Eddie Green The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer

Eddie Green -Social MediaOk, let’s see, how can I put this? I AM A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. Eddie Green The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer is now available for public consumption. Of course, I let family members know first and now I am announcing to my wonderful blogging family. Woo hoo!!!

On November 12, 2014 I wrote these next two paragraphs on my first post on my brand new laptop:

Bestsellng author, Dean Koontz said, “I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.”

I found this quote while doing some research for a book I will eventually complete.  I began my research in about 1998 because my then small grandson’s favorite words seemed to be “I can’t”.  Usually in regard to why he did not finish his homework.  His homework was always too hard.  I came up with the bright idea to enlighten him on what a person can accomplish by telling him about, and by writing a book for him about my father, his grandfather, who was a black man born in poverty in 1896 and who rose to prominence despite many obstacles.

Well, it is now 2016 and eventually has arrived. My original idea of writing a book was small. I mean, you know, you gather the information and type it up and you have a little book. And then you give him, your grandson, this little book. Once I began the research my knowledge of the true progression of my father’s life from poverty to prominence grew. I knew Eddie was a radio star, had written a song, had made a movie, had appeared in a movie. But since Eddie died when I was three and he had only been married to my mom for five years, I never really learned half of the things my father had accomplished. My little book grew.

One thing I discovered which I could not share with my mom because she had passed on by 2010, was that my father lied about his age. She thought Eddie had been born in 1896, but according to his Social Security Application from 1937, Eddie was actually born in 1891. So when my twenty-two year old mother married Eddie he was actually fifty-four, not forty-nine. I learned that not only had Eddie written one song “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, he wrote twenty-nine songs. Not only did he make one movie, he made wrote, produced, directed and acted in five all-black cast movies. He had appeared on and co-hosted radio shows, he had appeared on Broadway and on and on and on. My little book became a BOOK. And the progression has been documented on this blog.

I have loved every minute of sharing my journey here through WP, and I am very happy that I have a loyal group of followers (which I acknowledged in my book). This journey is not over. I have the job of marketing to do. I will continue to post regarding progress, and I will continue to share other items of interest to keep the spark of inspiration going. Thank you all so much for being a part of this journey. Check me out at http://www.bearmanormedia.com.

and we have a Facebook site for the book:

https://www.facebook.com/EddieGreenBook/?view_public_for=1134428443290744

As always, Thanks, for stopping by, and Spread The Word!

Tooting My Own Horn

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Me

Hi, this post will be short and sweet. This is me, Elva Diane Green. This is the photo that will be used on one-page brochures, postcards and flyers by the publisher of the biography I have written on my father Eddie Green. To announce, report, notify, no Broadcast that by the end of this year this visage will be visible all over! Me. Who woulda thunk it?

 

Must be in my genes. Eddie being a songwriter, movie, Broadway and radio star with his picture in the papers back in the day, and my mom pictured alongside of him all dolled up. 3rd set with new pictures 277Maybe it was inevitable that I write the book and have my picture added to the mix.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Thanx, for stopping by.

ANTICIPATION

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Eddie and his secretary signing talent

 

Hi. So I have posted a picture of my father, Eddie in his office back in 1939 greeting young ladies who showed up for a chance to appear in one of his movies, produced by his Sepia Art Pictures Company movie studio. Eddie’s office was located on 7th Avenue in New York, which is where a good part of his career took place. He spent some time in Hollywood during 1936-38 appearing on various radio programs, but he did not have a home in California until 1945. Sepia Art Pictures had gone out of business by 1945, but that did not mean his movie making days were over.

Eddie was signed on to play “Eddie, the waiter” in a new radio program titled Duffy’s Tavern in 1941, and when Paramount decided to produce a movie version of the radio program in 1945, Eddie was signed for the role in the movie. Eddie’s movie making money had run out, but I do believe financial difficulties took a turn because he married my mom in 1945, bought his house in Los Angeles and started a new movie/television studio on Western Avenue in 1946.

Today I decided to make this a short post about Eddie because I want to write about me and my book writing journey.  I have a writer friend who is well versed in the etiquette of book writing. Meaning this friend has offered to help make sure I have not printed material that might show someone in a bad light. So my friend is reading my book. The book about my father is the first book I have ever written so I take all the help I can get. But……..the waiting is difficult. Even though I am perfectly aware of the time frame called for. My book is approximately 48,000 words in length. And people have other things to do. My friend has a family, a job, book signings. I am blessed to have this help. I am sharing this because maybe someone else is having the same issue. Learning how to wait with anticipation.

I was reminded today of the last opera I saw with my mom. It was Madama Butterfly. In one scene Madam Butterfly is waiting for her love to come back from the sea. She sits on the floor and waits.waiting 3And waits. And waits. Pretty soon some of the people in the audience at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion start getting a little fidgety. Madame Butterfly hasn’t moved. She’s waiting. After a while we, the audience, begin to understand that we have been invited to participate in order to understand how long Madama Butterfly waited for this man. We were waiting too. By the time her wait was over I had begun to question whether the producer of this play was a genius or a nut for making the audience wait so long. And when I thought of this today while I was standing on the bus stop, I laughed out loud. Which relieved some of the pressure that had begun to build up in me.

After all, judging by the past few years of this endeavor, everything I have needed I have received. I have no complaints. My grandson told me to remember, that no matter how things turn out, to remember that I said I was going to write a book and I did. I just need to sit back, relax and be prepared for the next phase of marketing this bad boy. Thank you, Jeremy.

Hey, thanks, for stopping by.

Untitled Post

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Hello there. If you are new to my blog Welcome and if you are a follower Welcome Back. I wrote early on in 2014 that I had been procrastinating in writing this book and that I needed to either start writing or get off the pot.  My sister-in-law, Christal, sent me a message: Write the book!! Well, once I got started it was full steam ahead, and now today I am working on setting up the cover page for the book. So, I have actually made a decision on which photo of my father to use for the cover of my book. Eddie’s photo in white tux will be the main photo. I still have to order the photo (when I get the $50), which will be soon.

new eddie

The stage picture of Duffy’s Tavern radio program and one or two poster’s of  movies that Eddie produced and starred in will be featured also. Duffy’s Tavern radio program is where Eddie rise took him on his journey from the alley house he lived in as a child in Baltimore. On his way to Duffy’s though he made movies, wrote songs (A Good Man is Hard to Find) owned a string of Barbecue restaurants, and even performed on the very first demonstration of television in 1936. In 1940 Eddie’s movie Dress Rehearsal was the first all-black cast movie to be shown on television, a short (20 mins) which came on right after a film about the World’s Fair.

courtesy live auctioneers
courtesy live auctioneers

I have put these elements together as a book cover, but I can’t figure out how to paste it into this post.  Of course, when the whole thing is put together, I will announce it here with pictures.

My father’s life is a true inspiration to me, especially as he started out in the early 1900’s when it was a truly difficult world for people of color, but Eddie took the bull by the horns and ran with it. Eddie’s faith in himself and his process secured him his break into burlesque theater in New York.  He was in Tampa, Florida in 1920 touring with his company when he noticed an advertisement in the Billboard for a comedian.  Eddie had an engraver make him a letterhead with a fancy border and big letters that read “De Luxe Players”. There were 18 players in his company so he listed himself as “Eddie Green, owner-comedian-manager-director-organizer”.   He got the job.  He also got the job because he was truly funny. He put in the work to get where he got. Eddie was quoted as saying “You get respect, if you know your business.”

Have faith in yourself, know your business and do the work, and great things will happen in your life.

Thanks, for stopping by.

Totally Inspirational

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Me and My Grandson, Edward

A little over a year ago, I posted my first blog with these words:

Dean Koontz once said, “I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.”

I found this quote while doing research for a book I will eventually complete.  I began my research in about 1998 because my then small grandson’s favorite word seemed to be “I can’t.” Usually in regard to why he did not finish his homework. His homework was always too hard. I came up with the bright idea to enlighten him on what a person can accomplish, by telling him about, and by writing a book for him, about my father, his grandfather, Edward (Eddie) Green, who was a black man born in poverty in 1896 and who rose to prominence despite many obstacles.  

 

Today, as you can see from the above picture, my grandson is no longer small, and I have completed the book. I have to say that my bright idea has also been good for me, in that I have gained a bigger and better understanding myself, of just how hard Eddie had to work to get where he got. For instance, in the above paragraph I have 1896 as Eddie’s birthdate, well, just last year I discovered that Eddie was really born in 1891 (SS application), so I guess he figured the age thing was a factor in getting ahead. Especially in entertainment, which is where Eddie’s talents took him. We all have this ability in one way or another.

When I began this blog I said I wanted to inspire people. I thought I would post poetry from time to time. Totally got away from that idea, because sharing my father’s ups and downs became paramount. Unfortunately, though I have gotten to the point in my posting that I have to slow down on what I share about Eddie or there will be no point to writing the book.  My posts so far have touched on instances in Eddie’s life up until 1945 and he died in 1950. I will continue posting on Eddie and my book writing adventure, but today I am going to post a poem written by my brother, Brian.

Brian’s many talents include writing poetry. I asked Brian early on to write a poem for me, but he wanted to write on a religious theme. I told him that this was not a religious blog, that it was about inspiring people. Haha, don’t laugh. Anyhow, I have realized during my research that people are inspired in many different ways, through many different pathways. Brian is a  funny guy (we have different fathers, but his father was the “life of the party” kind of comedian), Brian has a passion for writing poetry. Give him a word and you’ve got a poem. He loves to read and will pull out his pocket bible, or his latest historical article, in a minute. Today, before he got interested in the Super Bowl, I asked him to give me a poem over the phone, and I got one. Interesting that today  just happens to be a Sunday.

UNTITLED

It’s so good to know that even in the midst of our experience in this mortal life, Thank you Jesus is our reply, cause everything’s going to be alright!

So many things going on in our lives, can’t wait to fret something in a hurry! Remember the Lord said, Calm down, do not worry!

I wrote this to say my message is all about him; all the loving ways he is, we can do nothing without him.

Poem by:  Brian Beasley

Thanks, for stopping by.

To Coin a Phrase-PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION

Hi there.  Cutting and pasting is extremely easy.  I should try it more often.  The above is a recording of a song my father, Eddie Green, wrote in 1924.  This song’s copyright was renewed by Eddie just before he died in 1950, and is still in copyright.  Soon, I hope to have the moola to get copies of the paperwork in regard to this song, and a few others.  I  have only learned of these songs in the past five years and I did not realize the Copyright Office wanted so much money to do a search for materials and file new documents!  Anyhoo, I get a kick out of listening to this song.  I haven’t found much information on the lady singing with Eddie, Billie Wilson, but I think this is the only Paramount Recording she did.

I wanted to start this post with something that gives me pleasure, because lately I have begun to feel so confused in regard to the writing I am doing, meaning this blog and my book.  I forget what I wrote where and when.  I have found that in writing these posts, I have gone back and forth, from 1949 to 1917 to 1923 and then to 1945, when, of course, my book, as a biography, is chronological, and this all gets mushed up in my head.

This has been a real learning process for me.  Today, I sat down and tried to put my thoughts and words into some kind of order.

The blog is supposed to relate the progress of my book.  To share portions of the book and any other stories I find inspiring or funny, and to, hopefully, enourage others to research their own family members.

The book is about Eddie, from birth in 1891 to death in 1950.  As of today, I have begun Chapter V – Takes Broadway By Storm.  I will include an article from the Brooklyn Eagle dated July 18, 1929 that begins with this sentence:  “The Whole Town Is Talking About Eddie Green.”  I will also include an article which was written by Eddie in 1949 about this period of 1929 and which I first posted in my second post “Screaming Sirens Can Be Inspiring”.

My chapter titles have changed and I have discovered new information that has had to be inserted into earlier chapters, such as the discovery of  a fourth wife.  I will be blogging about Eddie’s wives.

Hey, thanks for stopping by and I hope you get as much of a kick out of “I’m Sorry For It Now” as I do.