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The Joker Is Wild
Frank Sinatra plays Joe E. Lewis, a famous comedian of the 1930s-50s. When the movie opens, Lewis is a young, talented singer who performs in speakeasies. After he bolts one job for another, the mob boss who owns the first speakeasy has his thugs try to kill Lewis. He survives, but his vocal cords are cut and he cannot sing. Several years later, his buddy tracks him down and tries to help him, with little success. That attempt, though, leads to Lewis meeting Letty Page (Jeanne Crain). They fall in love and she inspires him to follow up on an offer to become a comedian (a result of his buddy's failed attempt to rejuvenate his singing career). Lewis has problems, though. The assault that nearly cost him his life also helped turn him into an alcoholic and an inveterate gambler. These two character defects become the basis for his act and help to make him a smash success. Unfortunately, they also work to wreak havoc in his personal life.
30 January 1882, Hyde Park, New York, USA
4 July 1911, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
4 November 1884, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
May 31, 1894 in Redondo Beach, California, USA
20 September 1917, USA
1 April 1906, Radom, Mazowieckie, Poland
27 March 1907, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
February 11, 1906 in New York, New York, USA
22 January 1908, China
9 July 1906, New York City, New York, USA
19 August 1908, Chicago, Illinois, USA
22 May 1917, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
June 2, 1927 in Seattle, Washington, USA
26 January 1891, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
August 21, 1929 in San Francisco, California, USA
April 15, 1936 in Scotland City, South Dakota, USA
July 4, 1907 in San Antonio, Texas, USA
10 February 1936, New York City, New York, USA
May 5, 1912 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
October 17, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA
8 October 1904, Malden, Massachusetts, USA
December 5, 1902 in Vladimir, Russian Empire [now Russia]
