uso

Jerry Colonna.

Tony Romano on guitar

The mystery girl is before my time, but most likely part of a USO troupe...

The gal is Carole Landis...

They were on a USO tour of New Guinea and entertained my Dad's unit at Dobodura. The map on the right I believe is of the Milne Bay area. Here's a Paramount newsreel of the visit. youtu.be/GzcKFOzezOA

Una Merkel Una Merkel was an American film actress. Merkel resembled the popular actress Lillian Gish, and her resemblance allowed her to begin her career as a stand-in for Gish in 1920’s Way Down East. She appeared in a few films during the silent era, including the two-reel Love’s Old Sweet Song filmed by Lee DeForest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process, and co-starring Louis Wolheim and Donald Gallaher. However, she spent most of her time in New York City working on Broadway. Merkel returned to Hollywood and achieved her greatest success with the advent of “talkies”. She played Ann Rutledge in the film Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. During the 1930s, Merkel became a popular second lead in a number of films, usually playing the wisecracking best friend of the heroine, supporting actresses such as Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Loretta Young, and Dorothy Lamour. With her kewpie doll looks, combined with a strong Southern accent and wry line delivery, she enlivened scores of films of the era and worked with most of the stars of the period. Merkel was an MGM contract player from 1932 to 1938, appearing in as many as twelve films in a year, often on loan-out to other studios. She was also often cast as leading lady to a number of comedians in their starring pictures, including Jack Benny, Harold Lloyd, and Charles Butterworth. One of her most famous roles was in the Western Destry Rides Again in which her character, Lillibelle, gets into a famous “cat-fight” with Frenchie over the possession of her husband’s trousers, won by Frenchie in a crooked card game. She played the elder daughter to the W. C. Fields character, Egbert Sousé in the 1940 film The Bank Dick. Source: walkoffame.com/una-merkel/

American film star, Gary Cooper, visited Brisbane in November, 1943 to entertain the troops during the war. Cooper was joined by American comedian, Una Merkel, the young Hollywood star, Phyllis Brooks, and Andy Arcari, a piano accordionist. The entourage stayed at the Lennon’s Hotel and one of the waitresses at the hotel was happy to report that Mr Cooper was “swell” and “as nice as his pictures”. His visit to Brisbane delighted his fans as crowds of women waited hours for his autograph; one woman was reported to have “skipped lunch” just to catch a glimpse of the Academy Award winner. However, the actor told one pressman at the time that he has never gotten used to the crowds. Despite this, The Telegraph reported he signed as many autograph books as he good “patiently and good-humouredly”. Cooper had a busy schedule while in Brisbane, alongside Merkel and Brooks, he had lunch with general Yeager in the officer’s mess enjoying a meal of roast veal, apple pie, ice-cream and iced tea. Later, during a visit to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket Cooper saw Australia’s unique native animals. In the evening the Hollywood star attended an event hosted by the American consul, Joseph Ragland, and his wife at their Bowen Hills residence. Cooper also attended a press conference, talking about how he would entertain the servicemen saying, “We will play sketches, sing a little, dance a little, and bring some joy to the boys in forwarding areas. It will be a real delight.” In the State Library of Queensland’s Original Materials Collections, Corporal Robert L. Wehnrenberg, World War Two Correspondence, writes in his personal letters on December the 11th 1943, that Cooper, Brooks, and Merkel “put on a pretty good show” and that he “took a pair of field glasses along to make sure could get a look at ‘em.” Following in Gary Cooper’s footsteps actor John Wayne visited Brisbane a month later. Eliza Woods, 2016 Mittleheuser student internship Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/mr-cooper-comes-town

Phyllis Brooks (July 18, 1915 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress and model. She was born in Boise, Idaho. Some sources have also inaccurately cited 1914 as her year of birth, but 1915 is the correct year according to Social Security records. Source: www.female.com.au/celebrities/phyllis-brooks.htm