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Thomas, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, John Charles, 1891–1960, American baritone, b. Meyersdale, Pa., studied at the Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore. After a successful career in musical comedy he made his operatic debut in Wash...

special effects

(Encyclopedia)special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. Some common examples are the use ...

Pons, Lily

(Encyclopedia)Pons, Lily pänz, Fr. pôNs [key], 1904–76, French-American coloratura soprano. Pons studied piano at the Paris Conservatory. She made her debut in Delibes's Lakmé at Mulhouse, Alsace, in 1928. She...

Muybridge, Eadweard

(Encyclopedia)Muybridge, Eadweard ĕdˈwərd mīˈbrĭj [key], 1830–1904, English-born photographer and student of animal locomotion. Muybridge changed his name from Edward James Muggeridge. A gifted and obsessed...

Wallace, Lew

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Lew (Lewis Wallace), 1827–1905, American novelist and diplomat, b. Brookville, Ind. He served in both the Mexican and Civil wars. After returning to his law practice in Indiana, he became g...

Schildkraut, Rudolph

(Encyclopedia)Schildkraut, Rudolph shĭltˈkrout [key], 1862–1930, Austrian actor. He was a member of Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater, Berlin. In 1911 he came to the United States and until 1922 was a star of t...

Pinza, Ezio

(Encyclopedia)Pinza, Ezio ātsˈyō pēnˈtsä [key], 1892–1957, Italian bass, b. Rome, studied at the Bologna Conservatory. After military service (1915–19), he resumed his operatic career in Rome, later singi...

Henie, Sonja

(Encyclopedia)Henie, Sonja sōˈnyə hĕnˈē [key], 1912–69, Norwegian-American figure skater and movie actress, b. Oslo, Norway. She began ice skating at the age of eight and two years later won the first of si...

Gruenberg, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Gruenberg, Louis gro͞oˈənbûrg [key], 1884–1964, American composer, b. Russia; pupil of Busoni. After concert tours as a pianist in Europe and America, he settled in the United States as a compos...

Head, Edith

(Encyclopedia)Head, Edith, 1907–81, American costume designer, b. Los Angeles, Calif. She began to design costumes for the motion pictures in the early 1930s, working at Paramount for most of her career and movin...