Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913 – November 16, 2005) was an American radio and television host , radio producer , and television producer , best known for his radio-TV game shows Truth or Consequences and reality documentary series This Is Your Life .
128-587: Edwards worked for KROW Radio in Oakland, California while he was still in high school. After graduating from high school in 1931, he worked his way through college at the University of California, Berkeley , earning a B.A. in English in 1935. While there, he worked at every job from janitor to producer at Oakland's KTAB, now KSFO . Failing to get a job as a high school teacher, he worked at KFRC and then hitchhiked across
256-587: A "vacation". However, in England, Davis signed a contract with British film production company Toplitz, to make the film I'll Take the Low Road in England with Maurice Chevalier for a $ 50,000 salary. On September 9, 1936, Warner Brothers filed a legal injunction against Davis in England which forbade her from appearing in film productions without their consent. While on a shopping spree in Paris, Davis publicly declared to
384-737: A 1929 production by the Provincetown Players of Virgil Geddes ' play The Earth Between ; however, the production was postponed by a year. In 1929, Davis was chosen by Blanche Yurka to play Hedwig, the character she had seen Entwistle play in The Wild Duck . After performing in Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston, she made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Broken Dishes and followed it with Solid South . After appearing on Broadway in New York,
512-581: A New England innkeeper, and Vermont dentist's son. Davis and Farnsworth were married at Home Ranch, in Rimrock, Arizona , in December 1940, her second marriage. In January 1941, Davis became the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but antagonized the committee members with her brash manner and radical proposals. Davis rejected the idea of her being just "a figurehead only". Faced with
640-463: A boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts , where she met her future husband, Harmon O. Nelson, known as Ham. In 1926, a then 18-year-old Davis saw a production of Henrik Ibsen 's The Wild Duck with Blanche Yurka and Peg Entwistle . Davis later recalled, "The reason I wanted to go into theater was because of an actress named Peg Entwistle." Bette Davis interviewed with Eva Le Gallienne to be
768-707: A comic-book story published in the DC Comics "Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane" (#9, May 1959), Ralph Edwards surprised Lois when she was the subject of This Is Your Life . He also appeared in a McGruff the Crime Dog PSA where McGruff himself was the subject, featuring clips from past PSAs. Edwards produced dozens of game shows, including About Faces , Knockout , Place the Face , It Could Be You , Name That Tune (1970s version) and The Cross-Wits . In 1981, with Stu Billett, he executive-produced The People's Court ,
896-464: A complete rut." Recalling the episode many years later, Davis remarked that Laughton's advice had influenced her throughout her career. By this time, Davis was Warner Bros.' most profitable star, and she was given the most important of their female leading roles. Her image was considered with more care; although she continued to play character roles, she was often filmed in close-ups that emphasized her distinctive eyes. All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
1024-704: A disproportionate death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic and Delta cron hybrid variant within the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2023, prior to and during the Covid pandemic, Oakland became the first city in American history to lose three professional major league sports teams to other cities within a span of five years. Oakland is in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay . The United States Census Bureau says
1152-469: A few years he was well established as a nationally famous announcer. It was Edwards who introduced Major Bowes every week on the Original Amateur Hour and Fred Allen on Town Hall Tonight . Edwards perfected a chuckling delivery, sounding as though he was in the midst of telling a very funny story. This "laugh in the voice" technique served him well when 20th Century Fox hired him to narrate
1280-508: A five-year contract, and she remained with the studio for the next 18 years. Davis's first marriage was to Harmon Oscar Nelson on August 18, 1932, in Yuma, Arizona. Their marriage was scrutinized by the press; his $ 100 a week earnings ($ 1,885 in 2020 dollars) compared unfavorably with Davis's reported $ 1,000 a week income ($ 18,850). Davis addressed the issue in an interview, pointing out that many Hollywood wives earned more than their husbands, but
1408-582: A linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok word meaning "western people"). In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek , a stream that enters the San Francisco Bay at Emeryville . In 1772, the area that later became Oakland was colonized, along with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the king of Spain . In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted
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#17328872886511536-560: A long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 film, television, and theater roles to her credit. Ruth Elizabeth Davis, known from early childhood as "Betty", was born on April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Harlow Morrell Davis (1885–1938), a law student from Augusta, Maine, and subsequently a patent attorney, and Ruth Augusta (née Favór; 1885–1961), from Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. Davis's younger sister
1664-583: A major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, the site of today's Port of Oakland . A number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, and other lines were converted and added over
1792-446: A marsh-lined wildlife haven, Lake Merritt was dredged and bordered with parks from the 1890s to the 1910s. Despite this reduction in habitat, Oakland is home to a number of rare and endangered species, many of which are localized to serpentine soils and bedrock. Lake Merritt is surrounded by residential and business districts, including downtown and Grand Lake . The city of Piedmont , incorporated in Oakland's central foothills after
1920-588: A new plant there, Oakland had become known as the " Detroit of the West," referring to the major auto manufacturing center in Michigan. Oakland expanded during the 1920s, as its population expanded with factory workers. Approximately 13,000 homes were built in the 3 years between 1921 and 1924, more than during the 13 years between 1907 and 1920. Many of the large downtown office buildings, apartment buildings, and single-family houses still standing in Oakland were built during
2048-505: A notable acting role, his character a jovial and decreasingly skeptical radio dj, in the episode of the CBS Radio series Suspense "Ghost Hunt" (based on H. Russell Wakefield 's story from the 25th anniversary issue of Weird Tales ) in 1949. Edwards furthered the career of another game show host, his protégé Bob Barker . The 1940s-1950s TV version of Truth or Consequences had featured Edwards, Jack Bailey , and Steve Dunne . When
2176-447: A portrait photographer. The young Betty Davis later changed the spelling of her first name to Bette after Bette Fischer, a character in Honoré de Balzac 's La Cousine Bette . During their time in New York, Davis became a Girl Scout where she became a patrol leader. Her patrol won a competitive dress parade for Lou Hoover at Madison Square Garden. Davis attended Cushing Academy ,
2304-639: A preparatory academy was founded in Oakland that soon became the College of California , and in 1869, the first campus of the University of California . The university moved just north to Berkeley in the 1870s. During the 1850s, just as gold was discovered in California, Oakland started growing and further developing because land was becoming too expensive in San Francisco . People in China were struggling financially as
2432-638: A result of the First Opium War , the Second Opium War , and the Taiping Rebellion , so they began migrating to Oakland, many of whom were recruited to work on railroads. However, the Chinese struggled to settle because they were discriminated against by the white community and their living quarters were burned down on several occasions. The city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming
2560-554: A revival of The Price Is Right on CBS from 1972 to 2007 ( Drew Carey has been the host since 2007). As a result, thanks to Edwards's "be yourself" admonition, Barker became as familiar with a generation of Truth or Consequences and Price Is Right viewers, as earlier fans had with Edwards and original Price Is Right host Bill Cullen during the original versions of the shows in the 1950s and 1960s. Edwards died of heart failure on November 16, 2005, in Los Angeles, California at
2688-506: A salary disagreement, and bears no resemblance to the de Havilland legal case. In 1937, Davis starred with Humphrey Bogart in Marked Woman , a contemporary gangster drama inspired by the case of Lucky Luciano , and a film regarded as one of the most important in her early career. She was awarded the Volpi Cup at the 1937 Venice Film Festival for her performance. Davis's portrayal of
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#17328872886512816-461: A skull fracture he had suffered two weeks earlier having accidentally fallen down a flight of stairs. A finding of accidental death was reached. Highly distraught, Davis attempted to withdraw from her next film Mr. Skeffington (1944), but Jack Warner, who had halted production following Farnsworth's death, persuaded her to continue. Although she had gained a reputation for being forthright and demanding, her behavior during filming of Mr. Skeffington
2944-494: A small epidemic of Pneumonic plague which killed a dozen people in Oakland. This started when a man went hunting in Contra Costa Valley and killed a squirrel. After eating the squirrel, he fell ill four days later and another household member contracted the plague. This in turn was passed on either directly or indirectly to about a dozen others. The officials in Oakland acted quickly by issuing death certificates to monitor
3072-544: A strong-willed 1850s Southern belle in Jezebel (1938) won her a second Academy Award for Best Actress . This was the first of five consecutive years in which she received the Best Actress nomination. During production, Davis entered a relationship with director William Wyler . She later described him as the "love of my life", and said that making the film with him was "the time in my life of my most perfect happiness". The film
3200-520: A student at her 14th Street theater. However, she felt Davis was not serious enough to attend her school, and described her attitude as "insincere" and "frivolous". Davis auditioned for George Cukor 's stock theater company in Rochester, New York. Though he was not very impressed, he gave Davis her first paid acting assignment – a one-week stint playing the part of a chorus girl in the play Broadway . Ed Sikov sources Davis's first professional role to
3328-492: A successful novelist. Davis felt that Hopkins tried to upstage her throughout the film. Director Vincent Sherman recalled the intense competition and animosity between the two actresses, and Davis often joked that she held back nothing in a scene in which she was required to shake Hopkins in a fit of anger. In August 1943, Davis' husband, Arthur Farnsworth, collapsed while walking along a Hollywood street and died two days later. An autopsy revealed that his fall had been caused by
3456-506: A total of US$ 57 million during the 2001–2011 timeframe to plaintiffs claiming police abuse; this is the largest sum paid by any city in California. On October 10, 2011, protesters and civic activists began " Occupy Oakland " demonstrations at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Downtown Oakland . African-Americans dropped to 28% of Oakland's population in 2010, from nearly half in 1980, due to fast-rising rents and an extreme housing crisis in
3584-456: A vacant three-bedroom house in West Oakland. The group, calling themselves Moms 4 Housing , said their goal was to protest what they said was a large number of vacant houses in Oakland owned by redevelopment companies while the city experienced a housing crisis. Two months later they were evicted from the house by three dozen sheriff's deputies, as hundreds of supporters demonstrated in favor of
3712-603: A vulgar waitress in Of Human Bondage (1934). Contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year, and she won it the following year for her performance in Dangerous (1935). In 1936, due to poor film offers, she attempted to free herself from her contract, and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until
3840-481: A witch if she had lived two or three hundred years ago. She gives the curious feeling of being charged with power which can find no ordinary outlet". The New York Times hailed her as "becoming one of the most interesting of our screen actresses". She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role, but commented that it was belated recognition for Of Human Bondage , calling the award a "consolation prize". For
3968-411: Is far enough inland that the fog often burns off by midday, allowing it to have typically sunny California days. The hills tend to have more fog than the flatlands, as the fog drifts down from Berkeley . The U.S. Weather Bureau kept weather records in downtown Oakland from October 4, 1894, to July 31, 1958. During that time, the record high temperature was 104 °F (40 °C) on June 24, 1957, and
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4096-503: Is now downtown Oakland. In 1852, the Town of Oakland was incorporated by the state legislature. During this time, Oakland had 75–100 inhabitants, two hotels, a wharf, two warehouses, and only cattle trails. Two years later, on March 25, 1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland. Horace Carpentier was elected the first mayor, though a scandal ended his mayorship in less than a year. In 1853,
4224-468: Is the only beach in Oakland. Oaklanders refer to their city's terrain as "the flatlands" and "the hills" . Until recent waves of gentrification, these terms also symbolized Oakland's deep economic divide, with "the hills" being more affluent communities. About two-thirds of Oakland lies in the flat plain of the East Bay, with one-third rising into the foothills and hills of the East Bay range. Ruptures along
4352-489: Is typified by the temperate and seasonal Mediterranean climate. Summers are usually dry and warm and winters are cool and damp. It has features found in both nearby coastal cities such as San Francisco and inland cities such as San Jose , making it warmer than San Francisco and cooler than San Jose. Its position on San Francisco Bay across from the Bay Bridge means the northern part of the city can have cooling maritime fog . It
4480-767: The Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations (and one write-in) for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute . In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema . After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and had her critical breakthrough playing
4608-509: The Black Panther Party at Merritt College (then located at a former high school on Grove Street, now occupied by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute ), which emphasized Black nationalism , advocated armed self-defense against police, and was involved in several incidents that ended in the deaths of police officers and other Black Panther members. Among their social programs were feeding children and providing other services to
4736-672: The Hollywood Victory Committee and beyond. The Canteen offered food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen and was staffed by members of the entertainment industry. Davis served as Canteen president through the end of the war. In 1983, Davis received the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal from the Department of Defense for her work with the Hollywood Canteen. She appeared as herself in
4864-631: The Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6116 Hollywood Boulevard (radio) and 6262 Hollywood Boulevard (television). Both were dedicated February 8, 1960. Edwards was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. 5. http://www.legacy.com/NS/Obituary.aspx?pid=15684060 Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in
4992-524: The Jim Crow South carried their racial attitudes, causing tensions to rise among black and white workers competing for better-paying jobs in the Bay Area. The racial harmony Oakland African-Americans had been accustomed to prior to the war evaporated. Also migrating to the area during this time were many Mexican Americans from southwestern states such as New Mexico , Texas , and Colorado . Many worked for
5120-618: The Oakland Hills . East Oakland, which includes the East Oakland Hills, encompasses more than half of Oakland's land area, stretching from Lakeshore Avenue on the east shore of Lake Merritt southeast to the San Leandro border. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods between downtown and Berkeley and Emeryville . West Oakland is the area between downtown and the Bay, partially surrounded by
5248-700: The Oakland Museum (established 1970). Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth " Bette " Davis ( / ˈ b ɛ t i / ; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas . She won
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5376-654: The Oakland Point , and encompassing the Port of Oakland . In 2011, Oakland was ranked the tenth most walkable city in the United States by Walk Score . Lake Merritt, an urban estuary near downtown, is a mix of fresh and salt water draining in and out from the Oakland Harbor at the San Francisco Bay and one of Oakland's most notable features. It was designated the United States' first official wildlife refuge in 1870. Originally
5504-651: The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge also sustained damage and was closed to traffic for one month. On October 20, 1991, a massive firestorm swept down from the Berkeley /Oakland hills above the Caldecott Tunnel. Twenty-five people were killed, 150 people were injured, and nearly 4,000 homes destroyed. With the loss of life and an estimated economic loss of US$ 1.5 billion, this was the worst urban firestorm in American history, until 2017. During
5632-532: The Southern Pacific Railroad , at its major rail yard in West Oakland. Their young men encountered hostility and discrimination by Armed Forces personnel, and tensions broke out in " zoot suit riots " in downtown Oakland in 1943 in the wake of a major disturbance in Los Angeles that year. In 1946, National City Lines (NCL), a General Motors holding company , acquired 64% of Key System stock; during
5760-480: The Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. The following year, Oakland's Lake Merritt became the United States' first officially designated wildlife refuge, now a National Historic Landmark . Following the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake , many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the population, increasing its housing stock, and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in
5888-512: The Truth or Consequences radio show were featured in a Superman story in Action Comics #127 (December 1948). In 1948 Edwards created, produced, and hosted This Is Your Life on NBC Radio, moving to NBC-TV in 1952–1961. Each week Edwards would surprise some unsuspecting person (usually a celebrity, sometimes an ordinary citizen) and review the subject's personal and professional life in front of
6016-544: The U.S. state of California . It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County , with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the most populous city in the East Bay, the third most populous city in the Bay Area, and the eighth most populous city in California. It serves as the Bay Area's trade center: the Port of Oakland is the busiest port in Northern California , and
6144-482: The 1906 earthquake, is a small independent city surrounded by the city of Oakland. Oakland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csb ) with an average of 260 sunny days per year. In general, the city features warm, dry summers, and cool, wet winters. Based on data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Oakland is ranked No. 1 in climate among U.S. cities. Oakland's climate
6272-427: The 1920s; they reflect the architectural styles of the time. Russell Clifford Durant established Durant Field at 82nd Avenue and East 14th Street in 1916. The first transcontinental airmail flight finished its journey at Durant Field on August 9, 1920, flown by Army Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker and Navy Lt. Bert Acosta . Durant Field was often called Oakland Airport, though the current Oakland International Airport
6400-477: The 1950s California Supreme Court lawsuit Vallerga v. Dept. Alcoholic Bev. Control, when the bar challenged a state law for the right to serve gay patrons and won in 1959. In 1960, Kaiser Corporation opened its new headquarters; it was the largest skyscraper in Oakland, as well as "the largest office tower west of Chicago " up to that time. In the postwar period, suburban development increased around Oakland, and wealthier residents moved to new housing . Despite
6528-523: The 20th century with its port, shipyards , and manufacturing industry. In the 21st century, between 2019 and 2023, after the city and county refused requests for hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to the privately owned teams, Oakland lost three teams of the major North American sports leagues within a span of five years. The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Huchiun natives, who lived there for thousands of years. The Huchiun belonged to
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#17328872886516656-549: The 22-year-old Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930 to screen test for Universal Studios. She was inspired to pursue a career as a film actress after seeing Mary Pickford in Little Lord Fauntleroy . Davis and her mother traveled by train to Hollywood. She later recounted her surprise that no-one from the studio was there to meet her. In fact, a studio employee had waited for her, but left because he saw no-one who "looked like an actress". Davis failed her first screen test, but
6784-495: The American favorite of Japanese moviegoers—because to them, she "represented the admirable principle of sad self-sacrifice." In 1942, numerous Hollywood entertainment industry members joined forces to form the Hollywood Canteen . Davis and John Garfield were the driving force who were credited with organizing the canteen, along with the aid of 42 unions and guilds in the industry, plus thousands of celebrity volunteers from
6912-581: The Deep South: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, as well as Missouri and Tennessee. Henry J. Kaiser 's representatives recruited sharecroppers and tenant farmers from rural areas to work in his shipyards. African Americans were part of the Great Migration by which five million persons left the South, mostly for the West, from 1940 to 1970. White migrants from
7040-489: The East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio . The grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons. Most of Oakland was within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called Encinar (misrendered at an early date and carried forward as "encinal") – Spanish for " oak grove " – due to
7168-439: The Fruitvale District, and included the Josiah Lusk Canning Company, the Oakland Preserving Company (which started the Del Monte brand), and the California Packing Company. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on defense industries with government contracts to integrate their workforces and provide opportunities for all Americans. Tens of thousands of laborers came from around the country, especially poor whites and blacks from
7296-431: The Oakland ports requiring the authorities at the port to inspect the arriving vessels for the presence of infected rats. Quarantine authorities at these ports inspected over a thousand vessels per year for plague and yellow fever. By 1908, over 5,000 people were detained in quarantine. Hunters were sent to poison the affected areas in Oakland and shoot the squirrels, but the eradication work was limited in its range because
7424-420: The State Board of Health and the United States Public Health Service were only allotted about $ 60,000 a year to eradicate the disease. During this period Oakland did not have sufficient health facilities, so some of the infected patients were treated at home. The State Board of Health along with Oakland also advised physicians to promptly report any cases of infected patients. Yet, in 1919 it still resulted in
7552-477: The TV audience, often introducing figures from their past as live guests. The show drew great interest from viewers, partly because the identity of the subject wasn't revealed until the show went live. Throughout the half-hour Edwards would guide the narrative of the show, ushering visitors on and off stage, and eventually prompting the honoree to recall a personal turning point. Edwards was showman enough to draw upon his Truth or Consequences experience, emphasizing
7680-466: The Woman , Warner Bros. was incurring excessive production costs because the film was being made in Technicolor , and the Technicolor cameras were rented. In late June, the studio put Davis on suspension for refusal to work, and replaced her in the film with Beverly Roberts . During negotiations with Warner Bros. regarding her salary and signing Davis for the female lead in Danton , Davis abruptly traveled to England with her husband, Harmon Nelson, on
7808-442: The accounting firm Price Waterhouse. The next year, A Midsummer Night's Dream became the only film to win a write-in Oscar, for Best Cinematography . The next year, her performance as a down-and-out troubled actress in Dangerous (1935) received very good reviews, and landed Davis her first Best Actress nomination and win. E. Arnot Robertson wrote in Picture Post that, "I think Bette Davis would probably have been burned as
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#17328872886517936-456: The age of 92. Shortly before his death he released a selection of his This Is Your Life programs on DVD . The Game Show Congress annually presents the Ralph Edwards Service Award, for those within the game show community who have worked tirelessly for charitable causes. In 2004, Edwards' son accepted the first of these awards on behalf of his father. For his contribution to the radio and television industries, Ralph Edwards has two stars on
8064-419: The area defined as the Central Business District in Oakland's 1998 General Plan. Brown's plan and other redevelopment projects were controversial due to potential rent increases and gentrification , which would displace lower-income residents from downtown Oakland into outlying neighborhoods and cities. Due to allegations of misconduct by the Oakland Police Department , the City of Oakland has paid claims for
8192-411: The automobile industry went through restructuring, many jobs were lost. In addition, labor unrest increased as workers struggled to protect their livelihoods. Oakland was the center of a general strike during the first week of December 1946, one of six cities across the country that had such a strike after World War II. The Mary's First and Last Chance in Oakland was a lesbian bar, once the focus of
8320-622: The bay. On November 27, 1908, Homer took a ferry across the bay in a driving rainstorm and met for lunch with Frank and twenty three other businessmen at the Hotel Metropole at 13th and Jefferson. This gathering became the first meeting of the Tri-City Rotary Club, renamed in 1911 The Rotary Club of Oakland, the third Rotary Club in the world. This group established the tradition of weekly meetings, something most clubs worldwide follow today. In 1917, General Motors opened an automobile factory in East Oakland called Oakland Assembly . It produced Chevrolet cars and then GMC trucks until 1963, when it
8448-601: The character of Regina Giddens, a role originally played on Broadway by Tallulah Bankhead (Davis had portrayed in film a role initiated by Bankhead on the stage once before – in Dark Victory ). Wyler encouraged Davis to emulate Bankhead's interpretation of the role, but Davis wanted to make the role her own. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance, and never worked with Wyler again. In 1943, Davis told an interviewer that she had molded her film career on her motto, "I love tragedy," and ironically, until Pearl Harbor , she had been recognized as
8576-483: The city's total area is 78.0 square miles (202 km ), including 55.8 square miles (145 km ) of land and 22.2 square miles (57 km ) (28.48 percent) of water. Oakland's highest point is near Grizzly Peak Blvd, east of Berkeley, just over 1,760 feet (540 m) above sea level at about 37°52′43″N 122°13′27″W / 37.8786°N 122.2241°W / 37.8786; -122.2241 . Oakland has 19 miles (31 km) of shoreline, but Radio Beach
8704-418: The colony of New Spain , and was known for its plentiful oak tree stands. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco . The fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the 1850s, what became the first campus of the University of California was founded in Oakland, and Oakland was selected as the western terminal of
8832-538: The coming-attractions trailers for Laurel and Hardy movies. Edwards was the second host of the NBC radio children's talent show The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour . He appeared in a few films, including Radio Stars On Parade with the comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney , and I'll Cry Tomorrow with Susan Hayward . After years of experimental broadcasts, the Federal Communications Commission approved commercial television broadcasts starting on July 1, 1941, and NBC's New York station WNBT (now WNBC)
8960-447: The country to New York City , where, he said, "I ate ten-cent meals and slept on park benches". After some part-time announcing jobs, he got his big break in 1938 with a full-time job for the Columbia Broadcasting System on the original WABC (now WCBS ), where he worked with two other young announcers who would become broadcasting fixtures - Mel Allen and Andre Baruch . The young director had an assured, professional manner, and in
9088-412: The course of the 1890s. The various streetcar companies operating in Oakland were acquired by Francis "Borax" Smith and consolidated into what eventually became known as the Key System , the predecessor of today's publicly owned AC Transit . Oakland was one of the worst affected cities in California that was impacted by the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904 . Quarantine measures were set in place at
9216-487: The disapproval and resistance of the committee, Davis resigned, and was succeeded by her predecessor Walter Wanger . Davis starred in three movies in 1941, the first being The Great Lie , with George Brent. It was a refreshingly different role for Davis as she played a kind, sympathetic character. William Wyler directed Davis for the third time in Lillian Hellman 's The Little Foxes (1941), but they clashed over
9344-489: The early 1940s, several of Davis's film choices were influenced by the war, such as Watch on the Rhine (1943), by Lillian Hellman, and Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), a lighthearted all-star musical cavalcade. Davis performed a novelty song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old." Old Acquaintance (1943) reunited her with Miriam Hopkins in a story of two old friends who deal with the tensions created when one of them becomes
9472-702: The east (up to 30 inches [760 mm]), with nearly all precipitation falling between November and April. Overnight lows are mild. Oakland seldom experiences warm nights with the warmest recorded night of 72 °F (22 °C) in September 1971 and an average of 64 °F (18 °C) for the annual warmest low. The coldest day of the year averages a mild 50 °F (10 °C) and has never been recorded below 36 °F (2 °C). The National Weather Service today has two official weather stations in Oakland: Oakland International Airport and
9600-460: The fifth- or sixth-busiest in the United States. A charter city , Oakland was incorporated on May 4, 1852, in the wake of the state's increasing population due to the California gold rush . Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie , oak woodland , and north coastal scrub . In the late 18th century, it became part of a large rancho grant in
9728-561: The film Hollywood Canteen (1944), which used the canteen as the setting for a fictional story. Warner Bros. donated 40% of proceeds from the film to both the Hollywood Canteen and the Stage Door Canteen in Manhattan . Davis showed little interest for the role of repressed spinster Charlotte Vale in the drama film Now, Voyager (1942), until Hal Wallis advised her that female audiences needed romantic dramas to distract them from
9856-408: The first program of its type. In 1996, along with Stu Billett, they also did Bzzz! . During the 1980s, he partnered with Stu Billett to run Ralph Edwards/Stu Billett Productions, of which in 1986, they wanted to expand it beyond game and court shows and hired Lorimar-Telepictures veteran Jay Feldman to serve as senior vice president, in order to go for specials and made-for-television features. He had
9984-452: The horrors of egocentricity on a marathonic scale". Despite these reviews, Mr. Skeffington was another box-office hit and earned Davis another Academy Award nomination. In 1945, Davis married artist William Grant Sherry, her third husband, who also worked as a masseur. She had been drawn to him because he claimed he had never heard of her and so was not intimidated by her. The same year, Davis made The Corn Is Green (1945), based on
10112-701: The large oak forest that covered the area, which eventually led to the city's name. According to Stanford University historian Albert Camarillo, the Peralta family struggled to keep their land after the incorporation of California into the United States after the Mexican–American War . Camarillo claims the family was the victim of targeted racial violence . He writes in Chicanos in California , "They lost everything when squatters cut down their fruit trees, killed their cattle, destroyed their buildings, and even fenced off
10240-507: The late 1940s was redeemed with her role as a fading Broadway star in All About Eve (1950), which has often been cited as her best performance. She received Best Actress nominations for this film and for The Star (1952), but her career struggled over the rest of the decade. Her last nomination came for her role as the psychotic former child star Jane Hudson in the psychological horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). In
10368-481: The late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies. She was praised for her role in Marked Woman (1937) and won a second Academy Award for her portrayal of a strong-willed 1850s southern belle in Jezebel (1938), the first of five consecutive years in which she received a Best Actress nomination; the others for Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), and Now, Voyager (1942). A period of decline in
10496-540: The latter stage of her career, Davis played character parts in films like Death on the Nile (1978) and shifted her focus to roles in television. She led the miniseries The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978), won an Emmy Award for Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979), and was nominated for her performances in White Mama (1980) and Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982). Her last complete cinematic part
10624-427: The length of time a studio contract could be legally enforceable, which at the time was seven years. In her later years, Davis would falsely claim in interviews that she set the path for de Havilland's legal victory; however, this is grossly inaccurate. Warners' 1936 injunction against Davis was due to her attempt to unlawfully breach her contract to work for another production company because she and Warners were having
10752-421: The major increases in the number and proportion of African Americans in the city, in 1966 only 16 of the city's 661 police officers were black. Tensions between the black community and the largely white police force were high, as expectations during the civil rights era increased to gain social justice and equality before the law. Police abuse of blacks was common. Students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded
10880-553: The marriage. After more than 20 film roles, she had her critical breakthrough playing the role of the vicious and slatternly Mildred Rogers in the RKO Radio production of Of Human Bondage (1934), a film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham 's novel. It earned Davis her first major critical acclaim, although, contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. Many actresses feared playing unsympathetic characters, and several had refused
11008-437: The melodrama Housewife . When Davis was not nominated for an Academy Award for Of Human Bondage , The Hollywood Citizen News questioned the omission, and Norma Shearer , herself a nominee, joined a campaign to have Davis nominated. This prompted an announcement from the Academy president, Howard Estabrook , who said that under the circumstances, "any voter ... may write on the ballot his or her personal choice for
11136-523: The mid-1990s, Oakland's economy began to recover as it transitioned to new types of jobs. In addition, the city participated in large development and urban renewal projects, concentrated especially in the downtown area, at the Port of Oakland , and at the Oakland International Airport . After his 1999 inauguration, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown continued his predecessor Elihu Harris' public policy of supporting downtown housing development in
11264-559: The nearby San Andreas Fault caused severe earth movement in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1906 and 1989. San Andreas quakes induces creep (movement occurring on earthquake faults) in the Hayward fault, which runs directly through Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose and other Bay Area cities. Oakland has more than 50 distinct neighborhoods. The city's greater divisions include downtown Oakland and its greater Central Business District , Lake Merritt , East Oakland , North Oakland , West Oakland , and
11392-403: The nearby town of Alameda being made an island. In 1906, the city's population doubled with refugees made homeless after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. In 1908, the lawyer, former miner, and newspaper owner Homer Wood (1880–1976) suggested to his friend Frank Bilger of Blake and Bilger Rock Quarry and Paving Company that he organize a gathering to establish a Rotary Club east of
11520-416: The needy. As in many other American cities during the 1980s, crack cocaine became a serious problem in Oakland. Drug dealing in general, and the dealing of crack cocaine in particular, resulted in elevated rates of violent crime, causing Oakland to consistently be listed as one of America's most crime-ridden cities. In 1980, Oakland's Black population reached its 20th-century peak at approximately 47% of
11648-494: The next several years NCL engaged in the conspiratorial dissolution of Oakland's electric streetcar system. The city's expensive electric streetcar fleet was converted to cheaper diesel buses. The state Legislature created the Alameda and Contra Costa Transit District in 1955, which operates today as AC Transit , the third-largest bus-only transit system in the nation. After the war, as Oakland's shipbuilding industry declined and
11776-552: The offer. Davis, on the other hand, did not want Flynn cast as Rhett Butler . Newcomer Vivien Leigh was cast as Scarlett O'Hara, de Havilland landed a role as Melanie, and both of them were nominated for the Oscars, with Leigh winning. Jezebel marked the beginning of the most successful phase of Davis's career, and over the next few years, she was listed in the annual Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money-Making Stars , which
11904-454: The overall city population. The 6.9 M w Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989. The rupture was related to the San Andreas fault system and affected the entire San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ( Violent ). Many structures in Oakland were badly damaged including the double-decker portion of Interstate 880 that collapsed. The eastern span of
12032-406: The play by Emlyn Williams . Davis played Miss Moffat, an English teacher who saves a young Welsh miner ( John Dall ) from a life in the coal pits by offering him education. The part had been played in the theater by Ethel Barrymore (who was 61 at the play's premiere), but Warner Bros. felt that the film version should depict the character as a younger woman. Davis disagreed, and insisted on playing
12160-483: The press that she intended to defy Warner Bros' legal injunction and make the film in England. On October 14, 1936, the British court held a hearing regarding the studio's injunction against Davis. Mr Justice Branson issued his decision on October 19, ruling in favor of Warner Bros. Justice Branson dismissed Davis's representative's claims that she was an "underpaid slave" held under a "life sentence", and ruled that Davis
12288-518: The reality of their lives. It became one of the better known of her "women's pictures". In one of the film's most imitated scenes, Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes as he stares into Davis's eyes, and passes one to her. Film reviewers complimented Davis on her performance, the National Board of Review commenting that she gave the film "a dignity not fully warranted by the script". She received her seventh Oscar nomination for Now, Voyager . During
12416-516: The record low temperature was 24 °F (−4 °C) on January 23, 1949. Dry, warm offshore "Diablo" winds (similar to the Santa Ana winds of Southern California) sometimes occur, especially in fall, and raise the fire danger. In 1991, such an episode allowed the catastrophic Oakland Hills fire to spread and consume many homes. Oakland, like much of Northern California, is susceptible to winter rainstorms and Atmospheric rivers . The wettest "rain year"
12544-603: The region. The city inspected warehouses and live/work spaces after a fire broke out in the Ghost Ship warehouse , killing 36 people in 2016. Oakland is the second U.S. city, after Denver , to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms . In June 2019, the City Council passed the resolution in a unanimous vote ending the investigation and imposition of criminal penalties for use and possession of natural entheogens . In November 2019, two homeless mothers and their children moved into
12672-448: The rest of her life, Davis maintained that she gave the statue its familiar name of "Oscar" because its posterior resembled that of her husband, whose middle name was Oscar, although, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially makes reference to another story. In her next film, The Petrified Forest (1936), Davis co-starred with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart . In
12800-517: The roads leading to the rancho. Especially insidious were the actions of attorney Horace Carpentier , who tricked Vicente Peralta into signing a 'lease' which turned out to be a mortgage against the 19,000-acre rancho. The lands became Carpentier's when Peralta refused to repay the loan he believed was fraudulently incurred. The Peraltas had no choice but to abandon the homesite they had occupied for two generations." In 1851, three men— Horace Carpentier , Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what
12928-581: The role, but Davis viewed it as an opportunity to show the range of her acting skills. Her co-star, Leslie Howard , was initially dismissive of her, but as filming progressed, his attitude changed, and he subsequently spoke highly of her abilities. The film's director, John Cromwell , allowed her relative freedom. "I let Bette have her head. I trusted her instincts." Davis insisted that she be portrayed realistically in her death scene, and said, "The last stages of consumption, poverty, and neglect are not pretty, and I intended to be convincing-looking." The film
13056-457: The sentimental elements that appealed to viewers and listeners at home. His on-air tributes would often recount some heroic sacrifice or tragic event, bringing the audience (and sometimes the subject) to the point of tears. Celebrity subjects included Marilyn Monroe , Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy , Bob Hope , Andy Griffith , Buster Keaton , Barbara Eden , Bette Davis , Shirley Jones , Jayne Mansfield , Johnny Cash , and Carol Channing . In
13184-462: The show returned for another NBC run in late 1956, Edwards hired Barker, a popular West Coast radio personality, on December 21 after hearing his radio show on his car radio. During the 2001 Daytime Emmy Awards , Barker told backstage reporters that his lifelong friend Edwards told him to be no one else but himself. Barker would host Truth or Consequences on NBC until 1965, and later in daily syndication until 1975, by which time he had also taken over
13312-406: The situation proved difficult for Nelson, who refused to allow Davis to purchase a house until he could afford to pay for it himself. Nelson was able to enforce his wishes because, at the time, the husband had the management and control of the community property, which included the wife's earnings, and the wife could not obtain credit without her husband's consent. Davis had several abortions during
13440-439: The spread of plague. At the time of incorporation in 1852, Oakland had consisted of the territory that lay south of today's major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north. Oakland's rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in
13568-510: The spring of 1936, Davis asked Warner Bros. to loan her out to RKO to make Mary of Scotland . Warner Bros. refused, and assigned Davis to two films that were written specifically for her: God's Country and the Woman , and Mountain Justice . However, as God's Country and the Woman was going into production, Davis refused to work, and demanded a salary increase on her contract with Warner Bros. At
13696-433: The time, Davis was earning $ 1,250 per week. Jack Warner offered Davis an increased salary of $ 2,250 per week, which Davis refused. Davis's agent, Mike Levee, said: "She's a very stubborn young lady. I asked her how much she wanted, and she said $ 3,500 a week, plus all radio rights and permission to make outside pictures. I told her, 'Whoa, that's too much!'" Meanwhile, due to Davis's refusal to continue with God's County and
13824-403: The winners", thus allowing, for the only time in the Academy's history, the consideration of a candidate not officially nominated for an award. The uproar led, however, to a change in academy voting procedures the following year, wherein nominations were determined by votes from all eligible members of a particular branch, rather than by a smaller committee, with results independently tabulated by
13952-440: The women. The incident received nationwide coverage. The company that owns the house later said they would sell it to a nonprofit affordable housing group. As of 2019, Oakland's per-capita homeless rate was higher than San Francisco and Berkeley. Between 2014 and 2020, Oakland strengthened its protections for tenants in order to reduce the displacement of its long-time residents. Between January 2020 and March 2022, Oakland suffered
14080-555: Was Barbara Harriet (1909–1979). In 1915, after Davis's parents separated, Davis and her sister Barbara attended a spartan boarding school named Crestalban in Lanesborough, Massachusetts , for three years. In the fall of 1921, her mother, Ruth Davis, moved to New York City, using her children's tuition money to enroll in the Clarence White School of Photography , with an apartment on 144th Street at Broadway. She then worked as
14208-497: Was a success, and Davis's characterization earned praise from critics, with Life writing that she gave "probably the best performance ever recorded on the screen by a U.S. actress". Davis anticipated that her reception would encourage Warner Bros. to cast her in more important roles, and was disappointed when Jack L. Warner refused to lend her to Columbia Studios to appear in It Happened One Night , and instead cast her in
14336-607: Was a success. This led to speculation in the press that she would be chosen to play Scarlett O'Hara , a similar character, in Gone with the Wind . Davis expressed her desire to play Scarlett, and while David O. Selznick was conducting a search for the actress to play the role, a radio poll named her as the audience favorite. Warner offered her services to Selznick as part of a deal that also included Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland , but Selznick did not consider Davis as suitable, and rejected
14464-582: Was arranged for Davis, for the 1931 film A House Divided . Hastily dressed in an ill-fitting costume with a low neckline, she was rebuffed by the film director William Wyler , who loudly commented to the assembled crew, "What do you think of these dames who show their chests and think they can get jobs?". Carl Laemmle , the head of Universal Studios, considered terminating Davis's employment, but cinematographer Karl Freund told him she had "lovely eyes" and would be suitable for Bad Sister (1931), in which she subsequently made her film debut. Her nervousness
14592-487: Was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the U.S. for the stars who had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year. In contrast to Davis's success, her husband Ham Nelson had failed to establish a career for himself, and their relationship faltered. In 1938, Nelson obtained evidence that Davis was engaged in a sexual relationship with Howard Hughes , and subsequently filed for divorce, citing Davis's "cruel and inhuman manner". Davis
14720-742: Was compounded when she overheard the chief of production, Carl Laemmle, Jr. , comment to another executive that she had "about as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville ", one of the film's male co-stars. The film was not a success, and her next role in Seed (1931) was too brief to attract attention. Universal Studios renewed her contract for three months, and she appeared in a small role in Waterloo Bridge (1931), before being lent to Columbia Pictures for The Menace , and to Capital Films for Hell's House (all 1932). After one year, and six unsuccessful films, Laemmle elected not to renew her contract. Davis
14848-736: Was emotional during the making of her next film, Dark Victory (1939), and considered abandoning it until the producer Hal B. Wallis convinced her to channel her despair into her acting. The film was among the high-grossing films of the year, and the role of Judith Traherne, a spirited heiress suffering from a malignant brain tumor, brought her an Academy Award nomination. In later years, Davis cited this performance as her personal favorite. Dark Victory featured Ronald Reagan and Humphrey Bogart in supporting roles. Davis appeared in three other box-office hits in 1939: The Old Maid with Miriam Hopkins , Juarez with Paul Muni , and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex with Errol Flynn. The last
14976-510: Was from July 1997 to June 1998 with 47.76 inches (1,213.1 mm) and the driest from July 2020 to June 2021 with 8.03 inches (204.0 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 15.35 inches (390 mm) in January 1911. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 4.75 inches (121 mm) on December 31, 2022. Rainfall near the bayfront is only 23 inches (580 mm), but is higher in the Oakland Hills to
15104-509: Was her first color film, and her only color film made during the height of her career. To play the elderly Elizabeth I of England , Davis shaved her hairline and eyebrows. During filming, Davis was visited on the set by the actor Charles Laughton . She commented that she had a "nerve" playing a woman in her 60s, to which Laughton replied: "Never not dare to hang yourself. That's the only way you grow in your profession. You must continually attempt things that you think are beyond you, or you get into
15232-436: Was in breach of her contract to Warner "for no discoverable reason except that she wanted more money". Davis was ordered to pay Warner Bros. $ 80,000 in restitution, and was also ordered to pay the studio's legal fees for filing the injunction in England. The British press offered little support to Davis, calling her overpaid and ungrateful. In 1943, actress Olivia de Havilland won a lawsuit against Warner Bros. regarding
15360-451: Was in the drama The Whales of August (1987). Davis was known for her forceful and intense style of acting and her physical transformations. She gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors, and co-stars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style, and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated. Davis
15488-461: Was moved to Fremont in southern Alameda County. Also in 1916, the Fageol Motor Company chose East Oakland for their first factory, manufacturing farming tractors from 1918 to 1923. By 1920, Oakland was the home of numerous manufacturing industries, including metals , canneries, bakeries, internal combustion engines , automobiles, and shipbuilding. By 1929, when Chrysler expanded with
15616-494: Was preparing to return to New York when actor George Arliss chose Davis for the lead female role in the Warner Bros. picture The Man Who Played God (1932). For the rest of her life, Davis credited him with helping her achieve her "break" in Hollywood. The Saturday Evening Post wrote, "She is not only beautiful, but she bubbles with charm", and compared her to Constance Bennett and Olive Borden . Warner Bros. signed her to
15744-466: Was said to be erratic and out of character. She alienated Vincent Sherman by refusing to film certain scenes and insisting that some sets be rebuilt. She improvised dialogue, which made the writer Julius Epstein rewrite scenes at her whim. Davis later explained her actions with the observation "When I was most unhappy, I lashed out rather than whined." Some reviewers criticized Davis for the excess of her performance; James Agee wrote that she "demonstrates
15872-462: Was soon established four miles (6.4 km) to the southwest. During World War II, the East Bay Area was home to many war-related industries. Oakland's Moore Dry Dock Company expanded its shipbuilding capabilities and built over 100 ships. Valued at $ 100 million in 1943, Oakland's canning industry was its second-most-valuable war contribution after shipbuilding. The largest canneries were in
16000-424: Was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen , and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and three times divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by
16128-501: Was the first to make the changeover, with Edwards hosting a one-time episode of Truth or Consequences over WNBT to commemorate the first day of commercial telecasting. The show was originally based in New York, with Mel Allen as announcer, but later moved to Los Angeles. After the U.S. entered World War II in late 1941, causing early television broadcasts to be cut back dramatically, its radio run started on CBS (home network to both Edwards and Allen), then moved to NBC . Edwards and
16256-455: Was the most financially successful film of Davis's career to that point. The Letter (1940) was considered "one of the best pictures of the year" by The Hollywood Reporter , and Davis won admiration for her portrayal of an adulterous killer, a role originated onstage by Katharine Cornell . During this time, she was in a relationship with her former co-star George Brent , who proposed marriage. Davis refused, as she had met Arthur Farnsworth,
16384-404: Was used in several screen tests for other actors. In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett , she related the experience with the observation, "I was the most Yankee-est, most modest virgin who ever walked the earth. They laid me on a couch, and I tested fifteen men...They all had to lie on top of me and give me a passionate kiss. Oh, I thought I would die. Just thought I would die." A second test
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