I love this portrait. I found it online one day while looking for information for my book. At that time I had one head shot of my father that had been given to me by my mother for my 40th birthday, and a few pictures I had found at online auctions and in newspapers. I was so excited to see this portrait that I contacted the artist and thanked him. He sent me the portrait! He’s a fan. Well, this portrait will be featured on the front cover of my book, along with the title, Eddie Green The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer, and my name, of course.
The finished product is in the works as I write this.
I am fortunate to have a good number of followers of this blog, some for a long time and some very recent. For the more recent followers, this blog has pretty much been about my book writing journey regarding my father, Eddie Green who was a prominent moviemaker, film star, Old Time Radio icon and beloved comedian active in the early 1900s, but whose name became buried in the sands of time. I have spent years researching and in February of 2015 I bought my first laptop for the specific reason of writing my book which will be published this year. I will post a copy of the front and back covers on the book when I receive my completed copy.
The covers depict Eddie in white coat and black tie (he was always sharp), and it reminds me of the fact that he frequently emceed floor shows, also. Especially after he became famous as Eddie, the waiter on the Old Time Radio show Duffy’s Tavern. For instance, during the Spring of 1947 he emceed the 68th Anniversary of the leadership of Charlotta A. Bass of the California Eagle newspaper (In 1952, Bass became the first African-American woman nominated for Vice President, as a candidate of the Progressive Party.)
One of the performers in that floor show was Mabel Fairbanks, a Black ice skating star. Ms. Fairbanks performed in the 1930s through the 1940s, but because she was Black she was denied the chance to compete in the national qualifying events for the Olympics, though she did tour nationally. In 1997 she became the first African American to be inducted into the U. S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Today we have 19-year-old Simone Biles who has become the first woman to win four consecutive U. S. all-around titles in 42 years and who will be attending the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It all blends together and becomes relevant to today’s generation.
All you wonderful people out there, I welcome comments, anecdotes or neighborly hellos, and tell your friends to check me out, cause we are going places.
2015 has been a good year for me. I have written a book, my first ever. In the process of writing this book, I have increased my knowledge of show business, of people and of life in general. In order to write, I have had to read. Through careful reading, I have found helpful information that I would not have found otherwise.
I have met wonderful people who have provided me with great information, and hooked me up with other wonderful people, from the US to the UK. I have even met the family of a woman who was in one of my father’s (Eddie Green) movies from 1939.
I have enjoyed every minute of this experience, well, maybe not every minute, proofing my own work proved to be tiresome, after all, there is spellcheck, and one has to concentrate when proofreading, you can’t just skim through your manuscript. Anyhow, I do love it. I recommend biographical writing as a good way to learn history.
I have acquired a following. Haha, who would have thunk it! My brother told me it would happen. Keeps a smile on my face.
When I began this blog, I searched a certain site for images of my father and I could not find one picture. Now, I think there are three pictures of Eddie on the site and one of ME.
January will be the beginning of the proofing and editing of my book.
May you all have a glorious new year’s eve and a happy, prosperous 2016.
I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it
I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!
Hi, there! I have been working diligently on the biography of my father, Eddie Green, for the past couple of weeks, because I am so close to finishing and I want to get the manuscript sent out for proofreading before I send it to a publisher. One year ago I bought my first laptop and started this project. AND THEN, last week, out of the blue, I received a message from a lady whose 90-plus year old Grandmother, whose name is Millicent, had been in one of the movies my father directed, produced and starred in, “What Goes Up.” The movie was made in Fort Lee, New Jersey in 1939.
Evidently, Millicent had for years been telling the younger members of her family about those days, but no one really listened until one family member decided to investigate. She went on line and found my blog (yay!) after typing in Eddie’s name, and now I get to add a bit more information to my book, and I get to share a little of Millicent’s story (she played a chorus girl in the movie) with my readers. This is exactly the type of thing I wanted to happen, though I wasn’t sure it would.
Millicent is the shorter woman in the front in the black dress. I have had a copy of this photo for a long time, but had no idea who these women were. Now I know one of them. Millicent and I live in different cities and have never met, but, boy, am I glad her relative found me. (Laugh Jamboree was a Toddy Pictures production, though the movies, Dress Rehearsal, What Goes Up and Comes Midnight, were Eddie’s.)
Through her granddaughter, Millicent has provided me with more insight into Eddie as an entertainer and as a movie producer than she will ever know. For instance, she says that Eddie was “all business”. Well, in a Baltimore Newspaper article from around the same time that Millicent knew Eddie, the headline reads: ” As a Comedian, He’s Very Funny, As a Business Man, He’s Very Sensible and Comedy is a Business.” The article goes on to say “The fact that Eddie is so funny on the screen, stage and radio is due to the highly intelligent and efficient manner in which he conducts his work.”
The other thing about this contact with Millicent, is that, had my mother, Norma, still been alive today, she would have been 92 years old. For those that don’t know Eddie married my mom when he was 54 and mom was 22. So Millicent was a cast member in Eddie’s movie, about the same time Eddie first met my mom. I love Millicent, I don’t know her, but that’s ok. I have a few more tidbits to share (Millicent was a beauty contest winner), but I will save them for another post.
Being able to look back and “experience” the past through my book and this blog, brings me so much joy. I mean, just because its 2015 does not mean past times are inconsequential. Past times, older people, are extremely important to who we have become today, and well worth the attention, in my opinion.
Thank you, Sharon.
And, thank you, for stopping by.
Lyrics for “I’m So Excited” courtesy of The Pointer Sisters
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.
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 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.
For the past week or so, my mission has been to get permission to use certain photos in the book I am writing, order the photos, re-read the book before I send it out for copy editing, and looking for a copy editor. And for some reason, it seems like these things have to be done right away. Which they don’t. I am not working on a schedule. I don’t have a contract that says 4 books in 4 weeks. I don’t HAVE a contract. I started this project because I had a goal. To bring my father, Eddie Green, out of obscurity to highlight his achievements as a Black man in the early 1900s, and to put the information in book form for my grandson. Which is what I have done and what I am doing. I shared in an earlier post that, I look forward to my day because I can see the goal, and I am working towards that goal. I am on track. I need to remember that.
As I get closer to my book being a finished product, I realized that I have put next to nothing in this blog about my mother, Norma, Eddie’s fourth, I think, wife. I have a chapter in the book on her, so I will just take from that for this post.
My mom, Norma, was born on November 17, 1923, Her mother, Sinclaire was a very light skinned Black woman who chose to live as something other than Black, so by the time my mom entered school, Sinclaire was listing herself as Spanish on my mom’s school records. My mom was born Norma Murcock, but by age sixteen, Sinclaire had remarried and mom’s last name became Amato. Norma began singing, violin and piano lessons very young, and began performing for audiences when she was seven, usually at the Second Baptist Church, or at the Murdock Music Arts Association, and as she got older, she would sing at weddings at the Wilfandel Club in the Historic Adams District in Los Angeles.
Norma Amato, about 17
When mom was 18, an article appeared in a Los Angeles newspaper which helped me verify my mother’s heritage. Here is a portion of the article: “An assistant highway surveying engineer in the business world, Norma Amato, who sings fluently in Italian, French and Spanish, will render a selection. Norma Anne Amato, 18 years old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guiseppe (Joseph) Amato, who majored in music and graduated from St. Cecilia and Romona Convents was the young lyric soprano soloist featured by the Daughters of the American Revolution at their National Convention banquet in Los Angeles.” Mom was studying to be an opera singer.
As time went on, Norma would appear in more articles: “Miss Norma Amato is the protégé of Miss McDaniel of Gone with the Wind fame.” The group picture here is Norma, Eddie, Louise Beavers, Miss Beaver’s dad, Hattie McDaniel and an unidentified woman,
In 1944 The California Eagle, printed this glowing tip: “Tip to Talent Scouts: Keep your ears on Norma Amato’s delightful thrushing. She has the kind of voice you hear only in a dream.”
“Only in a dream.” This was the path on which mom was working.
On November 17, 1944, Norma became 21 years old. At the time, she was still living with her mother, Sinclaire. One year later, she was married to Eddie.
I am realizing a dream in real time. Something anybody can do.
Hello. In the on-going saga of my research into my father’s life, as far as the book is concerned, I have completed my first draft. So emotional…..I had to come to the end. I cried for three days after I finished. Going so thoroughly into Eddie’s life was almost like being there. Of course, I still need to edit, add-on, delete, clean up the manuscript. And I need to add the TOC and a Bibliography, etc. But it is really happening!
In this blog, after showing you Eddie’s television debut in my last post, and after having already mentioned that Eddie opened a restaurant in Harlem in 1937, I am now at 1939.
“The Hot Mikado” was a 1939 musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado”, with an African-American cast. Mike Todd originally produced it after the Federal Theatre Project turned down his offer to manage the WPA production of “The Swing Mikado” (another all-black adaptation of “The Mikado”). In this production, Eddie played, Koko, the High Executioner (formerly a tailor).
Eddie Green
The musical was first produced at the Broadhurst Theatre from March 23, 1939 to June 3, 1939, running for 85 performances. The original cast included Bill “Bojangles” Robinson as The Mikado; Frances Brock as Pitti-Sing; Rosa Brown as Katisha; Maurice Ellis as Pooh-Bah; Eddie Green as Ko-Ko; Rosetta LeNoire as Peep-Bo; James A. Lilliard as Pish-Tush; Bob Parrish as Nanki-Poo; Gwendolyn Reyde as Yum-Yum; Freddie Robinson as Messenger Boy; and Vincent Shields as Red Cap.
The musical was then produced at the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair for two seasons and was reportedly one of the most popular attractions at the fair.
The video below, which I found on-line and which is extremely rare, is a silent filming of portions of the performance at the World’s Fair. Eddie enters first as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, and then you see him standing next to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the “Mikado”. Eddie appears in a few more places in the film. As Ko-ko, Eddie performed a number of songs, including “Titwillow”, though this was not caught in the film.
“Titwillow” occurs in a scene with the love interest, Katisha. “Katisha wonders why death refuses to come and bring peace to her broken heart (she sings “Alone and Yet Alive), and Ko-Ko springs into action, telling her that he’ll die on the spot if she doesn’t accept his love. Katisha claims no one has ever died of a broken heart, so Ko-Ko responds with the tragic tale of TitWillow, a little bird who wasted away due to blighted affection.”
My mom, Norma, told me about Eddie singing this song in a play, but never did I think I would actually see a portion of this play with my own eyes. Picturing Eddie singing “Titwillow”, is not easy to do, but according to the Brooklyn Eagle on July 9, 1939: “Anyway, he gets a hilarious twist into Ko-Ko that Messrs. G. and S. never thought of, and when he swings “Titwillow” usually comes close to stopping the show.”
Eddie was living in Harlem, by now with wife number three, or four, and he already had a grown daughter. He had met my mother, through friends in Hollywood as he travelled a lot by then from New York, to L. A., but his home at the time was 138th Street in New York. After the “Hot Mikado” Eddie would begin making his own films.
I love sharing this information. It may be too old-timey for a younger generation, but keeping the achievements of those who came before us alive, allows the younger generation a chance to see from whence they have come and, also, to see how far they can go, especially with the knowledge, technology, and, yes, opportunities available today.
Hey, comments are welcome, keep comin’ back, and thanks, for stopping by.
EDDIE GREEN OPENS
HARLEM RESTAURANT August 7, 1937
Eddie Green, star of the radio.
stage and screen, has entered another
field with the opening of his
swanky and cozy Bar-Bee-Q shop on
Seventh avenue near 126th street In
the heart of the section frequented
by sportsmen, actors and artists of all
kinds. In the short space that it has
been opened, this food emporium has
become a rendezvous for celebrities of
the theatrical world.
The above is a quote from the New York Age newspaper, August 7, 1937.
Paul Whiteman
In the Brooklyn Eagle, 1939 it says: Eddie “Is one of Harlem’s busiest citizens. Outside of theater and radio work, owns and operates two barbeque emporiums. Serves nothing butspareribs. Says Paul Whiteman is his best customer at the one on 7th Avenue.
Eddie came from East Baltimore’s alley house area where he was born in 1891, and worked himself up to owning two restaurants in Harlem.
I watched the funeral for B. B. King today and the Rev. Herron Wilson, said, in his eulogy, talking about life and death and conduct, “It’s not where you come from, it’s where you’re headed.” So far, Eddie is headed in a good direction.
Eddie, at this time, was married to a lady by the name of Constance from Newark, New Jersey, happily married according to the newspaper. He hadn’t met my mother, yet.
I decided to insert her into this post since they would meet soon, and because mom was pursuing her own career in the entertainment field at about this same time.
Found this particular article today, just by chance, so I thought I could put it here as a bit of background on my mom’s home life. In 1933, when my mom was ten years old, she found out that the man who she thought was her father, was not. In those days, everybody’s business got in the papers, I guess just like today. This is what happened with my mom’s mother, Sinclaire and her husband, Alfonso Murdock:
WHITE MAN NAMED CORRESPONDENT
IN SENSATIONAL DIVORCE SUIT Californian Accused Wife of Remaining Away From Home On Pretext of Caring For Sick Friends
LOS ANGELES, CaL, June 8.—(ANP)—Declaring that
his wife had remained away from home weeks at a time residing
in San Bernardino, Cal., Alfonso Murdock, pioneer
and widely known in social circles, was granted a divorce
Wednesday by Judge Harry F. Sewell, from Sinclaire White
Murdock.
Mr. Murdook testified that his
wife would come home only to get
fresh clothes and return to San
Bernardino. He said that he
thought at first that his wife was
caring for a sick friend and did
not learn different until he went
there and made the discovery that
his wife was attending different
places in company with Joe Amato,
white.
This was the prelude to me learning who my mother’s biological father was. In fact, my mother was not 100% certain before she died and I have only verified who Amato was within the last few years. That he was indeed white, an Italian gentleman that her mother had been seeing on the side for years and that he was my mother’s father. Sinclaire eventually took the name Amato for herself and my mom. At ten years of age my mother wasn’t quite sure what had transpired, except that Murdock was gone and never wanted to see them again and Joe became a permanent fixture. And she had to change her last name from Murdock to Amato.
Sinclaire, my grandmother, was a “pillar” of the church. She taught violin and piano. She taught my mother. Here is an article from the Los Angeles California Eagle:
Music loving Southlanders
crowded to capacity the auditorium of the Zion Hill Church
when Professor William T. Wilkins.
director of the well-known
Wilkin’s Piano Academy presented his show.
With the appearance of Professor Wilkins on
the stage there came a deafening
round of applause … he was
ably assisted by Mme. Sinclair White Amato, violin virtuoso,
whose several violin pupils were
also a part of the splendid programme . . . too many numbers
to mention each one in detail; but
many received an unusual
amount of applause. I refer to the violin playing of little Norma
Anne Amato . . . .
In 1937 Eddie was in the news in New York, and mom was beginning to be mentioned in the news in Los Angeles. Mom was 14. Eddie was 46. They would not meet for another three years.
My mom was also in pursuit of a career on the stage as an opera singer and as she got older she began to sing and play the piano at weddings at a place called the Wilfandel Club in the Historic West Adams District, while in serious operatic study.
And here we have an extra bit of Black History-because of course I had to look up the Wilfandel Club and I found that the architect was Mr. Paul R. Williams.
Paul Revere Williams, (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. He practiced largely in Southern California, and designed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Lon Chaney, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Frank Sinatra. He also designed many public and private buildings, such as The Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and the Los Angeles County Courthouse and the First African Methodist Episcopalian (FAME) church in Los Angeles. Who knew? Mom did, she mentioned to me a few times how unfortunate it was that Paul Williams did not get the recognition he deserved for his works.
Wilfandlel Club on Adams Blvd.
The thing about this research I am doing is that I can in almost every instance link Eddie up with all the folks I mention. And I found an article that does just that in this instance also:
At the 68th Anniversary celebration of the Los Angeles California Eagle , on April 3, 1947, Paul R. Williams was the main speaker and Eddie Green, of “Duffy’s Tavern”, was the emcee for a sparkling floor show featuring Mabel Fairbanks, ice-skating star, the Basin Street Boys, and Phil Moore, singer and composer.
In 2010 when my mom died, she lived on Adams and St. Andrews Place, within walking distance from the Winfandel Club’s building, which still stands.
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, written by Eddie Green and popularized by the singer Bessie Smith in 1927.
Hi there! I missed out. I wanted to watch “Bessie” with Queen Latifah on HBO, May 16th, but my landlady cancelled our cable, boo hoo. I received a comment today about “Bessie”, so of course I had to see if I could find it on the net. For this post, however, I decided to post a video of Bessie Smith singing the song my father wrote way back in 1917.
There were also a few other people who recorded the song, for instance:
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND By Eddie Green
Marion Harris – 1919
Wilbur C. Sweatman’s Jazz Orchestra – 1919
Viola McCoy – 1927
Eddie Condon & His Band – 1940
Butch Stone – 1942
Frank Sinatra – 1951
George Lewis – 1953
Big Maybelle – 1956
Brenda Lee – 1959
Also recorded by: Trinity; Di Anne Price; Bix Beiderbecke; Fats Waller; Rosemary Clooney; Les Brown;
Champion Jack Dupree; Barbra Streisand; Frances Faye; Hank Thompson; Lizzie Miles; Louis Prima;
Carol Channing; Nancy Wilson; Ralph Sutton; Juanita Hall; Kid Ory; Judith Durham; Dorothy Loudon;
Bob Wills, to name a few.
I should be finished with the first draft of my book about Eddie at the beginning of June. I have the feeling that this year will be a good time for this book to become available. To my knowledge, Eddie’s song has been performed in two recent movies, “Bessie” and “Blue Jasmin” (a Woody Allen movie). I love the fact that this song has endured and remained relevant all these years. Eddie died in 1950, so he was only aware of a few of these people performing the song. While he was alive he knew a few of the people on the above list, like Fats Waller and Frank Sinatra. Oh yeah, and Sophie Tucker, he knew Sophie, she used Eddie’s song as her “torch” song (if you are too young to remember Sophie Tucker, look her up, she was what they called a “real hot mama” back in the day.
My father continues to provide the inspiration that helps me stay focused on this book-writing process, as do those who read my posts and those who comment. Eddie has shown me that there are obstacles in life, Eddie had them as a Black man living his life in the early 20th century through 1950, but he never stopped moving forward, he went on to write 29 more songs, to perform on Broadway and radio, and even to write, produce and star in his own movies, as I have mentioned in previous posts and will elaborate on in future posts. I am experiencing a sense of optimism through tracing Eddie’s life and I hope I am able to pass this feeling on. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hello! In my head today, it is 1925, and my father, Eddie Green, who is now 33 years old, is working at Minsky’s. Minsky’s Burlesque is a theater run by the Minsky brothers, Abraham Minsky (Abe), Michael Minsky (Billy), Herbert Minsky and Morton Minsky. Eddie, at the time was what one article called, Billy’s right hand man. I have not actually verified that but I came across an article from the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper that had high praise for Eddie’s role with Minsky, at what was then called the “Little Apollo” on 125th Street in New York.
Eddie has by now, written a few songs, he has gotten married and started a family and signed up for the WWI draft. He’s become a music producer and has even spent some time in Washington, D.C. in 1922, starting up a movie production company, Deanwood Productions. He has played a few vaudeville shows all across the country, Eddie is beginning to make a name for himself.
Which, I imagine, is why, a few months after the famous Minsky raid (due to a young performer ending her act bare-chested with her arms over her head), an article appeared giving Eddie kudos. I can’t print the Baltimore Afro-American article, but I can share a portion: “Eddie Green, East Baltimore Boy Is Now Making Good” is the headline. “Eddie Green Makes Stock Record, Finishes 45 Weeks Engagement with White Company in New York.” ” Will Stage 5 Burlesque Shows.” “Former Member of Daly’s Is Now In Forefront of Profession.”
The article goes on to mention Eddie’s recording contract with Paramount, and his dancing studio on 46th Street. It says that Eddie had been re-engaged with a considerable increase in salary, and that those fat salaried contracts should keep him quite busy.
The opinion is that “Green’s success is another feather in the hat of East Baltimore”, probably referring to other celebrities who were East Baltimoreans.
Oh yea, I may have written this before but the article also says Eddie’s success is a good example of work and perseverance.
This is going to be short and sweet. In my quest to find information on my father, Eddie Green, I have encountered a few blank areas in his life. So far, I have found nothing about Eddie between 1910 and 1917. So today I got the bright idea to check out what was happening in the world 100 years ago, this month. I figured I might be able to connect with Eddie’s life somehow. Basically, what I found was information about the War. All about the War. Eddie was 24 years old in 1915, he had yet to write his first song, nor had he begun making any headway in his career as a magician. He was not in the service for this War. He was married but, so far I don’t know to whom he was married.
One interesting fact I found out was that Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915.
Well, Frank Sinatra would, years later, record the first song that Eddie wrote in 1917 “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, as you can see below:
I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it
Courtesy of L. A. Public Library, donated by Attorney Walter L. Gordon, Jr., my godfather.
pininthetush 