Harry James, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Harry James
Acting

Harry James
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1916-03-15,Albany, Georgia, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
Harry James was born in a rundown hotel next to the city jail in Albany, Georgia. His mother and father were members of a circus - she as a trapeze artist and he a band leader - with the Mighty Haag Circus. At seven, they settled in Beaumont, Texas where Harry learned yo play drums. By twelve, he was playing trumpet in the Christy Brothers circus band. In 1936 James joined Ben Pollack's band, soon leaving to lead the brass section of Benny Goodman's band. He even once applied to Lawrence Welk's band but was turned down because they said he played too loud and it was not Welk's style. After three years with Goodman, he wanted to leave, and with Goodman's backing, he formed the Music Makers. In 1943 he married pinup queen Betty Grable, his second of four wives. He had earlier married and divorced Louise Tobin, a singer. Grable kept appearing in movies and Harry kept playing while they raised horses. He made his debut in Philadelphia at the Ben Franklin Hotel and soon was a nationwide favorite of dance lovers and jazz addicts, rocking the rafters at the Hollywood Paladium, Chicago's famous College Inn at the Hotel Sherman, Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook in Cedar Cove, NJ, and then onto New York City. It was the Lincoln Hotel in NYC that the Music Makers called home, but James also starred at the Paramount Theater in the spring of 1943, with thousands of teenagers flocking to see him. His version of You Made Me Love You was a big hit and a favorite of many through the war years. James was a great discoverer of talent, finding Frank Sinatra working as a waiter in a New Jersey restaurant and giving him a job singing in his band. Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen, Connie Haines and Helen Forrest can all thank James for giving them their first real break. In 1963 his band was featured at Disneyland, still known as the Music Makers. He played his last gig at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on June 26, 1983, just a few days before dying of lymphatic cancer.

Filmography

6.294

The Ladies Man
1961-06-21

Springtime in the Rockies

6.9

Springtime in the Rockies
1942-11-06

Hollywood Hotel

5.8

Hollywood Hotel
1938-01-15

Showbiz Goes to War

10

Showbiz Goes to War
1982-12-31

5.833

Carnegie Hall
1947-02-28

4.667

Do You Love Me
1946-05-17

6.667

If I'm Lucky
1946-09-02

6

Swing Fever
1943-11-01

5.9

I'll Get By
1950-10-02

The Shining Future

4

The Shining Future
1944-04-11

Two Girls and a Sailor

5.8

Two Girls and a Sailor
1944-06-14

5.894

Bathing Beauty
1944-06-27

4

Outlaw Queen
1957-04-27

Best Foot Forward

6.8

Best Foot Forward
1943-10-08

The Opposite Sex

5.429

The Opposite Sex
1956-11-15

Private Buckaroo

5.045

Private Buckaroo
1942-06-12

5.9

Too Many Girls
1940-10-08

6.833

Syncopation
1942-05-22

On Our Merry Way

5.706

On Our Merry Way
1948-02-03

4.731

The Sting II
1983-02-18

That's Entertainment! III

7.05

That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01

How to Marry a Millionaire

6.836

How to Marry a Millionaire
1953-11-10

The All-Star Bond Rally

6

The All-Star Bond Rally
1945-05-10

That's Entertainment, Part II

7.012

That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16

This Is Bob Hope...

8

This Is Bob Hope...
2017-12-29

L'empreinte rouge

7

L'empreinte rouge
1937-03-19

6

Swing Fever
1943-11-01

Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years

0

Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
1979-12-13

The Benny Goodman Story

6.433

The Benny Goodman Story
1956-02-02

Trumpet Serenade

10

Trumpet Serenade
1942-06-01

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour

8.667

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957-11-06

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20

Cavalcade of Bands

7

Cavalcade of Bands
1950-01-17

The Hollywood Palace

5

The Hollywood Palace
1964-01-04

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

6.4

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956-10-05

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.538

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962-10-01

The Mike Douglas Show

5.8

The Mike Douglas Show
1961-12-11

What's My Line?

7.034

What's My Line?
1950-02-02