IRVING BERLIN - PROGRAM SIGNED CIRCA 1946 CO-SIGNED BY: HILDEGARDE, BASIL RATHBONE, TITO GUIZAR, DAVE APOLLON - HFSID 252084

IRVING BERLIN, BASIL RATHBONE, HILDEGARDE, TITO GUÍZAR, and DAVE APOLLON
These five major entertainment industry stars all signed this radio program from October 1946
Typed Program signed: "Sincerely/Basil Rathbone", "Irving Berlin", "Hildegard", "Sincerely/Tito Guizar" and "Dave Apollon", 1p, 8½x10. New York, October 13, 1946. Headed: "Radio Program/The Campbell Room/Starring/Hildegarde". Rathbone, Berlin, Guizar and Apollon are listed as guests. Irving Berlin (1888-1989), born Israel Isidore Baline in Tumen, Siberia, Russia, was such a force in American music that in 1924, when Berlin was just 37, songwriter Jerome Kern gave this assessment: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." If the only song he ever wrote was "God Bless America", made famous by Kate Smith, Berlin would be an important part of American music. But Berlin wrote more than 1,500 songs, including the classics "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody", "There's No Business Like Show Business", "White Christmas", and "Blue Skies", 19 musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun (1946) and Call Me Madam (1950), and the scores of 18 movies, including Holiday Inn. British actor Basil Rathbone (1892-1967), who appeared on Broadway 23 times and won the 1948 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Heiress, is also known for his film work in period costume dramas. He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and King Louis XVI in If I Were King (1938). He also appeared as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1934), Karenin in Anna Karenina (1936) and Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). In 1939, Rathbone was cast as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the first of 14 screen appearances as Conan Doyle's master detective. He also played Holmes on radio from 1939-1946. Hildegarde Loretta Sell (1906-2005) was popularly known by her first name only or simply as "The Incomparable Hildegarde". A classically trained pianist who played in vaudeville from 1926, she emerged as a popular singer in the 1930s and 1940s with hits that included "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup". She also had a popular radio program, Hildegarde's Raleigh Room. She was renowned around the world and, having never married, had many admirers. Some of her many showmanship innovations include wearing sleeves at every performance and going by only her first name. These unique calling cards, as well as her incredible voice and flirtatious manner, broke new ground on the evening club circuit. Mexican actor/singer Tito Guízar (1908-1999) is credited with introducing the singing cowboy in Mexican films. Guízar, who went to New York in 1929 to study opera, had a radio show there and sang both operas and Mexican cowboy songs at Carnegie Hall. After a brief stint in Hollywood starring opposite such stars as Roy Rogers, Dorothy Lamour and Mae West, Guízar returned to Spanish-language films and could be seen on Mexican TV through the 1990s. Russian-born mandolin virtuoso Dave Apollon (1897-1972), who came to the U.S. in 1919, released his first recording in 1932. He is especially noted for his 1946 New York jam session with guitarist Django Reinhardt, who was in the city at the time with Duke Ellington's band. After moving to California in the early 1950s, Apollon signed a contract at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, playing there from 1956-1963. Lightly soiled. Two paper clip stains at upper margin. Otherwise, fine condition.