Timelines for year 1937
Ivie Anderson
She was a vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at the time of her appearance in A Day at the Races (1937). Her appearance has prompted speculation that the band playing in the movie are members of the Ellington orchestra.
Dick Merrill
The financial backer of Dick's 1937 'Daily Express' coronation flight--- the first commercial round trip flight across the Atlantic--- was the crafty Ben "Sell 'em Short" Smith (who had been the target of a congressional investigation of the 1929 stock market crash), a wheeler-dealer promoter whose philosophy was to promote any scheme for financial gain. Although he was guaranteed a profit on the flight on the basis of a Hearst Newspaper contract alone, he cajoled Dick and co-pilot Jack Lambie into autographing hundreds of coronation first day covers postmarked in London and New York, and selling them through the Walgreen's drug store chain (these frequently appear on eBay today). Smith ultimately made over $170,000 in profits from the flight (Dick saw just $3500 and a few free meals, Lambie netted $2500--- both mostly received from their appearance in a Monogram quickie, Atlantic Flight (1937) made to capitalize on their achievement, a deal also brokered by Smith) and broke a verbal promise to give Dick the Lockheed, quickly selling it to the Russian government. In later years, Dick confessed that Ben Smith was probably the only man he'd ever hated. He actually thought about shooting him if they ever met again.
Carl Brashear
Education: Sonora Grade School, Sonora, Kentucky, 1937-1946, Passed GED test in U.S. Navy, 1960, Charles County Community College, Great Mills, Maryland, 1980-1982, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1983.
Roger Ebert
Says that the first movie he ever saw was A Day at the Races (1937) starring The Marx Brothers.
Alice Faye
Made herself 3 years older when auditioning as a chorus girl in New York in 1928. Some sources even claim that she was born in 1909. A short biography included on the DVD of On the Avenue (1937) states that she was 12 years old in 1927, and did indeed lie about her age in 1928.
Marshall Goldberg
All-American running back who led the University of Pittsburgh team to the consensus national championship in 1937.
Dr. Seuss
His first children's book, "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" (1937), was rejected by over 20 publishers.
Mary Pickford
Had two adopted children with her 3rd husband Charles 'Buddy' Rogers - a son named Ronald Charles Rogers (b.1937) and a daughter named Roxanne Rogers (b.1944-d.2007 from osteoporosis).
Jason Robards
His and Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar nominations for playing Howard Hughes makes them only the second pair to both lose. Robards lost to Timothy Hutton, while DiCaprio lost to Jamie Foxx. Prior to that, only Fredric March and James Mason both lost Oscars for playing Norman Maine in the 1937 and 1954 versions of "A Star is Born". Subsequently, the only pair of actors to both lose an Oscar for playing the same part were Anthony Hopkins and Frank Langella for playing Richard Nixon. Previously, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both won for playing Vito Corleone. José Ferrer won while Gérard Depardieu was only nominated for playing Cyrano de Bergerac; and John Wayne won while Jeff Bridges was only nominated for playing Rooster Cogburn. Richard Burton and Robert Shaw also lost Oscars for playing Henry VIII, but Charles Laughton won the award for the role.
Mae West
After two years of denying that she had ever been married, West admitted in a reply to a legal interrogatory in 1937 that she and Frank Wallace had married in 1911. During her divorce trial in 1942, she testified that they had lived together only "several weeks".
Was banned from NBC Radio after a guest appearance in 1937 with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy that was loaded with flirtatious dialogue and double-entendres. She returned to the network as a guest on the "Perry Como Show" in 1949.
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí created one of his most iconic works influenced by her: "Mae West's Lips Sofa" (1937).
Frederic Tozere
Originally trained as a singer. Gained first notice in pantomime with the Ballet Russes. On Broadway from 1923 in supporting roles, alternating comedy and drama. Noted by Brooks Atkinson for his performance as Jacques in 'As You Like It' (1937). Served on the council of Actor's Equity.
Mark Goodson
Attended the University of California-Berkeley, and graduated Phi Betta Kappa, in 1937.
John Hoyt
In 1937 he performed (as John Hoysradt) at the prestigious Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. He headlined as 'the Master of Satire.'
Victor Wong
For much of his Hollywood career, Wong was generally confined to bit roles, such as the bandit leader in Frank Capra's Lost Horizon (1937).
