of Hollywood
By Gary Koca
Unlike the majority of men, I have long been a fan of musicals, and grew up in an era – the 1950s – where Hollywood musicals were really big time in popularity as well as in making money. Composers like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Lerner and Lowe were particular favorites of mine, and why not? Their melodies were beautiful, and the lyrics were timeless or at least fit the setting in which they took place.
I have divided this book into two categories: 1) Musicals that appeared first on the Broadway stage, and after a successful run were eventually made into movies. This includes films like Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Brigadoon, Guys and Dolls, and many others; and 2) Movie musicals that appeared on the big screen without ever having been on stage first: movies like Singin’ in the Rain, The Band Wagon, The Wizard of Oz, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and all those wonderful films with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that immediately come to mind. I have also included five Disney animated films from this time period.
This book is a tribute to all those wonderful musicals from the late 1930s through the mid 1960s – the Golden Age of Movie Musicals, as well as the talented stars who sang and danced their way through these films.
About the Author
Gary Koca has had a love of old movies for as far back as he can remember. Professionally, he worked in human resources for 42 years, either as a Federal government employee or contractor.
Now retired, he is able to devote more time to writing about his two favorite topics – Chicago Cubs baseball and old movies from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Gary is married with two daughters and four grandchildren and lives in suburban Chicago and Central Florida
Gary Koca
