Centenary Celebration: Entertainers Born in 1908
By Jim Linz
Lionel Hampton (April 20, 1908-August 31, 2002) is credited for taking a novelty instrument—the vibraphone—and making it a star. Although Red Norvo introduced the vibraphone to jazz audiences in the 1920s, it was Hampton who became the master. Read more about Lionel Hampton.
Dorothy McNulty (1908-2003) was one of the few entertainers to be honored with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is better known as Penny Singleton, a stage name she adopted in 1938. Read more about Dorothy McNulty.
Eve Arden (April 30, 1908-November 12, 1990) was a film and television star whose career spanned over 60 years. Although she appeared in over 60 movies, she is best re-membered for her role as a high school teacher in the 1950s television series Our Miss Brooks. Read more about Eve Arden.
Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was an American composer best remembered for his novelty "miniature" tunes such as the Syncopated Clock and The Typewriter, but also the composer of such standards as Sleigh Ride and Blue Tango. Read more about Leroy Anderson.
Bob Cummings (1908-1990) was a movie and television actor with almost 70 films to his credit. Although best known for his comedy talents, he effectively played dramatic roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films—Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). Similarly, Cummings was not known as a singer, but was effective in Moon Over Miami (1941) singing "You Started Something" with Betty Grable. Read more about Bob Cummings.
Rowland Bernard “Bunny” Berigan (November 2, 1908-June 2, 1942) was a virtuoso jazz trumpeter who performed with some of the great sweet and swing bands of the 1930s. Read more about Bunny Berigan.
Lew Ayres (December 28, 1908-December 30, 1996) was a musician and actor best remembered for his performances in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and a series of Dr. Kildare movies. Read more about Lew Ayres.
Maria Guadalupe Villalobos “Lupe” Vélez (July 18, 1908-December 13, 1944) , along with Doleres del Rio, and Ramon Novarro, was one of the first Mexican-born actors to find success in Hollywood. Read more about Lupe Vélez.
Ethel Merman (January 18, 1908-February 15, 1984) was a star of stage and film musicals often referred to as “The Grande Dame of the Broadway Stage.” Read more about Ethel Merman.
Born Merwyn Boque, Ish Kabibble (January 19, 1908-June 5, 1994) is best remembered as the comedic foil on Kay Kyser’s College of Musical Knowledge in the 1940s. Read more about Ish Kabibble.
These article originally appeared in Trans-Lux volume 26, number 1, Winter 2008 and Trans-Lux volume 26, number 2, Spring 2008.
Comments
Created Thursday, November 27, 2008; Modified Thursday, November 27, 2008.
