Fred Waring's America

Newly digitized 'Waring's Pennsylvanians' available online

The recently restored and digitized 1927 film short, "Waring's Pennsylvanians (No. 428)," has been made available online. This is the first time the sound and picture have been merged as one synchronized program.

The original version was made using the Vitaphone film process, an early sound-on-disc process used for films produced by Warner Brothers from 1926 to 1930. "Waring's Pennsylvanians" features world-renowned band leader Fred Waring and his early all-male group perform at the height of the jazz age when they were considered the hottest "collegiate" band on the vaudeville circuit.

The revived film with merged audio and video premiered June 2 at Penn State, where the vast collection of Fred Waring's memorabilia and musical archives are housed. WPSU-TV, Penn State Public Broadcasting, partnered with the Fred Waring Collection, known as Fred Waring's America, to restore this historic film. WPSU and Fred Waring's America plan to collaborate on the restoration of other early film and television programs owned by this special collection housed at University Libraries.

Waring, a native of central Pennsylvania and Penn State alumnus, known as "The Man Who Taught America How To Sing," entertained the world on stage, radio, television and in motion pictures for nearly 70 years. Fred Waring's America, part of the University Libraries Special Collection unit, is located on the third floor of Penn State's Pattee Library and reflects Fred Waring's career as band leader, choral conductor, glee club pioneer, music educator and entrepreneur.

This treasure of 20th-century culture includes a musical library containing more than 6,000 musical scores along with choral and instrumental parts; more than 25,000 radio, television and concert recordings; 30,000 photographs and historical memorabilia including the Waring Blendor, developed and marketed by Fred Waring. In addition, the collection houses more than 600 pieces of original cartoon art created for and often about Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, by leading cartoonists such as Mort Walker ("Beetle Bailey"), Chester Gould ("Dick Tracy"), Milt Caniff ("Terry and the Pirates") and Hal Foster ("Prince Valiant"), to name just a few.

For the In Motion video exploring Fred Waring's America at Penn State, visit us online.