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Videos from nedsparks
Film Star Cecilia Sisson: 'The Inside Story'
Fame was fleeting for the former film star -- some would say 'actress -- named Cecilia Sisson. She was raised in modest surroundings in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. While performing in a Katoon Kiddie Karnival, she was spotted by Sam Sax, General Production Chief for Warner Bros. Pictures. She became a household name when she burst upon the screen in the mid-1920s. Her statuesque figure and natural good looks created a sensation among the Prohibition-era college boys. When talking pictures arrived, she was at the top of every producer's list. Like many stars of the silent, silver screen, her career was shortened by 'Terrible Mike,' the demon who sent the vocally unfit screaming or lisping from the lot. Sadly, late Cecilia Sisson personified actresses caught in melee of Hollywood's most chaotic transition: from silent films to talkies. In Sisson's 'Mississippi Melody,' she introduced the song that became a standard, 'Pig With Fins,' the first love song written to a river carp. Songs were written for her by the songwriting team of Sam Stept and Noble Sissle. Mr. Sissle, who wrote many hits with Eubie Blake, was the first African-American songwriter under contract to First National Pictures. (Were it not for public outcry, the actress might have become Mrs. Cecilia Sisson Sissle.) He and Mr. Stept also wrote a screen musical, 'Syncopated Sister,' for Tiffany-Tone Studios. Cecilia Sisson played the carefree aunt of Daisy and Violet Hilton. After a failed attempt at nightclubs and dinner theatres, Cecilia Sisson returned to Saskatoon and lived the rest of her life in quiet house by the shores of the South Saskatchewan River.
In this 1960s video clip, Carol Channing discusses reasons that may have been responsible for Cecilia Sisson's fast journey into anonymity. Miss Channing seemed to gravitate toward 1920s personalities. Her Broadway shows include the musical comedy 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,' (1949) 'Lend An Ear' (1948), and her one-woman piece, 'Show Girl' (1961). She is the recipient of the 1949 Theatre World Award for 'Lend an Ear.' She was nominated three times for Best Actress in a Musical. In 1964 she won the Award for her most famous role as Dolly Levi Gallagher in 'Hello, Dolly!' In 1995 she was awarded the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Sisson sketch, called 'The Inside Story,' was part of 'Show Girl,' written by Charles Gaynor. The saga of Miss Sisson is probably one of Miss Channing's most beloved stories.
Cesar Romero (1907-1994) "Butch"
If "People" magazine had been around in 1936, I'm sure Cesar Romero would have been voted "Sexiest Man Alive." Here is 1936 footage of the handsome Cesar Julio Romero, Jr., born in New York of Cuban ancestry. Although some remember him only as "The Joker" on the 1966-1968 TV series "Batman," his career as a handsome leading man in movies began in 1933. His nickname was "Butch."
Ilomay Bailey & Lee Sims, 1934
As an interpreter of popular songs, Lee Sims (1898-1966) was among the best-known American pianists of the 1920s. He appeared on radio, phonograph records and piano rolls with frequency. His published arrangements sold well in the music stores. Before the term "cocktail piano" was popular, Lee Sims popularized a style consisting of easy-flowing melodies, relaxed tempos, sophisticated (and sometimes distorted) modulations and never a heavy or percussive touch. Sims and Eddy Duchin played piano the way many amateurs dreamed of playing, "for their own enjoyment." After singing with the orchestras of Paul Ash and Ben Pollack (with whom she made one recording), Ilomay Bailey approached Mr. Sims about lessons. They formed a musical partnership as well as a marriage that lasted until his death in 1966. Sims and his wife headlined in theatres and on radio. They replaced Eddie Cantor as hosts of the Chase & Sanborn Hour. With a striking resemblance to Norma Shearer, she was frequently listed as one of the best-dressed women in the entertainment industry, and she was seen in glamorous magazines endorsing beauty products. Bailey's rendition of "The Beat O' My Heart" might be called "over the top" today, as she seems to infuse her performance with drama unworthy of the song, which Harold Spina and Johnny Burke wrote in 1934 expressly for Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. A few months after this film short was made, the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn starred Bailey & Sims in another short entitled "Mr. and Mrs. Melody." One of their stage shows featured music from opera as well as Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, which allowed Mrs. Sims to show her vocal versatility. When the Hollywood studios beckoned Ilomay Bailey, she decided she would be "nothing" without her other half, and she turned them down. In England, the couple was the toast of the town for a year during which time they appeared on stage, wireless, and Sims composed the score for the film "Dinner At The Ritz." In 1938 Sims performed his own composition "Blythewood" with the London Symphony Orchestra. Not since George Gershwin (who died in 1937) had the London Symphony featured a concert piece by a living American. The Sims pair played theatres and clubs all over the U.S., with long stays in Chicago (Chez Paree). Note: This film print shows more than a little wear - the reason being that this was Mr. and Mrs Sims' own copy of their film.
