| Mike Todd | |
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 Mike Todd at the Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, 1952. Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor Amphitheatre, located at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh New York. |
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| Born | Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen June 22, 1909 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | March 22, 1958 Grants, New Mexico |
| Spouse(s) | Bertha Freeman (1927-1946) Joan Blondell (1947-1950) Elizabeth Taylor (1957-1958) |
Michael Todd (June 22, 1907 or 1909, or June 19, 1911[1] – March 22, 1958) was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. Rose Joan Blondell, known as Joan Blondell, ( August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an Oscar -nominated American Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (born 27 February 1932) is a two-time Academy Award -winning English-American actress Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working
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Life
Todd was born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Chaim Goldbogen (an Orthodox rabbi) and Sophia Hellerman, both Polish Jewish immigrants. The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a Millennium. He was one of nine children in a poor family, and his siblings nicknamed him "Toat" to mimic his difficulty pronouncing the word "coat. " It was from this that his name was derived.
His family moved to Chicago. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Todd was expelled in the sixth grade for running a game of craps inside the school. Craps is a Dice game played against other players or a bank Craps developed from a simplification of the Old English game hazard. In high school, he produced the school play, The Mikado, which was considered a hit. The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu, is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by W He eventually dropped out of high school and worked a variety of jobs including as a shoe salesman and store window decorator.
At the age of 17, Todd married Bertha Freshman on Valentine's Day 1927. Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a Holiday celebrated on February 14 Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. . In 1929, she bore him a son, Mike Todd, Jr.. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Michael Todd Jr ( 8 October 1929 Los Angeles &ndash 5 May 2002 County Carlow Ireland) was the son of movie producer Freshman died in 1946, and Todd remarried, to actress Joan Blondell July 5, 1947. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rose Joan Blondell, known as Joan Blondell, ( August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an Oscar -nominated American Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They were divorced June 8, 1950 after she alleged that he abused and extorted her. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He went on to marry actress Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had a tempestuous relationship. Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (born 27 February 1932) is a two-time Academy Award -winning English-American actress The couple exchanged vows February 2, 1957. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The couple had a daughter, Elizabeth Frances (Liza) Todd, who was born 7 August of that year. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great.
On 22 March 1958, Todd's private plane, Lucky Liz, crashed near Grants, New Mexico. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The plane, a Lockheed Lodestar, was downed by engine failure while being operated grossly overweight at the limit of its altitude capability, and the crash killed all four on board. The Lockheed Corporation (originally Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company was an American aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout These included Todd; screenwriter and author Art Cohn, who was writing Todd's biography "The Nine Lives of Mike Todd"; pilot Bill Verner; and co-pilot, Tom Barclay. Art Cohn ( April 5, 1909 in New York New York - March 22, 1958) was an American Sportswriter, Screenwriter Todd is buried in Chicago at Beth Aaron Cemetery in plot 66. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. In his autobiography, Eddie Fisher, who considered himself to be Todd's best friend, stated that no fragments of Todd had been found, and that his coffin contained only his ring.
The Los Angeles Times reported in 1977 that Eddie's story was false -- remains of Todd were indeed found and buried. Todd's remains were desecrated by robbers, who broke into his coffin looking for said ring. The bag containing what was left of Mike Todd was found under a tree near his plot. [2]
Work
Todd began his career in the construction business, where he made, and subsequently lost, a fortune. He later served as a contractor to Hollywood studios, and during the 1933-1934 Century of Progress Exposition he produced the attraction called "the Flame Dance. A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate " (In this spectacular number, gas jets were designed to burn part of a dancer's costume off, leaving her naked in appearance. ) Later, he formed a company and toured with a production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado, his high school favorite. Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W When this tour closed, he revamped the show as the jazzier The Hot Mikado, which ran at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The Hot Mikado was a 1939 Musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan 's The Mikado with an African-American The 1939-40 New York World's Fair, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair) was one of the largest Todd went on to produce 30 Broadway shows during his career.
Todd's business career was volatile, and failed ventures left him bankrupt many times.
In 1952, Todd produced an extravagant production of the Johann Strauss II operetta, "A Night In Venice," complete with floating gondolas at the newly constructed Jones Beach Theatre in Long Island, New York. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Johann Strauss II (also known as Johann Strauss the Younger, Johann Strauss Jr Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor Amphitheatre, located at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh New York. It ran for two seasons.
In 1950, Mike Todd formed The Cinerama Company with the broadcaster Lowell Thomas and the inventor Fred Waller. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cinerama is the trademarked name for a Widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge deeply-curved Lowell Jackson Thomas ( April 6, 1892 &ndash August 29, 1981) was an American Writer, broadcaster, and The company was created to exploit Cinerama, a film process created by Waller that used three film projectors to create a giant composite image on a curved screen. The first Cinerama feature was This is Cinerama, which was released in September 1952. This is Cinerama is a 1952 film which shows how film makers could use the new technology of Cinerama to make movies more realistic by broadening the aspect
Soon after its release, Todd left the Cinerama Company to develop a new widescreen process which would eliminate some of Cinerama's flaws. The result was the Todd-AO process, designed by the American Optical Company. Todd-AO is an extremely high definition Widescreen Film format developed in the mid 1950s The process was first used commercially for the successful 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma!. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. Todd later produced the film for which he is most famous, Michael Todd's Around the World in 80 Days, which debuted in cinemas on October 17, 1956. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Costing only $6 million to produce, the movie earned $16 million at the box office. In 1957, "Around the World in 80 Days" won the Best Picture Academy Award. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.
Selected Broadway productions
- Call Me Ziggy (Play, Farce, 1937)
- The Hot Mikado (Musical, Operetta, 1939)
- Something for the Boys (Musical, Comedy, 1943)
- Mexican Hayride (Musical, Comedy,1944)
- Up in Central Park (Musical, Comedy, 1945)
- As the Girls Go (Musical, Comedy, 1948)
Footnotes
- ^ Astrological data collector Ed Steinbrecher cited birth certificate in hand for June 19, 1911 for Avram Goldenbogen, reported in Lois Rodden's Data News Jan. The Hot Mikado was a 1939 Musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan 's The Mikado with an African-American Something For The Boys is a 1943 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Mexican Hayride (musical is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and staged Up in Central Park is a Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and As the Girls Go is a musical with music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Harold Adamson and a book by William Roos Lois Rodden ( 22 May 1928 - 5 June 2003) was an Astrologer and databank creator 95 Supplement, but pp. 13-14 of the book A Valuable Property says that he was born at home to parents who marked time by the Hebrew calendar, and that twice when Mike Todd visited his birth city he returned home with a different birth certificate, attributing his ability to get them to his friendship with Senator Hubert Humphrey. Other sources cite both 1907 and 1909.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1977.
Sources
- Dictionary of First Names, ISBN 0-304-36226-3
- City of Light : The Story of Fiber Optics, ISBN 0-19-516255-2
- Walker, Alexander. Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor. Grove Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8021-3769-5
External links
- Mike Todd at the Internet Movie Database
- Mike Todd's "A Night in Venice" on Amazon.com
- Mike Todd - Accident Report Aviation Safety - March 22, 1958
| Preceded by Michael Wilding |
Husbands of Elizabeth Taylor |
Succeeded by Eddie Fisher |
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