerry Marsh is a hat-check girl in a nightclub surrounded by bootleggers, blackmailers and...

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Week-End at the Waldorf

as Irene Malvern
Released: 1945-10-04

Anything can happen during a weekend at New York's Waldorf-Astoria: a glamorous movie star meets...

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Sitting Pretty

as Dorothy
Released: 1933-11-23

Jack Oakie and Jack Haley are songwriters are enroute from New York to Hollywood to make their...

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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression

as Self (archive)
Released: 2009-01-01

A two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.

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The Confession

as Madame Rinaldi
Released: 1964-05-22

Madame Rinaldi, owner of a bordello, helps thief Mario Forni locate an ancient buried treasure.

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Carnival Boat

as Honey
Released: 1932-03-19

Buck is a hard working lumberjack, but likes to have fun. Buck's father is the foreman and wants...

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Don't Bet on Love

as Molly Gilbert
Released: 1933-06-30

A plumber wins big at the racetrack but then his luck runs out and almost ruins his business....

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Astaire and Rogers Sing the Great American Songbook

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2010-04-09

Compilation of memorable songs from the Great American Songbook sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger...

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Going Hollywood: The '30s

as (archive footage)
Released: 1984-01-01

Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they...

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Queen High

as Polly Rockwell
Released: 1930-08-23

The two partners of a ladies' garter business are constantly feuding with each other. When they...

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Fred Astaire donne le 'la'

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2017-12-24

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"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After

as Archive Footage
Released: 2006-10-10

The development of sound and song dance production techniques, and how they come together in...

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Oh, Men! Oh, Women!

as Mildred Turner
Released: 1957-02-22

Arthur Turner's bored housewife Mildred seeks psychiatric help from Dr. Alan Coles who also has...

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what would you do without me?

as uncredited
Released: 2023-03-01

An exercise in filmmaking inspired by The Gay Divorcee (1934) and set to Erroll Garner's She's...

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In Full Swing

as Self (Archive Footage)
Released: 2019-06-11

A documentary on the making of the 1936 film Swing Time, featuring interviews with jazz and film...

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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...

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The Love Boat

as Stella Logan
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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The Dick Cavett Show

as Self - Guest
First aired: 1968-06-06

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various...

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The Mike Douglas Show

as Self
First aired: 1961-12-11

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Panelist
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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Tony Awards

as Self
First aired: 1956-04-01

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award,...

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The Merv Griffin Show

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran...

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Great Performances

as Self
First aired: 1971-01-28

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse...

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Hotel

as Natalie Trent
First aired: 1982-08-21

Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May...

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The Steve Allen Show

as Self - Guest
First aired: 1956-06-24

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The Steve Allen Show

as Self - SInger
First aired: 1956-06-24

TV Show page

Here's Lucy

as Ginger Rogers
First aired: 1968-09-23

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self - Singer
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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The Jack Benny Program

as Ginger Rogers
First aired: 1950-10-28

Laugh along with funnyman Jack Benny as he brings his underplayed humor to TV along with regular...

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The Kennedy Center Honors

as Self
First aired: 1978-12-28

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their...

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The Oscars

as Self
First aired: 1953-03-19

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The...

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The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

as Self
First aired: 1956-10-05

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on...

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The DuPont Show with June Allyson

as Kay Neilson
First aired: 1959-09-21

The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from...

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The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

as Self
First aired: 1973-09-14

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean...

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The Hollywood Palace

as Self
First aired: 1964-01-04

The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly...

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The Hollywood Palace

as Self - Singer
First aired: 1964-01-04

The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly...

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Talking Pictures

as Self (archive footage)
First aired: 2013-01-05

A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to...

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The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood

as Self
First aired: 1987-07-03

Ed Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.

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The American Film Institute Salute to ...

as Self
First aired: 1973-04-02

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a...

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Glitter

as Margaret Davis
First aired: 1984-09-13

Glitter is an American television drama series broadcast by the ABC network during the 1984-1985...

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