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Smith, Seba

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Seba, 1792–1868, American humorist, b. Buckfield, Maine. He founded the Portland Courier in 1829 and in it began (1830) a series of humorous letters on politics under the pen name Major Jack ...

Gable, Clark

(Encyclopedia)Gable, Clark, 1901–60, American film actor, b. Cadiz, Ohio. He began his career in films in 1930 and soon after became a star. He won an Academy Award in 1934 for his brilliant comic performance in ...

actinometer

(Encyclopedia)actinometer ăkˌtənŏmˈətər [key], instrument used to measure the heating power of radiation. Actinometers are used chiefly in meteorology to measure solar radiation as transmitted directly by th...

Crabtree, Lotta

(Encyclopedia)Crabtree, Lotta, 1847–1924, American actress, b. New York City. A protégée of Lola Montez, she became, while still a child, a favorite in California mining camps with her sprightly singing, dancin...

Lahr, Bert

(Encyclopedia)Lahr, Bert, 1895–1967, American comic actor, b. New York City, originally named Irving Lahrheim. Lahr first performed in burlesque and vaudeville, where he became known for his morose facial express...

Opper, Frederick Burr

(Encyclopedia)Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857–1937, American cartoonist and illustrator, b. Madison, Ohio. He began as a contributor to comic papers and was associated with Frank Leslie's publications for three years...

Brice, Fanny

(Encyclopedia)Brice, Fanny or Fannie, 1891–1951, American comedienne, b. New York City as Fanny Borach. Brice appeared in burlesque and vaudeville from 1906. She starred in the Ziegfeld “Follies” from 1910 on...

Kaye, Nora

(Encyclopedia)Kaye, Nora (Nora Koreff), 1920–87, American ballerina, b. New York City. Kaye studied with Michel Fokine and Antony Tudor. She joined the Ballet Theatre in 1940 and scored a major triumph in 1942 in...

Jong, Erica

(Encyclopedia)Jong, Erica (Erica Mann Jong) jông, zhông [key], 1942–, American novelist and poet, b. New York City. She created a sensation with Fear of Flying (1973), a comic, picaresque novel of sex and psych...

Perelman, S. J.

(Encyclopedia)Perelman, S. J. (Sidney Joseph Perelman) pĕrˈəlmən [key], 1904–79, American comic writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He entered the magazine world as a cartoonist for a New York weekly, soon turning from...