Deaths: September 27
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Rob Garrison was born on 23 January 1960 in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Karate Kid (1984), The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and Iron Eagle (1986). He died on 27 September 2019 in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA.- Producer
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A.C. Lyles was born on 17 May 1918 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Hunt for Red October (1990), Here's Boomer (1980) and Rogue's Gallery (1968). He was married to Martha Troetscher Schaefer and Martha Vickers. He died on 27 September 2013 in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
The ever-lovely, poised and vivacious blonde Anne Jeffreys was born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael in 1923 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Firmly managed by her mother, she trained in voice at a fairly early age and received her first break in the entertainment field after signing with the John Robert Powers agency in New York as a junior model. In the interim, she prepared herself for an operatic career and made her debut in a production of "La Boheme" in 1940. The following year, however, Anne won a role in the musical review, "Fun for the Money", that was to be staged in Hollywood. This, in turn, led to her first movie role in the tuneful Rodgers & Hart adaptation of I Married an Angel (1942), starring her singing idols, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, in their last cinematic pairing.
Put under contract respectively by Republic then RKO studios, Anne was utilized as a plucky heroine in a flux of 40s "B" westerns and crimers, opposite such stalwarts as Robert Mitchum and Randolph Scott. Also among her roles was the part of "Tess Trueheart" in the "Dick Tracy" series with Morgan Conway as the steel-jawed hero, and a co-star role opposite Frank Sinatra in the war-era musical, Step Lively (1944). None of these, however, were able to propel her into the "A" ranks and her film career quickly dissipated by the end of the 40s. In the meantime, Anne continued to prod her vocal skills with symphonic and stage appearances, including "Tosca" at the Brooklyn Opera House, Kurt Weill's "Street Scene" and the Broadway musical, "My Romance".
After her first marriage was annulled in 1949, Anne met handsome actor Robert Sterling during an extended run (887 performances) of "Kiss Me Kate" on Broadway. She and Sterling married in 1951 and had three sons. In an attempt to revive their flagging careers, the singing couple toured nighteries and hotels in the early 1950s with a highly successful club act. This led to them being cast as sly, engagingly cavalier spirits in the classic Topper (1953) sitcom. Anne played "Marion Kirby" ("the ghostess with the mostest"), alongside Sterling's dapper husband, George Kirby. Successfully, undertaking the ectoplasmic roles originated on film by Constance Bennett and Cary Grant, the two were an absolute hit as the party-hearty ghosts who reclaim their home, to the dismay of current owner Leo G. Carroll.
Anne and Robert weren't able to recreate that same kind of magic when they subsequently co-starred in the short-lived series, Love That Jill (1958). In the 1960s, Anne semi-retired to raise her family, but occasionally took on musical leads ("Camelot", "The King and I") both on Broadway and in regional productions. She later returned full-time to TV and became known for her chic, gregarious, sometimes double-dealing matrons on soap operas (Bright Promise (1969) and General Hospital (1972)). She was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her supporting work in The Delphi Bureau (1972) adventure series, and appeared, occasionally, as the mother of David Hasselhoff on Baywatch (1989). Unlike her husband, who retired decades ago (he died in 2006), Anne remained a tireless performer past age 80. She was recognized over the years for her civic and humanitarian efforts and remained a vibrant presence of "Golden Age" Hollywood society until her death at age 94 on September 27, 2017 in Los Angeles.- Writer
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Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi was born on 22 March 1927 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and producer, known for That Man in Istanbul (1965), They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968) and Summertime Killer (1972). He died on 27 September 2017 in Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain.- Actor
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Carles Canut was born on 23 September 1944 in Gerri de la Sal, Baix Pallars, Catalonia, Spain. He was an actor, known for Vostè jutja (1985), Star Knight (1985) and Sagrado y obsceno (1975). He died on 27 September 2018 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Soundtrack
Cedell Davis was born on 9 June 1926 in Helena, Arkansas, USA. He died on 27 September 2017 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA.- Actress
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Clara Gordon Bow, destined to become "The It Girl", was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in poverty and violence. Her often absentee and brutish father could not or did not provide and her schizophrenic mother tried to slit Clara's throat when the girl spoke of becoming an actress. Bow, nonetheless, won a photo beauty contest which launched her movie career that would eventually number 58 films, from 1922 to 1933.
The movie It (1927) defined her career. The film starred Clara as a shopgirl who was asked out by the store's owner. As you watch the silent film you can see the excitement as she prepared for her date with the boss, her friend trying hard to assist her. She used a pair of scissors to modify her dress to try to look "sexier." The movie did much to change society's mores as there were only a few years between World War I and Clara Bow, but this movie went a long way in how society looked at itself. Clara was flaming youth in rebellion. In the film she presented a worldly wisdom that somehow sex meant having a good time. But the movie shouldn't mislead the viewer, because when her boss tries to kiss her goodnight, she slaps him. At the height of her popularity she received over 45,000 fan letters a month. Also, she was probably the most overworked and underpaid star in the industry. With the coming of sound, her popularity waned. Clara was also involved in several court battles ranging from unpaid taxes to being in divorce court for "stealing" women's husbands. After the court trials, she made a couple of attempts to get back in the public eye. One was Call Her Savage (1932) in 1932. It was somewhat of a failure at the box office and her last was in 1933 in a film called Hoopla (1933).
She then married cowboy star Rex Bell at 26 and retired from the film world at 28. She doted on her two sons and did everything to please them. Haunted by a weight problem and a mental imbalance, she never re-entered show business. She was confined to sanitariums from time to time and prohibited access to her beloved sons. She died of a heart attack in West Los Angeles, on September 26, 1965 at age 60. Today she is finding a renaissance among movie buffs, who are recently discovering the virtues of silent film. The actress who wanted so much to be like the wonderful young lady in It (1927) has the legacy of her films to confirm that she was a wonderful lady and America's first sex symbol.- Composer
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Clifford Lee Burton was born on February 10, 1962 in Castro Valley, California, to Janet (Morgen) and Ray Herbert Burton. He had two siblings. His mother was from a German Jewish family, and his father was of British Isles descent.
As a youngster, Clifford always liked music, listening to genres such as blues, classical, country and jazz, and he even liked the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He loved all kinds of music, and when he attended college he became educated in music theory. At the age of six he learned to play his first instrument, the piano. When he became a teenager he learned to play the bass guitar and took lessons from September 1978 to January 1980. He had played in several bands before he joined a band that would later go on to become one of the most popular and successful bands of all time.
In 1982 he played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and was spotted by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, who were forming a heavy metal band and were searching for a new bassist with creativity. The two had gone to the Whiskey A-Go-Go at the recommendation of Brian Slagel of Metal Blade Records. Hetfield and Ulrich were greatly impressed with Burton's bass playing and asked him to join their band, Metallica. At first Burton didn't want to join Metallica, but agreed to join if the band was willing to relocate to San Francisco, which they did. Burton went on to perform on the band's first three albums ("Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning" and "Master of Puppets"), which all became hits, and with these three albums he instantly became a favorite musician amongst many music fans, with his impressive bass playing, powerful stage presence and very opinionated and honest personality. Things were looking bright for Burton but, sadly, his life was cut tragically short in 1986. After Metallica had finished touring with Ozzy Osbourne in 1985 they began touring in 1986. On the morning of September 27 the bus the band was touring in was driving from Stockholm, Sweden, to Copenhagen, Denmark, to perform some more gigs, and it went into a slide on some icy roads. Burton was thrown out of the bus' window and the bus fell on its side and crushed him. His Metallica bandmates were devastated over Burton's death, as were the band's fans. Burton was a powerful force in Metallica and his loss is seen by many as one of the most tragic losses in the history of music, which it is, because Burton was extremely talented and helped to contribute to some of Metallica's most successful songs. Not only that, but his live performances were also very powerful and he was very friendly and down-to-earth, very honest and opinionated and always willing to express his thoughts and feelings.
Metallica paid tribute to Burton by releasing the home video _Cliff 'Em All (1987) (V)_ and by using several unused riffs and a poem of his on their song "To Live Is To Die", which appeared on their acclaimed 1988 album "...And Justice For All". Burton may be gone, but he'll never be forgotten, and he will always be remembered by both Metallica and their fans, as well as music fans in general, and his contributions to the music industry are some of the finest that were made.- Actor
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Cuchi Leguizamón was born on 29 September 1917 in Salta, Argentina. He was an actor and composer, known for Rolling Family (2004) and La redada (1991). He died on 27 September 2000 in Salta, Argentina.- Denise Lor was born on 3 May 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Diary of a Bachelor (1964), Appointment with Adventure (1955) and Stanley (1956). She was married to Jay Martin. She died on 27 September 2015 in New York, USA.
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Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. His best-known musical work is probably Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which he did an impressive dance that culminated in a series of backflips off the wall. O'Connor was also effective in comedic lead roles, particularly as the companion to Francis the Talking Mule in that film series.- Actor
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- Art Department
Edgar Degas, one of France's most important artists who was an apprentice of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, became "the most reflecting, the most demanding, the most merciless draftsman in the world," according to his contemporaries. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism.
He was born Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas on July 19, 1834, in Paris, France. He was the eldest of five children in the family of Celestine Musson De Gas and Augustin De Gas, a banker of aristocratic extraction. As a young man he abandoned the pretentious spelling of the family name and called himself Degas. From 1845-1853 he attended Lycee Louis-le-Grand, graduating in 1853 with baccalaureate in literature, then studied law for one year. In 1855 he met Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Degas took advise from Ingres and followed by copying the master's drawing technique and style. "Study lines, draw lots of lines" said Ingres to Degas who eventually became a passionate collector of Ingres's art. Drawing became central to Degas's artistic practice from the beginning of his career. He developed a rigorous drawing style inspired by the crisp linearity and graceful forms of works by Ingres, whose draftsmanship was the greatest example for the aspiring artist. At that time he entered Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In July 1856 he left Paris for Naples, his father's birthplace. From 1856-1859 Degas had his three-year sojourn in Italy, where he visited his father's family. He studied the Old Masters in Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice, and painted realistic portraits of his relatives there.
Upon his return to Paris, Degas rented a studio and began painting in earnest, creating his own compositions as well as copying objects of art at museums. Degas continued his education by copying paintings at the Louvre Museum. There he met Edouard Manet, whose figural paintings of modern subjects would have a decisive influence on Degas. During the 1850s and 1860s he made over 700 copies of the Renaissance and Classical art by Italian and French masters. He seriously studied drawing and eventually became one of the best draftsmen ever. He also became influenced by photography as well as by Japanese prints. His works of the 1860s and 1870s showed the transformation of his manner from classical and realist styles to Romanticism and Impressionism. At that time Degas emerged as an artist who integrated several styles, old and new, and created his own, he also made his original art filled with subtle allusions to works of the Old Masters. In 1873 he joined with the other artists, including Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet, and Camille Pissarro to form the 'Anonymous Society of Artists'.
In 1874 Degas helped organize the first exhibition of the 'Anonymous Society of Artists' in the Paris studio of photographer Nadar. Monet's painting 'Impression, soleil levant' (Impression, Sunrise 1872) was untitled until the first show in 1874. A title was needed in a hurry for the catalogue. Monet suggested "Impression" as a simple title for his painting. The catalogue editor, Renoir's brother Edouard, added an explanatory 'Sunrise', thus making "Impression: soleil levant" the official title for Monet's work. From the painting's title, art critic Louis Leroy coined the term "Impressionism", which he intended to be derogatory. Monet's title came under criticism which seized upon the first word. His works were exhibited along with the paintings of his friends: Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Seurat. They became called the Impressionists and continued to exhibit together despite the financial failure of their first show. However, Degas did not follow others in using little brush-strokes and vibrant pure colors. While his friends, the Impressionists, were painting mainly outdoors, 'en plein aire', he often worked from memory, and preferred sketching from nude models who posed in his studio.
Degas considered himself a Realist, not an Impressionist, albeit he used some of the Impressionist techniques and color schemes in his own works. He distinguished himself from the group by exhibiting pictures that considered to be both intellectually and formally rigorous. He was acclaimed by his contemporaries for his pastels which display his mastery of the medium. Dancers are among the most moving of Degas's images of life backstage of the Paris Opera. He made numerous studies of his models, in order to position their heads, arms , and legs so that they projected a sence of effort and movement. He also used the pastel studies to explore the various color effects he wanted to achieve in the final oil painting. He also experimented with technical approach, creating a rough, layered surface, sometimes using his fingers to manipulate the paint. From 1874 until 1886 Degas participated in all of the impressionists exhibitions. After the last impressionist exhibition of 1886, he stopped showing his works to public. He continued making paintings and sculptures for his own joy. At that time Degas was fascinated with the technical and artistic aspects of photography. He embraced the new medium as an artistic activity that he could pursue at night. Degas constantly experimented to achieve a variety of light effects in his photographs by using lamps and moonlight with prolonged exposures to create a special atmosphere. Most of Degas known photographs are portraits.
In the late 1880s, with his eyesight failing, Degas gradually shifted to sculpture. At that time his opulent workshop in Paris was adorned with paintings and sculptures, which he made over the course of his productive life. The subject of the female nude increasingly occupied Degas's work in all media during the last two decades of his career. He abandoned many of his scenes of modern life to concentrate on images of ballet dancers and female bathers. Degas experimented with highly artificial poses in his female bathers, exploring the possibilities of presenting a figure in an interior space. Despite their striking originality and modernity, his bathers are deeply rooted in his studies of the Old Masters, and show that Degas perceived his late bathers as being part of a long artistic tradition. However, his deteriorating eyesight no longer allowed him to sketch in the evenings, and he had to ask others to read to him. During the 1890s he worked only on the large compositions, because of his poor eyesight. In the 1900s he gave up painting and focused on sculpture. He worked until 1912, when blindness forced him into retirement. He died on September 27, 1917, and was laid to rest in the Cimetiere de Montmartre, in Paris, France.
In 2003 the Boston Museum of Fine Arts sold a small Degas's pastel titled 'Danseuse' for 10,648,000 dollars. At the same time a 1922 cast of Degas's famous 1879 bronze Little Dancer was sold for 10,311,500 dollars at Christie's auction.- Producer
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Ernest Maxin was born on August 22, 1923 in London, England. He is a producer and director, known for Our House (1960), The Kathy Kirby Show (1964) and Miss Adventure (1964). He won the Golden Rose for Charlie Drake's version of the 1812 Overture, but is best known for his work with Morecambe and Wise during the 1970's. He was married to Leigh Madison until her death in 2009.- Frank Wills was born on 4 February, 1948 in South Carolina. He was the security guard who discovered the five men who broke in the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, in June 1972. His courageous act made him a known name thanks to the many news articles and reports about what was later triggered as the Watergate scandal that later led to president Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. Later on, Wills played himself in the acclaimed film All the President's Men (1976) where he recreated each step of his acts.
As for the aftermath, Wills found himself unemployable as security guard due to his act and he lived in extreme poverty until his death on September 2000 from a brain tumor. - Actress
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A comedienne and singer in the British Music Halls, she was the top box-office draw and the highest paid actress in Britain in the 1930's. Her Northern, working-class girl character was a favourite during the inter-war years.- Helen Cherry was a noted actress of stage, screen, and television, acclaimed mostly for her Shakespearean portrayals. Her favorite role was "Rosalind" in "As You Like It." She was the long-suffering wife of actor Trevor Howard, who died in 1988.
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Herbert Lom was born on September 11, 1917 as Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru into an aristocratic family living in genteel poverty. His incredibly long surnames led him to select the shortest surname he could find extant ("Lom") and adopt it as his own, professionally. He made his film debut in the Czech film Woman Below the Cross (1937) and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) and in War and Peace (1956). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1947). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955), and Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). His career really took off in the 1960s and he got the title role in Hammer Films' production of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). He also played "Captain Nemo" in Mysterious Island (1961) and landed supporting parts in El Cid (1961) and an especially showy role in Spartacus (1960) as a pirate chieftain contracted to transport Spartacus' army away from Italy.
The 1960s was also the decade in which Lom secured the role for which he will always be remembered: Clouseau/Peter Sellers' long-suffering boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, in the "Pink Panther" films, in which he pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of stealing almost every scene he and Sellers were in--a real accomplishment, considering what a veteran scene-stealer Sellers was. However, Lom did not concentrate solely on feature films. He became a familiar face to British television viewers when he starred as Dr. Roger Corder in The Human Jungle (1963). He moved into horror films in the 1970s, with parts in Asylum (1972) and And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973). He played Prof. Abraham Van Helsing opposite Christopher Lee in Count Dracula (1970), matching wits against the sinister vampire himself.
Lom appeared as one of the victims in Ten Little Indians (1974), the drunken Dr. Edward Armstrong. His career continued into the 1980s, a standout role being that of Christopher Walken's sympathetic doctor in The Dead Zone (1983). He also played opposite Walter Matthau in Hopscotch (1980) and returned to the murder mystery Ten Little Indians (1989), this time playing The General. Lom has been taking it easy since then, though he returned to his familiar role of Dreyfus in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). He was always a reliable and eminently watchable actor, and unfortunately did not receive the stardom he should have.
Herbert Lom died in his sleep at age 95 on September 27, 2012, in London, England.- Hiromi Hayakawa was born on 19 October 1982 in Fukuoka, Japan. She was an actress, known for El Señor de los Cielos (2013), El Chema (2016) and Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef (2016). She was married to Fernando Santana. She died on 27 September 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico.
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Hugh Hefner was born on 9 April 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for Miss March (2009), Hop (2011) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). He was married to Crystal Hefner, Kimberley Conrad and Mildred Williams. He died on 27 September 2017 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Hugo Giménez Agüero was born on 25 August 1944 in Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Bonifacio: Un misterio llegado de Santa Cruz (2003). He died on 27 September 2011 in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Jan Schmidt was born on 3 January 1934 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was a director and actor, known for Kolonie Lanfieri (1969), Amadeus (1984) and Luk královny Dorotky (1971). He died on 27 September 2019 in the Czech Republic.- Character actor Jay Robinson owned a pair of the narrowest, cruelest-looking eyes in 1950s Hollywood. To complement them was an evil-looking sneer, crisp and biting diction and a nefarious-sounding cackle. These were all draped upon a lean, bony physique that could slither about menacingly like a ready-to-pounce cobra. With that in mind, he made an auspicious film debut as Caligula in The Robe (1953), stealing much of the proceedings from the movie's actual stars Richard Burton, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature. Though many complained that Jay's interpretation bordered dangerously on outrageous camp, his depraved Roman emperor nevertheless remains the most indelible image when reminded of the epic costumer.
Born on April 14, 1930 in New York City, Jay came from a fine upbringing, tutored at private schools both here and in Europe. His background in summer stock and repertory companies eventually attracted Broadway work in the Shakespeare classics "As You Like It" (1950) and "Much Ado About Nothing" (1952). He also appeared in and produced the play, "Buy Me Blue Ribbons," in 1951, which was short-lived. After his movie bow, Jay went on to reprise the scenery-chewing character Caligula in Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) with Mature and Susan Hayward, and offered typically eye-catching supporting turns in The Virgin Queen (1955), starring Bette Davis, and My Man Godfrey (1957), with David Niven and June Allyson.
However, it was at this juncture that things started going horribly wrong for Jay. His new-found celebrity reportedly went to his head and he became extremely difficult to work with. In addition, the volatile actor began experimenting recklessly with drugs. In 1958, he was booked for possession of narcotics (methadone) and sentenced to a year in jail. Free on bail, the incident and resulting notoriety ruined his career. After scraping up work outside the entertainment industry as a cook and landlord, he recovered from his drug addiction and married. Resuming work in obscure bit parts, he had another career relapse when he was forced to spend 15 months in jail after an old warrant was served on him.
In the late 1960s, Jay started appearing again on television. He even prodded the memory of his own character Caligula character by playing an impertinent Julius Caesar on an episode of Bewitched (1964). However, it took a huge star like Bette Davis, who had always recognized and appreciated his talent, to help him regain a footing in movies again when she insisted he take a prime role in her movie, Bunny O'Hare (1971). The movie failed miserably, deservedly so, but Jay prevailed and managed to repair his status with a number of delightfully flamboyant and hammy performances.
Jay played fun parts along the way in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Warren Beatty's Shampoo (1975) and even Big Top Pee-wee (1988). While he played the delightfully eccentric Dr. Shrinker on The Krofft Supershow (1976) for one season, he somewhat balanced this silliness with made-for-video Shakespearean performances of Macbeth (1981), The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1981) and Richard II (1982). Some horror roles fell his way as well with Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), in which he played Dracula, Transylvania Twist (1989) and Bram Stoker's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
In 1997, Jay proved an ideal host for the Discovery Channel's Beyond Bizarre (1997). HIs last TV work was providing various voices for the animated comedy series Mad Jack the Pirate (1998).
Jay Robinson died at age 83 of congestive heart failure in his home in Sherman Oaks, California on September 27, 2013. - Jimmy Spicer was born on 12 May 1958 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He died on 27 September 2019 in the USA.
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John Guillermin was born on 11 November 1925 in London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for The Towering Inferno (1974), Death on the Nile (1978) and King Kong (1976). He was married to Maureen Connell and Mary Guillermin. He died on 27 September 2015 in Topanga Canyon, California, USA.- Actress
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Joy Fleming was born on 15 November 1944 in Rockenhausen, Germany. She was an actress, known for Geierwally (1986), The New Adventures of Snow White (1969) and Rendezvous mit Caterina Valente (1976). She was married to Bernd Liebenow and ? Strube. She died on 27 September 2017 in Sinsheim-Hilsbach, Germany.- Actor
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It would no doubt be a real shock to most people to discover that the rich baritone Bronx-like accent of great veteran character actor Lloyd Nolan was a product of the San Francisco streets--not the urban jungle of New York City. Nolan was born in the City by the Bay, and his father, James Nolan, was a successful shoe manufacturer of hard-working Irish stock. Lloyd caught the acting bug while at Santa Clara College (at the time, a junior college). He gained as much theatre experience as he could, attaining his AA in the process. Though he continued on to Stanford, he was still focused on acting and soon flunked out of that school, preferring to focus his attention on acting opportunities rather than studies. Forsaking his father and the family shoe business, Nolan went to sea on a freighter, which soon burned, and then headed south to Hollywood.
He continued to hone his acting skills by first taking up residence at the Pasadena Playhouse (1927). With his father's passing he was able to sustain himself on a small inheritance. Continuing at PP and elsewhere in stock for two years, he headed east to Broadway, where he landed a role in a musical revue, "Cape Cod Follies", in late 1929. He continued with two other similar roles through 1932 before breaking out with an acclaimed performance as less-than-wholesome small-town dentist Biff Grimes in the original hit play "One Sunday Afternoon" (1933). He would stay on for two more plays until mid-1934, when he headed back to Hollywood with heightened expectations of success in the movies. His voice and that rock-solid but somehow sympathetic face made Nolan someone with whom audiences could immediately identify, and ahead were over 150 screen appearances. Nolan didn't waste any time; he signed with Paramount and had five roles in 1935, getting the lead role in two and working with up-and-coming James Cagney and George Raft. In the next five years Nolan settled into his niche as a solid and versatile player in whatever he did. His genre was more "B", and he could play good guys and heavies with equal skill. The production values on some B-level efforts were every bit as good as those of "A" pictures. Everybody starting out did at least a few "B" pictures, and Nolan was doing quality work, even in pictures that are little-known--if known at all--today, pictures like King of Gamblers (1937) with Claire Trevor and King of Alcatraz (1938). He was a mainstay at Paramount until 1940, competing with Warner Brothers in that studio's popular gangster films. Unlike better known Cagney and Humphrey Bogart across town, Nolan's bad and not-so-bad guys often had more depth, and again it was that face along with his verve and that distinctive voice that helped to bring it out.
The 1940s saw Nolan moving around within the studio system. He was taking on more familiar roles, such as private detective, government agent or police detective--tough and hard-boiled but sympathetic and understanding at the same time--and World War II action heroes. He landed the role of "Mike Shayne" in the private-eye series from 20th Century-Fox--seven of them between 1940 and 1942. Nolan showed a surprising flair for comedy in this series, with a continuing stream of wisecracks along with the fisticuffs. The Shayne series was well received by both critics and audiences, but Nolan is best known during that period as one of the familiar faces of World War II action films. The first is, at least to this observer, the best, but probably least known--Manila Calling (1942). It was a part of Hollywood's concerted effort to boost civilian morale during the war, with the subject being the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, its conquest and liberation, as center stage in the War in the Pacific. Most films dealt with both retreat and return later in the war years; this 1942 film was perhaps the first to deal with the beginning and hope for the future. Nolan is his usual reliable, get-things-done professional here, an ace communications technician trying to keep the radio airways open amid the onslaught of Japanese invaders. Of all the flag-waving messages given in so many WWII films, none is as stirring as Nolan's, who by the way gets the girl, Carole Landis. It's she who stays behind with him while the rest of the radio team escapes with bombs falling. Microphone in hand and in his best hard-boiled monotone, Nolan spits out: "Manila calling, Manila calling - and I ain't no Jap!" Significantly, Nolan appeared in several other films dealing with the struggle in the Pacific, turning in a particularly strong performance in Bataan (1943).
By 1950 Nolan was ready for television (nearly half of his career roles would tally on that side of the ledger). In addition to his series work, television in the 1950s also played a lot of Nolan's action films from the 1930s and 1940s, earning him a whole new generation of fans--kids who would sit for hours in front of the TV, watching not only current shows but "old" movies. Nolan appeared in many different genres on television, and he could be seen in everything from distinguished dramatic productions to variety and game shows, in addition to having his own series, including Martin Kane (1949) and Special Agent 7 (1958).
After having been away from Broadway for nearly 20 years, Nolan returned in early 1954 in the original production of the hit play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial", in the pivotal role of the paranoid Captain Queeg. He spent a year in this production, to great critical acclaim. He repeated the role on television in a Ford Star Jubilee (1955) production in 1955. His TV roles kept him busy. It must have been fun for him when, at nearly 60 years of age, he played notorious Chicago gangster George Moran, aka "Bugs" Moran--who in real life was much younger than Nolan was at the time--on the popular The Untouchables (1959), as well as appearing in five continuing episodes of the extremely popular 77 Sunset Strip (1958) series, and he appeared in other crime dramas playing, in one form or another, the kinds of roles he played on the big screen in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the 1970s, when cameo roles by older stars were becoming a popular means of luring people back to the theaters, Nolan was happy to oblige in box-office hits like Ice Station Zebra (1968), Airport (1970) and Earthquake (1974). When the same circumstances spread to episodic TV, Nolan was only too happy to be on hand. Most older actors--even those with good reputations--have a tendency to be a bit difficult, but Nolan was such a professional. His joy at still being able to work at the craft he loved was profound, almost childlike in enthusiasm. He never complained or claimed special privilege.
That was the measure of the man--what had been and what would continue to be. Unconventional in a natural sort of way was the norm for Lloyd Nolan. Call it keeping to one's dignity. He kept no Hollywood secrets, as was the fashion. He was very open about his autistic son. Into the 1980s and entering his 80s, Nolan still deftly handled a few final TV and screen roles, though his noted memory for lines began to fade and cue cards became necessary. He was inspired in his final film role as a retired actor, husband of showy, boozy has-been Maureen O'Sullivan and three individualistic daughters in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). It's a great role, and probably the most even and satisfying film effort of director Woody Allen.
Nolan's last role was a Murder, She Wrote (1984) TV episode with old friend Angela Lansbury. He still had not revealed his final secret--he was dying with lung cancer--which by then revealed itself just the same. Ravaged as he was by the disease, Lloyd Nolan--with the help of his friends and well-wishers--successfully wrapped his 156th professional acting performance before his passing. His was a life of quality, commitment, character and integrity. Were things increasingly rare in Hollywood. But, which described Lloyd Nolan, plain and simple.- Director
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Luis Ospina was born on 14 June 1949 in Cali, Colombia. He was a director and writer, known for Breath of Life (1999), Pura sangre (1982) and Un tigre de papel (2008). He died on 27 September 2019 in Bogota, Colombia.- Mark Frechette, a high school dropout of Quebecois ancestry from Fairfield, Connecticut, made his acting debut in Michelangelo Antonioni's controversial Zabriskie Point (1970). As Antonioni toured the U.S., experiencing cultural clash firsthand and shooting background footage, a talent scout saw Frechette, a carpenter, scream and throw a flowerpot at a woman on a Boston street. Antonioni immediately cast Frechette, a non-actor, in the movie's lead role: a college student, wrongfully hunted for the murder of a policeman during a campus uprising.
Throughout the filming, Frechette and the director disagreed bitterly about the script, while Frechette had an affair with co-star Daria Halprin. After the film, she joined Frechette in Mel Lyman's Boston commune, which supposedly had previously turned Frechette away, but accepted him after he was cast in Zabriskie Point (1970). He had been hospitalized twice for emotional problems, and several times arrested, prior to Zabriskie Point (1970). Lyman had been a member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Frechette donated $60,000 from films to the commune. Halprin soon left the Fort Hill commune.
Frechette quickly starred in two Italian movies, then was arrested for a 1973 bank robbery a few blocks from the commune, in which Christopher "Hercules" Thien, one of Frechette's two fellow cult member accomplices, was killed. Frechette's own gun had no bullets. After his arrest, he explained the bank robbery: "It would be like a direct attack on everything that is choking this country to death". In 1975, while serving a 6-15 year prison sentence, he died in an apparent weightlifting accident in the prison gym, when a 150-pound barbell fell on his neck, killing him. - Actor
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Marty Balin was born on 30 January 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Forrest Gump (1994), The Age of Adaline (2015) and Crank (2006). He was married to Karen Teresa Deal, Victoria Ann Martin and Susan Joy Finkelstein. He died on 27 September 2018 in Tampa, Florida, USA.- Negro García López was born on 9 November 1959 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died on 27 September 2014 in Tornquist, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Oona O'Neil was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda, the daughter of famed American playwright Eugene O'Neill and English-born socialite Agnes Boulton. Oona had a fairly happy childhood, although she rarely saw her busy father. During her teens Oona attended boarding school in New York where she met Gloria Vanderbilt and Carol Marcus, and in 1941 Oona was named one of the most sought-after débutantes of the social season. Oona felt it was only natural that she become an actress, since she was the daughter of a playwright and the granddaughter of James O'Neill, a noted theater actor during the late 19th century.
Oona traveled to Hollywood in 1942, where she met silent film legend Charles Chaplin at the home of her agent. Chaplin began courting Oona after she auditioned for a film he was directing, and the pair married in 1943. He was 54; she was just 18. Oona scrapped plans to become an actress, opting instead to raise a family of what would be eight children with Charlie. Although Oona was content with her life, she was deeply troubled by the failed relationship with her father, who disowned her and cut communication with Oona when she married Chaplin.
During the height of McCarthyism 1952, Chaplin sailed to England to promote a film. En route, Chaplin learned that he would not be allowed to return to the U.S. unless he would submit to inquires regarding his morality. Refusing to do so, he and his family eventually ended up in Vevey, Switzerland.
Oona spent the rest of her life in Vevey, leaving only a few times after Charlie died in 1977 at the age of 88. (Oona was only 51.) Oona developed a few close relationships with Hollywood icons, like actor Ryan O'Neal, but she never married again. She died in Vevey from pancreatic cancer on September 27th, 1991.- Phyllis Davis was one of the loveliest faces in Hollywood during the late 60s-early 80s. She grew up in Nederland, Texas. The family lived on the second floor of her parents' mortuary business. Phyllis and her two younger brothers learnt how to be quiet during services, as the floors would creak. Phyllis attended Lamar College briefly, then went to Los Angeles in the mid-'60s to pursue a career in film and TV. She attended acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse. Phyllis' first break began with small parts in Elvis Presley movies. Love, American Style (1969) were holding auditions for the show. 200 actresses had already been tested and rejected. Phyllis put on a bathing suit and was hired on the spot. After a five season run with Love, American Style (1969), Phyllis started to get some small movie roles. Phyllis was hired - and actually signed a contract, for the James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971), only to be told shortly afterwards the producers had dropped her, and hired Lana Wood to replace her. Still, Phyllis received residual checks for the film, as she had a signed contract. She had a chance encounter with Candy Spelling, wife ofAaron Spelling, who was then casting for a new TV series called, Vega$ (1978). Phyllis got the role of Beatrice, or Bea, for the series' run. After working on a regular series, Phyllis appeared in a few Aaron Spelling made-for-TV movies. Sadly, Phyllis kept her battle with cancer extremely private,, and after her passing away in 2013, there was some confusion as to which 'Phyllis Davis'had died.
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Robert "Bobby" Hyatt appeared in his first motion picture at six months old when Cary Grant picked him out of a group of babies at MGM. That was the beginning of an acting career that kept him busy for the next 25 years, giving him a solid background of experience to move behind the camera as a writer and director. Robert wrote and directed his first feature film, Every Girl Should Have One (1978) with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Robert Alda and Alice Faye, in 1978. He then signed with 20th Century-Fox/TV as a writer/associate producer to develop a movie-of-the-week entitled, "Super 8." he then went into the music business after a year at Fox/TV and spent the next ten years traveling the US and Europe on concert tours as an artist manager and music publisher. He co-produced, wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller Alien Seed (1989) starring Erik Estrada. In New Zealand for 1991-92 he co-produced, wrote and directed a cultural documentary, The Maori Queen (1993). In 1993 he became the first American director to make an all-Vietnamese cast and Vietnamese-language, full-length feature, )Lost Paradise (1993)_. This was shown as a mini-series on Hong Kong TV and released as a feature film in Australia, France, Canada and the Vietnamese communities in the US.
In 1995 he was contracted by On The Edge productions to write and develop the music-oriented comedy, "Sex, Lies & Rock n Roll" for production in the Caribbean. This led to extensive research and location scouting in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where many contacts were established for future projects. In 1998 he produced, wrote and directed Deadly Ransom (1998), an action film starring Francesco Quinn and Brion James. It was shot in Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. In 1999 he sold his seventh screenplay, "Night of the Woman Child," to American Media Group. In 2001 he wrote and directed Dead Man's Run (2001), starring John Savage, Joe Lara and Trevor Goddard. At this point in time Robert has written eight produced screenplays, directed seven of them and has a lifetime of experience in the making of films. Robert is the vice-president of acquisitions and production for The Director's Cut Video-On-Demand cable movie channel.- Producer
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Robert Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery Jr., the elder son of New York businessman Henry Montgomery and his wife, Mary Weed (Barney), a native of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Montgomery had a younger brother, Donald. He was not related to Belinda Montgomery.
As a child, he enjoyed a privileged life. His father, Henry Montgomery, was the president of the New York Rubber Co. When Henry Montgomery died and owing to the Depression, the family fortune was gone. Henry Jr. and his younger brother, Donald, worked at a number of jobs. He later went to New York to be a writer, and on the advice of a friend, tried acting. He worked with George Cukor on the stage and his first film, at MGM, was So This Is College (1929), changing his forename.
When Norma Shearer picked him to be her leading man in Private Lives (1931), he was set. He ran the gamut of different characters over the years. He served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1935-38 and 1946-47.. His stay with MGM lasted 16 years, and was only interrupted by WWII when he joined the navy. He saw action in both Europe and the Pacific.
He returned to MGM in 1945 and co-starred with John Wayne in the John Ford-directed They Were Expendable (1945) and then made his directorial debut with Lady in the Lake (1946) (although he had directed a few scenes, uncredited, in They Were Expendable (1945) when John Ford took ill). He left MGM to become an independent director, preferring work behind the camera instead of in front.
A staunch Republican, he was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities in 1947 during the McCarthy era and then spent most of his time on television and stage. His popular show, Robert Montgomery Presents (1950), was where his daughter, Elizabeth Montgomery (who later gained lasting fame as beautiful witch Samantha Stevens on Bewitched (1964)), got her first acting job.
Robert Montgomery died of cancer on September 27, 1981, aged 77, at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, New York City. His body was cremated and the ashes were given to the family.- Director
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Rudy Behlmer was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He has had a strong interest in the history and evolution of motion pictures since childhood when he began filming his own miniature dramas. He served two years in the Naval Air Corps, then was a Theatre Arts major at Los Angeles City College and Pasadena Playhouse College. He began his career with KLAC-TV (now KCOP-TV) in Hollywood as a stage manager. Two years later he became a staff director there, leaving to direct network television shows. For twenty-one years he was a producer and vice-president for Leo Burnett U.S.A. Following 'Movies' Golden Age' (1961), a syndicated TV special he produced, directed and edited, Behlmer started researching and writing articles on various aspects of film history. One project - a career piece on producer David O. Selznick - led indirectly to his book Memo from David O. Selznick (1972), followed by nine other books as well as a great many magazine articles and booklets to accompany film music recordings. Behlmer has also contributed to a wide variety of documentaries, videos, DVDs, and laser discs about Hollywood's Golden Age. For many years he lectured weekly on film subjects at Cal State University, Northridge, and Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Behlmer is a longtime member of the Directors Guild of America where he has guest-lectured on different occasions. He has also guest-lectured at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the University of Southern California, etc.- Editor
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Sally Menke was born on 17 December 1953 in Mineola, New York, USA. She was an editor and producer, known for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). She was married to Dean Parisot. She died on 27 September 2010 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Sarah Danielle Madison was born in Springfield, Illinois. She was a 1992 graduate of Latin School of Chicago, the alma mater of Nancy Reagan, Bob Balaban, Brendan Baber, Crispin Freeman, Clark Freeman and Cassidy Freeman.
She attended Amherst College and graduated in 1996. A talented scientist, she decided to pursue her dreams of acting and moved to the West Coast. She hit her stride with Jurassic Park III (2001). - Shawn Phelan was born on 7 January 1975 in Stoughton, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Toy Soldiers (1991), Grand (1990) and Caroline? (1990). He died on 27 September 1998 in Houston, Texas, USA.
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Tuncel Kurtiz was born in 1936, Izmit-Turkey. He graduated from Istanbul University, English Language and Literature and started acting in 1956 with Dormen Theatre. With the movie 'Suru', he reached the peak of his acting career. Kurtiz received many awards in Turkey and also abroad. He also known as director, producer and scenarist.- Willis Bouchey appeared in almost 150 movies and television shows over a 30-year period from 1951 to 1979. He was one of those wonderful character actors who would be a crooked judge in one film and a humorous cavalry officer in another. He appeared in many of John Ford's movies as well as James Stewart's films. His longevity resulted, in part, due to his professionalism and acting ability. He always provided a fine performance no matter how small or insignificant the role.
- Yvonne Suhor, visiting assistant professor of theatre, received her MFA from the University of California and has been a professional actress, director and teacher for several years. She was a regular on ABC's The Young Riders (1989), played Cicely in an Emmy award-winning episode of Northern Exposure (1990), played a recurring role in Brooklyn Bridge (1991) and has guest-starred in numerous shows including Murder, She Wrote (1984), Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Dillinger (1991) (with Mark Harmon). Her stage credits include Steppenwolf's award-winning production of Grapes of Wrath. She also toured Australia with Steppenwolf's internationally acclaimed production of Lydie Breeze and won a JEFF nomination for her performance in Vampires. Suhor teaches voice, movement and acting in the theatre department.