Editing Cliff Edwards (section)

==Film, radio, and television==
In 1929, Cliff Edwards was playing at the [[Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles, California)|Orpheum Theater]] in [[Los Angeles]] where he caught the attention of [[film|movie]] producer-director [[Irving Thalberg]]. His film company [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] hired Edwards to appear in early [[sound movie]]s. After performing in some short films, Edwards was one of the stars in the feature ''[[The Hollywood Revue|The Hollywood Revue of 1929]]'', doing some comic bits and singing some numbers, including the film debut of his hit "Singin' in the Rain". He appeared in a total of 33 films for MGM through 1933. He had a small role as Mike, playing a {{okina}}ukulele very briefly at the beginning of the 1931 movie ''[[Laughing Sinners]]'' (1931), starring [[Joan Crawford]].

Edwards had a friendly working relationship with MGM's comedy star [[Buster Keaton]], who featured Edwards in three of his films. Keaton, himself a former vaudevillian, enjoyed singing and harmonized with Edwards between takes. One of these casual jam sessions was captured on film, in ''[[Doughboys (1930 film)|Doughboys]]'' (1930), in which Keaton and Edwards scat-sing their way through "You Never Did That Before".

Edwards was also an occasional supporting player in feature films and short subjects at [[Warner Bros.]] and [[RKO Radio Pictures]]. He played a wisecracking sidekick to Western star [[George O'Brien (actor)|George O'Brien]], and he filled in for [[Allen Jenkins]] as "Goldie" opposite [[Tom Conway]] in ''The Falcon Strikes Back''. In a 1940 short, he led a cowboy chorus in ''Cliff Edwards and His Buckaroos''. Throughout the 1940s he appeared in a number of "B" Westerns playing the comic, singing sidekick to the hero, seven times with Charles Starrett and six with Tim Holt.
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| image1 = [http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7300000/Scarlett-Melanie-gone-with-the-wind-7323547-449-345.jpg Cliff Edwards as a wounded soldier] in ''[[Gone With the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]'' (1939), with [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Olivia de Havilland]]. (In the final film, Edwards is not visible.)
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Edwards appeared in the darkly sardonic [[Western (genre)|Western]] comedy ''[[The Bad Man of Brimstone]]'' (1937), and he played the character "Endicott" in the [[screwball comedy]] film ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' (1940). In 1939, he voiced the off-screen wounded [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] soldier in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' in a hospital scene with [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Olivia de Havilland]].

His most famous voice role was as [[Jiminy Cricket]] in [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'' (1940), where he sings ''[[Give a Little Whistle]]'' and ''[[When You Wish Upon a Star]]''. Edwards's rendition of "[[When You Wish Upon a Star]]" is probably his most familiar recorded legacy. He voiced the head crow in Disney's ''[[Dumbo]]'' (1941) and sang "When I See an Elephant Fly".

In 1932, Edwards had his first national radio show on [[CBS Radio]]. He continued hosting [[radio network|network]] radio shows through 1946. In the early 1930s, however, Edwards' popularity faded as public taste shifted to [[crooner]]s such as [[Russ Columbo]], [[Rudy Vallee]], and [[Bing Crosby]].

Arthur Godfrey's use of the {{okina}}ukulele spurred a surge in its popularity and those that played it, including Edwards. Like many vaudeville stars, Edwards was an early arrival on [[television]]. In the 1949 season, he starred in ''The Cliff Edwards Show'', a three-days-a-week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings) TV variety show on [[CBS]]. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he made appearances on ''[[The Mickey Mouse Club]]'', in addition to performing his Jiminy Cricket voice for various Disney shorts and the Disney Christmas spectacular, ''[[From All of Us to All of You]]''.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Tranquada
| first = Jim
| title = The Ukulele: a History
| publisher = University of Hawaii Press
| year = 2012
| page = 148
| isbn = 978-0-8248-3544-6}}</ref>