Kay Kyser

Kay Kyser

Born: June 18, 1905
Died: July 23, 1985
in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA
Bandleader and radio personality memorable for his "Kollege of Musical Knowledge". Often sporting his trademark mortarboard and gown, he appeared with his band in a few World War II-era movies.

Date of Birth 18 June 1905, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA

Date of Death 23 July 1985, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA  (heart attack)

Movies for Kay Kyser...

Television: The First Fifty Years
Title: Television: The First Fifty Years
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: Movie
Trace the history of television and its impact on American culture with clips, newsreels, and exclusive interviews from television greats like Walter Cronkite, Carol Burnett, and Jay Leno.
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Showbiz Goes to War
Title: Showbiz Goes to War
Character: (archive footage)
Released: December 31, 1982
Type: Movie
While a few Hollywood celebrities such as James Stewart and Clark Gable saw combat during World War II, the majority used their talents to rally the American public through bond sales, morale-boosting USO tours, patriotic war dramas and escapist film fare. Comedian David Steinberg plays host for this star-studded, 90-minute documentary, which looks at the way Tinseltown helped the United States' war effort.
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The Movie Orgy
Title: The Movie Orgy
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1968
Type: Movie
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and government films of the 1950s and 1960s are intercut together to tell a single story of various creatures and societal ills attacking American cities.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
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Carolina Blues
Title: Carolina Blues
Character: Himself
Released: December 20, 1944
Type: Movie
When he loses his lead singer, bandleader Kay Kyser can't find a replacement he likes.
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Around the World
Title: Around the World
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: November 27, 1943
Type: Movie
Bandleader Kay Kyser takes his troupe of nutty musicians, goofball comics and pretty girl singers on a tour around the world to entertain the troops during World War II.
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Swing Fever
Title: Swing Fever
Character: Lowell Blackford
Released: November 1, 1943
Type: Movie
Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
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Thousands Cheer
Title: Thousands Cheer
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: September 13, 1943
Type: Movie
Acrobat Eddie Marsh is in the army now. His first act is to become friendly with Kathryn Jones, the colonel's pretty daughter. Their romance hits a few snags, including disapproval from her father. Eddie's also plagued by fear of having an accident during his family's trapeze act in the army variety show, which also features a gallery of MGM stars.
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Stage Door Canteen
Title: Stage Door Canteen
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: June 24, 1943
Type: Movie
A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theater and films appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. The soldier meets a pretty young hostess and they enjoy the many entertainers and a growing romance
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Show-Business at War
Title: Show-Business at War
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 1943
Type: Movie
A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
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My Favorite Spy
Title: My Favorite Spy
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: June 12, 1942
Type: Movie
The Army takes a bandleader (Kay Kyser) away from his bride (Ellen Drew) and sends him on a spy mission with a woman (Jane Wyman).
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Playmates
Title: Playmates
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: December 26, 1941
Type: Movie
Lulu Monahan, the press agent for John Barrymore, is attempting to get a sponsor for a radio program. To that end, she and the agent for bandleader Kay Kyser, plant a story that the great Shakespearean actor, over his heartfelt objections, will teach Kyser how to play Shakespeare, which isn't the same as playing Paducah, which soon becomes evident.
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
Title: Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
Released: December 5, 1941
Type: Movie
Hedda Hopper plays hostess at a party for her (grown) son William (DeWolfe Jr.). Hopper, attends the dedication of the Motion Picture Relief Fund's country home and goes to the Mocambo. There is also a sequence dedicated to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin world premiere of the first short in this series attended by more that a few film stars.
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
Title: Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
Character: Himself
Released: October 2, 1941
Type: Movie
Hedda Hopper guides us through some of Hollywood's sights; the home of William S. Hart and a Kay Kyser recording-session being among them.
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You'll Find Out
Title: You'll Find Out
Character: Himself
Released: November 22, 1940
Type: Movie
The manager of Kay Kyser’s band books them for a birthday party bash for an heiress at a spooky mansion, where sinister forces try to kill her.
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If I Forget You
Title: If I Forget You
Character: Orchestra
Released: May 1, 1940
Type: Movie
Judy Garland sings the title song, a tribute to Will Rogers.
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Africa Squeaks
Title: Africa Squeaks
Character: Cake Icer (voice)
Released: January 26, 1940
Type: Movie
Porky Pig goes on a safari in Africa, and runs into an assortment of crazy animals, wacky natives and Kay Kyser giving dance lessons in the middle of the jungle.
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That's Right - You're Wrong
Title: That's Right - You're Wrong
Character: Kay Kyser
Released: November 24, 1939
Type: Movie
J. D. Forbes, head of the almost-bankrupt Four Star Studios in Hollywood contacts band leader Kay Kyser, who puts on a radio and-live theatre program called "The Kollege of Musical Knowledge," to appear in films. When manager Chuck Deems gets the studio offer, he and band members Ginny Simms, Sully Mason, Ish Kabiddle, Harry Babbitt and the others are all fired up at the prospect of going to Hollywood and working in the movies, but band-leader Kay is all against it and says his old grandmother has told him to stay in his own back yard, but he relents. Once there, Stacey Delmore, a Four Star associate producer left in charge of the studio while Forbes is out of town, discovers that the screenplay writers have prepared a script that has Kay Kyser playing a glamorous lover in an exotic European setting.
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Unsichtbare Gegner
Title: Unsichtbare Gegner
Character: Sir Thomas
Released: September 26, 1933
Type: Movie
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Screen Snapshots (Series 23, no. 3)
Title: Screen Snapshots (Series 23, no. 3)
Character: Himself
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Seeing Hollywood, intimate glimpses of your favorite stars, at home, at work, and at play.