Month: November 2015

elvagreen123

A Symbol of Abundance

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The horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts. The horn originates from classical antiquity, it has continued as a symbol in Western art, and it is particularly associated with the Thanksgiving holiday in North America and with harvest, prosperity and spiritual abundance.

This time last year, I had just started my blog.  I was a bit discouraged about the world situation at the time, as I still am today, however, this year I am experiencing more hope.  I have finished 90% of a goal that I set for myself, and I have stuck with this blog for a whole year.

My first post, Can’t is Not in My Vocabulary, explained how I came up with the bright idea to enlighten my grandson, in book form, on what a person can accomplish, by telling him about his grandfather, Eddie Green, a Black man born in poverty in 1891,  who rose to prominence despite many obstacles, and, I discussed how I would use my posts as a way to chronicle the writing of the biography about my father.

While doing the research for my book and verifying information for my posts, I discovered way more than I expected, not just about my father’s rise, but also about what motivates people, and about determination and how much work actually goes into achieving one’s goals, and how that work can be extremely rewarding. What I hoped to impart to my grandson, morphed into a desire to share inspiration to any person who feels they “can’t”. I want the experience of reading my posts to be as uplifting and inspirational as possible to those who could use a boost.

In America, Thanksgiving is traditionally a celebration of the blessings of the year. I am celebrating the achievement of my goal. I am celebrating the friendships I have acquired over this past year. I am celebrating the fact that people “follow” me. Yee haw! I am celebrating the fact that I am still just as gung ho about the research and the writing, as I was when I began this project.

I have a vague memory of my mom putting out her yearly Horn of Plenty for the Thanksgiving season, way back when I was a child, and it seems to me that, though I could not articulate this, I knew then that her well-used bamboo horn signified a never-ending source of good things. May you experience an abundance of thanksgiving.

 

 

 

 

 

elvagreen123

NETWORKING-A DEFINITE BENEFIT TO MY QUEST

Grandma Norma 1945
Grandma Norma 1945

Hello Family:  Personal, wordpress and FB.  Yesterday I got a chance to attend a mini-fair and community gathering at the William Grant Still Community Arts Center in the West Adams District of Los Angeles, California.  William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony (his first symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television.images (12)

The Art Center focuses on the artistic efforts of the community and has a variety of programming throughout the year reflecting the  multicultural diversity of its neighborhood where Still resided for twenty years.  It has been serving the Westside of Los Angeles since 1978. 

My mom, pictured above, had aspirations to become an opera star, and I thought by attending this mini-fair I might be able to hook up with someone who remembered those days, the late 1930s through 1945.  Well, I did.  I also discovered a lot more information about the 1940s and 1950s and what was then a mostly Black neighborhood that was home to many entertainers, architects, doctors and lawyers.

I am focusing on entertainers in this post because that is what my mother and father did.  I chose to go to the gathering at the William Grant Still Center because I also figured I would find people there who had an interest in opera.  My mom used to sing at weddings at the Wilfandel Club on Adams Boulevard, and I found out yesterday that the club is still active.  Possibly I will be able to find more information when I visit them.

I was actually able to provide some new information to the people I met, who were very interested in who Grandma Norma was.  I forgot to mention while I was there that mom was Hattie McDaniel’s protege’, (Hattie McDaniel, first Black female to win an Academy Award,) though I did show them a picture with mom and Hattie, which a couple of people copied for themselves.  I also had the following article, but I didn’t get a chance to share it yesterday.  ” Representing Miss Hattie McDaniel as guest of Miss Lena Horne at her “after theatre,” party closing her Headline Orpheum appearance, was Miss Norma Anne Amato and her mother, Sinclaire White Amato, violinist and pedagog.” The Caifornial Eagle newspaper, June 22, 1944.

I was able to share information about mom’s mother, Sinclaire, who like Mr. Still, played the violin and was the sponsor of the Music Arts Association back in the day.  1931 to be exact.  I was able to become acquainted with someone who would like to begin some type of Art Appreciation club here in L A. again for our kids.

Of course, I also took pictures of Eddie, my father, songwriter, producer, comedian, to share with the people I met. As I suspected, even though there were older people at this function, not one of them remembered Eddie.  However, I found people who knew of people that Eddie worked with.  So I was able to acquaint them with Eddie and I got a chance to exchange cards with other writers of black history.

Bringing Eddie’s accomplishments in the entertainment industry out of the shadows is my quest. I was able to accomplish that, somewhat, at yesterday’s event.   I  found one one-page article with information on it that I could connect to Eddie.  Such as:  The article mentioned Clarence Muse, actor, director, composer. I have this picture of Eddie and Clarence  00001389 Courtesy of L. A. Public Library, donated by Attorney Walter L. Gordon, Jr., my godfather.

The article I saw yesterday  also mentioned Lena Horne, I have an article  from the Pittsburgh Courier, 1945, in which the columnist wrote:   “Last Monday through the courtesy of the NBC broadcasting studios, I witnessed the second production of “Jubilee” to be sent to those fine fellows across the sea:   Eddie Green did a comic script with Santa Claus (Whitman) and Lena Horne.”

This same one page article that I found yesterday mentioned Sydney P. Dones, former actor and producer, well I found an article from The California Eagle, March 20, 1947, that mentioned Eddie and my godfather being at the same function, as  Mr. Dones.:  “Dropped in on the candlelight introduction of Les Dames club Sunday evening, Atty. Walt Gordon seemed to be having a grand time greeting old friends, as did Norma and Eddie Green, Sidney Dones.”

The point here is that though Eddie was a visible, well-known figure in those days, it seem to me that he has faded from view. I hope to rectify that.

These folks lived near each other in the Adams Historical District in the 40s and 50s.  Hattie McDaniel on Harvard, Sidney Dones, on Hobart, Clarence Muse on 24th Street, Rochester, a friend of the family lived off of 37th Street and we lived on Second Avenue, near 36th Street.

I got the chance yesterday to network and share Eddie’s history, and mom’s.  And I will go to great lengths to do that.  It took me 4 hours on the bus to get there, same to get back (MTA and Red Line), but I did it.

I will leave you with a few lines from the Eddie Green, Ernest Whitman, Lena Horne skit.

SANTA(Ernest Whitman): Well, my boy, I brought you something that you’ll like. This is your package.

EDDIE: I guess I’ll open it. Well, looka here, it’s a Lena Horne mamas doll, ain’t that nice. It’ll be good if when I squeeze it, it says mama.

LENA (seductively): Oh daddy.

EDDIE: Well, That’s good enough!

By folks, thanks for stopping by, and thank you Kristina, for giving me the idea to research Grandma Norma’s singing career.

Peace and love

.

elvagreen123

EVEN A GOOD LIFE CAN BE PUZZLING

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Charlie Cantor, Eddie Green, Ed Gardner, Florence Halop, Alan Reed. Duffy’s Tavern Cast. 1942-1943

Hi.  The picture at the top (I hope, WordPress may place it differently) of this post, is the cast of the  Duffy’s Tavern radio program, in the early years.  For those of you who may be too young to remember, Duffy’s Tavern ran on the radio from 1941 until 1950, once a week.   Ed Gardner was the creator of the program and had been active in radio as a producer, writer and actor for many years. Ed portrayed “Archie”, the star of the program.  My father, Eddie Green,  who by this time was a well-known comedian, and movie producer,  played “Eddie, the Waiter”.  The others in the photo I will touch on in a separate post.  Duffy’s Tavern always opened with the ringing of the phone, after which “Archie”  would answer, “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat, Archie speakin’, Duffy ain’t here.”  After which the half-hour program would proceed with funny banter between Archie and Eddie, the waiter, and their assorted bar patrons and their weekly celebrity guests.

It is said that Duffy’s Tavern has inspired references in popular culture formats, such as in the TV show, The Simpsons, where you see Moe’s Tavern and Moe answers the telephone with “Moe’s Tavern, where the elite meet to drink.”

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And, Cheers, which was co-created by James Burrows, the son of Duffy’s Tavern co-creator Abe Burrows.

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John Ratzenberger, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Pearlman, George Wendt, Ted Danson, Shelley Long

In 1948, Ed Gardner took his program, Duffy’s Tavern, to the stage.  The New York Strand, to be exact,Strand_Theatre_(Manhattan)_-_croppedwhere the program received a mention in Walter Winchell’s Broadway column in the Albany New York Times,  “Orchids to Ed (Archie) Gardner’s Duffy’s Tavern at the Strand.”  My father, Eddie was showcased during the stage production,  according to Martin Grams, Jr., in his book, Duffy’s Tavern, A History of Ed Gardner’s Radio Program, where he wrote, “Green was even given an opportunity to take the spotlight for a deftly contrived pantomime routine about poker playing.”

Sixty-Six years later, I found a picture of Eddie on stage at the Strand doing his pantomime.  I cannot post it because I have to purchase it first because it belongs to a local museum.  Evidently, someone asked Eddie to autograph a picture of himself and so he wrote:  “May you never be as puzzled as I am here”.  Seems like a strange thing to write, however, it gives me an insight into my father as a person and not just as an entertainer.  And I don’t feel too bad when I become “puzzled”, about the process of writing a book and choosing the best pictures and marketing and networking.

My father was a man who chose the direction he wanted to go in life and stuck with it, despite the puzzling aspects,  Inspiring, don’t you think?

Thanks, for stopping by.