Mario Lanza - A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody - A. C. Johnston photographer video free download

Photos of M. Lanza together with Art Deco photographs by the "Ziegfeld Girls" photographer, Alfred Cheney Johnston, and a video segment of Ziegfeld Girls, combine to create a stunning background for Lanza's beautiful voice.

Irving Berlin wrote both the music and the lyrics for this song which premiered in 1946.

One of Alfred Cheney Johnston's models shown here was actress Helene Costello, younger sister of Dolores Costello of Hollywood films. Another prominent model also shown here was Ruby Keeler, well-known tap dancer and actress, and former wife of Al Jolson.

Special thanks go to the following web sites and other media for use of their photos and online video which made this video possible:

Photos of Mario Lanza with his lady co-stars were taken from his films; they are available for purchase from Turner Classic Movies.

The Ziegfeld girls video added at the end is an excerpt from the YouTube video "You Stepped out of a Dream -Ziegfeld Girls 1941" found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ70HGwZXNs posted by turinethefool who has 245 videos posted on YouTube. The singer in that video is Tony Martin, not Mario Lanza. Martin appears with a chorus in that Zeigfeld Follies number. The gorgeous lady at the end is Hedy Lamarr, known as "The Most Beautiful Woman in Films".

The following information was taken from: http://www.alfredcheneyjohnston.com/Biography.htm

"Around 1916 Alfred Cheney Johnston's photography was brought to the attention of Florenz Ziegfeld, founder of the Ziegfeld Follies. After seeing examples of his portrait photography, Ziegfeld invited the young Johnston to become official photographer for the Follies. Cheney had one stipulation to accepting Ziegfeld's offer. He required that his name be included as a byline below every one of his photographs. Again it's quite possible that Charles Dana Gibson advised him on this. It proved to be an excellent business move because Johnston's byline brought him other commercial work for film companies and advertising agencies.

Ziegfeld promoted his shows as "Glorifying the American Girl" and it was Johnston's job to capture Ziegfeld's vision on film. Johnston's portraits of Ziegfeld's girls became world famous. Just as his mentor Charles Dana Gibson created the "Gibson Girl", Johnston went on to create the "Ziegfeld Girl" which became the next standard of beauty for a new generation of Americans".

A CD of Alfred Cheney Johnston's photographs is available for purchase at: http://www.alfredcheneyjohnston.com/Catalog.htm