My New Dream Cast: "From Hollywood to Woodstock" (1969)
"Shut up, stereotypes: WE'RE ALL HERE!"
In this parody to the Beatles movies (and with some plots to films like "Some Like It Hot", "American Graffiti", etc.), with surrealistic humour and starring the biggest cast in the world in the most absurd plot in movie history.
The film follows a crowd of Latin American dubbing actors in Hollywood, filming a movie adaptation to a 1964 radio concert. Things go wrong when Eduardo Arozamena, one of the dubbing actors and the central protagonist, and Elvis Presley, his Hollywood co-star, suddenly disappear: they god kidnapped by a reckless gang of mobsters, leaded by the Great Kidnapper (Herschel Bernardi). It is task to the actors to face surrealist adventures in the United States to rescue their two partners.
The Latino stars are: optimistic Rafael del Río, fancy Armando Coria, skittish prankster Edgar Wald, cathastrophic Víctor Mares, smarty Armando Ríos, loving and handsome Eduardo Arozamena Pasarón, beautiful Azucena Rodríguez, tip top Julio Lucena, Casanova man Carlos Becerril, shy Armando Gutiérrez, authoritarian but sweet Narciso Busquets, humouristic Jorge Arvizu, comical Víctor Alcocer, lovable dance-lover Santiago Gil, bossy Carlos David Ortigosa, struggler Magdalena Ruvalcaba, cunning Quintín Bulnes, adorable Eugenia Avendaño, and....dammit. There're too many people.
And the Hollywood stars are: Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Arnold Stang, Leo De Lyon, Allen Jenkins, Jean Vander Pyl, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Marvin Kaplan, John Stephenson, the Beatles, Peggy Ann Garner, and...dammit. There're too many people.
And even Elvis is here in this parody. This story is set in 1969 in the United States.
The story focuses around a ambitious proyect, "The Big Concert", the new project William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who call celebrity Orson Welles to hire the entire cast of the 1964 XEW radio concert and make a film adaptation of it, with Eduardo Arozamena, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and Azucena Rodríguez as the four title protagonists.
Hilarity ensues, as many different Mexican dubbing actors from the '60s travel throughout the United States to record the film, meeting a big crowd of celebrities. Suddenly, Eduardo Arozamena and Elvis Presley disappear, after a crime mafia kidnaps them while making crimes in the USA, like stealing Quintín Bulnes' golden ring and making everyone to be drunk.
Eduardo Lugo, dressing up as Rip Taylor, the gang and the pals face these and other rare hilarious scenes to rescue Eduardo and Elvis, and to save Quintín's ring. That means a series of surreal events that end up being, in reality, the most hilarious fantasy of every film person.
In this parody to the Beatles movies (and with some plots to films like "Some Like It Hot", "American Graffiti", etc.), with surrealistic humour and starring the biggest cast in the world in the most absurd plot in movie history.
The film follows a crowd of Latin American dubbing actors in Hollywood, filming a movie adaptation to a 1964 radio concert. Things go wrong when Eduardo Arozamena, one of the dubbing actors and the central protagonist, and Elvis Presley, his Hollywood co-star, suddenly disappear: they god kidnapped by a reckless gang of mobsters, leaded by the Great Kidnapper (Herschel Bernardi). It is task to the actors to face surrealist adventures in the United States to rescue their two partners.
The Latino stars are: optimistic Rafael del Río, fancy Armando Coria, skittish prankster Edgar Wald, cathastrophic Víctor Mares, smarty Armando Ríos, loving and handsome Eduardo Arozamena Pasarón, beautiful Azucena Rodríguez, tip top Julio Lucena, Casanova man Carlos Becerril, shy Armando Gutiérrez, authoritarian but sweet Narciso Busquets, humouristic Jorge Arvizu, comical Víctor Alcocer, lovable dance-lover Santiago Gil, bossy Carlos David Ortigosa, struggler Magdalena Ruvalcaba, cunning Quintín Bulnes, adorable Eugenia Avendaño, and....dammit. There're too many people.
And the Hollywood stars are: Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Arnold Stang, Leo De Lyon, Allen Jenkins, Jean Vander Pyl, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Marvin Kaplan, John Stephenson, the Beatles, Peggy Ann Garner, and...dammit. There're too many people.
And even Elvis is here in this parody. This story is set in 1969 in the United States.
The story focuses around a ambitious proyect, "The Big Concert", the new project William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who call celebrity Orson Welles to hire the entire cast of the 1964 XEW radio concert and make a film adaptation of it, with Eduardo Arozamena, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and Azucena Rodríguez as the four title protagonists.
Hilarity ensues, as many different Mexican dubbing actors from the '60s travel throughout the United States to record the film, meeting a big crowd of celebrities. Suddenly, Eduardo Arozamena and Elvis Presley disappear, after a crime mafia kidnaps them while making crimes in the USA, like stealing Quintín Bulnes' golden ring and making everyone to be drunk.
Eduardo Lugo, dressing up as Rip Taylor, the gang and the pals face these and other rare hilarious scenes to rescue Eduardo and Elvis, and to save Quintín's ring. That means a series of surreal events that end up being, in reality, the most hilarious fantasy of every film person.
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- Rafael del Río was born in 1937 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Casa de vecindad (1964), Preciosa (1965) and La furia del ring (1961). He died on 17 March 2002 in Mexico City, Mexico.Rafael del Río as Himself (both Spanish and English), Louis Prima (Spanish voice), Paul McCartney (Spanish voice).
- Great figure of the Golden Age of Mexican radio, TV and dubbing, Eduardo Roberto "Lalo" Arozamena Pasarón was a great Mexican actor and singer, fondly remembered by audiences for his baritone voice in both spoken and sung. His appeareances include in voice acting, radio, television, theatre, film, and in performing. He was born on October 2, 1930, in Los Angeles, California, United States, in a family of artists. He was the son of actor and director Eduardo Arozamena and to writer Carmen Pasarón Arenzana. He had a twin brother, Carlos, dead in 2020 at age 89, and four older half sisters from his father's first marriage. Lalo's artistic career started in 1948, becoming one of the most respectable referents in Latin American art. In the 1950s, he was heard in great radio dramas, and later, in 1958, he entered voice dubbing, being the Spanish voice of cartoon characters such as Yogi Bear, the Pink Panther and Daffy Duck, and from film and TV actors, such as Edward G. Robinson, Anthony Quinn and Vincent Price. He got stardom as a voice actor in the 1960s and 1970s, working in different dubbing companies. Another of his great achievements include to perform with secondary characters (mostly villains) in the radio drama "Kalimán". His voice performances are probably remembered mostly by Spanish-spoken youngsters who heard him in cartoons and in television. Singing has been a very important part on Lalo's artistic career. In one of his last dubbing performances from the 1970s, the children's cartoon Yogi's Gang (1973), he sang the Spanish version of the opening theme, with addition of voicing Yogi Bear in the first 3 episodes of the show. He died on December 16, 1973, at age 43, as a result of a deadly fall. He was buried in the Panteón Jardín from México, and more of his most beloved roles were given to other actors, but his legacy and memories won't be forgotten.Eduardo Arozamena as Himself (both Spanish and English), Elvis Presley (Spanish voice, both speaking and singing), and the Narrator (Spanish and English).
- Camera and Electrical Department
Armando Rios is known for Patsy (2008).Armando Ríos as Himself (both Spanish and English), John Lennon (Spanish voice), Marty Ingels (Spanish voice)- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. In 1953, he attended the senior prom with the current girl he was courting, Regis Wilson. After graduating from high school in Memphis, Elvis took odd jobs working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for Crown Electric Company. He began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat", then signed with a local recording company, and then with RCA in 1955.
Elvis did much to establish early rock and roll music. He began his career as a performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country music and rhythm and blues, with a strong backbeat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop music. Teenage girls became hysterical over his blatantly sexual gyrations, particularly the one that got him nicknamed "Elvis the Pelvis" (television cameras were not permitted to film below his waist).
In 1956, following his six television appearances on The Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show", Elvis was cast in his first acting role, in a supporting part in Love Me Tender (1956), the first of 33 movies he starred in.
In 1958, Elvis was drafted into the military, and relocated to Bad Nauheim, Germany. There he met 14-year old army damsel Priscilla Ann Wagner (Priscilla Presley), whom he would eventually marry after an eight-year courtship, and by whom he had his only child, Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis' military service and the "British Invasion" of the 1960s reduced his concerts, though not his movie/recording income.
Through the 1960s, Elvis settled in Hollywood, where he starred in the majority of his thirty-three movies, mainly musicals, acting alongside some of the most well known actors in Hollywood. Critics panned most of his films, but they did very well at the box office, earning upwards of $150 million total. His last fiction film, Change of Habit (1969), deals with several social issues; romance within the clergy, an autistic child, almost unheard of in 1969, rape, and mob violence. It has recently received critical acclaim.
Elvis made a comeback in the 1970s with live concert appearances starting in early 1970 in Las Vegas with over 57 sold-out shows. He toured throughout the United States, appearing on-stage in over 500 live appearances, many of them sold out shows. His marriage ended in divorce, and the stress of constantly traveling as well as his increasing weight gain and dependence upon stimulants and depressants took their toll.
Elvis Presley died at age 42 on August 16, 1977 at his mansion in Graceland, near Memphis, shocking his fans worldwide. At the time of his death, he had sold more than 600 million singles and albums. Since his death, Graceland has become a shrine for millions of followers worldwide. Elvis impersonators and purported sightings have become stock subjects for humorists. To date, Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music 'Halls of Fame'. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales, and remains one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music.Elvis Presley as Himself (English): the King of Rock and Roll, and the Pompadour Man who Brushes Eduardo's Hair for a film scene (English)- Armando Coria is known for Morir a mi manera (1994), Reto de ley (1995) and Cuatro a la fuga (1993).Armando Coria Sr. as Himself (English and Spanish), Robert Goulet (Spanish)
- Actor
- Producer
Edgar Wald as Himself (English and Spanish), Moe Howard (Spanish) and Ringo Starr (Spanish)- Actor
- Additional Crew
Guillermo Romo was born on 3 June 1923 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He was an actor, known for La vida de Chucho el Roto (1970), Yo soy Chucho el Roto (1970) and Perro callejero (1980). He was married to Dolores Arredondo. He died on 7 October 1993 in Mexico City, Mexico.Guillermo Romo as Himself (English and Spanish), Ernest Borgnine (Spanish), and Show Man (English and Spanish)- Mexican film, television and voice actor, with a career spanning over four decades. With a trademark deep, coarse voice, Alcocer dubbed many characters in major American films and TV series for Latin American market, including The Munsters (as Herman Munster), Get Smart (as the Chief), Batman (as The Joker), Kojak (as the main character), Daktari (as Dr. Tracy), among many others. Quoted as a major influence by many current voice actors in Mexican dubbing industry. Details on his death other than date (October 2nd, 1984) are uncertain.Víctor Alcocer as Himself (English and Spanish), Allen Jenkins (Spanish), and Orson Welles (Spanish)
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died in 1924 (when he was nine) he traveled the world with his father. He was orphaned at 15 after his father's death in 1930 and became the ward of Dr. Maurice Bernstein of Chicago. In 1931, he graduated from the Todd School in Woodstock, Illinois. He turned down college offers for a sketching tour of Ireland. He tried unsuccessfully to enter the London and Broadway stages, traveling some more in Morocco and Spain, where he fought in the bullring.
Recommendations by Thornton Wilder and Alexander Woollcott got him into Katharine Cornell's road company, with which he made his New York debut as Tybalt in 1934. The same year, he married, directed his first short, and appeared on radio for the first time. He began working with John Houseman and formed the Mercury Theatre with him in 1937. In 1938, they produced "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", famous for its broadcast version of "The War of the Worlds" (intended as a Halloween prank). His first film to be seen by the public was Citizen Kane (1941), a commercial failure losing RKO $150,000, but regarded by many as the best film ever made. Many of his subsequent films were commercial failures and he exiled himself to Europe in 1948.
In 1956, he directed Touch of Evil (1958); it failed in the United States but won a prize at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. In 1975, in spite of all his box-office failures, he received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1984, the Directors Guild of America awarded him its highest honor, the D.W. Griffith Award. His reputation as a filmmaker steadily climbed thereafter.Orson Welles as Himself (English), the man William Hanna and Joseph Barbera hire to search for the dubbers. Welles is the first one who gets worried about Eduardo Arozamena and Elvis Presley's duck-out.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. She was known internationally for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early in her youth and kept the world hooked with ever after.
Taylor was born on February 27, 1932 in London, England. Although she was born an English subject, her parents, Sara Taylor (née Sara Viola Warmbrodt) and Francis Taylor, were Americans, art dealers from St. Louis, Missouri. Her father had moved to London to set up a gallery prior to Elizabeth's birth. Her mother had been an actress on the stage, but gave up that vocation when she married. Elizabeth lived in London until the age of seven, when the family left for the US when the clouds of war began brewing in Europe in 1939. They sailed without her father, who stayed behind to wrap up the loose ends of the art business.
The family relocated to Los Angeles, where Mrs. Taylor's own family had moved. Mr. Taylor followed not long afterward. A family friend noticed the strikingly beautiful little Elizabeth and suggested that she be taken for a screen test. Her test impressed executives at Universal Pictures enough to sign her to a contract. Her first foray onto the screen was in There's One Born Every Minute (1942), released when she was ten. Universal dropped her contract after that one film, but Elizabeth was soon picked up by MGM.
The first production she made with that studio was Lassie Come Home (1943), and on the strength of that one film, MGM signed her for a full year. She had minuscule parts in her next two films, The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Jane Eyre (1943) (the former made while she was on loan to 20th Century-Fox). Then came the picture that made Elizabeth a star: MGM's National Velvet (1944). She played Velvet Brown opposite Mickey Rooney. The film was a smash hit, grossing over $4 million. Elizabeth now had a long-term contract with MGM and was its top child star. She made no films in 1945, but returned in 1946 in Courage of Lassie (1946), another success. In 1947, when she was 15, she starred in Life with Father (1947) with such heavyweights as William Powell, Irene Dunne and Zasu Pitts, which was one of the biggest box office hits of the year. She also co-starred in the ensemble film Little Women (1949), which was also a box office huge success.
Throughout the 1950s, Elizabeth appeared in film after film with mostly good results, starting with her role in the George Stevens film A Place in the Sun (1951), co-starring her good friend Montgomery Clift. The following year, she co-starred in Ivanhoe (1952), one of the biggest box office hits of the year. Her busiest year was 1954. She had a supporting role in the box office flop Beau Brummell (1954), but later that year starred in the hits The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) and Elephant Walk (1954). She was 22 now, and even at that young age was considered one of the world's great beauties. In 1955 she appeared in the hit Giant (1956) with James Dean.
Sadly, Dean never saw the release of the film, as he died in a car accident in 1955. The next year saw Elizabeth co-star with Montgomery Clift in Raintree County (1957), an overblown epic made, partially, in Kentucky. Critics called it dry as dust. In addition, Clift was seriously injured during the film, with Taylor helping save his life. Despite the film's shortcomings and off-camera tragedy, Elizabeth was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Southern belle Susanna Drake. However, on Oscar night the honor went to Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (1957).
In 1958 Elizabeth starred as Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). The film received rave reviews from the critics and Elizabeth was nominated again for an Academy Award for best actress, but this time she lost to Susan Hayward in I Want to Live! (1958). She was still a hot commodity in the film world, though. In 1959 she appeared in another mega-hit and received yet another Oscar nomination for Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Once again, however, she lost out, this time to Simone Signoret for Room at the Top (1958). Her Oscar drought ended in 1960 when she brought home the coveted statue for her performance in BUtterfield 8 (1960) as Gloria Wandrous, a call girl who is involved with a married man. Some critics blasted the movie but they couldn't ignore her performance. There were no more films for Elizabeth for three years. She left MGM after her contract ran out, but would do projects for the studio later down the road. In 1963 she starred in Cleopatra (1963), which was one of the most expensive productions up to that time--as was her salary, a whopping $1,000,000. The film took years to complete, due in part to a serious illness during which she nearly died.
This was the film where she met her future and fifth husband, Richard Burton (the previous four were Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd--who died in a plane crash--and Eddie Fisher). Her next films, The V.I.P.s (1963) and The Sandpiper (1965), were lackluster at best. Elizabeth was to return to fine form, however, with the role of Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Her performance as the loudmouthed, shrewish, unkempt, yet still alluring Martha was easily her finest to date. For this she would win her second Oscar and one that was more than well-deserved. The following year, she and Burton co-starred in The Taming of The Shrew (1967), again giving winning performances. However, her films afterward were box office failures, including Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), The Comedians (1967), Boom! (1968) (again co-starring with Burton), Secret Ceremony (1968), The Only Game in Town (1970), X, Y & Zee (1972), Hammersmith Is Out (1972) (with Burton again), Ash Wednesday (1973), Night Watch (1973), The Driver's Seat (1974), The Blue Bird (1976) (considered by many to be her worst), A Little Night Music (1977), and Winter Kills (1979) (a controversial film which was never given a full release and in which she only had a small role). She later appeared in some movies, both theatrical and made-for-television, and a number of television programs. In February 1997, Elizabeth entered the hospital for the removal of a brain tumor. The operation was successful. As for her private life, she divorced Burton in 1974, only to remarry him in 1975 and divorce him, permanently, in 1976. She had two more husbands, U.S. Senator John Warner and construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom she met in rehab.
In 1959, Taylor converted to Judaism, and continued to identify herself as Jewish throughout her life, being active in Jewish causes. Upon the death of her friend, actor Rock Hudson, in 1985, she began her crusade on behalf of AIDS sufferers. In the 1990s, she also developed a successful series of scents. In her later years, her acting career was relegated to the occasional TV-movie or TV guest appearance.
Elizabeth Taylor died on March 23, 2011 in Los Angeles, from congestive heart failure. Her final resting place is Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California.Elizabeth Taylor as Herself (English), the actress the actors befriend- Victor Mares was born on 15 July 1935. He died on 8 October 2000.Víctor Mares as Himself (English and Spanish), John Astin (Spanish) and George Harrison
- Luis Puente was born on 11 September 1933. He was an actor, known for Mariana (1968), Mujercitas (1962) and Justicia ranchera (1975). He died on 2 November 1996.Luis Puente as Himself (Spanish and English) and Joseph Barbera (Spanish)
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Esther Jane Williams was born on August 8, 1921 in Inglewood, California. Her youth was spent as a teenage swimming champion and she won three United States National championships. She eventually was spotted by a MGM talent scout while working in a Los Angeles department store. She made her film debut with MGM in an "Andy Hardy" picture called Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942). She became Mickey Rooney's love interest in the movie, and her character was called Sheila Brooks. Following this movie, stardom was not far away. MGM created a special sub-genre for her known as "Aqua Musicals". Her first swimming role was in Bathing Beauty (1944). This was a simple movie compared to her later big splashes such as Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), co-starring Victor Mature and Walter Pidgeon. Esther Williams was often called "America's Mermaid", as it appeared that she could stay underwater forever!
Following the decline of the once lucrative MGM aqua musical, she attempted dramatic roles. The Unguarded Moment (1956), is one example of this new found dramatic confidence. It co-starred George Nader and John Saxon. Also, The Big Show (1961), co-starring Cliff Robertson and Robert Vaughn was another dramatic role. Overall, Esther's acting skills were limited and, as a musical star in the audience's eyes, she was unsuccessful. She retired from the movie industry in the 1960s, returning as a star guest in That's Entertainment! III (1994) discussing her appearance in MGM films. She certainly is recognized today for bringing enjoyment, escapism and entertainment on the big screen and has also a highly successful business in swimwear. Occasional television work discussing her contribution to the film industry is a treat for her fans from time to time.
Esther Williams died at age 91 in her sleep on June 6, 2013 in her home in Los Angeles, California.Esther Williams as Herself (English) and Jane (English), a young girl who is one of the fans of Eduardo Arozamena, and is the first one who realizes that he and Elvis got kidnapped.- Azucena Rodríguez was born on 2 April 1940 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico. She is an actress, known for De pura sangre (1985), Los 3 reyes magos (1976) and Aquellos tiempos del cuplé (1958).Azucena Rodríguez as Herself (Spanish and English), Elizabeth Taylor (Spanish), and Jane (Spanish)
- Quintín Bulnes was born on 9 May 1926 in Mexico, D.F., Mexico. He was an actor, known for Corazones de México (1945), Isle of the Snake People (1971) and The Dalton That Got Away (1960). He was married to Ofelia Martín Reyes and Amparo Sánchez. He died on 25 December 2003 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.Quintín Bulnes as himself (Spanish and English), Tony Curtis (Spanish), and William Hanna (Spanish)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
William Hanna was an animator, film director, and television producer. He was the co-founder of the company Hanna-Barbera, with his longtime partner Joseph Barbera.
Hanna was born in an Irish-American family, son of William John Hanna (1873-1949) and his wife Avice Joyce Denby. He was born in Melrose, New Mexico Territory, though the family never set root there. His father worked as a construction superintendent for railroads, water systems, and sewer systems. He was often re-assigned, requiring his family to move with him to new locations.
Hanna attended Compton High School in Compton California from 1925 to 1928. During his high school years, Hanna played the saxophone in a dance band. He developed a passion for music that would lead to him personally working on several theme songs for his animated work.
Hanna briefly attended Compton City College, studying both journalism and structural engineering. The Great Depression affected his family's financial situation, forcing him to drop out of college and seek work. He worked first as a construction engineer, then as a car wash employee. A family friend convinced him to seek a job for Leon Schlesinger's company "Pacific Title & Art Studio", which designed title cards for films. Though he lacked formal training, he displayed a talent for drawing. This helped him get hired at an upstart animation studio connected to Schlesinger, the Harman and Ising animation studio, which was producing the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series. Hanna was promoted to head of their ink and paint department.
In 1933, the studio's heads (Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising) dissolved their business relationship with Schlesinger. Schesinger retained the rights to the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies", while Harman and Ising kept the rights to their popular character Bosko. Hanna followed them into their subsequent projects. By 1936, he was promoted to film director and directed a few short films in their "Happy Harmonies" film series.
In 1937, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stopped distributing animated films by Harman and Ising, and created their own animation subsidiary: the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (1937-1957). They hired away most of the staff of the Harman and Ising studio, including Hanna. In 1938, Hanna became a senior director for the "Captain and the Kids" film series, an adaptation of the popular comic strip "The Katzenjammer Kids". The series failed to find an audience, and was terminated in 1939. Hanna was demoted from director to story-man.
During this period, Hanna started co-working with fellow animator Joseph Barbera on the idea of a film series featuring a cat-and-mouse duo. The two were allowed to co-direct the film "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940), introducing the characters of Tom and Jerry. The film was popular with critics and the audience, but studio head Fred Quimby was not initially interested in a full series with the characters. However, the commercial failure of other products of the studio convinced Quimby to try reusing Tom and Jerry. Hanna and Barbera were assigned their own production unit to work on the new series.
From 1940 to 1957, Hanna and Barbera co-directed 114 short films starring Tom and Jerry. The series was a critical and popular success, winning 7 Academy Awards and being nominated for other 7. In 1955, Fred Quimby retired, and Hanna and Barbera replaced him as studio heads. But by this time production costs for the films were high, while they were less profitable than before. MGM shut down the studio in 1957.
Hanna briefly partnered with animator Jay Ward in creating their own animation studio, called "Shield Productions". They parted ways before producing anything notable. Hanna next partnered with Barbera again, creating the company Hanna-Barbera Productions. Since the market for theatrical animated shorts was in decline, the duo intended to produce animation for television. They received partial funding from Screen Gems, in return for a distribution deal.
The studio's first television series was the moderately popular "The Ruff & Reddy Show". It was followed by the more successful "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Yogi Bear Show", which introduced popular characters and managed to attract an adult audience. Realising that there was a market for adult-oriented cartoons, Hanna and Barbera next developed the animated sitcom "The Flintstones", a parody of "The Honeymooners" with a Stone Age setting. It found success with both adult and juvenile audiences, helping the studio become the leader in television animation for most of the 1960s.
In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting for 12 million dollars. Hanna and Barbera continued serving as studio heads until 1991. In 1991, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, with Hanna and Barbera reduced to an advisory position. In 1996, the studio was sold to Time Warner, with Hanna remaining an advisor until his death in 2001.
In March 2001, Hanna died of esophageal cancer at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, He was 90-years-old. He was buried at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. His legacy includes more than 100 animated series, multiple films and television specials, and a large number of enduring characters.William Hanna as Himself (English), the director of the "Great Concert" film who with Joe Barbera and Orson Welles hire a giant crowd of dubbing actors to appear in their film.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Joseph Roland Barbera was an American animator, film director, and television producer. He was the co-founder of the company Hanna-Barbera, with his longtime partner William Hanna.
Barbera was born in an Italian-American family. His parents were barbershop-owner Vincent Barbera (1889-1965) and Francesca Calvacca (1875-1969), both Italian immigrants from Sicily. Vincent was from the farming town of Castelvetrano, while Francesca was from the spa town of Sciacca (founded as the ancient Greek colony of Thermae).
Barbera was born in Little Italy, at the Lower East Side section of Manhattan. Months following his birth, Barbera's family moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was mostly raised in Flatbush. Vincent Barbera grew prosperous for a while, but a gambling addiction led him to squander the family fortune. In 1926, Vincent abandoned his family, and Joseph was taken under the wing of his maternal uncle Jim Calvacca.
Barbera attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. During his high school years, he worked as a tailor's delivery boy. Meanwhile, he excelled in boxing and won a number of titles, but decided against becoming a professional boxer. He graduated high school in 1928, and started working odd jobs.
In 1929, Barbera first became interested in animation, after viewing Walt Disney's "The Skeleton Dance" (1929). Shortly after, he started working as a freelance cartoonist. Some of his print cartoons were published in Redbook, the Saturday Evening Post, and Collier's. Meanwhile Barbera took art classes at the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute, hoping to improve his drawing skills.
Barbera was eventually hired as an inker and colorist by Fleischer Studios. In 1932, he was hired by the Van Beuren Studios as an animator and storyboard artist. At Van Beuren he worked on such film series as "Cubby Bear" and "Rainbow Parades". The studio's most prominent cartoon starts were a human duo known as "Tom and Jerry". Barbera worked on the Tom and Jerry series, and apparently liked the sound of the duo's name.
In 1936, Barbera left the financially struggling Van Beuren studio to work for Paul Terry's Terrytoons studio. In 1937, he left Terrytoons to work for the then-recently established Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (1937-1957). MGM offered its animators higher salaries than what Terrytoons could offer. His first few years at the studio were not particularly notable. In 1939, he and co-worker William Hanna started working on the idea of a cat-and-mouse duo of characters. They were allowed to co-direct "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940), introducing the new duo of Tom and Jerry. It was critically and commercially successful, but studio head Fred Quimby was initially uninterested in producing a full series of Tom and Jerry films. The lack of success of other products of the studio convinced Quimby, and Barbera and Hanna became the head of their own production unit to work on the new series.
From 1940 to 1957, Hanna and Barbera co-directed 114 Tom and Jerry animated shorts. The Tom and Jerry series was very popular with critics and audience. But by the 1950s, production costs were high while the profitability of the shorts was lower than before. MGM decided to shut down its animation subsidiary. Barbera was unemployed for the first time in decades.
Barbera briefly partnered with Robert D. Buchanan (1931-) in production of an animated television series, the science fiction series "Colonel Bleep" (1957-1960). It was the first animated series specifically produced for color television. Barbera eventually left this partnership and teamed up with William Hanna again. They founded Hanna-Barbera Productions, their own animation studio. With theatrical animation in decline, they focused on the new market of television animation.
The studio's first television series was the moderately successful "The Ruff & Reddy Show". It was succeeded by the much more popular "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Yogi Bear Show". Survey's revealed that the two shows had attracted an adult audience, convincing Hanna and Barbera that they could market animation to adults. Their next series was the animated sitcom "The Flintstones" (1960-1966), popular with both children and adults. Its success helped establish Hanna-Barbera Productions as the leader in television animation.
In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million dollars.Barbera and Hanna remained studio heads until 1991, when the studio was sold to the Turner Broadcasting System for an estimated 320 million million dollars. Barbera and Hanna were reduced to advisory positions, which would they keep for the rest of their lives. Barbera periodically worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, and even provided input for the original live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo in 2002.
In 2001, Hanna-Barbera Productions was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation. Barbera received executive producer credits for Warner Bros. sequels and adaptations of his old series (such as "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" and "Tom and Jerry Tales"). In 2005, Barbera co-directed a new Tom and Jerry short film: "The Karate Guard". Barbera then started work on a Tom and Jerry feature film, " Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale" (2007). He died before production was completed.
Barbera died in December 2006, at the age of 95. He had never fully retired and was still working at the time of his death. His legacy includes more than a 100 television series, and a large number of enduring characters.Joseph Barbera as Himself (English), the co-director of the "Great Concert" film, who with Bill Hanna and Orson Welles hire a giant crowd of dubbing actors. He is one of the first ones who with Esther Williams and Elizabeth Taylor, realized that Eduardo Arozamena and Elvis Presley have been kidnapped.- Actress
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Priscilla Presley's stepfather was an Air Force officer stationed in West Germany when as a teenager she met Elvis Presley in 1959, then four years into his meteoric career in rock and roll and serving with the U.S. Armed Forces. After an eight year courtship, she married him on 1 May 1967. As their marriage was winding down, she began studying karate and acting. After his death she went into business and began work in movies and TV, notably playing the part of Jenna Wade (1983-88) in the very successful series Dallas (1978). She more recently established herself as Jane Spencer in the "Naked Gun" (The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)) movies.Priscilla Presley as Herself (English), Elvis' then wife. She gets worried about her husband and Eduardo's disappeareance.- Julio Lucena was born on 3 November 1924 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor, known for El gato con botas (1961), Los tres farsantes (1965) and Llanto por Juan Indio (1965). He died on 25 June 1985 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.Julio Lucena as Himself (Spanish and English), and Arnold Stang (Spanish)
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Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the eldest of three children of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz, Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks" and learned from a young age that the only person who ever had his back was himself, so he learned how to take care of both himself and younger brother, Julius. Curtis grew up in poverty, as his father, Emanuel, who worked as a tailor, had the sole responsibility of providing for his entire family on his meager income. This led to constant bickering between Curtis's parents over money, and Curtis began to go to movies as a way of briefly escaping the constant worries of poverty and other family problems. The financial strain of raising two children on a meager income became so tough that in 1935, Curtis's parents decided that their children would have a better life under the care of the state and briefly had Tony and his brother admitted to an orphanage. During this lonely time, the only companion Curtis had was his brother, Julius, and the two became inseparable as they struggled to get used to this new way of life. Weeks later, Curtis's parents came back to reclaim custody of Tony and his brother, but by then Curtis had learned one of life's toughest lessons: the only person you can count on is yourself.
In 1938, shortly before Tony's Bar Mitzvah, tragedy struck when Tony lost the person most important to him when his brother, Julius, was hit by a truck and killed. After that tragedy, Curtis's parents became convinced that a formal education was the best way Tony could avoid the same never-knowing-where-your-next-meal-is-coming-from life that they had known. However, Tony rejected this because he felt that learning about literary classics and algebra wasn't going to advance him in life as much as some real hands-on life experience would. He was to find that real-life experience a few years later, when he enlisted in the navy in 1942. Tony spent over two years getting that life experience doing everything from working as a crewman on a submarine tender, the USS Proteus (AS-19), to honing his future craft as an actor performing as a sailor in a stage play at the Navy Signalman School in Illinois.
In 1945, Curtis was honorably discharged from the navy, and when he realized that the GI Bill would allow him to go to acting school without paying for it, he now saw that his lifelong pipe dream of being an actor might actually be achievable. Curtis auditioned for the New York Dramatic Workshop, and after being accepted on the strength of his audition piece (a scene from "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in pantomime), Curtis enrolled in early 1947. He then began to pay his dues by appearing in a slew of stage productions, including "Twelfth Night" and "Golden Boy". He then connected with a small theatrical agent named Joyce Selznick, who was the niece of film producer David O. Selznick. After seeing his potential, Selznick arranged an interview for Curtis to see David O. Selznick at Universal Studios, where Curtis was offered a seven-year contract. After changing his name to what he saw as an elegant, mysterious moniker--"Tony Curtis" (named after the novel Anthony Adverse (1936) by Hervey Allen and a cousin of his named Janush Kertiz)--Curtis began making a name for himself by appearing in small, offbeat roles in small-budget productions. His first notable performance was a two-minute role in Criss Cross (1949), with Burt Lancaster, in which he makes Lancaster jealous by dancing with Yvonne De Carlo. This offbeat role resulted in Curtis's being typecast as a heavy for the next few years, such as playing a gang member in City Across the River (1949).
Curtis continued to build up a show reel by accepting any paying job, acting in a number of bit-part roles for the next few years. It wasn't until late 1949 that he finally got the chance to demonstrate his acting flair, when he was cast in an important role in an action western, Sierra (1950). On the strength of his performance in that movie, Curtis was finally cast in a big-budget movie, Winchester '73 (1950). While he appears in that movie only very briefly, it was a chance for him to act alongside a Hollywood legend, James Stewart.
As his career developed, Curtis wanted to act in movies that had social relevance, ones that would challenge audiences, so he began to appear in such movies as Spartacus (1960) and The Defiant Ones (1958). He was advised against appearing as the subordinate sidekick in Spartacus (1960), playing second fiddle to the equally famous Kirk Douglas. However, Curtis saw no problem with this because the two had recently acted together in dual leading roles in The Vikings (1958).Tony Curtis as Himself (English) and Memphis Maphia Man at Eduardo and Elvis' kidnapping- Actor
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Joe Esposito was born in 1938. He first met singer Elvis Presley while they both were in the military in 1958. They both went through basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, but they didn't meet face to face until a year later when they were stationed in West Germany, where they became fast friends. Esposito became Elvis's road manager and bodyguard beginning in 1960 and helped Elvis's aide Marty Lacker with the bookkeeping. It was Esposito who arranged women for Elvis to date. Esposito served as the best man at Elvis's wedding while Esposito's wife, Joan, served as the matron of honor. Esposito also played the guitar for Elvis's recording sessions from 1971 onward. After Elvis's death in 1977, Esposito started his own business, the Sterling Coach Company, a Los Angeles limousine service. He later became the road manager for the Bee Gees. Esposito appeared in several of Elvis's films and portrayed himself in the 1981 movie This Is Elvis.Joe Esposito as Himself (English), one of the men who were present at Eduardo's kidnapping. A few minutes later he realized that Elvis was also missing.- Additional Crew
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Lamar Fike was born on 11 November 1935 in Cleveland, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and production manager, known for Elvis: The Comeback Special (1968), Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis: The Final Hours (2018). He died on 21 January 2011 in Arlington, Texas, USA.Lamar Fike as Memphis Mafia Man #3- Actor
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Jorge Arvizu was born on 23 July 1932 in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. He was an actor and producer, known for El asesino del metro (1991), Zapata (1970) and Cuestión de honor (1993). He died on 18 March 2014 in Mexico City, Mexico.Jorge Arvizu as Himself (Spanish and English, speaking voice), Avery Schreiber (Spanish, speaking voice), and Lisa Marie's Talking Stuffed Cat (voice, Spanish and English)