Arthur Tracy - 'The Street Singer'

Arthur Tracy was a popular singer whose career began in the 1920s in vaudeville. In 1931, he had his own radio show, "The Street Singer". He became immensely popular in Europe, too. His theme song was 'Marta, Rambling Rose of the Wildwood".

During my years of collecting of 78rpm records, I occasionally came across some of his records, and while I was familiar with, and liked, his theme song, Mr. Tracy's records 'introduced' me to other popular songs of the era.

Mr. Tracy semi-retired in the 1960s, and would sometimes be a guest on Joe Franklin's tv show in New York. He came out of retirement in 1981 with the release of the movie "Pennies from Heaven", as a new generation was introduced to his original recording of the theme song.

I wrote to Mr. Tracy in early 1982, requesting a photo. He replied within a few weeks, apologizing for the delay. His letter can be read here. In part, he writes:

"Please excuse the long delay. I've been touring and in Europe until now, since the opening of the film PENNIES FROM HEAVEN in which they used my record, it shot me back top side again and I'm opening at the COOKERY in N.Y. for six weeks on February 15. It's great again!"

He continued, thanking me for my loyalty and support, and signed the letter, "Always in song, Arthur Tracy". He enclosed this photo.

Below, Mr. Tracy can be seen in clip from a movie in which he sings "Marta" and "Trees".

Sethma Williams

Sethma Williams is a little-known bit player in some Hollywood movies of the 1930s. What brought her to my attention was the publication of a photo in the latest issue of The Journal of the Three Stooges Fan Club. She is pictured with another actress, Judy Malcolm, in a pose with The Three Stooges for one of their short comedies, "Dizzy Pilots" (1943) - however, neither actress is in the completed movie.

(Below, Sethma on the right, between Moe and Larry):
I decided to try to locate Ms. Williams, and a search through archival records at Ancestry.com, led me to finding her living in California. I turned over the contact information to Frank Reighter, another star member of the 'Stooges Supporting Players Locating Team'. The notes and information below have been compiled by Frank after he had a few conversations with Sethma, as well as doing further research at Ancestry. I'm publishing the notes here as Frank sent them to me, so readers of this blog can see how information is compiled and pieced together. The photos have been provided by Gary Lassin, president of the Fan Club.
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Born Nov 1, 1911 or 1915 in either Jasper, KS. or in 1917,somewhere in Missouri (1911 or 1915 from Ship Passenger Logs); (1917 from 1930 Federal Census).

Mother is Grace F. Williams, born about 1882 in Illinois. No Father named, but listed in Census as being born in South Dakota. Grace may have been an unmarried mother. She was a Real Estate Saleswoman.

Maternal grandmother is Mary E. Ellars, born in Indiana about 1853 Her father was born in New York; her mother in Indiana.

Grace F. Williams also had a daughter listed in 1930 Census: Mildred E. Hawkins, born in California about 1926. May not have been her natural daughter. Mildred's parents are listed as being born in (father) Virginia; (mother) in Michigan.

Residence in 1930 Census: 527 1/2 Walnut Avenue, Long Beach City, Los Angeles, CA.

At some point, Sethma married Philip Frederick Morgenstern (Later known professionally as Freddy Morgan). He was a member of Spike Jones City Slickers. He died Dec. 21, 1970 in Alameda, CA. of a heart attack suffered in the midst of his stage act.

They traveled, possibly in connection with Freddy's performing. He was also a partner in an act called "Morgan and Stone" (Leo Livingston, a school chum).They landed from Plymouth, England aboard the Champlain, in New York, NY Mar 29, 1933. From Le Havre, FR. aboard the Normandie, in New York, NY Sept. 28, 1936, and from Le Havre, FR. aboard the Normandie, landing in New York, NY Sept. 26, 1938.

Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures, was her "God Uncle". "Uncle Harry" may have had the photos done for "Dizzy Pilots", even though there was never a scene planned for the ladies.

Sethma's film career is listed on IMDB as follows:

1. My Favorite Spy (1951) (uncredited) .... Dancer
2. Dizzy Pilots (1943) (uncredited) .... Girl in hangar
3. Footlight Serenade (1942) (uncredited) .... Chorus Girl
4. Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) (uncredited) .... Native
   ... aka The Story of Benjamin Blake
5. Too Many Girls (1940) (uncredited) .... Marie

In May, 1940 the Marx Brothers performed on stage at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. a stage review of their yet-to-be-filmed feature movie "Go West". Among the cast were Sethma and Rudolph. Rudolph Caspers was William T. Caspers' brother. Sept. 5, 1955, the LA Times reported a Labor Day weekend in Santa Barbara, CA., with entertainment provided by Rudy and Lorna Caspers, and Sethma and Bill Caspers (Banjos +). The LA Times reported on April 21, 1957 that Santa Barbara was planning a 175th Anniversary Celebration. Among the entertainment will be "the Sethma-Bill Caspers entertainment troupe, which included Rudolph and Lorna Caspers, giving musical and dance impressions of their South Pacific jaunt".

Divorce filing listed in LA Times Aug 13, 1941 by Sethma Morggenstern (sic) against Phillip. Philip Frederick Morgenstern was her first husband (professionally known as Freddy Morgan).

She later married William T. Caspers, born Aug. 19, 1922. Public Records show a Divorce between Sethma Williams and William T. Caspers in Jume 1972, and a marriage between William T. Caspers and Joyce E. Carr, aka Joyce E. Anderson (born about 1928) in Santa Barbara, CA. Oct. 10, 1981.

Social Security Death Index lists William T. Caspers Died April 24, 1999.

Social Security Death Index lists Rudolph W. Caspers Died Aug 29, 1958 in Santa Barbara, CA.

Here are two more photos:

Sethma Williams Caspers is alive and well, now living in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, California.

She is expected to make her first public appearance at the Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank, California on July 11 and 12.

UPDATE: December 26, 2014

Sethma Williams died on or about November 25, 2014, age 99. 

Elizabeth Montgomery - Forever 'Samantha Stephens'

Elizabeth Montgomery was a movie and tv actress whose career began in the 1950s. She guested on many tv shows until she landed the starring role as 'Samantha Stephens' on the 1960s sitcom "Bewitched". Of all the various roles she played in other tv shows and movies over her long career, it's this one for which she will always be remembered.

In 1983, I sent her this photo, to her home address in Beverly Hills, California, and she returned it within a month.

Here is a "Bewitched" mini episode.

Emil Sitka - 'The Fourth Stooge'

I thought this would be an appropriate 'Fourth of July' posting, honoring 'The Fourth Stooge'.

Emil Sitka was a veteran comedic actor who appeared in nearly a couple of hundred movies and tv shows from the 1940s into the early 1990s. He is best known, however, for his many appearances (more than three dozen) with The Three Stooges, earning him the title of 'The Fourth Stooge'. He had the distinction of working with all six of the Stooges (Moe, Curly, and Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, and Curly-Joe DeRita).

Sitka's most famous role was in "Brideless Groom" (1947), as a justice of the peace who begins every service with the words, "Hold hands, you love birds". It brought him lasting fame among Stooges fans, and the words are even inscribed on his grave marker.

When the Stooges were filming "Kook's Tour" (1970), Larry suffered a stroke, and couldn't continue in the act. Sometime afterward, Moe asked Emil if he would be the new "stooge in the middle" to replace Larry, and Emil accepted. There were some publicity photos circulated, but the new team never made any movies because Moe became ill and soon died, and Emil's membership as one of The Three Stooges ended.

In 1974, when I was living in North Hollywood, I'd heard that Emil Sitka was living in Hollywood and liked hearing from fans. I looked him up in the phone directory, and one Saturday afternoon, I called. Mr. Sitka was more than cordial - he was very open to hearing from fans, as he appreciated each and every one. We had a long conversation, and it was the first of many calls.

During my two years in California, I worked in the photography lab of a major defense company, and had access to all of the printing facilities. I had one very nice scene still of Emil with the Stooges, from the 1947 short "Hold That Lion". I made a negative and then printed several 4x6 photos. I sent them to Emil, asking him to sign one and he could keep the others to give to other fans. Emil signed the front of one photo with his name, and wrote on the back: 'To Bill, Let's "Hold That Lion' of friendship forever!" and signed it again.

We talked usually once a month, sometimes briefly if he was on his way out, and sometimes at length if he had many topics to discuss. When he got to know me better, he surprised me by sending me this composite photo, inscribed as: 'To Bill Cappello, My most special fan and friend-Emil Sitka'.

When Larry Fine died in January of 1975, Emil attended the funeral service, and when it was over, a woman walked up to him and hugged him, saying "Oh Emil, it's good to see you again!". He didn't recognize her at first, but when she'd gone away, he realized she was Christine McIntyre, whom I had located just a few months earlier. He always said he'd call her some day, but never got around to it.

I finally met Emil in person, on April 25, 1976, shortly before I left California to move back to New York. My friend Dick Baldwin came out to Los Angeles a couple of weeks earlier, and together we would drive back east. The three of us met at a Carl's Jr. hamburger restaurant in Hollywood, and enjoyed a light lunch and fun conversation. After the meal, we went outside and took some pictures. The three of us are in this photo, and here is one of Emil and me.

Below are two more photos taken that day, taken with my 35mm camera. Emil liked to do character poses, hence the 'strangling' photo below and the 'coffee cup' photo further down.
Here are two more photos, taken by Dick, with Emil's little Kodak Instamatic camera.
Over the next several years, I continued my friendship with Emil. We exchanged Christmas cards each year, of which a few randomly selected ones can be seen below.

From 1979:
This one is not dated, but from some time in the 1980s:

Emil suffered a stroke in the mid-1990s, and while he recovered somewhat, his handwriting became a bit 'shaky'. This is evident in the card shown below:
Over the next few years, Emil's activities were limited, but he still kept in contact as much as possible with his fans. In January of 1998, Emil suffered another stroke and died. He is very much missed by his legion of fans.

His son Saxon has created a website devoted to Emil, and it can be viewed here. It has had over 250,000 visits to date, and while it is not often updated, it is worth visiting.

Here is a photo of Emil's grave marker:

Adrian Booth (formerly Lorna Gray)

Adrian Booth was an actress who was born Virginia Pound, and used the stage name of Lorna Gray during the early part of her movie career. She later changed her stage name to Adrian Booth when she settled at Republic Pictures in the mid 1940s, and has been known by that name ever since.

Ms. Booth is very adept at playing dramatic roles as well as comedic parts. She is also very good at playing female villains, as she did in the 1942 serial "Perils of Nyoka", in which she was 'Vultura, Queen of the Desert'.

I remember Ms. Booth primarily for her role as 'Mattie Herring' in The Three Stooges 1940 short, "You Nazty Spy!". This short has the distinction of being the first Hollywood movie to spoof Hitler. But she appeared in a few other Stooges comedies, as well as two-reel comedies with some of the other comic actors at Columbia Pictures.

Ms. Booth was married for many years to actor David Brian, best remembered for his role as "Mr. District Attorney" in the 1954 tv series.

I wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Brian in 1982, sending each a photo, to their residence in Sherman Oaks, California. Both inscribed and signed the photos to me, and returned them within two weeks. Hers can be seen here and his can be seen here.

In 1995, Ms. Booth was a special guest at The Three Stooges Fan Club Convention in Trevose, Pennsylvania. I attended and had several enjoyable conversations with her. She presented me with this vintage scene photo from the Stooges movie "Three Sappy People" (1939), signed with both of her names.

Below is shown the front and back of one of the handouts from the 1995 Convention.
Below are a couple of photos from the 1995 Convention (the people seen with Adrian are other members of the Fan Club - I don't have any photos of myself with her).

On July 26, Adrian will be 91, and still attends conventions and reunions.

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was a child actress of the 1930s who became popular with audiences because of her perky on-screen personality. She continued acting into her adult years, and even had two of her own tv series: "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958) and "Shirley Temple Theatre" (1960).

One of my favorite fantasy movies of all time is a Shirley Temple feature, "The Blue Bird" (1940). Her role is that of 'Myltyl'. 'Mytyl' and her brother 'Tyltyl', a woodchopper's children, are led by the 'Fairy Berylune' on a magical trip through the past, present, and future to locate the Blue Bird of Happiness.

When she left the movie business in the 1960s, she ventured into politics and eventually held several diplomatic posts, including U.S. Ambassador to Ghana in the 1970s and to Czechoslovakia in the 1980s.

In 1981, I sent two photos to Ms. Temple, to her residence in Woodside, California. She signed both and returned them within a month. They can be seen here and here. She signed her full married name as she was known at that time, Shirley Temple Black.

Here is a slideshow featuring photos of Ms. Temple from child to adult.


And here she is singing her signature song 'On the Good Ship Lollipop' from the 1934 movie "Bright Eyes".

Sir Lancelot

Lancelot Pinard was a Trinidad-born calypso singer and actor. When he began his career as a calypso singer, he chose to add 'Sir' to his name, and became known simply as 'Sir Lancelot'.

He was seen in several of the Val Lewton-produced movies of the 1940s, including "I Walked With a Zombie" (1943), "The Ghost Ship" (1943), and "The Curse of the Cat People" (1944). In "Zombie", his role was a calypso singer whose song 'Shame and Sorrow in the Family' told the story of the characters in the movie. He sang a parody of this song in the 1945 comedy "Zombies on Broadway".

'Shame and Sorrow' actually became a well-known calypso novelty song, 'Shame and Scandal in the Family' with lyrics different from those heard in the movie. It was later recorded by several other calypso singers and groups.

In 1982, I found a phone listing for Mr. Pinard, who was living in Los Angeles. I called and had a pleasant but brief conversation with him, telling him how much I enjoyed his music. Mr. Pinard had a 'musical tone' to his voice when speaking. He appreciated my interest, and told me that he recorded many records over the years, but all were long unavailable (since then, there has been a cd release of several of his single records). I asked if he had any photos. He said he did and would be happy to send one, so I wrote to him, reiterating my interest.

Mr. Pinard sent this photo within two weeks of my written request. He apparently used two pens to sign, as you can see the words "With best wishes" are bolder than the inscription below it.

He died in 2001, shortly before his 99th birthday.

I haven't been able to find any videos of Sir Lancelot's movie performances, so the best I can do is provide this link to his cd "Trinidad is Changing" available from Amazon. You can listen to samples of the songs there.