A movie and a stage show are two entirely different things. A picture, you can do anything you want. Change it, cut out a scene, put in a scene, take a scene out. They don't do that on stage.
Cab Calloway
The Dorsey Brothers were responsible for some of the most memorable music of the swing era. Backed by many of the finest musicians and singers of the day they consistently topped the charts with some of the best rhythms ever recorded. They always strove to be the best in their field, and this showed in their strong musical output. Few bandleaders could equal their accomplishments.
Jimmy and Tommy formed The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1930. Tommy, the more temperamental one, is usually blamed for igniting the longstanding feud that broke them up in 1935. Apparently an argument erupted over the tempo of one of their songs which led to Tommy's exit. They appeared together for one film in 1947, but did not reunite until 1953, when they reformed an orchestra. The final years of their lives were spent co-hosting a musical variety show, which introduced Elvis Presley to TV for the first time (he sang "Heartbreak Hotel").
The first variety show on which Elvis Presley appeared was "Stage Show", a summer replacement for "The Jackie Gleason Show", hosted by former big band leaders Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Gleason, the show's producer, later apologized for putting on "a porno act" and Ed Sullivan said he would never have anything like that on his show. Sullivan later changed his mind after Elvis' made another TV appearance on a rival show.
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's father, Thomas Dorsey, Sr., was a cornet-playing coal miner who also led the Shenandoah town band and gave music lessons on the side. He was his sons' first teacher. Their mother, Tess Dorsey, would outlive both her sons by several years.
The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. After he refused, it was offered to John Wayne, and then Paul Newman, finally being accepted by Clint Eastwood.
