Jimmy Durante

Jimmy Durante died in Santa Monica, California of pneumonia, and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. William Haines has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to Motion Pictures, at 7012 Hollywood Boulevard. Durante had a nationally broadcast radio variety show; in the 1950s he had a television show as well. He continued making movie appearances through 1963 and television appearances until 1970. They were interred side by side in the Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery. He was featured in a series of comedy motion pictures paired with Buster Keaton. Shields committed suicide soon after. In the show, a policeman stops him while leading a live elephant and asks "What are you doing with that elephant?" Durante stopped the show by saying "Elephant? What elephant?". Haines died from lung cancer in Santa Monica, California.

In 1935 he starred in Billy Rose's spectacle, "Jumbo". Joan Crawford, a lifelong friend described them as "the happiest married couple in Hollywood". He had big hit in 1934 with his composition Inka Dinka Do, a novelty number he sang and played piano on, and which became his signature song. Haines and Shields remained together for the rest of their lives. In the mid 1920s he became a star on Vaudeville and radio with his music & comedy trio Clayton Jackson & Durante (with Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson); despite third billing Durante was the star of the act. Gloria Swanson extended him a personal invitation to appear with her in the film Sunset Boulevard (1950) but he refused. About 1917 he joined one of the first jazz bands in New York, The Original New Orleans Jazz Band (all other musicians were from New Orleans). Durante's outgoing personality and ability to "sell" a number to the audience started attracting greater attention, and by 1920 the band was renamed Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band. Haines never returned to films.

In his youth Durante worked as pianist and entertainer in New York city, nickmaned "Ragtime Jimmy". The couple finally settled into the Hollywood community in Malibu, and their business prospered until their retirement in the early 1970s. He dropped out of school in eighth-grade to play ragtime piano. Marion Davies asked Hearst to use his influence to ensure the neighbours were prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but ultimately Haines and Shields chose not to report the incident. Jimmy Durante was born New York City. Crawford, along with other stars such as Claudette Colbert, Kay Francis and Charles Boyer urged the men to report this to the police. He was noted for his large nose which he frequently made jokes about, which earned him the nickname Schnozzola. Their lives were disrupted in 1936 when homophobic neighbours, dressed in sheets and wearing hoods to hide their faces, dragged the two men from their home and beat them.

Durante was a pianist, actor, comedian, as well as a singer with a distinctive hoarse voice with a strong working class New York City accent. Among their early clients were friends such as Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard, Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst. James Francis "Jimmy" Durante (February 10, 1893 - January 29, 1980) was an American entertainer, one of the most popular and recognized personalities of the 1920s-1960s. Haines and Shields began a successful career as interior designers and antique dealers. Haines chose Shields and Mayer terminated his contract, quickly recasting Robert Montgomery in roles that had been planned for Haines. Mayer pressured Haines to end his relationship with Shields and marry. He made a successful transition into talking pictures and maintained his star status until 1934 when Mayer finally delivered him an ultimatum, and forced him to choose between Shields and his career.

Studio publicists were able to keep this information from the press, however studio head Louis B. Haines lived openly as a homosexual man, and from 1926 lived with Jimmy Shields, whom he had met during the production of a film. He appeared in successes such as Sally, Irene and Mary (1926 with newcomers Joan Crawford and Constance Bennett), West Point (1927 also with Crawford), and scored his biggest personal success with Show People (1928), opposite Marion Davies. He was cultivated as a romantic leading man, and his combination of good looks and flair for comedy won him many fans.

By 1925 he was MGM's most important male star, and his films were very profitable for the studio. After winning a talent contest he moved to Hollywood where he played bit parts for several years until MGM Studios began casting him in more prominent roles. Born in Staunton, Virginia, Haines left his home while in his teens and moved to New York City. William Haines (January 2, 1900 - December 26, 1973) was a US film actor who was one of the most successful film stars of the silent era.