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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Smoulderingly beautiful and a fetching, exotic-eyed vision on the American screen during the 1950s and early 1960s, dark-maned Lisa Montell impressed more, especially to male film-goers, as a lovely diversion midst all the rugged terrain and tropical South Sea hazards than as a formidable actress. Similar in beauty and allure to the stunning Debra Paget and France Nuyen, the "Starlet of Many Faces" had a strong knack for ethnic accents and managed to play a variety of foreign types over her relatively brief time before the camera (Peruvian, Mexican, French, Italian, Burmese, Polynesian). Her film resume, which would include such cult-oriented classics as Daughter of the Sun God (1962), World Without End (1956) and the Roger Corman cheapies Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) were nearly all "B" and "C" grade (or worse) in scope and she eventually tired of the lack of challenge. She abandoned her career at the height of her beauty (around 1962) but found immense personal rewards in later decades as a spiritual exponent of the Bahá'í faith.
Although Lisa was born Irena Ludmilla Vladimiovna Augustinovich in Warsaw, Poland, on July 5, 1933, she was not raised there and did not keep her given name for long. Of Russian-Polish descent, she was born to privilege. She and her family managed to flee safely to the United States just months before the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Her father, a successful businessman, changed the family name to Montwill and Irena's name was adjusted to Irene. The family moved into a spacious Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City and generously took in Polish refugees (both friends and family) as needed during WWII.
Lisa studied art, voice and dance in Forest Hills and eventually was accepted into the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan. She later transferred to the High School for the Performing Arts where she developed an interest in acting. Following graduation, she attended the University of Miami (Florida) for a semester before her father, whose business involved iron mines in Peru, relocated the family to Lima. While there Lisa again studied drama in American-based acting workshops that were set up there. She received her first professional break in 1953 after being noticed and cast by Hollywood producers searching for local female leads for a film they were shooting in Peru.
The film was called Daughter of the Sun God (1962) and it was set in the Peruvian jungles. Lisa plays a young adventurous blonde explorer on an expedition who is not only threatened by raging waters, desert heat and native ritualistic practices, but by various wildlife as well (crocodiles, pumas and gigantic snakes, to name a few). The film had financial problems and was so poorly made that it was held up nearly a decade before it was finally bought and released to the American market in 1962.
While enjoying a South American jet-set life in Peru, Lisa went on to appear in a handful of other local films before learning of Hollywood's interest in her despite the unsuccessful marketing of her debut film. Following her father's untimely death, Lisa and her mother moved to Los Angeles where the ethnic-looking wannabe found work cast on TV as Eurasian, Latina and Native-American types.
Billed as Irene Montwill, Lisa's first Hollywood film was Warner Bros.' Jump Into Hell (1955), a French Indochina (pre-Vietnam) war picture in which she played a French love interest to European soldier Peter Van Eyck. The studio then put her under a temporary contract and she changed her name to the more exotic moniker of Lisa Montell. Despite more second-lead exposure in the RKO films, Escape to Burma (1955), a tea plantation drama starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan, and Pearl of the South Pacific (1955), a tropical South Seas adventure with Virginia Mayo and Dennis Morgan, Lisa was not able to up her status in Hollywood.
After filming the minor western, The Wild Dakotas (1956), she appeared in one of her better-remembered pictures, the cult sci-fi film, World Without End (1956), with Hugh Marlowe and Rod Taylor, which takes place on Earth in the 26th century. She went on to play a small role as a ballet dancer in the Leslie Caron MGM drama, Gaby (1956), and was also one of the Italian Martelli sisters (the others being Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok and Lisa Gaye) in the musical comedy, Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), starring Dean Martin. On the western front, she appeared, with Chuck Connors, as an Indian maiden in Tomahawk Trail (1957). Things moved in a cult-like direction for Lisa with her tropical female roles in Roger Corman's Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), both filmed in the same spot in Hawaii. If nothing else, she got to show off her great figure and underwater swimming skills. Over the years, scores of adventurous guest roles came Lisa's way on TV, notably westerns, including the popular series as The Gene Autry Show (1950), Broken Arrow (1956), Tales of Wells Fargo (1957), Colt .45 (1957), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Sugarfoot (1957), Cheyenne (1955), Bat Masterson (1958) and Maverick (1957). Outside the western genre, came a few varied performances in everything from comedy (The Ann Sothern Show (1958)) to hip action adventure (Surfside 6 (1960)).
Once wed to fellow actor David Janti, Lisa's last film was the minor "B" western, The Firebrand (1962), starring Kent Taylor. She retired soon after and devoted herself, exclusively, to educational pursuits as well as her Bahá'í religion. She was elected to the Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles and served as Chairperson. Often a public speaker, she has been outspoken on such issues as poverty and discrimination. She was also quite active in the early stages of the civil rights movement and has spent active time with youth arts programs. She later wrote a book (as Lisa Janti) about her spiritual sojourn and, more recently, became the program director of the Center for Education at the Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute. In 2008, she was a guest attendee at the Western Legends Film Festival.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Alberto Rabagliati was born on 26 June 1906 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966), The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and Tea with Mussolini (1999). He was married to Maria Antonietta Tonnini. He died on 7 March 1974 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ali Farka Touré was born on 31 October 1939 in Gourmararusse, Timbuktu, Mali. He was a composer, known for Unfaithful (2002), The Spanish Apartment (2002) and The Nanny Diaries (2007). He was married to Fatouma. He died on 6 March 2006 in Bamako, Mali.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Andy Sidaris was born on 20 February 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Malibu Express (1985), Stacey (1973) and Seven (1979). He was married to Anne Sidaris-Reeves and Arlene Sidaris. He died on 7 March 2007 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Barry McGuire was raised in Arkansas City, Kansas, graduated from the University of Denver and broke into Broadway in his first role in 'Bernadine', which opened on February 2, 1953. After retiring, the actor, puppeteer and magician settled into tiny Elk Falls, Kansas around 2010.
Decades earlier, his creative genius had spurred an artistic revival in this dying town. He had transformed stone foundations into tiered native flower gardens that brought a new wave of tourists to this forgotten place. Through the work of a group of artists, Elk Falls became a thriving haven of creativity. McGuire had a theater constructed, and entertained tourists with puppet shows and magic acts. He left Elk Falls to return to acting. His credit list includes regional stage productions from New York to Florida to Indiana, and California.
After three years in Elk Falls, he moved to California in 2013 to live closer to friends. He died on March 7, 2023, his 93rd birthday, in Winfield, Kansas. - Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Ben Blue was a movie and TV comedian born on September 12, 1901, in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Emigrating to the US, he became a dance instructor and dance school owner, as well as a nightclub proprietor. He began his film career in short subjects for Warner Brothers in 1926, and later worked at the Hal Roach Studios, Paramount and MGM. He also, like his The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) co-star Bob Hope, was a radio comedian. In 1950 he had his own TV series, The Ben Blue Show (1950), and was a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show (1950).
In 1951 Blue began concentrating on managing and appearing in the nightclubs he owned in Hollywood and San Francisco. He made the cover of "TV Guide"'s June 11, 1954, Special Issue along with Alan Young, headlining an edition featuring that season's summer replacement shows. He made a handful of appearances on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) variety series in 1956 and 1957, and appeared sporadically on other shows, including The Jack Benny Program (1950) in 1960.
In 1958 he shot a pilot for a proposed CBS series, "Ben Blue's Brothers," but it was not picked up, although the pilot was later shown in 1965. Coming out of his self-imposed near-retirement with a bit part in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Blue began making cameo appearances in movie comedies. He also had a regular role on Jerry Van Dyke's short-lived TV series Accidental Family (1967). He made his last appearance on film in the Doris Day comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and his last TV appearance on Land of the Giants (1968) in 1969.
He died in 1975, and his career papers covering the years 1935 to 1955 were deposited in the Special Collections at the UCLA Library.- Carmine Persico was born on 8 August 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was married to Joyce Smoldone. He died on 7 March 2019 in Durham, North Carolina, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
The son of a surveyor, Charles Gray was born and raised in Queen's Park, Bournemouth. As a young actor, he received his vocal training from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, having long abandoned his first job as clerk for a real estate agent. His voice was to become one of his most valuable tools. In fact, from January 1966, he subtly, almost imperceptibly, dubbed for Jack Hawkins after this actor became unable to speak his lines due to throat cancer. In later years, Gray's trademark voice was regularly heard on television commercials.
Gray's theatrical debut came in 1952 in the part of Charles the Wrestler (he measured 6 foot, 1 inches in height) in "As You Like It", appearing under his original name, 'Donald Gray'. From 1956, as 'Charles' Gray (since there already was a one-armed actor named Donald Gray), he took to leading dramatic roles, and won critical plaudits as Achilles in "Troilus and Cressida", Macduff in "Macbeth" and as the gluttonous Sir Epicure Mammon in Tyrone Guthrie's up-dated version of "The Alchemist", in 1962. He repeated his Old Vic performance as Henry Bolingbroke for his Broadway debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1956. A notable later performance, while touring the U.S. and Canada, was as the Prince of Wales in Peter Stone's tale of the famous 19th century actor Edmund Kean ("Kean", 1961). In 1964, Gray won the Clarence Derwent Award as Best Supporting Actor for his part in the controversial play "Poor Bitos", by Jean Anouilh, co-starring Donald Pleasence. He was offered his first role on the big screen, reprising a success on the West End stage in 1958, as Captain Cyril Mavors,in the satirical musical Expresso Bongo (1959).
For the next forty years, heavy-set, silver-haired, jut-jawed Charles Gray used his imposing frame and mellifluous voice to great effect in creating for the screen a memorable gallery of egocentric, imperious toffs, and suave, sardonic super-villains. While his performances at times verged on the camp, Gray cheerfully allowed himself to be cast within his range of basically unsympathetic characters, which he could play well and with ease. He tended to favour television as his preferred medium, though some of his most popular roles were for the big screen. Among his niche of staple characters were the coldly pompous military heavies (General Gabler in The Night of the Generals (1967), or the perpetually sneering, overbearing upper-class twits (true-to-form, as defecting spy Hillary Vance in the Thriller (1973) episode "Night is the Time for Killing"). At his evil best, he was commanding as the demonic acolyte Mocata, in The Devil Rides Out (1968) and as the feline-stroking, velvety-voiced nemesis of James Bond, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He was also suitably sinister as Bates the Butler, one of the red herrings of Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd (1980).
Gray's recurring roles included Lord Seacroft (senior, as well as junior) in the short-lived satirical miniseries The Upper Crusts (1973) as a down-on-his-heels aristocrat, keeping up appearances after being forced to live in a high-rise housing estate; and as the sedentary brother of the famous sleuth at 221b Baker Street, Mycroft, in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976). Later, he was utilised as temporary replacement, first for Edward Hardwicke,and, subsequently, for the hospitalised star Jeremy Brett, in Granada Television's various instalments of the Sherlock Holmes saga (1985-1994). Gray died of cancer in March 2000, aged 71.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Chief Yowlachie was born in Kitsap County, Washington, and later lived with his family on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Although he was not enrolled in the Yakima Nation, his parents John W. Simmons and Lucy Riddle both had Puyallup heritage and owned allotted land on the Yakima reservation. Yowlatchie's real name was Daniel Simmons and he began his show-business career as--believe it or not--an opera singer and spent many years in that profession. In the 1920s he switched to films, and over the next 25 or so years played everything from rampaging Apache chiefs to comic-relief sidekicks. A large, round-faced man, his distinctive voice--a deep, resonant bass somewhat resembling Bluto's in the old "Popeye" cartoons--was instantly recognizable, and he had the distinction of not appearing to have aged much over his career, which is most likely attributable to the fact that he looked quite a bit younger than he actually was, so his "aging" wasn't all that noticeable. In addition to his "serious" roles, he had somewhat more light-hearted parts in several films, notably Red River (1948), where he traded quips with veteran scene-stealer Walter Brennan, and held his own quite well.- Conway Hayman was born on 9 January 1949 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
- Actor
Born in 1920, Mr. Alexander was raised by his devoted father and attended Central High School in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and Tony Randall (then Leonard Rosenberg) along with several other exceptionally talented classmates, performed on their own weekly radio show in 1937-8. Multi-talented, Mr. Alexander acts, sings, dances, paints, and is a world-renowned photographer. On Broadway, in his twenties and thirties, he starred as "Chip" opposite Nancy Walker in the original production of Leonard Bernstein's,"On The Town;" versus Clifton Webb in Noel Coward's, "Present Laughter;" with Rosalind Russell in "Wonderful Town;" and again with Miss Russell and life-long friend, Peggy Cass, in both the stage and movie versions of "Auntie Mame." He has maintained a photography studio for many years and was the official photographer for the New York City Ballet. In 1961, he collaborated with his friend and "Mame" author, Patrick Dennis, on the mock autobiography of the worst actress in the world, Miss Belle Poitrine, called, "Little Me," and in 1964, he repeated that success with Mr. Dennis (this time with Peggy Cass in the mix) on the very funny mock autobiography, "First Lady." He is a long-time resident of Saratoga Springs, New York.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Damiano Damiani was born on 23 July 1922 in Pasiano di Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for Mafia (1968), The Reunion (1963) and Confessions of a Police Captain (1971). He died on 7 March 2013 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Dan Jenkins was born on 2 December 1928 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Baja Oklahoma (1988), Semi-Tough (1977) and Dead Solid Perfect (1988). He was married to June Burrage and ???. He died on 7 March 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Debra Hill was born on 10 November 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a writer and producer, known for Escape from L.A. (1996), Halloween (1978) and Escape from New York (1981). She died on 7 March 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Dick Beyer was born on 11 July 1930 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Talk Is Jericho (2013), 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story (2021) and WWE Hall of Fame 2010 (2010). He was married to Wilma. He died on 7 March 2019 in Akron, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Originally born Harris Glen Milstead just after the end of WWII, Baltimore's most outrageous resident eventually became the international icon of bad taste cinema, as the always shocking and highly entertaining transvestite performer, Divine.
Milstead met maverick film director & good friend, John Waters, at high school in Baltimore, and the two combined to star in and direct several ultra low budget, taboo breaking cult films of the early 1970s. Their first efforts included Roman Candles (1967), Eat Your Makeup (1968) and Mondo Trasho (1969)....however, their most infamous work together was the amazing Pink Flamingos (1972), in which Divine starred as "Babs Johnson", the "filthiest person alive" living in a pink trailer with her egg-eating grandmother, chicken-loving son and voyeuristic daughter.
Divine also starred as career criminal Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble (1974), as bored housewife Francine Fishpaw in Polyester (1981), as outlaw gal Rosie Velez in Lust in the Dust (1984) and in Waters' loving (but still slightly bizarre) salute to teen dance TV shows as Ricki Lake's mother in the superb Hairspray (1988).
Milstead's health deteriorated due to to his obese frame, and he passed away in his sleep from a combination of heart attack and apnea in 1988.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Earl Pomerantz was born on 4 February 1945 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a writer and producer, known for The Cosby Show (1984), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and Best of the West (1981). He was married to Myra Yoelin. He died on 7 March 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Eduardo Chaktoura was born on 29 June 1971 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died on 7 March 2015 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Director
- Art Director
Somehow Burden always found himself at the right place at the right time. In the late 1950s, as a self-described beatnik he hung out in San Francisco's North Beach. He was already a veteran with a storied past when in the early sixties he witnessed Mario Savio's Free Speech Movement and the rise of Rock 'n Roll while studying Architectural Design at U.C. Berkeley.
After a disillusioning stint with an architectural firm, Burden designed a house for Mama Cass who took note of his visual orientation and suggested he put his talents into album covers. Shortly thereafter Burden had designed Joni Mitchell's "Blue" cover, albums for Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night and The Mamas and the Papas all of which went gold and platinum. Burden created Crosby, Stills and Nash's first album cover artwork, The Doors' "Morrison Hotel" and four album covers for the Eagles' including "Desperado", several for Jackson Browne, Judee Sill, Laura Nyro, and many others even making a cover for Zydeco artist Clifton Chenier. Neil Young and Burden collaborated on album cover art for more than forty years and became lifelong friends.
GRAMMY® winner Gary Burden was a legendary artist praised for conceiving designs for many classic album covers for more than 40 years, shaping the visual element of the music listening experience for artists and listeners alike. He earned five GRAMMY nominations during his career and was awarded the Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package GRAMMY for his contributions to the album design for Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972) for 2009.- Director
- Actor
- Additional Crew
George Tyne was born on 6 February 1917 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a director and actor, known for A Walk in the Sun (1945), It Takes a Thief (1968) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). He was married to Ethel Tyne. He died on 7 March 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film effort, The Learning Tree (1969), was selected among the first 25 films so honored, by the U.S. Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for all time.- Guillaume Faye was born on 7 November 1949 in Angoulême, Charente, France. He died on 7 March 2019 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Stunts
Jack Perkins was born on 19 September 1921 in Medford, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for What's Up, Doc? (1972), Nickelodeon (1976) and Star Trek (1966). He was married to Ruth Cora Aldrich. He died on 7 March 1998 in Van Nuys, California, USA.- After studying at Eton, Jeremy Child worked for a short while in the City of London but left at his earliest opportunity, which was a disappointment to his father, who'd worked in the Foreign Office, and had hoped that his son would join the Guards. To please his father Jeremy had an interview for the Guards but when he was asked why he wanted to join he said 'I don't' and was told Well that's the end of your military career. He then went to drama school which was where he learned to fend for himself and to lose his somewhat posh accent. When his father died in the mid '70s Jeremy inherited his baronetcy, becoming Sir Jeremy, a title that he never used. He had a daughter Melissa from his first marriage and a daughter, Leonora and a son, Alexander from his second.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Jim Owen was born on 21 April 1941 in Robards, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Porter Wagoner Show (1961), Nightmare Ned (1997) and Nashville 99 (1977). He died on 7 March 2020 in the USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Jimmy Boyd was born on 9 January 1939 in McComb, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Inherit the Wind (1960), A Dirty Shame (2004) and Racing Blood (1954). He was married to Anne Elaine Forrey, Sheila Kae Lauritsen and Yvonne Craig. He died on 7 March 2009 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
An influential figure in the world of British television comedy during the 1960s and 70s, actor and comedian John Junkin wrote scripts for such shows as The Army Game, The World of Beachcomber, Queenie's Castle, plus scripts for many comedians, including Ted Ray, Jim Davidson, Bob Monkhouse and Mike Yarwood.
As an actor he became familiar to TV soap viewers when he starred in East Enders (2001), playing Ernie, a mysterious stranger who suddenly appears at the Queen Vic.
Junkin was born in Ealing, West London. Educated locally, he worked as a teacher in the East End of London but said he hated the job. "I loved the kids," he recalled. "But hated the adults and bores of the Education Authority."
In 1960 he joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford East and was in the original cast of Littlewood's production of Sparrers Can't Sing with Barbara Windsor.
Throughout the sixties and seventies he was one of the busiest men on television, both as a performer and scriptwriter. The comedian Marty Feldman won the Golden Rose Award with a Junkin script in 1972 and with Barry Cryer and others, Junkin contributed to many of the Morecambe and Wise specials for the BBC. He also wrote, with Bill Tidy, The Fosdyke Saga, and The Grumbleweeds for radio.
He had a prolific career in the cinema playing a variety of straight and comic roles and described himself as easy to cast: "I look like the bloke next door," he said. "I always seem to be wearing one of those sheepskin coats."
In the latter part of his career, Junkin became disillusioned with show business, particularly television. He fell out with a producer - he never revealed which one - over the writing of a game show for which he had devised the format. Litigation cost him £70,000 and he was also in debt to the tax man to the tune of £120,000. He did, however, return to scriptwriting and contributed to The Crazy World of Joe Pasquale (1998) and The Impressionable Jon Culshaw (2004) and he was much in demand as an after dinner speaker.
Close friend, former Radio 1 disc jockey Dave Lee Travis, said: If you were in conversation with John, you were always in a state of hilarity. He had no airs and graces."- Kelly Catlin, a member of the U.S. women's pursuit team that won a silver medal during the 2016 Olympic Games, helped the U.S. team win three consecutive world titles in pursuit between 2016 and 2018. She won bronze in the individual pursuit at the track cycling world championships in 2017 and 2018. Kelly was one of a set of triplets. A graduate student at Stanford, Catlin was pursuing a degree in computational and mathematical engineering while training for track cycling as a member of the national team and racing as a professional road cyclist. She also excelled at the violin and as an artist.
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Writer
Mart Crowley was born on 21 August 1935 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Boys in the Band (2020), Hart to Hart (1979) and The Boys in the Band (1970). He died on 7 March 2020 in New York City, New York, USA.- Patricia Lawrence was born on 19 November 1925 in Andover, Hampshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for To Serve Them All My Days (1980), A Room with a View (1985) and Howards End (1992). She was married to Greville Poke. She died on 7 March 1993 in Chelsea, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Signifying intelligence, eloquence, versatility and quiet intensity, one of the more important, critically acclaimed black actors to gain a Hollywood foothold in the 1970s was Paul Winfield. He was born in 1939 in Dallas, Texas, where he lived in his early years before moving with his family to Los Angeles' Watts district. He showed early promise as a student at Manual Arts High School, earning distinction with several performance awards. As a senior, he earned his first professional acting job and extended his theatrical education with a two-year scholarship to the University of Portland in Oregon. Subsequent scholarships led to his studies at Stanford and Los Angeles City College, among other colleges. He left U.C.L.A. just six credits short of his Bachelor's degree.
Paul's first big break came in 1964 when actor/director Burgess Meredith gave him a role in Le Roi Jones' controversial one-act play "The Dutchman and the Toilet". Director Meredith cast him again four years in "The Latent Heterosexual" with Zero Mostel. Although he won a contract at Columbia Pictures in 1966 and built up his on-camera career with a succession of television credits, he continued to focus on the legitimate stage. A member of the Stanford Repertory Theatre, he concentrated on both classic and contemporary plays. In 1969, Paul joined the Inner City Cultural Center Theatre in Los Angeles for two years, which offered a drama program for high school students.
In the late 1960s, Paul redirected himself back to performing on television and in films with guest work in more than 40 series on the small screen, including a boyfriend role on the first season of the landmark black sitcom Julia (1968) starring Diahann Carroll. In films, he was given a featured role in the Sidney Poitier film The Lost Man (1969), and earned comparable roles in R.P.M. (1970) and Brother John (1971) before major stardom occurred.
1972 proved to be a banner year for Paul after winning the male lead opposite Cicely Tyson in the touching classic film Sounder (1972). His towering performance as a sharecropper who is imprisoned and tortured for stealing a ham for his impoverished family earned him an Oscar nomination for "Best Actor" -- the third black actor (Sidney Poitier and James Earl Jones preceded him) to receive such an honor at the time.
From there a host of films and quality television roles began arriving on his doorstep. In mini-movies, Paul portrayed various historical/entertainment giants including Thurgood Marshall, Don King and baseball's Roy Campanella, and was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. in King (1978) with Sounder co-star Cicely Tyson as wife Coretta. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he earned solid distinction in such prestige projects as Backstairs at the White House (1979), Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (another Emmy nomination), The Sophisticated Gents (1981), The Blue and the Gray (1982), Sister, Sister (1982), James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985), Under Siege (1986) and The Women of Brewster Place (1989).
Although the big screen did not offer the same consistent quality following his breakthrough with Sounder, he nevertheless turned in strong roles in Conrack (1974), Huckleberry Finn (1974), A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1977) (again with Ms. Tyson), Damnation Alley (1977), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and White Dog (1982).
Surprisingly, Paul never achieved the promise of a Sidney Poitier-like stardom and his roles diminished in size. Relegated to character roles, he still appeared in such quality television as Breathing Lessons (1994), although he was not the major focus. After two nominations, he finally won the Emmy for a guest performance as a judge on Picket Fences (1992). Paul's showier work at this period of time included the film Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999) and a surprise cross-dressing cameo as Aunt Matilda in Relax... It's Just Sex (1998).
On stage, Paul graced such productions as "Richard III" (at New York's Lincoln Center Theatre), "Othello", "The Merry Wives of Windsor", "The Seagull", "A Few Good Men", "Happy Endings" and "Checkmates", which became his sole Broadway credit. Paul also served as Artist in Residence at the University of Hawaii and subsequently at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
In his final years, Winfield narrated the A&E crime series City Confidential (1998), appeared as a teacher in a television adaptation of his earlier success Sounder (2003), and enjoyed a recurring role as Sam for many years on the series Touched by an Angel (1994).
Suffering from obesity and diabetes in later life, Paul Winfield passed away from a heart attack at age 64 in 2004, and was survived by a sister, Patricia. His longtime companion of 30 years, set designer and architect Charles Gillan Jr. predeceased him by two years.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Pino Caruso was born on 12 October 1934 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Ride bene... chi ride ultimo (1977), Lei è colpevole, si fidi! (1985) and La governante (1974). He was married to Marilisa Ferzetti. He died on 7 March 2019 in Sacrofano, Lazio, Italy.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Raymond Donnez was born on 9 September 1942 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was a composer, known for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), The Last Days of Disco (1998) and Blow Dry (2001). He died on 7 March 2019 in Paris, France.- Reynaldo Bignone was born on 21 January 1928 in Morón, Provincia Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was married to Nilda Raquel Belén Etcheverry. He died on 7 March 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in Montana to homesteading parents, Robert Bray eventually moved to Seattle with his family and attended Lincoln High School. After graduation, he knocked around for a while as a lumberjack, cowboy and a member of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps).
As a young man, Bray worked for a while in Hollywood as a studio carpenter in the early 1940s, before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 during World War II. He saw heavy action in the South Pacific during his tour of duty, before finally mustering out as a Master Sergeant at war's end.
With aspirations of being a taxidermist or owner of a hunting/fishing lodge, Bray finally decided to pursue acting as a career, and was eventually signed in 1946 to a contract at RKO Pictures where he was looked upon as the new Gary Cooper. He spent three years of a seven-year deal playing supporting roles in a variety of RKO police dramas and Tim Holt westerns before his contract was dropped. From then until the early 1960s when he landed the plum TV role of Ranger Corey Stuart in the Lassie (1954) TV series, he was a freelance actor, who found work mainly portraying he-men such as a tough cavalry officers, hard-bitten cops, a stagecoach driver, etc., in a wide range of action-oriented movies and television episodes. He won the part in "Lassie" over several other candidates because of his affinity for animals, and theirs for him.
Earlier in his career Bray played in some well-received if minor roles such as "Carl" the bus driver in Bus Stop (1956), the film that finally got Marilyn Monroe taken seriously as a dramatic actress. That picture's director, Joshua Logan, offered Bray a part in his next film, South Pacific (1958) but, to his never-ending regret, Bray instead opted to star in several forgettable low-budget pictures for Allied Artists. "Had I appeared in the smash hit South Pacific," he said, "who knows where I might have ended up."
After being replaced on "Lassie" in 1968, Bray's motivation for continued acting work waned and he eventually retired with his wife Joan to Bishop, California, where he could often be found cruising around town in his Winnebago motor home with his dog Lady. An ardent fly fisherman, hunter, model duck carver and all-around sportsman, Bob lived out his final years in the shadow of the eastern High Sierras, where he made so many of his early western movies. After his passing in 1983, his ashes were scattered over Zuma Beach, California, where he spent many pleasant days as a young man.- Actor
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- Soundtrack
Bob Livingston's father was a newspaper editor in Quincy, Illinois. As a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News Bob did a story on the Pasadena Playhouse, and that got him interested in acting. In his mid-20s, he was doing bit parts for Universal and Fox and went from there to romantic roles with MGM. His first real success came with Republic, in 1936, as a masked hero in the serial The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936). That led to more cowboy roles and the leading role in the "Three Mesquiteer" series. He had more appearances (29) in that series than anyone else. He played other cowboy roles (Zorro in The Bold Caballero (1936)), worked with Al St. John in the "Lone Rider" Series (1941-43) and finished up in a number of character parts in Gene Autry and Roy Rogers movies.- Former American professional wrestler who competed for a variety of National Wrestling Alliance territories, WWE and several independents from the 1970s until 1991, and then on and off from 2005 to 2013. Teamed with Don Bass as the Bass Brothers. He won his first title by defeating the Lumberjack for the NWA Gulf Coast (Alabama) Heavyweight Title on July 28, 1973. Found success in Florida, Georgia, Kansas City, Portland, Tennessee and Mid-Atlantic. Signed with WWE in 1987 and left in 1989. Made his PPV debut at "WWE Survivor Series 1987," on the Honky Tonk Man's team in a loss to Randy Savage's team Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 4x NWA United States (Florida) Tag Team Champion (3x w/Black Bart and 1x w/the One Man Gang), a 2x NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion, a 3x NWA Americas (Los Angeles) Tag Team Champion, a former NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion and a former NWA National (Georgia) Heavyweight Champion.
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Director/artist Rosto, and his Studio Rosto A.D, are well known for their independent short films, online graphic novel, music videos and TV work. His first shorts "(the rise and fall of the legendary) Anglobilly Feverson" (2002) and "Jona/Tomberry" (winner of the Grand Prix Canal+ at the Cannes Film Festival 2005) screened at many prestigious international festivals and brought him worldwide recognition. These short films were part of "Mind My Gap", a mixed media project that started with an online graphic novel (now concluded on mindmygap), and continued with music and print as well as films. A retrospective of the films and related work has been presented on several international festivals, including The Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana in 2015. Rosto's work got the attention of international (music) artists. For his film "The Monster of Nix" (2011) he collaborated with the Metropole Orkest, Tom Waits, Terry Gilliam, The Residents and The Dø. "Nix" was theatrically released in the Netherlands and Belgium, won numerous awards and screened at countless festivals. "Lonely Bones" started its successful festival life at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013 and took home the grand prix of the biggest North American animation festival in Ottawa. Like his other films, "Bones" was also distributed in Dutch cinemas and has been broadcast by various international television stations. "Splintertime" (2015) is Rosto's third in a series of four films featuring his music project Thee Wreckers. "Reruns" (2018) completes this Thee Wreckers Tetralogy. Rosto is writing his first feature film.- Composer
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- Music Department
Sanja Ilic was born on 27 March 1951 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He was a composer and actor, known for Ice (2012), Vukovar Poste Restante (1994) and The Border Post (2006). He was married to Tanja Ilic and Zlata Petkovic. He died on 7 March 2021 in Belgrade, Serbia.- Producer
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- Manager
Sid Sheinberg was born on 14 January 1935 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. He was a producer and executive, known for What Lola Wants (2015), For Richer or Poorer (1997) and The Devil's Tomb (2009). He was married to Lorraine Gary. He died on 7 March 2019 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Director
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- Producer
Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would produce better academic performance, Kubrick's father sent him in 1940 to Pasadena, California, to stay with his uncle, Martin Perveler. Returning to the Bronx in 1941 for his last year of grammar school, there seemed to be little change in his attitude or his results. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.
Jack Kubrick's decision to give his son a camera for his thirteenth birthday would be an even wiser move: Kubrick became an avid photographer, and would often make trips around New York taking photographs which he would develop in a friend's darkroom. After selling an unsolicited photograph to Look Magazine, Kubrick began to associate with their staff photographers, and at the age of seventeen was offered a job as an apprentice photographer.
In the next few years, Kubrick had regular assignments for "Look", and would become a voracious movie-goer. Together with friend Alexander Singer, Kubrick planned a move into film, and in 1950 sank his savings into making the documentary Day of the Fight (1951). This was followed by several short commissioned documentaries (Flying Padre (1951), and (The Seafarers (1953), but by attracting investors and hustling chess games in Central Park, Kubrick was able to make Fear and Desire (1952) in California.
Filming this movie was not a happy experience; Kubrick's marriage to high school sweetheart Toba Metz did not survive the shooting. Despite mixed reviews for the film itself, Kubrick received good notices for his obvious directorial talents. Kubrick's next two films Killer's Kiss (1955) and The Killing (1956) brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and in 1957 he directed Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory (1957). Douglas later called upon Kubrick to take over the production of Spartacus (1960), by some accounts hoping that Kubrick would be daunted by the scale of the project and would thus be accommodating. This was not the case, however: Kubrick took charge of the project, imposing his ideas and standards on the film. Many crew members were upset by his style: cinematographer Russell Metty complained to producers that Kubrick was taking over his job. Kubrick's response was to tell him to sit there and do nothing. Metty complied, and ironically was awarded the Academy Award for his cinematography.
Kubrick's next project was to direct Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks (1961), but negotiations broke down and Brando himself ended up directing the film himself. Disenchanted with Hollywood and after another failed marriage, Kubrick moved permanently to England, from where he would make all of his subsequent films. Despite having obtained a pilot's license, Kubrick was rumored to be afraid of flying.
Kubrick's first UK film was Lolita (1962), which was carefully constructed and guided so as to not offend the censorship boards which at the time had the power to severely damage the commercial success of a film. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) was a big risk for Kubrick; before this, "nuclear" was not considered a subject for comedy. Originally written as a drama, Kubrick decided that too many of the ideas he had written were just too funny to be taken seriously. The film's critical and commercial success allowed Kubrick the financial and artistic freedom to work on any project he desired. Around this time, Kubrick's focus diversified and he would always have several projects in various stages of development: "Blue Moon" (a story about Hollywood's first pornographic feature film), "Napoleon" (an epic historical biography, abandoned after studio losses on similar projects), "Wartime Lies" (based on the novel by Louis Begley), and "Rhapsody" (a psycho-sexual thriller).
The next film he completed was a collaboration with sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is hailed by many as the best ever made; an instant cult favorite, it has set the standard and tone for many science fiction films that followed. Kubrick followed this with A Clockwork Orange (1971), which rivaled Lolita (1962) for the controversy it generated - this time not only for its portrayal of sex, but also of violence. Barry Lyndon (1975) would prove a turning point in both his professional and private lives. His unrelenting demands of commitment and perfection of cast and crew had by now become legendary. Actors would be required to perform dozens of takes with no breaks. Filming a story in Ireland involving military, Kubrick received reports that the IRA had declared him a possible target. Production was promptly moved out of the country, and Kubrick's desire for privacy and security resulted in him being considered a recluse ever since.
Having turned down directing a sequel to The Exorcist (1973), Kubrick made his own horror film: The Shining (1980). Again, rumors circulated of demands made upon actors and crew. Stephen King (whose novel the film was based upon) reportedly didn't like Kubrick's adaptation (indeed, he would later write his own screenplay which was filmed as The Shining (1997).)
Kubrick's subsequent work has been well spaced: it was seven years before Full Metal Jacket (1987) was released. By this time, Kubrick was married with children and had extensively remodeled his house. Seen by one critic as the dark side to the humanist story of Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987) continued Kubrick's legacy of solid critical acclaim, and profit at the box office.
In the 1990s, Kubrick began an on-again/off-again collaboration with Brian Aldiss on a new science fiction film called "Artificial Intelligence (AI)", but progress was very slow, and was backgrounded until special effects technology was up to the standard the Kubrick wanted.
Kubrick returned to his in-development projects, but encountered a number of problems: "Napoleon" was completely dead, and "Wartime Lies" (now called "The Aryan Papers") was abandoned when Steven Spielberg announced he would direct Schindler's List (1993), which covered much of the same material.
While pre-production work on "AI" crawled along, Kubrick combined "Rhapsody" and "Blue Movie" and officially announced his next project as Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring the then-married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After two years of production under unprecedented security and privacy, the film was released to a typically polarized critical and public reception; Kubrick claimed it was his best film to date.
Special effects technology had matured rapidly in the meantime, and Kubrick immediately began active work on A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), but tragically suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep on March 7th, 1999.
After Kubrick's death, Spielberg revealed that the two of them were friends that frequently communicated discreetly about the art of filmmaking; both had a large degree of mutual respect for each other's work. "AI" was frequently discussed; Kubrick even suggested that Spielberg should direct it as it was more his type of project. Based on this relationship, Spielberg took over as the film's director and completed the last Kubrick project.
How much of Kubrick's vision remains in the finished project -- and what he would think of the film as eventually released -- will be the final great unanswerable mysteries in the life of this talented and private filmmaker.- Steve Alder was born on 28 January 1950 in Leyton, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Professionals (1977), Spender (1991) and Worlds Beyond (1986). He died in March 1997.
- Sybil Williams was born on 27 March 1929 in Tylorstown, Glamorganshire, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Steve Lawrence Show (1965), The David Susskind Show (1958) and The Young Set (1965). She was married to Jordan Christopher and Richard Burton. She died on 7 March 2013 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
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- Art Department
- Camera and Electrical Department
Tim Davis was born on 9 March 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Our Town (1940), 1999 (1997) and Savage Beach (1989). He died on 30 October 1982 in San Luis Obispo, California, USA.- Art Director
- Production Designer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William J. Creber was born on 26 July 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an art director and production designer, known for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Planet of the Apes (1968). He was married to Sally Queen and Torri, Susan. He died on 7 March 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.