Check out these short celebrities images:
1949 Vinyl News, Look Record Guide, Kay Starr Pictured & Featured, Blurb on "Two Black Crows" Comedy Duo George Moran & Charles Mack
Image by classic_film Mini bio on talented singer and performer Kay Starr, via Wikipedia: Kay Starr (b. July 21, 1922) is an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz". Starr was successful in every field of music she tried: jazz, pop and country. But her roots were in jazz; and Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues." Brief info on comedy duo of George Moran & Charles Mack of "Two Black Crows": The Two Black Crows (also called The Black Crows and Moran and Mack) was a blackface comedy act popular in the 1920s and 30s. The duo appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio, comedy records, and in film features and shorts. The act was originated by Charles Mack (1888â"1934), who hired actor John Swor as his partner. "Swor & Mack" enjoyed moderate success until Swor left the act. He was replaced by George Moran (1881â"1949). The team of Moran and Mack caught on and became major recording stars. "The Two Black Crows" became a weekly radio show in 1928; Moran and Mack also guest-starred on Fred Waring's radio show in 1933. Although Moran and Mack's gags were mostly corny (and very often non-racial) and the characters were stereotypical (one practical but naive, the other seemingly slow and lazy yet quick with a quip and a certain skewed logic), the relationship depicted plus their laconic delivery made them one of the most successful of comedy teams. [...] The team was known for two catchphrases. Moran would remind Mack of some unfortunate event, causing Mack to say, "Why bring that up?" Mack frequently would interrupt Moran's description of something with a drawling "What causes that?" The duo of Moran and Mack appeared in vaudeville with W.C. Fields, on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 and in Earl Carroll's Vanities in the mid-1920s. They also appeared in George White's Scandals and The Greenwich Village Follies. At the height of their popularity, after completing their first talking feature film, Moran had a salary dispute with Mack and sued him. A judge ruled that Mack legally owned the act and could pay whatever salary he wanted. Moran quit, and was replaced by John Swor's brother, Bert Swor, who adopted the name Moran. The second "Moran and Mack" talkie (without George Moran) faltered at the box office, and the team made no further films until 1933, when the low-budget Educational Pictures studio hired them for a feature film and a series of "Two Black Crows" short subjects. ************** Published in Look magazine, July 19, 1949, Vol. 13, No. 15 Fair use/no known copyright. If you use this photo, please provide attribution credit; not for commercial use (see Creative Commons license).
Alan Moore
Image by Mirka23 Alan Moore is shaking my hand and telling me how nice it is to meet me in person. Let me explain: I used to work for a national entertainment publication, and in 2003, on a couple of occasions, I spoke with Alan Moore on the phone. I interviewed him once about LXG, and once about Neil Gaiman (with a brief followup the next day). He was completely engaging and wonderful to talk to. So, I heard from Top Shelf Comics, the publisher of Lost Girls, that Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie were going to be doing a talk in London. It seemed like a good time for a short vacation, so I took this opportunity to meet the man, face-to-face. I was a little nervous, so I think I was talking too much when we finally did meet. But he was absolutely lovely!