Harold Arlen

Berlin's 1965 Jazz Piano Workshop reunited some of the instrument's finest exponents from the full stylistic spectrum of jazz piano. The great Teddy Wilson was on hand to represent the swing piano style; the father of jazz piano improvisation Earl Hines was also present; Lennie Tristano served as an exponent of modern exploratory piano playing; two of the idiom's most lyrical modern pianists, Bill Evans and John Lewis were in attendance, and a nexus between the traditional and the modern, Jaki Byard -who alternated free and stride passages on the same tune- filled out this historical lineup. A notable absence was pianist Bud Powell, who was then living a troublesome period which would end with his death the following year. The two other main influences missing from the performance were Thelonious Monk, who was touring Europe with his own band, and Art Tatum, who had died in 1956.

Mewsette is a starry-eyed cat who grows weary of life on a French farm and heads for the excitement of 1890s Paris. Her tomcat suitor, Jaune-Tom, and his furry cohort, Robespierre, chase after Mewsette, but she's already fallen under the spell of a feline modeling-school racket run by Madame Rubens-Chatte and her slimy assistant, Meowrice.

In 1956, BLOOMER GIRL was presented in a live television production starring the magnificent Barbara Cook, whose star was then on the rise, with leading roles in CANDIDE and THE MUSIC MAN still in her future. A solid success when it opened on Broadway in 1944, BLOOMER GIRL boasts a glorious score by the legendary team of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg (THE WIZARD OF OZ). The book by Fred Saidy is set at the brink of the Civil War and addresses issues of women's equality (priorities were the right to vote and to wear bloomers, a liberating alternative to hoop skirts) and racial equality.

An ex-theater actor is given one more chance to star in a musical yet his alcoholism may prevent it from happening.

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

A film director, in bad standing with his studio, tries to turn a local carnival dancer into a "French" movie star and pass her off as his big new discovery

Pepe Le Moko leads a gang of jewel thieves in the Casbah of Algiers, where he has exiled himself to escape imprisonment in his native France.

Hafiz, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself.

Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly falls for photographer Joan Manion, pursuing her in the guise of a carefree drifter.

Bumbling reporter Robert Kittredge has been fired after bungling his latest assignment. His career isn't all he's botched up: his girlfriend Chris is tired of waiting for him to marry her. When he gets a hot tip on some Nazi spies operating in Washington, D.C., he convinces Chris to help him break the story so he can get his job back. The pair soon find themselves in several awkward predicaments as they track the criminals down in a night club, a burlesque show, and face a final showdown at a beauty salon.

A young promoter is accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn, a young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray and gossip columnist Larry Evans.

This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, Fay Bainter, Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Sinclair Lewis, and more, with host Bob Hope.

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

A French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship. They arrange to reunite six months later, if neither has changed their mind.

A Broadway show is forced to bow to the whims of a talentless, whacky, but rich, Broadway actress with a contract.

Neurotic Broadway star Al Jackson faces professional ruin when he loses his voice. While recuperating in the country, he falls in love with farm girl Ruth Haines, the pretty aunt of precocious little Sybil Haines.

Neurotic Broadway star Al Jackson faces professional ruin when he loses his voice. While recuperating in the country, he falls in love with farm girl Ruth Haines, the pretty aunt of precocious little Sybil Haines.