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Jack Oakie
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Jack Oakie was a big name in the 1930s and 40s, even though he's not well remembered today. Perhaps best known now for his parody of Benito Mussolini in Chaplin's The Great Dictator, Oakie made some 87 films, and starred in early television, and had a number of guest appearances as well as his own radio show. "Jack Oakie's College" was certainly in tune with it's youth theme, featuring the rising star Judy Garland on several shows, and breaking away in the middle of it's hour-long (!) format for an extended remote set from the incredibly hot Benny Goodman band.
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Jack Oakie is Hollywood's prize practical joker. From Missouri, but he showed them. Teamed with May Leslie on stage in "Artists and Models", "Passing Show" and "The Follies" and forgot he was ever a Wall Street cleark. His wise cracking has been a highlight of many a Hollywood production and he will soon appear in "The Toast Of New York," for R.K.O.
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The parents of American actor Jack Oakie had hopes that their son would enter the business world, but a spell as telephone clerk in a brokerage house convinced Oakie to look elsewhere for a career. After appearing at an amateur show staged by Wall Street executives for the Cardiac Society, Oakie was encouraged by the show's director to give acting his full attention. Oakie's professional debut was in the chorus of the 1922 George M. Cohan musical Little Nellie Kelly. Several Broadway productions later, Oakie travelled westward to try his luck in films, the first of which was Finders Keepers. Transferring without a hitch to talkies, Oakie found himself much in demand, usually playing a dimwitted braggart (with one of the best "double takes" in the business) who somehow made good and got the girl before fadeout time. By the late 1930s Oakie's career had gone into decline.
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Slapstick, satire and social commentary combine in Charlie Chaplin’s first full talking film as he portrays both a Jewish barber and dictator " Adenoid Hynkel "; Jack Oakie portrays " Benzio Napoloni " from a neighboring country. DVD includes English, French and Spanish audio tracks, English, Chinese, French, Korean, Portugese, Spanish and Thai subtitles. Written and directed by Chaplin; ... stars Paulette Goddard. See also laserdisc, AT # 61458. Closed captioned.
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Jack Oakie came to Hollywood in 1927. His career by that time already included vaudeville, Broadway musicals and appearances in New York films. In Hollywood, he made 87 pictures, most of them comedies or musical comedies, over which period he perfected his trademark comic triple-take. His career included such films as "Once in a Lifetime," "Million Dollar Legs" and "It Happened Tomorrow." Oakie received an Academy Award nomination in the supporting role category for his satirical portrait of a Mussolini-like head of state in 1940's "The Great Dictator." The Oakie Lectures have been funded by grants to the Academy Foundation from Oakie's widow, actress Victoria Horne. Oakie died in 1978.
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Jack Oakie and Peggy Ryan head the cast of the Universal "B plus" musical On Stage Everybody. As indicated by the title, this is a "Let's put on a big show" affair, set this time at a radio station. Veteran vaudevillian Michael Sullivan (Jack Oakie) refuses to admit that his brand of entertainment is all but dead, though his partner-daughter Molly (Peggy Ryan) is a little more progressive. After resisting the "newfangled" radio for several years, Michael becomes an enthusiastic supporter of the Airwaves, even unto helping organize a bigtime variety show spotlighting new talent. Based on the ABC radio network program of the same name, On Stage Everybody spotlights several promising newcomers (none of whom, alas, went on to stardom), along with such established favorites as the King Sisters. Previewed at 75 minutes, the film was eventually released in a 65-minute form.
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Jack Oakie