December 8th, 2007

Film historian-preservationist Bob DeFlores grew up in Hollywood immersed in showbiz culture. His parents performed in movies, on the radio, and in nightclubs, and his passion for the cinema and jazz music developed early. He began collecting and restoring films in 1953, and has since amassed a library of 6,000 works, including rare newsreels, cartoon shorts, sports footage, full-length features, and jazz and big band material. DeFlores has assisted many legendary performers in completing their film libraries, including Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple, Kitty Carlise, Eleanor Powell, Tex Benke, Buddy Rogers, Frankie Carle, Phil Harris, and Loretta Young. In addition, he has become a primary resource for historical footage and clips used on A&E's Biography series, as well as such galas as the Kennedy Center Honors and the Grammy Awards. Based in the Twin Cities, DeFlores frequently travels across the country to present work from his expansive archive at universities and various organizations. In conjunction with the exhibition The Cities Collect, the Walker presents this unique program of films selected by DeFlores from his personal film collection. DeFlores will host each event. Arne Fogel appears frequently as a singer at the top jazz venues in the Twin Cities, and served as the opening act for Rosemary Clooney during her December 2001 appearance at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. He regularly hits the high-school-college-community meeting lecture circuit with songs and historical presentations of popular music and entertainment figures, was chosen from nationwide auditions to participate as a FELLOW of the 1998 EUGENE O'NEIL THEATER CENTER CABARET SYMPOSIUM in Waterford, Connecticut, and was a lecturer, performer, and conference consultant to the Hofstra University (Hempstead, New York) conference "BING! Crosby And American Culture" (2002). In 2003 Arne Fogel wrote, co-produced, and hosted a special program "Moments To Remember", presented in the 3M Auditorium of the MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER. To Contact Bob or Arne: Call 952.546.3822 or go to Arne's Web Site by clicking on Arne Fogel.