My All Time Favorite Actors
The actors that I have consistently loved in almost every role they have ever played.
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Aidan Quinn was born on 8 March 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Benny & Joon (1993), Practical Magic (1998) and Flipped (2010). He has been married to Elizabeth Bracco since 1 September 1987. They have two children.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi) and Sal Pacino. They divorced when he was young. His mother moved them into his grandparents' home in the South Bronx. Pacino found himself often repeating the plots and voices of characters he had seen in the movies. Bored and unmotivated in school, he found a haven in school plays, and his interest soon blossomed into a full-time career. Starting onstage, he went through a period of depression and poverty, sometimes having to borrow bus fare to succeed to auditions. He made it into the prestigious Actors Studio in 1966, studying under Lee Strasberg, creator of the Method Approach that would become the trademark of many 1970s-era actors.
After appearing in a string of plays in supporting roles, Pacino finally attained success off-Broadway with Israel Horovitz's "The Indian Wants the Bronx", winning an Obie Award for the 1966-67 season. That was followed by a Tony Award for "Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?" His first feature films made little departure from the gritty realistic stage performances that earned him respect: he played a drug addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971) after his film debut in Me, Natalie (1969). The role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) was one of the most sought-after of the time: Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Ryan O'Neal, Robert De Niro and a host of other actors either wanted it or were mentioned, but director Francis Ford Coppola wanted Pacino for the role.
Coppola was successful but Pacino was reportedly in constant fear of being fired during the very difficult shoot. The film was a monster hit that earned Pacino his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. However, instead of taking on easier projects for the big money he could now command, Pacino threw his support behind what he considered tough but important films, such as the true-life crime drama Serpico (1973) and the tragic real-life bank robbery film Dog Day Afternoon (1975). He was nominated three consecutive years for the "Best Actor" Academy Award. He faltered slightly with Bobby Deerfield (1977), but regained his stride with And Justice for All (1979), for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Unfortunately, this would signal the beginning of a decline in his career, which produced flops like Cruising (1980) and Author! Author! (1982).
Pacino took on another vicious gangster role and cemented his legendary status in the ultra-violent cult film Scarface (1983), but a monumental mistake was about to follow. Revolution (1985) endured an endless and seemingly cursed shoot in which equipment was destroyed, weather was terrible, and Pacino fell ill with pneumonia. Constant changes in the script further derailed the project. The Revolutionary War-themed film, considered among the worst films ever made, resulted in awful reviews and kept him off the screen for the next four years. Returning to the stage, Pacino did much to give back and contribute to the theatre, which he considers his first love. He directed a film, The Local Stigmatic (1990), but it remains unreleased. He lifted his self-imposed exile with the striking Sea of Love (1989) as a hard-drinking policeman. This marked the second phase of Pacino's career, being the first to feature his now famous dark, owl eyes and hoarse, gravelly voice.
Returning to the Corleones, Pacino made The Godfather Part III (1990) and earned raves for his first comedic role in the colorful adaptation Dick Tracy (1990). This earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and two years later he was nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He went into romantic mode for Frankie and Johnny (1991). In 1992, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his amazing performance in Scent of a Woman (1992). A mixture of technical perfection (he plays a blind man) and charisma, the role was tailor-made for him, and remains a classic.
The next few years would see Pacino becoming more comfortable with acting and movies as a business, turning out great roles in great films with more frequency and less of the demanding personal involvement of his wilder days. Carlito's Way (1993) proved another gangster classic, as did the epic crime drama Heat (1995) directed by Michael Mann and co-starring Robert De Niro. He directed the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Looking for Richard (1996). During this period, City Hall (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997) and The Devil's Advocate (1997) all came out. Reteaming with Mann and then Oliver Stone, he gave commanding performances in The Insider (1999) and Any Given Sunday (1999).
In the 2000s, Pacino starred in a number of theatrical blockbusters, including Ocean's Thirteen (2007), but his choice in television roles (the vicious, closeted Roy Cohn in the HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003) and his sensitive portrayal of Jack Kevorkian, in the television movie You Don't Know Jack (2010)) are reminiscent of the bolder choices of his early career. Each television project garnered him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Never wed, Pacino has a daughter, Julie Marie, with acting teacher Jan Tarrant, and a set of twins with former longtime girlfriend Beverly D'Angelo. His romantic history includes Jill Clayburgh, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Carole Mallory, Debra Winger, Tuesday Weld, Marthe Keller, Carmen Cervera, Kathleen Quinlan, Lyndall Hobbs, Penelope Ann Miller, and a two-decade intermittent relationship with "Godfather" co-star Diane Keaton. He currently lives with Argentinian actress Lucila Solá, who is 36 years his junior.
As of 2022, Pacino is 82-years-old. He has never retired from acting, and continues to appear regularly in film.- Actor
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Aidan Gillen is an Irish actor. He is best known for portraying Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), CIA operative Bill Wilson in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series Queer as Folk (1999), John Boy in the RTÉ Television series Love/Hate (2010), and Tommy Carcetti in the HBO series The Wire (2002).
In 2011, Gillen began playing Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), for which he received his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination.
In 2015 he starred in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) the second film in the Maze Runner trilogy.
He also appeared in the fourth season of Peaky Blinders as Aberama Gold,and reprises his role in the fifth season too.- Actor
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Alan Alda (born under the name Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo) is an American actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter from New York City. His father was the Italian-American actor Robert Alda. Alda's best known role was playing chief surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the medical-themed sitcom M*A*S*H (1972-1983) for 11 seasons. He twice won the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" for this role. Alda was later nominated for the "Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor", for his portrayal of career politician Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961) in the biographical film "The Aviator" (2004). The film depicted Brewster's opposition to the commercial interests of Howard Hughes, and the alleged political corruption which caused the end of Brewster's career.
In 1936, Alda was born in the Bronx, New York City. By that time, his father Robert Alda (1914-1986) had already started performing in vaudeville and burlesque theaters. Alda's mother was former beauty queen Joan Browne. Alda had Italian ancestry on his father's side of the family, and Irish ancestry on his mother's side of the family. Alda spend much of his childhood touring the United States with his father, as his father's acting job required frequent travel.
In 1943, Alda contracted polio. His parents chose to administer a painful treatment regimen, "consisting of applying hot woolen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles". This treatment had been developed by the Australian nurse Elizabeth Kenny (1880-1952), and was based on the principle of muscle rehabilitation. Though the treatment was considered controversial, it seemingly helped Alda to recover his mobility.
Alda received his secondary education at Archbishop Stepinac High School, an all-boys Roman Catholic high school located in White Plains, New York, United States. The school was named in honor of Aloysius Stepinac (1898 - 1960), the Archbishop of Zagreb who was hero-worshiped for his conviction for treason by communist Yugoslavia. Alda received his college education at Fordham University, a Jesuit research university located in New York City. He graduated In 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
During his college years, Alda worked for the radio station WFUV. The station was owned by Fordham University, and was operated by its students. Alda joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) , a training program intended for prospective commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. He subsequently entered the United States Army Reserve. He served for a year at Fort Benning, a United States Army post straddling the Alabama-Georgia border . He then spend 6 months stationed in Korea. His official rank at that time was that of a gunnery officer, though Alda claims that he was placed in charge of a mess tent.
In 1956, Alda was introduced to Jewish-American musician Arlene Weiss (a clarinetist). They soon bonded due to their similar tastes in humor, and started dating each other. They were married on March 15, 1957. They had three daughters, born between 1958 and 1961.
Alda started his acting career in the mid-1950s, as a theatrical actor. He joined the Compass Players (1955-1958), a short-lived improvisational theatre revue which was based in Chicago. He subsequently joined the improvisational group Second City, and the regional theater company Cleveland Play House for its 1958-1959 season. In 1958, he had his first guest star role in television. He appeared in an episode of "The Phil Silvers Show", a military-themed sitcom about a swindler operating within the United States Army.
Alda made his film debut in the comedy-drama film "Gone Are the Days!" (1963). The film was a satire of segregation and bigotry, based on a play written by Ossie Davis (1917-2005). Alda was part of the recurring cast of "That Was the Week That Was" (1963-1965), a political satire series which targeted various political figures of the era. It was based on a British satire series of the same name. Most episodes of the American version are considered lost, though there are surviving audio recordings.
In 1968, Alda had his first starring role in a film. He portrayed sports journalist George Plimpton (1927-2003) in the sports comedy "Paper Lion". The film depicted Plimpton's brief term as a player of the Detroit Lions, and focused on his inexperience and ineptitude as a football player.
Alda played the accountant Morton Krim in the World War II-themed war comedy "The Extraordinary Seaman" (1969). The film depicts four sailors of the United States Navy who have been stranded on an island of the Philippines. They encounter the ghost of a British naval officer who was killed in World War I, and he encourages them to launch an attack on Japanese positions. Due to the ghost's perpetual bad luck, their attack is ill-fated.
Alda next played the male lead in the drama film "Jenny" (1970). In the film, main character Jenny Marsh (played by Marlo Thomas) was impregnated in a one-night-stand and has few options in life. Her acquaintance Delano (played by Alda) agrees to marry her and to claim the child's paternity, in an effort to avoid being drafted for war service. The film depicts the problems of a typical "marriage of convenience" (a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment), and Delano's attempts to maintain both his marriage and his long-term relationship with another woman. The film earned 2,825,000 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
Alda also played the main character in the crime film "The Moonshine War" (1970), which was set in Prohibition-era Kentucky. He played John "Son" Martin, a man whose main source of income is the production of moonshine whiskey. An acquaintance in the Internal Revenue Service starts pressuring him for a cut on the profits. When Son refuses, the acquaintance reports his activities to a violent gang leader and his henchmen. Son has to outwit the gang in order to survive. The film was one of several films greenlit by Louis Polk and Herb Solow, the then-new co-leaders of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Alda had his first role in a horror film, when he played the main character in the occult-themed horror film "The Mephisto Waltz" (1971). He played music journalist Myles Clarkson, who unexpectedly befriends piano virtuoso Duncan Ely (played by Curd Jürgens). He does not realize that Ely is dying due to cancer, and that he intends to perform a body-swapping spell to take over Clarkson's body. Once the spell succeeds, Ely starts a new career in Clarkson's body and kills Clarkson's daughter. Ely fails to realize that his new "wife" Paula Clarkson (played by Jacqueline Bisset) intends to use the same spell to swap bodies with Ely's adult daughter. Bisset was praised for her "chillingly effective" performance, but film critics argued that Alda had been miscast in this role.
Alda had a scarier role in the psychological thriller "To Kill a Clown" (1972), playing disturbed Vietnam War veteran Evelyn Ritchie. Ritchie was once a military officer, but retired after having one of his legs amputated. He agrees to become the landlord of a young married couple, despite his intense dislike for the artistic lifestyle of his tenant Timothy Frischer (played by Heath Lamberts). He starts treating Frischer as a military subordinate, and insists on keeping both of his tenants as prisoners in their residence. The young couple soon learn that Ritchie has sadistic tendencies, and that he had a history of tormenting his subordinates throughout his military career.
Alda had the big break in his career when cast to play chief surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the medical-themed sitcom M*A*S*H (1972-1983). The series depicted life within a "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" (MASH) during the Korean War (1950-1953). It was based on the novel "MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors" (1968) by military surgeon H. Richard Hornberger. The series often questioned the United States' role in the Cold War, and satirized authority figures. Its ratings placed it among the top 10 most viewed shows throughout most of its run, and it was critically acclaimed. Alda appeared in all 256 episodes of the series, which helped him become a household name in the United States. Alda eventually served as the series' producer, creative consultant, and co-writer.
Alda played the male lead in the romantic comedy "Same Time, Next Year" (1978), which was his first film role since the early 1970s. The film depicts an extramarital affair which lasts for 26 years (1951-1977), despite the two lovers only meeting once per year. The film also covers the effects time has on the couple's political ideologies, and how they react to the deaths of various family members. The film was partially shot at the Heritage House Inn in Little River, California. The inn became a popular romantic getaway due to the film's enduring popularity. Alda was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy", but the award was instead won by rival actor Warren Beatty.
Alda was part of the ensemble cast in the comedy film "California Suite" (1978). He played successful screenwriter Bill Warren, who is involved in a custody dispute with his ex-wife, the workaholic Hannah Warren (played by Jane Fonda). Both parents claim custody over their adolescent daughter Jenny Warren (played by Dana Plato), and have little regard for Jenny's plans about her own life. The film's cast was nominated for several awards, but Alda was overshadowed by his co-stars.
Alda received his first screenwriting credit for the political drama film "The Seduction of Joe Tynan" (1979). He also played the film's eponymous character. He portrayed an ambitious American senator, whose marriage seems to be deteriorating. He briefly has an extramarital affair with labor lawyer Karen Traynor (played by Meryl Streep), but decides against seeking a divorce. The film earned about 19.6 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Alda was praised more for his ability as a screenwriter than his acting in this film. Streep was nominated for several acting awards for her supporting role, having a breakthrough in her career.
Alda made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy film "The Four Seasons" (1981), depicting the relationships between three upper middle-class married couples. Alda kept for himself the role of Jack Burroughs, a lawyer who has a tendency towards expressing narrow moral attitudes. The film was an unexpected box office hit, earning about 50,4 million dollars at the box office. It was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1981, and won the "Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film". Alda was again nominated for the "Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy", but the award was instead won by rival actor Dudley Moore.
Alda had a hiatus in his acting and directing career during the early 1980s, as he had to take care of his terminally-ill parents. He attempted a comeback by directing the comedy film "Sweet Liberty" (1986), which parodies Hollywood filmmaking. Alda kept for himself the role of Michael Burgess, a college professor and historical novelist. Burgess wants to oversee the adaptation of his historically-accurate and realistic novel into a Hollywood film, but soon realizes that the film's screenwriter has turned the film into a historically inaccurate soap opera. He then sets out to sabotage the film. The film only earned 14.2 million dollars at the box office, despite the critical praise for its leading actors. The poor box office performance was attributed to its release time at movie theaters. It was directly competing with two more lucrative films, "Top Gun" and "Short Circuit".
Alda's next directing effort was the romantic comedy "A New Life" (1988), which depicted the problems faced by middle-aged divorced people. Alda played Steve Giardino, a workaholic businessman who received a divorce after more than 25 years of marriage. His attempts to pursue a new romance are complicated by his inexperience at dating and his unwillingness to father children again. Giardino soon suffers a heart attack due to his poor eating habits. He falls in love with the female physician attending to his problem, Dr. Kay Hutton (played by Veronica Hamel). The film was a box-office flop, only earning 7,7 million dollars at the box office. Critics found the film pleasant, but predictable.
Alda played pompous television producer Lester in the comedy-drama film "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989). In the film, Lester wants to finance a documentary celebrating his own life and work. He hires his brother-in-law to direct it, documentary filmmaker Clifford "Cliff" Stern (played by Woody Allen). He is unaware that Stern despises him. Stern uses the film to expose Lester's mistreatment of his employees, and Lester's sexual harassment towards actresses. The film earned 18,2 million dollars at the box office. For his role, Alda won the "National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor".
Alda had his final directing credit with the romantic comedy "Betsy's Wedding" (1990). Alda played the main role of Eddie Hopper, a construction contractor who insists on organizing a lavish wedding for his beloved daughter Betsy Hopper (played by Molly Ringwald). Since Eddie can not actually afford the wedding expenses, he requests financial assistance from loan sharks. The film earned 19.7 million dollars at the box office, but its leading actresses (Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy) were both nominated for Golden Raspberry Awards. Unlike Alda's previous directing efforts, critics were mostly hostile towards the film.
Alda played the evil mentor Leo Green in the erotic thriller "Whispers in the Dark" (1992). In the film, main character Ann Hecker (a psychiatrist, played by Annabella Sciorra) seeks help from her mentor Leo Green due to suffering from disturbing dreams. Hecker is soon implicated in the murder of her female patient Eve Abergray (played by Deborah Unger), and then in the murder of the police detective investigating the case. She eventually realizes that her mentor has been obsessed with her for years. He committed both murders in a misguided attempt to protect her. This was Alda's first villainous role in a film since the early 1970s. The film only earned 11.1 million dollars at the box office.
In 1993, Alda became the new host of the science-themed television program "Scientific American Frontiers" (1990-2005). The series was a spin-off of the popular science magazine "Scientific American" (1845-). The show typically focused on new technology, and on scientific and medical discoveries. Alda remained the host for 12 years, and was credited with inspiring youngsters to follow scientific careers.
Alda was reduced to the supporting role of the protagonist's confidant in the black comedy film "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993). The main plot involved amateur detectives who were investigating the mysterious death of a neighbor, who seemed to have died twice and on two entirely different locations. They eventually realize that they have stumbled on the deaths of two sisters with a close family resemblance, and that the motive for the murders was their family fortune. The film only earned 11.2 million dollars at the box office. Its perceived failure led to the termination of a long-term deal between director Woody Allen and the film studio TriStar Pictures.
Alda had a more comedic role in the political satire film "Canadian Bacon" (1995). The film satirized international relations between Canada and the United States. Alda played an unnamed President of the United States who wants to start a new war to boost his sagging poll numbers, but lacks a credible enemy to serve as an opponent. He finds that Russia is not interested in renewed hostilities, and a proposal to declare war on international terrorism is rejected as absurd. So he uses a flimsy excuse to declare war on Canada, and uses television channels to transmit anti-Canada propaganda to the gullible American population. The film was a box office flop, despite featuring a large cast of Canadian actors. It is mostly remembered as the final film appearance for actor John Candy.
Alda next had a supporting role in the black comedy "Flirting with Disaster" (1996). In the film, an adult, married man searches throughout the United States for the biological parents who gave him up for adoption. He eventually learns that his biological father is Richard Schlichting (played by Alda), a man who has devoted the last 30 years in producing and distributing "lysergic acid diethylamide" (LSD). The family reunion is less than happy, and the protagonist is introduced to a biological brother who despises him. The film earned 14,7 million dollars at the box office.
Alda had another villainous role in the action thriller film "Murder at 1600" (1997), playing national security adviser Alvin Jordan. In the film, Jordan has organized a conspiracy in order to blackmail the President of the United States into resigning, and to start a second Korean War. The conspiracy involved murdering a White House secretary (who had a brief affair with the president) and framing the President for murdering her. The film earned 41,1 million dollars at the worldwide box office, Alda's most profitable film in a decade.
Alda played news anchorman Kevin Hollander in the media-themed thriller "Mad City" (1997). In the film, a fired museum guard takes several people hostage at his former workplace. The news media decides to exploit the situation for profit, and several reporters compete in trying to get the lion's share of the publicity. The situation escalates until the museum guard becomes a suicide bomber. The film only earned 10.5 million dollars at the box office.
Alda's career had declined in the early 2000s, but this situation was only temporary. In 2004, Alda joined the recurring cast of the political television series "The West Wing" (1999-2006). The series depicted the administration of a fictional United States president and his staff. Alda played Republican senator Arnold Vinick for 28 episodes. His character was depicted as a fiscal conservative, who was opposed to corporate welfare and resented to Christian' right's influence on his political party. Vinick became the new Secretary of State in the finale of the series. For his role, Alda won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2006.
Alda's film career experienced a revival with his portrayal of career politician Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961) in the biographical film "The Aviator" (2004). He was nominated for the "Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor", the first Academy Award nomination in Alda's career. The award was instead won by rival actor Morgan Freeman. The critical acclaim for his role went against years of criticism for his acting abilities. Alda received several new offers for film roles.
Alda remained active as an actor throughout the 2000s and 2010s. He published three different memoirs between 2005 and 2017, covering different aspects of his life and career. In July 2018, he announced in an interview that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015. While this has not ended his acting career, he feared that the effects could be distracting to viewers of his work.
From 2018 to 2020, Alda had a recurring role in the crime drama television series "Ray Donovan" (2013-2020). The series depicted the life and career of a professional "fixer" of the entertainment industry, in charge of bribes, payoffs, threats, crime-scene clean-up, and other illegal activities. Alda also appeared in the spin-off film "Ray Donovan: The Movie" (2022), which concluded remaining plot-lines from the series. By 2022, Alda was 86-years-old. He may no longer be in his prime, but the aging actor seems to have no plans to retire yet.- Actor
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Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his high school senior year. He left high school without graduating, but earned a diploma through a professional education course, and graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in film. For much of the mid-1990s, he lived in New York City as a struggling, unemployed actor.- Actor
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Alec Baldwin is the oldest, and best-known, of the four Baldwin brothers in the acting business (the others are Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin and Daniel Baldwin). Alexander Rae Baldwin III was born on April 3, 1958 in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr., a high school teacher and football coach at Massapequa High School. He is of Irish, as well as English, French, Scottish, and German, descent.
Alec Baldwin burst onto the TV scene in the early 1980s with appearances on several series, including The Doctors (1963) and Knots Landing (1979), before scoring feature film roles in Forever, Lulu (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Working Girl (1988), Married to the Mob (1988) and Talk Radio (1988). In 1990, Baldwin appeared in the first on-screen adaptation of the "Jack Ryan" character created by mega-selling espionage author, Tom Clancy. The film, The Hunt for Red October (1990), was a box office and critical success, with Baldwin appearing alongside icy Sean Connery. Unfortunately, Baldwin fell out with Paramount Studios over future scripts for "Jack Ryan", and subsequent Ryan roles went to Harrison Ford.
Baldwin instead went to Broadway to perform "A Streetcar Named Desire", garnering a Tony nomination for his portrayal of "Stanley Kowalski" (he would reprise the role in a 1995 TV adaptation). Baldwin won over critics as a lowlife thief pursued by dogged cop Fred Ward in Miami Blues (1990), met his future wife Kim Basinger while filming the Neil Simon comedy, The Marrying Man (1991), starred in the film adaptation of the play, Prelude to a Kiss (1992) (in which he starred off-Broadway), and made an indelible ten-minute cameo as a hard-nosed real estate executive laying down the law in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He also made a similar tour-de-force monologue in the thriller, Malice (1993), as a doctor defending his practices, in which he stated, "Let me tell you something: I am God".
Demand for Baldwin's talents in the 1990s saw more scripts swiftly come his way, and he starred alongside his then-wife, Kim Basinger, in a remake of the Steve McQueen action flick, The Getaway (1994), brought to life the famous comic strip character, The Shadow (1994), and starred as an assistant district attorney in the civil rights drama, Ghosts of Mississippi (1996). Baldwin's distinctive vocal talents then saw him voice US-aired episodes of the highly popular UK children's show, Thomas & Friends (1984), plus later voice-only contributions to other animated/children's shows, including Clerks (2000), Cats & Dogs (2001), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004).
In the early 2000s, Baldwin and Basinger endured an acrimonious break-up that quickly became tabloid fodder but, while his divorce was high-profile, Baldwin excelled in a number of lower-profile supporting roles in a variety of films, including State and Main (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), The Cooler (2003) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), The Aviator (2004), Along Came Polly (2004) and The Departed (2006). As he was excelling as a consummate character actor, Baldwin found a second career in television comedy. Already known for his comedic turns hosting Saturday Night Live (1975), he essayed an extended guest role on Will & Grace (1998) in 2005 before taking on what would arguably become his most famous role, that of network executive "Jack Donaghy", opposite Tina Fey in the highly-acclaimed sitcom, 30 Rock (2006). The role brought Baldwin two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and an unprecedented six Screen Actors Guild Awards (not including cast wins).
Continuing to appear in films as 30 Rock (2006) wrapped up its final season, Baldwin was engaged in 2012 to wed Hilaria Baldwin (aka Hilaria Lynn Thomas); the couple married on June 30, 2012.- Actor
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A Martinez was born in Glendale, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Longmire (2012), Dark Winds (2022) and Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024). He has been married to Leslie Bryans since 17 July 1982. They have three children. He was previously married to Mare Winningham.- Alan Feinstein has appeared in over 100 television productions, co-starring on "Nip Tuck," "Crossing Jordan," and "N.Y.P.D. Blue." Series leads in "The Runaways," "Jigsaw John," "Berrengers," Second Family Tree," and more than 800 episodes of daytime drama. He co-starred opposite Peter Strauss and Peter O'Toole in "Masada," Lindsay Wagner in "The Two Worlds of Jenny Logan," Vanessa Redgrave in "Second Serve," as well as opposite Diane Keaton in the feature film "Looking For Mr. Goodbar."
Winner of the New York Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of "Marco" in Arthur Miller's 'A View From the Bridge'.
3 Los Angeles Drama-logue awards for his performances in 'Cold Storage', 'Dancing in the End Zone', and as "Jamie" in 'Long Days Journey Into Night'.
Alan's roles on Broadway include his debut in Edward Albee's 'Malcolm,' and was picked by Tennessee Williams for the role of "Stanley Kowalski" in the 25th anniversary Broadway revival of 'A Streecar Named Desire'. He starred on stage at the Guthrie Theatre in 'The Price' after having auditioned for playwright Arthur Miller.
He also starred in productions of Herb Gardner's 'Conversations With My Father' at Philidelphia's Walnut Street Theatre and the Pioneer Theatre Company of Salt Lake City.
Other performances include productions at The Old Globe, The Long Wharf Theatre, The Williamstown Summer Festival, The Alley Theatre, The Philidelphia Theatre Company, and was a member of New York's famed Circle Repertory Company.
Los Angeles stage appearances include 'Talley's Folly' at the Grove Theatre Center, David Mamet's 'Lakeboat', directed by Joe Montegna at the Tiffany Theatre, Tina Howe's 'One Shoe Off', the world premiere of 'The Sisters' at the historic Pasadena Playhouse, and 'Ghetto' at the Mark Taper Forum. - Actor
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Alan Rickman was born on a council estate in Acton, West London, to Margaret Doreen Rose (Bartlett), of English and Welsh descent, and Bernard Rickman, of Irish descent, who worked at a factory. Alan Rickman had an older brother (David), a younger brother (Michael), and a younger sister (Sheila). When Alan was 8 years old, his father died. He attended Latymer Upper School on a scholarship. He studied Graphic Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where he met Rima Horton, who would later become his longtime partner.
After three years at Chelsea College, Rickman did graduate studies at the Royal College of Art. He opened a successful graphic design business, Graphiti, with friends and managed it for several years before his love of theatre led him to seek an audition with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). At the relatively late age of 26, Rickman received a scholarship to RADA, which started a professional acting career that has lasted nearly 40 years, a career which has spanned stage, screen and television, and overlapped into directing, as well. In 1987, he first came to the attention of American audiences as the Vicomte de Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" on Broadway (he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the role). Denied the role in the film version of the show, Rickman instead made his first film appearance opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988) as the villainous Hans Gruber. His take on the urbane villain set the standard for screen villains for decades to come.
Although often cited as being a master of playing villains, Rickman actually played a wide variety of characters, such as the romantic cello-playing ghost Jamie in Anthony Minghella's Truly Madly Deeply (1990) and the noble Colonel Brandon of Sense and Sensibility (1995). He treated audiences to his comedic abilities in such films as Dogma (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and roles like Dr. Alfred Blalock in Something the Lord Made (2004), and as Alex Hughes in Snow Cake (2006), showcased his ability to play ordinary men in extraordinary situations. Rickman even conquered the daunting task of singing a role in a Stephen Sondheim musical as he took on the role of Judge Turpin in the movie adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). In 2001, Rickman introduced himself to a whole new, younger generation of fans by taking on the role of Severus Snape in the film versions of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). He continued to play the role through the eighth and last movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
Alan Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016. He was 69 years old.- Writer
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Andrew Stevens, President/CEO of Andrew Stevens Entertainment and Stevens Entertainment Group, has produced and/or financed one hundred and eighty films through his various production and distribution companies. Unique in the motion picture industry, Stevens has functioned in almost every capacity in the entertainment business, from creative development of motion picture stories and screenplays, to foreign sales, distribution, post-production, deliveries and collections. He is an accomplished screenwriter, director, as well as prolific producer, academic author of several academic books, an educator and public speaker and was a successful actor for more than 20 years. Outside of the entertainment business, Stevens has been successful in both commercial and residential real estate development, song-writing for film, with 9 credited songs in film and 6 in TV to date, community service working with elderly patients with dementia, and E-Sports.
Active since January 2003, his company has developed, produced and/or arranged the financing for more than thirty motion pictures, including the newly completed Send It!, which he also directed, All good Things, 47 Hours the Lifetime movie, The Wrong Affair, Half Past Dead 2, Walking: Tall Lone Justice, Walking: the Payback, the SyFy Channel films, Fire From Below, Mongolian Death Worm and Mandrake, 7 Seconds and The Marksman, both starring Wesley Snipes, Black Dawn starring Steven Seagal, Pursued starring Christian Slater, Blessed starring Heather Graham, Method, starring Elizabeth Hurley, to name a few. including 7 Seconds (2005) and The Marksman (2005), both starring Wesley Snipes, Black Dawn (2005) starring Steven Seagal, Pursued (2004) starring Christian Slater, Blessed (2004) starring Heather Graham, Method (2004), starring Elizabeth Hurley, and Silent Partner (2005), starring Tara Reid.
From 1997 through 2002, Stevens co-founded, and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Franchise Pictures, an independent film production and distribution company with a domestic theatrical output deal with Warner Bros. During his five-and-a-half tenure at Franchise, Stevens produced or executive produced and provided the finance or co-finance for more than 60 feature films including the enormously successful The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards (2004), both starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, The In-Laws (2003), starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks, Angel Eyes (2001) starring Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel, City by the Sea (2002) starring Robert De Niro, The Pledge (2001) starring Jack Nicholson, 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, Half Past Dead (2002) starring Steven Seagal. Stevens was also responsible for creating Franchise Classics, a division which produced and distributed many films which appeared in such major film festivals as Cannes, Sundance Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival including The Big Kahuna (1999), starring Kevin Spacey, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000), starring Cameron Diaz and Glenn Close, Green Dragon (2001), starring Forest Whitaker and Patrick Swayze, and The Caveman's Valentine (2001), starring Samuel L. Jackson. Concurrent with the formation of Franchise, Stevens co-founded and served as president of a sister company, Phoenician Entertainment which produced such films as The Third Miracle (1999), starring Ed Harris and Anne Heche, Entropy (1999), starring Stephen Dorff and U2, Woman Wanted (1999), starring Kiefer Sutherland and Holly Hunter, and many genre action/adventure films. Prior to Franchise and Phoenician, Stevens was an owner and president of Royal Oaks Entertainment, which produced and/or distributed seventy pictures over a three-year period including many HBO, Showtime and Sci-Fi Channel world premieres. Prior to Royal Oaks, Stevens' initial venturing into foreign sales and production company ownership was with Sunset Films International, which amassed a library of nineteen titles, (including seven in-house productions) during his first year as president of the company. Stevens serves on the board of directors of the International Film and Television Alliance, (the former American Film Marketing Association) and until recently served as Chairman of the Independent Producers Association (IPA), which is, among other things, active in collective bargaining for independent producers and film companies. Stevens has been involved in many guild negotiations with both the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) on behalf of the constituency of independent producers and was a key architect of the current DGA/IPA multi-tiered low-budget agreement.
Stevens was a award-winning actor, including a Golden Globe nomination and the Star of Tomorrow award from the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) starring in over 80 feature films and/or television series. Stevens authored a fully accredited Associate of Applied Arts college degree program in Motion Picture Production, which he later distilled into an online certificate program, (2015) DVD and Vimeo series. "Foolproof Film School. Dallas: Stevens Entertainment Group. ISBN 978-0-6924374-9-0, which teaches Stevens' unique practical perspective of the business side of making movies, based on his academic texts, (2014) Book: "Foolproof Filmmaking". Westport: Prospecta Press. ISBN 978-1-935212-27-0; (2016) Book: "Producing for Profit". New York and London" Focal Press/Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-138-12104-1; and (2017) Book "Screenwriting for Profit". New York and London" Focal Press/Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-138-95060-3- Actor
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Anthony Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, on July 19, 1962, to a well-blended family. He is the youngest of five children, and the son of Erika Kem (Weber), a landscape painter and artist, and Peter Edwards, an architect. His mother was of German descent, and his father was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Spanish-Mexican ancestry.
Edwards's parents encouraged him to act at age 16, which eventually led him to attending a summer workshop in London before graduating from high school. Returning to the United States, Edwards worked in commercials, jobs that helped him pay his education at The University of Southern California, where he studied acting. However, he dropped out of college and, in that same year, he had a small role in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), starring Sean Penn. The movie was a box office smash and Edwards was looking forward to doing more films. His first movie role was that of teen-aged "John Muldowney" in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) and his first starring role as nerdy "Gilbert Lowell", in Revenge of the Nerds (1984).
Edwards didn't need to worry about being typecast as a socially-challenged loser. After starring in The Sure Thing (1985) and Gotcha! (1985), he landed another big-time successful movie Top Gun (1986), in which he played Tom Cruise's ill-fated easy-going navigator/best friend, Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. As Cruise rode Top Gun (1986) into the Hollywood stratosphere, Edwards also found his flight to stardom, at the same time. After Top Gun (1986), he reprised his role as Gilbert in the movie Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), before he starred in Summer Heat (1987). He also starred in Mr. North (1988), and Miracle Mile (1988), although they weren't too successful.
Edwards began working in TV movies and continued to star in more box office movies such as Hawks (1988), How I Got Into College (1989), Downtown (1990), Pet Sematary II (1992), Landslide (1992) and Delta Heat (1992). The '90s won Edwards his best reviews for his recurring role of the quirky "bubble man" Mike Monroe on the popular television series Northern Exposure (1990). He was nominated for a Cable Ace Award in HBO's Sexual Healing (1993), and the following year, he starred in Charlie's Ghost Story (1995), before he played law clerk "Clint Von Hooser" in the John Grisham movie The Client (1994). This led to his most prominent role, as easy-going charismatic physician "Dr. Mark Greene" on the very popular TV series ER (1994).
For his work on ER (1994), he was nominated for an Emmy Award four times For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but has never won. However, he has won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-in-a-TV-Series, and was nominated four times, and also has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards. Prior to playing Dr. Greene, he also played bank breaker turned cold-blooded killer, "Dick Hickock" in the TV movie remake of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1996), which was the best TV movie of the 1996-97 season. During Edwards' hiatus on ER (1994), he went back to the box office circuit to star and to produce the movie Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1999), a complex movie which wasn't a big hit. Edwards, once again, returned to the set of ER (1994), and this time, he signed up for a salary that almost no actor could be paid, so his decision was to stay on the show for 3 more years and possibly to save the money in order to spend a lot of family time and to work on directing later.
His first big roles after ER (1994) were that of "Brains" in the movie Thunderbirds (2004), and as "Jim Paretta" in The Forgotten (2004). In the many years that he starred on ER (1994), that show gave him more success in working on and off the set. Also, it gave him a spiritual blessing that so many popular actors have had over the years.- Actor
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Zachary Quinto was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Margaret J. (McArdle), an Irish-American office worker, and Joseph John Quinto, an Italian-American barber. Zachary graduated from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, with the class of 1995, where he won Pittsburgh's Gene Kelly Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the Major General in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance". He then went on to attend Carnegie Mellon University, where he continued to hone his talents by performing in plays and musicals. He first appeared on numerous television series since 2000 and, in 2003, landed the role of computer expert "Adam Kaufman" on the Fox series, 24 (2001), during its third season. In 2006, Quinto portrayed serial killer "Sylar" on the science fiction series, Heroes (2006), until its cancellation in 2010, after four seasons. He was cast in his first main film role as "Spock", in the hugely successful franchise reboot, Star Trek (2009).- Jon Hensley was born on 26 August 1965 in Browns Mills, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for As the World Turns (1956), The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). He was previously married to Kelley Menighan.
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Michael Park was born on 20 July 1968 in New York, USA. He is an actor, known for As the World Turns (1956), Stranger Things (2016) and Gotham the Series (2009). He has been married to Laurie Nowak since 6 January 1996. They have three children.- Actor
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McCouch grew up in Chappaqua, NY and received a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in theater from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY where he also played varsity lacrosse and rugby. McCouch went on to receive a graduate degree from the British American Drama Academy, Oxford-Yale program in London.
McCouch spent four seasons with the Williamstown Theater Festival, MA (1988-1992), where he performed in Arturo Ul, The Visit, Three Penny Opera, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Inherit the Wind and The Moonstone. In 1992, he performed in Electra with the Almeida Theater in London. He also appeared in The Royal Court's Women Beware Women. His next project was three years on Another World where he played Dr. Morgan Winthrop. Next came the blockbuster hit Armageddon, where McCouch played Munition Specialist Gruber.
Recent performing credits include seven years on As the World Turns where McCouch received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His portrayal of Dusty Donovan was a fan favorite. Other great performances; The Apostles/Fox, Dope/FX, Momentum/Miramax, Throttle/Dimension, Legacy/Alliance Atlantis, UPN, All Souls/Sci Fi, UPN, The Agency/CBS, Airtight/Sony, Viacom, Beverly Hills 90210/Spelling, Forbidden Island/Spelling, Cosby Mysteries/NBC.
Grayson McCouch now plays Don, Adriana's single father and a surgeon, on the Nick at Nite new drama series, Hollywood Heights.- Benjamin Hendrickson was born on 26 August 1950 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for As the World Turns (1956), Manhunter (1986) and Regarding Henry (1991). He died on 3 July 2006 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA.
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Jesse Lee Soffer (born April 23, 1984) began his film career in 1993 at age eight in the movie Matinee (1993). From that point on, his work included time on such television series as Two of a Kind (1998), Guiding Light (1952), CSI: Miami (2002), The Mentalist (2008) and The Mob Doctor (2012). In 2013, Jesse went on to portray Travis Alexander in the television drama Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret (2013). The movie premiered on June 22, 2013 and received surprising acclaim from critics in its adaptation of the relationship between Travis Alexander and Jodi Arias and the murder trial that followed. Jesse's additional work on screen includes the sports drama Gracie (2007), Hatfields & McCoys, and In Time (2011). He was also a cast regular on the series As the World Turns (1956), a series he is possibly best known from during his 7-year tenure on the series from 2004-2010.- Actor
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Van Hansis was born on 25 September 1981 in North Adams, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for As the World Turns (1956), Eastsiders (2012) and Kiss Me, Kill Me (2015).- First big break was selling Buick Centuries at the Chicago Auto show. (After working as a 2nd assistant cameraman (non-credited) for Andrzej Bartkowiak, Norman Leigh on the "The Brink's Job" - Billy Friedkin and Dino De Laurentiis).
Subsequently performed in numerous TV commercials, short films, and experimental theater pieces.
Has appeared on stages from Off-Off to Broadway for Arthur Laurents, Edward Albee, Robert Smith, Doric Wilson... (As You Like It, Forever After, A Loss Of Memory, Provicante di Saliva, Bald Soprano, Make Mine Kafka! ...).
Has worked in film and television for directors including Arthur Hiller, Peter Medak, Lee Katzin, Alvin Rakoff, Rick Berman, Bill Duke, and Phillip Noyce... (President Howard Lewis in Salt, Sebastian Weinberg in My Best Day, Robert Garrett in First Olympics, Athens 1896...). And years before the mast in television. (Starting with the indelible "Room Service Waiter" on Another World, then starring roles in lots of other TV movies, pilots, etc.)
Appeared steadily in lead roles in several dramatic serials, such as Knots Landing, Guiding Light, All My Children, As the World Turns, and One Life to Live.
Has voiced numerous commercial and digital campaigns, performed with the Indonesian poetry forum Yang Mengatakan, the Balinese Shadow Theatre, and the Norwegian Arctic Rights Group Vakne Opp's aerial production of "Ballong", and is a regular contributor to Sweet Dreams, an audio series of bedtime stories. - Actor
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Austin Peck was born on 9 April 1971 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Austin is an actor and writer, known for Chicago Fire (2012), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Days of Our Lives (1965). Austin has been married to Terri Conn since 1 July 2011. They have two children. Austin was previously married to Tara Crespo.- Tom Wiggin is an American actor, writer and producer. As an actor, he is best known as Kirk Anderson on As the World Turns, which he played from 1988-1998. He starred as Mike on the ABC series Breaking Away, appeared in several indie movies such as Diggers and Exposed, and has appeared on numerous daytime and Primetime TV shows such as Guiding Light, Iron-Jawed Angels, The Bronx is Burning, Person of Interest and Madam Secretary. He recently created and Executive Produced the talk show Crossovers for The STAGE Network and is an Executive Producer/Writer for the new reality series Thursday in the Park with the Broadway Show League, also on STAGE. He has two grown daughters and is married to Producer Jennifer Dumas.
- Born in San Jose CA in 1948, MIchael began his interest in theater at the Palo Alto community Children's Theater. His professional career began with the improvisational company, The Illegitimate Theater in Palo Alto in 1968. His film career began in 1970 in THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT in San Francisco. While waiting for the next gig he became an apprentice at Joseph Swan Vineyards in Sonoma county and worked for Louis M. Martini in Napa Valley.
- Scott DeFreitas was born on 9 September 1969 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for As the World Turns (1956) and Young People's Specials (1984). He has been married to Maura West since 22 January 2000. They have four children.
- Mark Collier was born in Boynton Beach, Florida. He is of Danish, English, Irish and Choctaw ancestry. His father, a CPA, and his mother, a nurse, eventually moved the family to Ocala, Florida, where he spent most of his childhood. At age 10 Mark got his start in local theater productions. As he entered high school his focus shifted toward sports, and he excelled in wrestling and soccer. Mark attended Georgia Southern University where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated with a degree in Accounting. Shortly thereafter his desires turned back to acting, and at the age of 28 he moved to Los Angeles and began studying. While juggling three jobs as a bouncer, waiter, and Pilates instructor, he continued studying and became a member of the Blue Sphere Alliance theater company. After a few small roles and an appearance in a Dixie Chicks video, he got his break in 2002 when he was cast as the rebel-turned-good guy Mike Kasnoff in the long-running CBS daytime drama As the World Turns (1956). In 2003, Mark garnered a Soap Opera Digest nomination for outstanding newcomer. While working in New York, Mark completed a two-year Meisner program taught by William Esper, and he also attended the Actors Movement Studio. In 2005, he was a presenter at the The 31st Annual People's Choice Awards (2005). Mark lives in Los Angeles where he is a contributor and supporter of Free Arts for Abused Children and is also a lifetime member of the Surfrider Foundation.
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Scott Bryce was born on 6 January 1958 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for As the World Turns (1956), Murphy Brown (1988) and Deception (2013). He has been married to Jodi Stevens since 26 October 2003. They have one child.- Actor
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Jake Silbermann was born on 1 June 1983 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Report (2019), As the World Turns (1956) and Consciousness (2017).- Actor
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Emmy nominee, award-winning actor, director and screenwriter, Jon Lindstrom, was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He was introduced early to acting and filmmaking when his father, Robert, a TV advertising executive, cast the young boy in several local TV commercials. His mother, Sue, was a surgical nurse and homemaker. His older brother, Jeff, is an Electronic Engineer. His entire extended family is inclined to the visual arts, being passionately involved in everything from photography to painting.
In Summer 2015 he was featured throughout HBO's, True Detective (2014), as villain, 'Jacob McCandless.' In 2016 he will be featured in two more high profile projects; In theaters in the sequel to the hugely successful, God's Not Dead, God's Not Dead 2 (2016), and the upcoming Freeform TV (formerly ABC Family) series, Recovery Road (2016), plus the edgy indies, The Queen of Hollywood Blvd (2017) and Val-en-tina (2015). This is on the heels of an amazing 2014, when he saw his talent and skills rewarded with the first commercial release by Devolver Films of his feature directorial debut, How We Got Away with It (2014). In addition to his directing duties, he also performed a major role and served as co-screenwriter and co-producer. Mr. Lindstrom is the recipient of critical praise and numerous film festival awards and nominations in Best Of, Audience and Acting categories. In addition to being an official selection to many other festivals, Jon has been invited to accompany his film to special screenings all over the country. It's theatrical run was even held over.
Recent award winning Indie films as an actor include What Happens Next (2011), co-starring Wendie Malick, The Sacrifice (2008) with Molly C. Quinn, Chris Mulkey and Darby Stanchfield, with whom he shared the Angel Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Monaco International Film Festival, and The Double Born (2008) with Sammi Davis (Hope and Glory).
Mr. Lindstrom is well regarded for his work co-writing and co-executive producing the HBO/Time Warner release, The Hard Easy (2006) starring Vera Farmiga, Bruce Dern and Peter Weller, and was featured opposite Diane Lane in the blockbuster, Must Love Dogs (2005).
His short films have been official selections in multiple respected film festivals.
His extensive acting experience includes long running parts on the television dramas, As the World Turns (1956) on CBS and for which he received the Emmy Nomination as Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and the roles for which he may be best known for; his 11-year portrayal of disturbed twin brothers, Dr's. Kevin Collins & Ryan Chamberlain, on ABC's General Hospital (1963) and Port Charles (1997). Other TV credits of note include NCIS (2003), Drop Dead Diva (2009), Blue Bloods (2010), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Everwood (2002) and the telefilms McBride: Dogged (2007) with John Larroquette, The Sitter (2006) (aka The Sitter), directed by Russell Mulcahy, Ice Dreams (2009) with Jerry Stiller Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) with Halle Berry, Fall from Grace (1990) alongside Kevin Spacey and Bernadette Peters , The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory (1987) with Alec Baldwin, and Right on Track (2003) with Brie Larson and Beverly Mitchell.
Music has always played a strong role in his creative and professional journey. A lifelong drummer, his band The High Lonesome recorded the album "Feel Free To Do So", which garnered much industry praise and "most added" status for two singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The band recently recorded new songs for their 2010 release, "The High Lonesome Collector's Album 1995-2010".
In addition to How We Got Away with It (2014) and his numerous short subjects, he has directed for both the ABC and CBS networks.- Actor
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Paul Leyden is an Australian born actor/writer/director. He moved to New York in 2000 where he played the popular rogue 'Simon Frasier' on 'As the World Turns' for four years. He was cast alongside Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood in NBC's 'LAX' which saw Paul relocate to Los Angeles. It was here after he sold his first screenplay to Joel Silver and Dark Castle Pictures, 'The Factory' starring John Cusack, that Paul made the permanent shift to writer and director and has since had many projects, both film and TV, produced and developed in the States and Australia. He married French actress Alexia Barlier in 2018.- Actor
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William Gregory Magnussen is an American actor. He has been featured in the films Into the Woods (2014), Birth of the Dragon (2016), Game Night (2018), and Aladdin (2019), and has had supporting television roles in Get Shorty (2017) and Maniac (2018). In 2021, Magnussen starred in the sci-fi series Made for Love on HBO Max and appeared in the films The Many Saints of Newark and No Time to Die.- Actor
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"A native of Brooklyn NY, and an Entertainment Industry veteran, with a career spanning more than 30 years, Peter Parros stars as ' David Harrington ' of "Tyler Perry's The Haves and The Have Nots" (OWN TV). Parros is also known for his longtime role as ' Dr. Ben Harris ' of "As the World Turns" (CBS), as ' RC3 /Reginald Cornelius, III ' , of the popular TV Series "Knight Rider" and as 'Officer Gus Grant ' of "The New Adam 12" Series. Parros' work has earned two NAACP Image Award nominations.
His TV Guest Star credits, include "Seinfield", "Castle", "CSI: Miami", "Law and Order", "Royal Pains", "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper", "Charles in Charge", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "The Facts of Life" and "New York Undercover", Parros' film credits include "Death Before Dishonor " and "Real Genius".
A member of the Writers Guild of America West, Mastermedia International , the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Black Documentary Collective, in 2004 Parros also became a member of the Executive Advisory Board of Heritage Luminaries for the New Jersey Black Cultural and Heritage Initiative Foundation.
Parros has written and co-written movies, including "Something to Sing About" and "The Climb" which was voted "Best Picture" at the International Family Film Festival (2002) and International Christian Visual Media Awards' "Best Picture" . Additionally, in partnership with LaPhonso Ellis, Parros founded "Ten Talents Productions ", producing Christian Entertainment , including the "Kidz of the King Adventures" animated DVD and comic book series.- Actor
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Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas, to Diane Lou (Oswald) and Charles Harrelson. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, where his mother was from. After receiving degrees in theater arts and English from Hanover College, he had a brief stint in New York theater. He was soon cast as Woody on TV series Cheers (1982), which wound up being one of the most-popular TV shows ever and also earned Harrelson an Emmy for his performance in 1989.
While he dabbled in film during his time on Cheers (1982), that area of his career didn't fully take off until towards the end of the show's run. In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role, and he followed that up with White Men Can't Jump (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). More recently, Harrelson was seen in No Country for Old Men (2007), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009), and Friends with Benefits (2011), along with the acclaimed HBO movie Game Change (2012).
In 2011, Harrelson snagged the coveted role of fan-favorite drunk Haymitch Abernathy in the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games (2012), which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies ever at the domestic box office. Harrelson is set to reprise that role for the sequels, which are scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014 and 2015. Harrelson has received two Academy Award nominations, first for his role as controversial Hustler founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and then for a role in The Messenger (2009). He also received Golden Globe nominations for both of these parts. In 2016, he had a stand-out role as a wise teacher in the teen drama The Edge of Seventeen (2016).
Harrelson was briefly married to Nancy Simon in the 80s, and later married his former assistant, Laura Louie, with whom he has three daughters.- Winsor Harmon is an American actor and former model forever known for his role as "Thorne Forrester" on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Harmon currently has two feature films coming out where he plays the leading man: "Sarogeto" as Michael Stanton, and "Cult Cartel".
Before assuming the role of "Thorne", Harmon portrayed "Del Henry" on the long-time daytime drama, All My Children. Prior to his AMC stint, he landed an international modeling contract that allowed him to travel extensively throughout Europe. He also filmed numerous commercials, including an infamous stint as The Marlboro Man. Harmon has guest starred on numerous hit television shows such as Baywatch Nights and Acapulco H.E.A.T. Most recently, Harmon starred in the independent film, Cathedral Canyon.
Born in and raised in Crowley, Louisiana, Harmon was transplanted in Rockwall, Texas as a teenager. As one of the country's top rated high school running backs, he was recruited by top colleges across the country. He decided to attend Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical University) on a football scholarship.
Harmon is an avid athlete and enjoys all sports including cycling, motorcycles and triathlons. He is a die-hard college and professional football fan.
"Philanthropist" is a word that can also be attributed to Harmon. After Hurricane Katrina in 2008, Harmon, whose hometown was devastated, worked tirelessly with the Red Cross in helping those who had lost their homes due to the treacherous storm. He continues his efforts to help Katrina victims to this day.
Harmon celebrates his birthday on November 22. He stands 6' 0" and has blond hair and hazel eyes. - Actor
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The son of writer/producer/actor Dwight Hauser, who worked on (amongst many other projects) the classic "Whistler" radio series, and Geraldine Hauser (the daughter of author Tom Thieness), he raised a child as a single father, having arrived in Hollywood "with thirty dollars and a box of pampers" - and actually earned his career accomplishments with hard work and dedication. He is the father of actor Cole Hauser.
Wings Hauser married his young music and filmmaking partner, actress/filmmaker Cali Lili on June 12, 2012. Having often been compared to Richard Widmark for some of his "mean" roles, he has played a variety of equally remarkable roles in films and on TV. After a high-school career centered in sports (his name "Wings" is taken from the wing-back position he played in football), he chose to lean toward the arts - acting and music (including an album of his original music for RCA) - instead of pursuing professional sports. Having descended from an artistic and talented family, this choice was a heartfelt one.- Actor
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Wilmer Valderrama has amassed an extensive acting resume in film and television that solidified him in Hollywood as a sought-after leading man. Valderrama starred in Fox's sci-fi series Minority Report (2015) as Will Blake, a new police detective on the force. The series, which also starred Meagan Good and Stark Sands, was a sequel to the Steven Spielberg-directed movie set 10 years after the end of Pre-crime in D.C. Valderrama also starred as Carlos Madrigal, the main villain in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's first original series From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (2014) on El Rey Network. Valderrama voiced Prince Charming in the John H. Williams animated film Charming (2018), opposite Ashley Tisdale, Avril Lavigne, and Demi Lovato. Valderrama starred in the indie dramas To Whom It May Concern (2016), from French director Manu Boyer, and The Adderall Diaries (2015), opposite Amber Heard and James Franco, which premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. His other film credits include Larry Crowne (2011), From Prada to Nada (2011), and Summer Catch (2001). Most recognized for his role as Fez on Fox's Emmy-nominated series That '70s Show (1998), a role that garnered him numerous Teen Choice Awards and an ALMA Award nomination. Valderrama also lent his voice to the character Manny on the Disney Channel's animated children's program Handy Manny (2006). His other television credits include Awake (2012), Raising Hope (2010), Suburgatory (2011), Royal Pains (2009), and Wizards of Waverly Place (2007). Behind the camera, Valderrama created and produced the MTV series Yo Momma (2006), also serving as the host for all three seasons, in addition to producing other MTV series such as Punk'd (2003), Blowin' Up (2006), and Trippin (2005). As for his philanthropic efforts, Valderrama has directed several PSAs for multiple organizations such as Voto Latino, where he stands as co-chair, and the Environmental Media Association, where he is an executive board member. Valderrama is the spokesperson for CHCI, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and is the founder of their Ready 2 Lead program, which educates and empowers the Latino youth. He also worked with President Barack Obama's Organizing for Action campaign on future efforts involving immigration reform and education. Born in Miami, Valderrama moved to Venezuela with his family at the age of 3. Valderrama is fluent in both Spanish and English. When Valderrama was 13, his family relocated to Los Angeles.- Actor
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William Roerick was born on 17 December 1912 in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Wasp Woman (1959), Playhouse 90 (1956) and Law & Order (1990). He died on 30 November 1995 in Monterey, Massachusetts, USA.- Actor
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William Remington Moses was born on November 17th, 1959 to actress Marian McCargo and businessman Richard Cantrell Moses Sr.
William's parents divorced when he was young. His mother met and married Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr. in 1970. Alphonzo adopted William and his three brothers. Alphonzo later became one of the most loved congressmen in California. Growing up on in a citrus farm in Ojai, California, he was not interested in showbiz until he met his brother Rick Moses' agent and did a commercial for Sprite. William's first movie opportunity came with Choices (1981). Shortly after that, his big break came - he read and won for the part of "Cole Gioberti" in the prime time series Falcon Crest (1981). He stayed there for 5 seasons.
He also guest-starred in episodes of Fantasy Island (1977), The Love Boat (1977), Maxwell Ltd: Finder of Lost Loves Pilot (1984), Hotel (1983) and "Battle Of The Network Stars" (1983-1985). He excelled at the latter because of his athletic skills. This is also how he met actress Tracy Nelson, daughter of rock legend Ricky Nelson and Kristin Harmon. They were married on romantic Catalina Island in July 1987.
A month after the wedding, Tracy was diagnosed with a form of cancer, Hodgkins' Disease. Because of her illness and waiting for her remission, they delayed having a baby. On August 11, 1992, their daughter, Remington Moses, was born. They divorced in 1997. William later found Sarah, whom he married in 2002. They have two daughters.
He will probably always be remembered for two roles, Falcon Crest (1981) and the Perry Mason Mysteries series (1989-1995). He comes from a talented family. His brothers are actor Rick Moses, musician Graham Moses and minister/director Harry Morgan Moses. His late mother, Marian McCargo, was a tennis star and actress before becoming a mother and stepmother to seven boys. He also has three stepbrothers.- William was a character actor, whose popularity was due to hundreds of appearances in soap operas.
Going from stage to screen, William had an undistinguished movie career in the '40s which ran out of steam after about four years.
But in the '50s, he would find his calling on the small screen. On Young Dr. Malone (1958), he played the father for five years. He was also cast in Another World (1964), The Edge of Night (1956), Search for Tomorrow (1951) and A World Apart (1970). One noteworthy credit was that he was part of the continuing cast on the first hour-long television drama series, The Mask (1954).
By the '70s and '80s, he appeared in a number of television mini-series and television movies. On stage, he appeared in plays by Eugene O'Neill and Edward Albee. - Actor
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William Powell was on the New York stage by 1912, but it would be ten years before his film career would begin. In 1924 he went to Paramount Pictures, where he was employed for the next seven years. During that time, he played in a number of interesting films, but stardom was elusive. He did finally attract attention with The Last Command (1928) as Leo, the arrogant film director. Stardom finally came via his role as Philo Vance in The Canary Murder Case (1929), in which he investigates the death of Louise Brooks, "the Canary." Unlike many silent actors, sound boosted Powell's career. He had a fine, urbane voice and his stage training and comic timing greatly aided his introduction to sound pictures. However, he was not happy with the type of roles he was playing at Paramount, so in 1931 he switched to Warner Bros. There, he again became disappointed with his roles, and his last appearance for Warners was as Philo Vance in The Kennel Murder Case (1933). In 1934 Powell went to MGM, where he was teamed with Myrna Loy in Manhattan Melodrama (1934). While Philo made Powell a star, another detective, Nick Charles, made him famous. Powell received an Academy Award nomination for The Thin Man (1934) and later starred in the Best Picture winner for 1936, The Great Ziegfeld (1936). Powell could play any role with authority, whether in a comedy, thriller, or drama. He received his second Academy Award nomination for My Man Godfrey (1936) and was on top of the world until 1937, when he made his first picture with Jean Harlow, Reckless (1935). The two clicked, off-screen as well as on-screen, and shortly became engaged. One day, while Powell was filming Double Wedding (1937) on one MGM sound stage, Harlow became ill on another. She was finally taken to the hospital, where she died. Her death greatly upset both Powell and Myrna Loy, and he took six weeks off from making the movie to deal with his sorrow. After that he traveled, not making another MGM film for a year. He eventually did five sequels to "The Thin Man," the last one in 1947. He also received his third Academy Award nomination for his work in Life with Father (1947). His screen appearances became less frequent after that, and his last role was in 1955. He had come a long way from playing the villain in 1922.- Actor
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William Katt was born in Los Angeles, California, USA as William Theodore Katt. He is the son of actress Barbara Hale and actor Bill Williams. He is an actor and director, known for Big Wednesday (1978), The Greatest American Hero (1981), Carrie (1976) and The Man from Earth (2007). He has been married to Danielle Hirsch since April 10, 1993. They have two children. He was previously married to Deborah Kahane.- William Johnstone was born on 7 February 1908 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Titanic (1953), Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950) and Down Three Dark Streets (1954). He was married to Georgia Brady Johnstone. He died on 1 November 1996 in New York City, New York, USA.
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Billy Wilder proclaimed William Holden to be "the ideal motion picture actor". For almost four decades, the handsome, affable 'Golden Holden' was among Hollywood's most durable and engaging stars. He was born William Franklin Beedle Jr., one of three sons to a high school English teacher, Mary Blanche (Ball), and a chemical and fertilizer analyst, William Franklin Beedle, head of the George W. Gooch Laboratories in Pasadena. His father, a keen physical fitness enthusiast, taught young Bill the art of tumbling and boxing. During his days as a student at South Pasadena High, he also became adept at team sports (football and baseball), learned to ride and shoot and to be proficient on piano, clarinet and drums.
To his father's chagrin, Bill had no inclination of following in dad's footsteps, though he did major in chemistry at Pasadena Junior College. A trip to New York and Broadway had set Bill's path firmly on an acting career. He had already performed in school plays and lent his voice to several radio plays in Los Angeles by the time he was spotted by a Paramount talent scout (playing the part of octogenarian Eugene Curie) at the Pasadena Workshop Theatre. In early 1938, he was offered a six-month studio contract for a weekly salary of $50. Naturally, the name Beedle had to go. Several alternatives were bandied around -- including Randolph Carey and Taylor Randolph - until the head of Paramount's publicity department settled on the name Holden (based on a personal friend who was an associate editor at the L.A. Times, also named Bill).
Having joined Paramount's Golden Circle Club of promising young actors, Bill was now groomed for stardom. However, it was a loan-out to Columbia that secured him his breakthrough role. He was the sixty-sixth actor to audition for the part of an Italian violinist forced to become a boxer in Golden Boy (1939). His earlier training as a junior pugilist proved somewhat beneficial but it was self-effacing co-star Barbara Stanwyck who turned out to be most instrumental in helping him rehearse and overcoming his nerves to act alongside her and thespians Lee J. Cobb and Adolphe Menjou. The picture was a minor hit and Columbia consequently acquired half his contract. For the next few years, Bill continued playing wholesome, guy-next-door types and rookie servicemen in pictures like Our Town (1940), I Wanted Wings (1941) (which was the making of 'peek-a-boo' star Veronica Lake) and The Fleet's In (1942). His salary had been enhanced and he now earned $150 a week. In July 1941, he married 25-year old actress Brenda Marshall, who commanded five times his income.
In 1942, he enlisted in the Officers Candidate School in Florida, graduating as an Air Force second lieutenant. He spent the next three years on P.R. duties and making training films for the Office of Public Information. One of his brothers, a naval pilot, was shot down and killed over the Pacific in 1943. After war's end, he was demobbed and returned to Hollywood to resume playing similar characters in similar movies. He later commented that he found "no interest or enjoyment" in portraying the same type of "nice-guy meaningless roles in meaningless movies". That was to change - along with his image - when he was invited to play the part of caddish, down-on-his-luck scriptwriter Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (1950). The brilliantly acidulous screenplay was by Charles Brackett and director Billy Wilder (from their story A Can of Beans) and the story was narrated in flashback by Bill's character, opening with Gillis floating face-down in the swimming pool of a decrepit mansion "of the kind crazy people bought in the 20s".
With Sunset Boulevard (1950), Holden had effectively graduated from leading man to leading actor. No longer typecast, he was now allowed more hard-edged or even morally ambiguous roles: a self-serving, cynical prisoner-of-war in Stalag 17 (1953) (for which he won an Academy Award); an unemployed drifter who disrupts and changes the lives (particularly of womenfolk) in a small Kansas town, in Picnic (1955); a happy-go-lucky gigolo (who, as Billy Wilder explained the part to Bill, gets the sports car while Bogey -- Humphrey Bogart -- gets the girl), in the delightful Sabrina (1954); and an ill-fated U.S. Navy pilot in The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), set during the Korean War. Clever dialogue and the Holden likability factor also improved what potentially could have turned out dull or maudlin in pictures like Forever Female (1953) and Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955).
Already one of the highest paid stars of the 1950s, Holden received 10% of the gross for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), making him an instant multi-millionaire. He invested much of his earnings in various enterprises, even a radio station in Hong Kong. At the end of the decade, he relocated his family to Geneva, Switzerland, but spent more and more of his own time globetrotting. In the 1960s, Holden founded the exclusive Mount Kenya Safari Club with oil billionaire Ray Ryan and Swiss financier Carl Hirschmann. His fervent advocacy of wildlife conservation now consumed more of his time than his acting. His films, consequently, dropped in quality.
Drinking ever more heavily, he also started to show his age. By the time he appeared as the leader of an outlaw gang on their last roundup in Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969), his face was so heavily lined that someone likened it to 'a map of the United States.' He still had a couple more good performances in him, in The Towering Inferno (1974) and Network (1976), until his shock death from blood loss due to a fall at his apartment while intoxicated. In 1982, actress Stefanie Powers, with whom he had been in a relationship since 1972, helped set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and the William Holden Wildlife Education Center in Kenya. Bill also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His wanderlust has left traces of him all over the world.- William Gray Espy was born on 19 July 1948 in Dothan, Alabama, USA. He is an actor, known for Kansas City Bomber (1972), Miami Vice (1984) and Mannix (1967).
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A small-town guy with a big heart, William Fichtner has been captivating the hearts of Western New Yorkers for decades. Bill was born in 1956 on Long Island, New York, to Patricia A. (Steitz) and William E. Fichtner. He is of German, Irish, and English descent.
Fichtner was raised in Cheektowaga, and graduated from Maryvale High School in 1974. His first roles were in soap operas such as As the World Turns (1956) and sitcoms like Grace Under Fire (1993). He has also been in films such as Armageddon (1998), Empire Falls (2005), as The Marriage Counselor, uncredited, in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and in The Dark Knight (2008). A fan of the Buffalo Sabres, Bill always stays true to his roots. He is married to actress Kymberly Kalil.- Actor
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William was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After living for three years in West Africa from the ages of three to six, William continued growing up in Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec. Speaking both fluent French and English, William is a dual citizen of both Canada and the US and holds current passports for each country.
Like every Canadian kid, William built a skating rink in his backyard every winter and played until it was too dark to see his skates. However, growing up, baseball was Wil's first love and he dreamt of playing for the Montreal Expos. He would often run into Donald Sutherland at the Expos games, never imagining one day becoming an actor himself. William still has a signed ball from the 1981 Cincinnati Reds Team that Mr. Sutherland gave him.
During the winter months William stayed in shape for summer sports by playing High School Volleyball. As part of the Junior Team he was asked to accompany the Varsity Team to the Provincial Championships. Being the only Junior Player at the Varsity Tournament, William was asked to play quite a bit. The team went on to win the Provincial Championships that year. During his years at Richelieu Valley High School William's Teams won two Provincial Championships. After High School William continued to play at Champlain College making the starting lineup in his first year. To this day coach Bonenberg has left an indelible mark on William's life. HIs regimented coaching style has applied many lessons William still holds dear to this day.
After completing his first year at Champlain College, William moved to Florida to continue his education.
Within a few years, the burgeoning TV and film industry in Orlando piqued his interest. His first audition was for the Season 2, two-hour season premiere of Steven Spielberg's SeaQuest DSV starring Roy Scheider. William had three callbacks with Director Bryan Spicer, booked the role, and his ongoing thirty-one year career as an actor began
While working on SeaQuest DSV he became friends with Actor/Producer/Director Peter deLuise who suggested Wil take his talents to Vancouver, Canada. And he did. Within six months William was working non-stop. William managed to turn the Guest Star role of Brent Kallus, on Showtime's critically acclaimed comedy "Beggars and Choosers" written by Peter Lefcourt, into a recurring role. To this day, it's one of William's favorite characters he has ever played.
William considers his work with acting coach Larry Moss to be a pivotal and important time in his life and career. William was introduced to Larry by his friend Laurie Holden in Santa Monica CA. in 1999 and maintains his friendship with Larry to this day. Like many actors who worked with Larry, Wil is grateful to Larry for changing the trajectory of his career.
After honing his craft in Vancouver for ten years, William moved to NYC to work on the famed Daytime Drama, All My Children. There, he received an Emmy Nomination during his first year on the show.
William returned to Vancouver to work on Bravo Canada's critically acclaimed drama "Godiva's" starring Eric Karpluk.
Then legendary Bill Bell's international mega-hit "Bold & The Beautiful" came calling. A monster hit enjoyed in over 132 countries around the globe, William worked two years on the show portraying the character Storm Logan.
William was thrilled to book the series regular lead role of Peter McNeil in the comedy series "InSecurity." The show received tremendous ratings in season one and barreled forward into season two. After years of playing "bad guys," the smart and character-driven comedy was a joy to work on.
William worked non-stop for years in Primetime roles such as HBO's The Transporter, Castle, NCIS, and recurring roles on Nikita, Beauty and the Beast, and Netflix's Hemlock Grove. ABC's "General Hospital" then came calling and William was a top fan favorite for his eight-year run in Los Angeles as Julian Jerome.
William has been back at work in primetime on NCIS: Los Angeles, Quantum Leap, and leading roles in several MOWs. He is now developing his own action adventure series, "Colt & McQueen" and an MOW "Christmas in Bordeaux" with plans to produce.
William been repped by Manager Paulo Andres of "Rothman Andres" for over 14 years in Los Angeles, and Candace Fulton at Integral Artists in Vancouver, Canada for over 20 years.- Actor
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William Devane, the movie and television actor, was born in Albany, New York, the son of Joseph Devane, who served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York. After graduating from New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he appeared on-stage. He finally made his Broadway debut in "The Watering Place" with Shirley Knight, a flop that lasted but one performance. (He was more successful with "The Chinese and Dr. Fish" during the 1970 season, which lasted three weeks. His sole Broadway directorial effort, the Vietnam War drama "G. R. Point," lasted for 32 performances in 1979 and brought Michael Jeter a 1979 Theatre World Award.)
He made his movie debut as a revolutionary in the independently produced In the Country (1967) and began appearing on series TV. He had a small but memorable part as the lawyer committed to free-enterprise in Robert Altman's masterpiece McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) in 1971, but what made his reputation was his turn as President John F. Kennedy in the The Missiles of October (1974), a 1973 telefilm about the Cuban Missile Crisis. He made a bid for stardom with major roles in Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976) and John Schlesinger's Marathon Man (1976) (both 1976) and The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) (1977), as well as roles in Schlesinger's Yanks (1979) and the TV adaptation of James Jones' classic barracks drama From Here to Eternity (1979). However, any chances for a successful movie career essentially were doomed by the monumental failure of Schlesinger's comedy Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), one of the great flops its time, bringing in only $2 million at the box office against a $24 million budget. Devane moved over to nighttime series TV, playing the cad Greg Sumner on the night-time soap opera Knots Landing (1979) for 10 years.
Because of his resemblance to President Kennedy and his ability to master a Kennedyesque Boston accent, Devane continues to be in demand as politicians, including presidents, in such shows as The West Wing (1999), 24 (2001), and Stargate SG-1 (1997).- Actor
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Wentworth Miller is a compelling and critically acclaimed actor whose credits span both television and feature film.
Wentworth Earl Miller III was born June 2, 1972 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, to American parents, Joy Marie (Palm), a special education teacher, and Wentworth Earl Miller II, a lawyer educator. He has two younger sisters, Gillian and Leigh. His father, who is black, is of Afro-Jamaican and African-American (along with English and German) descent. His mother, who is caucasian, has Dutch, French, Swedish, Lebanese/Syrian, Austrian, and Rusyn ancestry.
When Miller turned a year old, his family moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. His father became an assistant district attorney over there. Wentworth retains a dual citizenship, but affirms that he has always been an American. He comes from a diverse background. Wentworth attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn, where he was a member of Sing!, an annual musical production that was started by Midwood. He later on transferred to Quaker Valley Senior High School in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Wentworth was a straight As student in high school and was involved in the AV club and school newspaper. After graduating from high school in 1990, he attended Princeton University. He was also a cartoonist for the school paper and a member of the A Capella group, The Princeton Tigertones, where he sang baritone. It was then that he realized he was interested in performing in front of big and small audiences. Five years later, in 1995, he graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and moved to California. That same year, he was hired by a small company who made movies for television. About a year and a half later, he realized that he had unconsciously moved to Los Angeles to be an actor. He then decided to quit his job at the production company even after his employee at the production company had offered him another stable job position.
Unfortunately for Wentworth, breaking into the industry was a tough job for him. He worked as a temp at several production companies before ending up working as a temp for his former employee's production office. It wasn't too long before Wentworth started landing guest roles on show such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), ER (1994), and Popular (1999). He also starred in the Hallmark series, Dinotopia (2002), playing the character, David Scott. These guest spots later on led to a role in the feature film, The Human Stain (2003), which happened to be his breakthrough role, alongside Nicole Kidman and Sir Anthony Hopkins, where he played the younger version of Anthony Hopkins' character, Coleman Silk. Although the film didn't fare well in movie theaters, it was well received by viewers and critics, further catapulting Wentworth to bigger stardom.
After The Human Stain (2003), he appeared in the movie _Underworld_, as Dr Adam Lockwood, opposite Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, playing the voice of EDI. He also guest-starred in the series finale of CBS' Joan of Arcadia (2003), as Ryan Hunter, a charming-yet-sinister man who revealed to Joan that he also spoke to God. It was reported that his character would be Joan's greatest challenge, but in May, CBS decided to cancel the show, leaving fans to wonder what might have been. In 2005, Wentworth appeared in the pilot of Ghost Whisperer (2005) before eventually starring on FOX network's Prison Break (2005). Wentworth played the role of Michael Scofield, a character helping his brother, Lincoln Burrows, escape death row after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. He stars alongside actors, Dominic Purcell, Amaury Nolasco and Robert Knepper. Prison Break (2005) became an instant hit and Wentworth secured a spot among viewers as one of the hottest up-and-coming actors around. His performance in the show earned him a Golden Globe nomination, a Saturn award nomination, as well as three Teen Choice Award nominations. The Brooklyn native also appeared in two of Mariah Carey's music videos, "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" as Mariah's love interest.
Brett Ratner, who was signed on to direct both the music videos, directed the pilot episode of Prison Break (2005) and already knew who Wentworth was. Brett then brought up the idea to the songstress about using Wentworth in the videos. After showing Mariah pictures of Wentworth, she agreed to use him and Wentworth managed to work on both the videos and Prison Break with the help of crew members who constructed a special set on the set of the videos. Wentworth even admits that the two days he spent working with Mariah, was in fact, one of his career highs - even topping anything he's ever done prior to Prison Break (2005) because it gave him so much exposure. Wentworth describes himself as a very private person who likes to spend time just relaxing at home when he's not working. He enjoys swimming, reading, taking naps as well as going to different restaurants every week. He enjoys spending time at The Art Institute of Chicago because he believes that music, painting, movies and theater can all contribute to the work of an actor.
In 2013, he returned to his writing roots, linking up with acclaimed director Park Chan-wook and penning the screenplay for the film _Stoker_, which he submitted under an alias, Ted Foulke. He has also written a screenplay for a prequel called Uncle Charlie.- Wes Ramsey just completed a long run starring on the daytime hit, GENERAL HOSPITAL. He starred in the film DELIVERANCE CREEK and the series THE PLAYBOY CLUB. He has recurred on CSI: MIAMI, THE EVENT, and CHARMED and has guest starred on many shows including CODE BLACK, GREY'S ANATOMY, HOUSE, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS and HEROES. He starred in the independent films LAST SEEN IN IDAHO and PERCEPTION, and he can also be seen in the feature TWO PICTURES.
- Character actor Wesley Addy began his prolific career as a prime player on the classical stage before coming to occasional films and TV in the early 1950s. Known for his intelligent, white-collar demeanor and lean, icy, cultivated menace, the silver-haired performer, who was actually born in Omaha, Nebraska, was often mistaken as British.
Majoring in economics at the University of California in Los Angeles, Wesley switched gears and trained in summer theater on Martha's Vineyard before trekking to New York City to pursue a professional career. In 1935, the actor made his Broadway stage debut with Orson Welles in Archibald Macleish's "Panic". He continued with roles as both "Marcellus" and "Fortinbras" in Leslie Howard's production of "Hamlet". Other Shakespearean roles during this early period included "Hotspur" in "Henry IV, Part I", "Benvolio" in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Orsino" in "Twelfth Night". He often performed the Bard in the company of such legendary interpreters as Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and, more frequently, Maurice Evans.
World War II interrupted Addy's early momentum but he eventually returned to the theatre following his tour of duty and played opposite Katharine Cornell in "Antigone" and "Candida". A continued presence on Broadway, he had strong stage roles in "The Traitor", "Another Part of the Forest", "King Lear" and "The Leading Lady".
In 1951, the 38-year-old Addy made his film debut in the drama, The First Legion (1951), and would be seen from time to time throughout the decade in such dramatic fare as Scandal Sheet (1952), My Six Convicts (1952) and Time Table (1956). Some of his chillier roles came in films directed by Robert Aldrich, who utilized the actor quite often -- Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Big Knife (1955), The Garment Jungle (1957), Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) and the Grand Guignol classics, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964).
Never acquiring a strong footing in the movies, Wesley changed his on-camera focus in the 1960s to TV and also sought out theatre roles, as well. In 1961, Wesley married actress Celeste Holm. Together, they proved a strong stage coupling in both comedies and dramas -- "Invitation to a March", "A Month in the Country", "Mame", "Candida", "Light Up the Sky", "Mama" and "With Love and Laughter".
A reliable, durable performer, Wesley played suave gents and villains on TV. A major portion of his work came from daytime soaps -- including The Edge of Night (1956), Days of Our Lives (1965), Ryan's Hope (1975) and Loving (1983). Later films included Seconds (1966), Network (1976), The Europeans (1979) and The Verdict (1982). He continued to act close to the end. His last film role was as a judge in Before and After (1996) starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson, which was released in the year of his death. He was 83. - Actor
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Wesley Eure was born on 17 August 1951 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Land of the Lost (1974), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Dragon Tales (1999).- Actor
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Wil Wheaton was born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972 in Burbank, California. He first gained international attention by starring in the Rob Reiner comedy-drama film Stand by Me (1986). He then played Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) for three and one-quarter seasons. Wheaton left the Hollywood scene for 18 months to pursue personal video production. He did return to "Star Trek" every now and then for an occasional episode, however. He then returned to Los Angeles, California, attended acting school for five years and now works on many projects. He lives in Arcadia, California with his wife Anne and her two sons.- Actor
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Will Arnett is a Canadian-American actor, voice actor, and comedian. He is most famous for playing George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox series Arrested Development (2003). He also appeared in films such as The Lego Movie (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017). Arnett also voices the title character of Netflix's original animated series BoJack Horseman (2014). He has been the voice heard in the GMC commercials since 1998.- Actor
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Will Geer was born William Aughe Ghere in Frankfort, Indiana, to Katherine (Aughe), a teacher, and Roy Aaron Ghere, a postal worker. Will admired his grandfather, a man who said hello to trees by their Latin names and who had used what he brought back to Indiana from the California gold rush to build Frankfort's first opera house. Will pursued a college major in botany, from Chicago through a Master's degree at Columbia, but ultimately gave in to his need to perform. Starting with touring company tent shows and river boats, his six-decade career included Broadway, movies, television; many Shakespeare roles; one-man performances as Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. His best known role was his last, Zebulon Walton, grandpa in the long-running television series The Waltons (1972). Less well-known was his life-long role as a political agitator and radical ("Someone who goes to the roots, which is the Latin derivation of radical") and folklorist/folksinger - he toured U.S. government work camps in the 1930s, singing with Woody Guthrie and Burl Ives. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In 1951, he formed the "Theatricum Botanicum," a repertory theater in Topanga Canyon, California, where he not only coached actors but also encouraged outdoor philosophical discussion and, of course, folksinging. At his deathbed, his family sang "This Land Is Your Land" and recited Robert Frost poems. His ashes lie in a corner of the Shakespearean garden on the grounds of his Theatricum Botanicum.- Actor
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Will Patton was born in Charleston, South Carolina. His father, Bill Patton, is a playwright, acting/directing instructor, and Lutheran minister. Patton attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. He has won two OBIE awards for Best Actor -- for the off-Broadway plays "Fool for Love" (by Sam Shepard) and the Public Theatre production of "What Did He See?" (by Richard Foreman).- Actor
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Will Sasso was born in Ladner, British Columbia (a suburb of Vancouver), to a family of Italian descent. He grew up respecting comedy of all styles, thanks in part to an unhealthy relationship with the family television that began when Will was around two or three. With his mind consequently bent, Sasso decided at an early age to become an actor. At the age of fifteen, he landed his first agent and quickly began booking roles in television and film. Before moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles, Sasso starred for five seasons as the quirky teen, "Derek Wakaluk" on the award-winning Canadian dramatic series Madison (1993) allowing him to hone his acting and improvisational skills as well as providing him with enough money to buy a television of his own.
Will starred for five seasons on FOX's hit sketch comedy series Mad TV (1995) giving TV viewers a reason to stay up late with characters like the accident-prone handyman "Paul Timberman" and offbeat impressions of Bill Clinton, Kenny Rogers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal and Randy Newman. After a successful tenure with the show beginning in 1997, Sasso decided to leave the late-night staple in 2002, eager to explore the next stage of his career.
Moviegoers know Sasso from his roles in more than twenty-five feature films including Best in Show (2000), directed by Christopher Guest, Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997) starring the late Chris Farley, and The Hot Chick (2002) starring Rob Schneider and produced by Adam Sandler, with whom Sasso previously worked on Happy Gilmore (1996).
More recently, Sasso can be seen every week as "Carl Monari" on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect (2002).- Producer
- Actor
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Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.
In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for six seasons (1990-96) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. After the series ended, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally, and eight consecutive films in which he starred open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally.
Smith is ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes. As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. As of 2014, his films have grossed $6.6 billion at the global box office. He has received Best Actor Oscar nominations for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness.
Smith was born in West Philadelphia, the son of Caroline (Bright), a Philadelphia school board administrator, and Willard Carroll Smith, Sr., a refrigeration engineer. He grew up in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood, and was raised Baptist. He has three siblings, sister Pamela, who is four years older, and twins Harry and Ellen, who are three years younger. Smith attended Our Lady of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia. His parents separated when he was 13, but did not actually divorce until around 2000.
Smith attended Overbrook High School. Though widely reported, it is untrue that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to college because he "wanted to rap." Smith says he was admitted to a "pre-engineering [summer] program" at MIT for high school students, but he did not attend. According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."
Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as producer, as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category (1988).
Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.
The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world", studying box office successes' common characteristics.
Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence.
In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw. He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.
He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved, although in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."
In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending three premieres in a 24-hour time span.
He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series It Takes a Thief.
On December 10, 2007, Smith was honored at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world-renowned theater in front of many fans. Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews, its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique". A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood." On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith was selected as one of America's top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.
In 2008 Smith was reported to be developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he would be starring as Taharqa. It was in 2008 that Smith starred in the superhero movie Hancock.
Men in Black III opened on May 25, 2012 with Smith again reprising his role as Agent J. This was his first major starring role in four years.
On August 19, 2011, it was announced that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to work on his fifth studio album. Edwards has worked with artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, and Game. Smith's most recent studio album, Lost and Found, was released in 2005.
Smith and his son Jaden played father and son in two productions: the 2006 biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness, and the science fiction film After Earth, which was released on May 31, 2013.
Smith starred opposite Margot Robbie in the romance drama Focus. He played Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con artist who takes a young, attractive woman under his wing. Focus was released on February 27, 2015. Smith was set to star in the Sci-Fic thriller Brilliance, an adaptation of Marcus Sakey's novel of the same name scripted by Jurassic Park writer David Koepp. But he left the project.
Smith played Dr. Bennet Omalu of the Brain Injury Research Institute in the sports-drama Concussion, who became the first person to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a football player's brain. CTE is a degenerative disease caused by severe trauma to the head that can be discovered only after death. Smith's involvement is mostly due to his last-minute exit from the Sci-Fi thriller-drama Brilliance. Concussion was directed by Peter Landesman and-bead filmed in Pittsburgh, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It received $14.4 million in film tax credits from Pennsylvania. Principal photography started on October 27, 2014. Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw played his wife. Omalu served as a consultant.
As of November 2015, Smith is set to star in the independent drama Collateral Beauty, which will be directed by David Frankel. Smith will play a New York advertising executive who succumbs to an deep depression after a personal tragedy.
Nobel Peace Prize Concert December 11, 2009, in Oslo, Norway: Smith with wife Jada and children Jaden and Willow Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had one son, Trey Smith, born on November 11, 1992, and divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us". He also acted in two episodes of the sitcom All of Us, and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on the David Blaine: Real or Magic TV special.
Smith married actress Jada Koren Pinkett in 1997. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth, and Willow Camille Reign Smith (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Smith and his brother Harry own Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills-based company named after Trey. Smith and his family reside in Los Angeles, California.
Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40.- Actor
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Having made over one hundred films in his legendary career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and daring to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large and small, Hollywood films as well as Independent cinema.
In 1979, he was given a role in Michael's Cimino's Heaven's Gate, from which he was fired. Since then, he has collaborated with directors who represent a virtual encyclopedia of modern cinema: James Wan, Robert Eggers, Sean Baker, Kenneth Branagh, Kathryn Bigelow, Sam Raimi, Alan Parker, Walter Hill, Mary Harron, Wim Wenders, Anton Corbijn, Zhang Yimou, Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Oliver Stone, William Friedkin, Werner Herzog, Lars Von Trier, Abel Ferrara, Spike Lee, David Cronenberg, Paul Schrader, Anthony Minghella, Theo Angelopoulos, Robert Rodriguez, Phillip Noyce, Hector Babenco, John Milius, Paul Weitz, The Spierig Brothers, Andrew Stanton, Josh Boone, Dee Rees and Julian Schnabel.
Dafoe has been recognized with four Academy Award nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Platoon, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Shadow Of The Vampire, for which he also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Florida Project, for which he also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations, and most recently, Best Leading Actor for At Eternity's Gate, for which he also received a Golden Globe nomination. Among his other nominations and awards, he has received two Los Angeles Film Critics Awards, a New York Film Critics Circle Award, a National Board of Review Award, two Independent Spirit Awards, Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup, as well as a Berlinale Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement.
Willem was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, to Muriel Isabel (Sprissler), a nurse, and William Alfred Dafoe, a surgeon. He is of mostly German, Irish, Scottish, and English descent. He and his wife, director Giada Colagrande, have made three films together: Padre, A Woman, and Before It Had A Name.
His natural adventurousness is evident in roles as diverse as Marcus, the elite assassin who is mentor to Keanu Reeves in the neo-noir John Wick; in his voice work as Gil the Moorish Idol in Finding Nemo and Ryuk the Death God in Death Note; as Paul Smecker, the obsessed FBI agent in the cult classic The Boondock Saints; and as real life hero Leonhard Seppala, who led the 1925 Alaskan dog sled diphtheria serum run in Ericson Core's Togo. That adventurous spirit continues with upcoming films including Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, Abel Ferrara's Siberia, and Paul Schrader's The Card Counter.
Dafoe is one of the founding members of The Wooster Group, the New York based experimental theatre collective. He created and performed in all of the group's work from 1977 thru 2005, both in the U.S. and internationally. Since then, he worked with Richard Foreman in Idiot Savant at The Public Theatre (NYC), with Robert Wilson on two international productions: The Life & Death of Marina Abramovic and The Old Woman opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov and developed a new theatre piece, directed by Romeo Castellucci, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Minister's Black Veil. He recently completed work on Marina Abramovic's opera 7 Deaths of Maria Callas.- Actor
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William Atherton's career has spanned motion pictures, Broadway and television. He first achieved international recognition as the leading man in Steven Spielberg's debut feature The Sugarland Express (1974), and next starred in John Schlesinger's The Day of the Locust (1975), Robert Wise's The Hindenburg (1975) and Richard Brooks' Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). He is known worldwide for what have become his signature film characters: the television reporter, Dick Thornburg in the action blockbusters Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990), the EPA official, Walter Peck in Ghostbusters (1984), Professor Jerry Hathaway, the conniving professor in Real Genius (1985) and Dr. Noah Faulkner, the mad scientist in Bio-Dome (1996). Among his more than 30 feature films are co-starring roles in John Landis' Oscar (1991), Bill Duke's Hoodlum (1997), Richard Pearce's No Mercy (1986), Alan J. Pakula's The Pelican Brief (1993), Costa-Gavras' Mad City (1997) and Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai (2003).
On television, he has starred in numerous miniseries including the classic Western Centennial (1978) and headed the all-star cast in Malibu (1983). His many made-for-TV movies include leading roles in TNT's production of Joan Didion's Broken Trust (1995) and his portrayal of Darryl F. Zanuck in HBO's Golden Globe winner Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999). Atherton was a recurring series lead opposite Damien Lewis on NBC-TV's Life (2007) and portrayed Principal Reynolds in the final season of Lost (2004). He has reprised his role as Walter Peck in the video game Ghostbusters (2009), released on June 16, 2009.
Consistently honored for his work on the stage, Atherton has created roles on and off Broadway for many of America's leading playwrights. These include the title role in Joseph Papp's original production of David Rabe's "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel", the role of Ronnie in John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves" and Bing Ring Ling in his "Rich and Famous". He also starred in the Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller's "The American Clock" and the Tony-winning revival of Herman Wouk's "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial". Among his more than 20 well-known productions are the acclaimed New York premieres of Franz Kafka's "The Castle" and Kressman Taylor's "Address Unknown". For his work on the stage, he has received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Theatre World Award and nominations for an Obie and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award.- Actor
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William Baldwin has distinguished himself as an actor/producer/writer who continues to showcase his multitude of talents in the world of film and television.
Baldwin has a busy year ahead starring in several high-profile upcoming projects. He is currently travelling the world shooting back-to-back productions - most recently wrapping his recurring role opposite Miles Teller in Nicolas Winding Refn's highly-anticipated upcoming Amazon series "Too Old to Die Young."
He is about to begin production in Canada starring in & executive producing the new Netflix / CBC family drama "Northern Rescue" opposite Kathleen Robertson. After the death of his wife, John West (Baldwin) packs up his three children and moves from their hectic urban life to his small northern hometown to take command of the local search-and-rescue service. Once there, the family struggles with their new surroundings, new friends and accepting Sarah's death.
Additionally, Baldwin will reprise his role as Brian McCaffrey from the 1991 blockbuster "Backdraft" in the Universal / Netflix sequel "Backdraft 2," along with Donald Sutherland. The action drama is now shooting in Eastern Europe. He then will return to the United States to begin his recurring role in the USA Network/SyFy series "The Purge" (Fall 2018). Based on the popular Blumhouse film franchise about one day each year when murder and mayhem is legalized - the series will be an entirely new chapter in America's 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Baldwin will play David Ryker, the handsome & powerful Managing Partner at an investment firm, who leads his team with confidence & intelligence, but also harbors a Purge night secret. He will also appear in the upcoming Netflix series "Insatiable."
Baldwin made his television series debut starring in the hit ABC series, "Dirty Sexy Money," opposite Jill Clayburgh, Donald Sutherland and Peter Krause. The tongue-in-cheek drama focused on the wealth, power & privilege of the fictional Darling family of New York City. He won rave reviews portraying Patrick Darling, the state Attorney General - who harbored a multitude of scandalous secrets - including an affair with his transgendered mistress. Since then, he has appeared on several acclaimed series including BBC's "Copper," TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland," NBC's "Parenthood" & "30 Rock," CW's "Gossip Girl" and FX's "Wilfred." He has also guested/recurred on such series as "MacGyver," "Hawaii 5-0," "Hit the Floor," "Forever," and starred in the popular Lifetime telefilm "The Craig's List Killer."
Baldwin has starred in over 30 films of varied genres. In 2005, he memorably starred with Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels in the critical award-winning hit film "The Squid & The Whale." The drama, directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson, was recognized on over 200 Top 10 Lists that year. He also appeared in the hit comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," with Kristen Bell & Russell Brand, co-starred with William Hurt & Tim Robbins in the independent comedy "Noise," as well as the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival & HBO Comedy Arts Festival entry "Humble Pie." His other film credits include the screen adaptation of Noel Coward's "Relative Values," "One Eyed King," "The Brotherhood of Murder," "Curdled," "Virus," "Pyromaniacs: A Love Story," "Shattered Image," "Double Bang," "Fair Game," "Sliver," "Three of Hearts," "Flatliners," "Internal Affairs," and the "The Preppy Murder." He made his feature film debut in Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July."
As a producer, Baldwin co-produced the independent film "Lymelife" starring Cynthia Nixon & his brother Alec. He produced & starred in "Lead with the Heart" and "Second Time Around" for the Hallmark Network.
A native of Massapequa, New York, Baldwin graduated Binghamton University with a degree in Political Science, and politics remains a passion. Baldwin serves on the boards of KCLU radio, The Massapequa Community Fund, The Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling, The Los Angelitos Orphanage and The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund.
Baldwin lives in California with his wife, singer/songwriter Chynna Phillips and their three children Jameson, Vance and Brooke. He was also the Executive Producer for Phillips' record "One Reason" for her band "Chynna & Vaughan."- Wayne Northrop was born on 12 April 1947 in Sumner, Washington, USA. He is an actor, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Dynasty (1981) and L.A. Law (1986). He has been married to Lynn Herring since 9 May 1981. They have two children.
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Since starring in his first film, Splendor in the Grass (1961), Warren Beatty has been said to have demonstrated a greater longevity in movies than any actor of his generation. Few people have taken so many responsibilities for all phases of the production of films as producer, director, writer, and actor, and few have evidenced so high a level of integrity in a body of work.
In Rules Don't Apply (2016), he writes, produces, directs and stars in. Only Beatty and Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) have been nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an actor, a director, a writer, and a producer for the same film. Beatty is the only person ever to have done it twice, for Heaven Can Wait (1978) and again for Reds (1981). Beatty has been nominated 15 times by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and 8 films he has produced have earned 53 Academy nominations. In 1982 he won the Academy Award for Directing and in 2000 was given the Academy's highest honor, the Irving G. Thalberg Award.
He was awarded Best Director from the Directors Guild of America and Best Writer three times from the Writers Guild of America. He has received the Milestone Award from the Producers Guild, the Board of Governors Award from the American Society of Cinematographers, the Directors Award from the Costume Designers Guild, the Life Achievement Award from the Publicists Guild, and the Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award from the Art Directors Guild. The National Association of Theater Owners has honored him as Director of the Year, as Producer of the Year and as Actor of the Year.
He has won 16 awards from the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics, the National Board of Review, and the Golden Globes. In 1992, he was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France; in Italy he received the David di Donatello award in 1968 and again in 1981 and its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998; in 2001, he received the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Sebastian International Film Festival; in 2002, he received the British Academy Fellowship from BAFTA; and in 2011, he was awarded the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.
In December 2004, Beatty received The Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, D.C. In addition, he is the recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, the HFPA Cecile B. DeMille Award and many others. Politically active since the 1960's, Beatty campaigned with Robert F. Kennedy in his 1968 presidential campaign. That same year he traveled throughout the United States speaking in favor of gun control and against the war in Vietnam. In 1972 he took a year off from motion pictures to campaign with George McGovern.
In 1981, Beatty was a founding board member of the Center for National Policy. He is a founding member of The Progressive Majority, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has participated in the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
Beatty serves on the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation. He previously served on the Board of Trustees of The Scripps Research Institute for several years. He has received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Americans for Democratic Action, the Brennan Legacy Award from the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, and the Philip Burton Public Service Award from The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
In multiple forums he has addressed campaign finance reform, the increasing disparity of wealth, universal health care and the need for the Democratic Party to return to its roots.
In March of 2013, he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
Beatty was born in Richmond, Virginia. He and his wife, Annette Bening, live in Los Angeles and have four children.
His mother, Kathlyn Corinne (MacLean), was a drama teacher from Nova Scotia, Canada, and his father, Ira Owens Beaty, a professor of psychology and real estate agent, was from Virginia. His sister is actress Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty). His ancestry is mostly English and Scottish.- Actor
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Gruff, burly American character actor. Born in 1903 in Benkelman, Nebraska (confirmed by Social Security records; sources stating 1905 or Denver, Colorado are in error.) Bond grew up in Denver, the son of a lumberyard worker. He attended the University of Southern California, where he got work as an extra through a football teammate who would become both his best friend and one of cinema's biggest stars: John Wayne. Director John Ford promoted Bond from extra to supporting player in the film Salute (1929), and became another fast friend. An arrogant man of little tact, yet fun-loving in the extreme, Bond was either loved or hated by all who knew him. His face and personality fit perfectly into almost any type of film, and he appeared in hundreds of pictures in his more than 30-year career, in both bit parts and major supporting roles. In the films of Wayne and Ford, particularly, he was nearly always present. Among his most memorable roles are John L. Sullivan in Gentleman Jim (1942), Det. Tom Polhaus in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and the Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton The Searchers (1956). An ardent but anti-intellectual patriot, he was perhaps the most vehement proponent, among the Hollywood community, of blacklisting in the witch hunts of the 1950s, and he served as a most unforgiving president of the ultra-right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. In the mid-'50s he gained his greatest fame as the star of TV's Wagon Train (1957). During its production, Bond traveled to Dallas, Texas, to attend a football game and died there in his hotel room of a massive heart attack.- Actor
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Walton Goggins is an actor of considerable versatility and acclaim who has delivered provocative performances in a multitude of feature films and television series. He won a Critics' Choice Award for his performance in the HBO comedy series "Vice Principals" and landed an Emmy nomination for his role of 'Boyd Crowder' on FX's "Justified," among numerous accolades.
Goggins is the producer/star of the hit new CBS single-camera comedy "The Unicorn," which debuted as TV's #1 New Show and has been picked up for a full season. The series is about a tight-knit group of best friends and family who help 'Wade' (Goggins) embrace his "new normal" in the wake of the loss of his wife one year ago. As a sometimes ill-equipped but always devoted single parent to his two adolescent daughters, he is taking the major step of dating again. To Wade's amazement, he's a hot commodity with women, and his friends explain that he's the perfect single guy - a "unicorn": employed, attractive, and with a proven track record of commitment.
He has also re-teamed with his former "Vice Principals" co-star Danny McBride on HBO's comedy series "The Righteous Gemstones," which has been renewed for a second season. Written, directed and EP'ed by McBride, it tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work. Goggins plays 'Baby Billy,' a former child star who clogged and sang for Jesus. As an aging man, he's fallen on hard times and comes to the Gemstones for salvation.
On the feature front, Goggins plays the role of 'Christ' in THREE CHRISTS, which IFC Films will release in theaters, VOD and Digital on January 10, 2020. The story follows a doctor (Richard Gere) who is treating paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, each of whom believe they are Jesus Christ. The film made its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Goggins recently starred opposite Oscar winner Olivia Colman in the Appalachian thriller THEM THAT FOLLOW, which made its World Premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released in August 2019. The film followed members of an isolated community of Pentecostal snake handlers led by 'Pastor Lemuel' (Goggins). In the can is the indie feature WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS.
In 2018, Goggins appeared in three major studio features: He starred opposite Alicia Vikander in Warner Bros./MGM's TOMB RAIDER reboot, in the role of villain 'Mathias Vogel.' The film opened as the #1 film globally. In its review, Variety proclaimed, "Goggins, a magnetic actor who projects the lean, hungry anger of vintage-period Jack Nicholson, never hits you over the head with evil; he lets Vogel's sleazy cruelty seep through his pores."
In Disney/Marvel's ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, the sequel to the superhero feature starring Paul Rudd, Goggins played 'Sonny Burch,' a character deep in the Marvel mythos. Additionally, he appeared in Twentieth Century Fox's MAZERUNNER: THE DEATH CURE, the third installment of the highly successful franchise that also opened at #1.
In recent years, Goggins has had pivotal roles in films by two of Hollywood's most important auteurs: Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. His integral role as 'Chris Mannix,' a southern renegade who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock in Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT, marked his second collaboration with the Academy Award-winning writer/director. He previously played slave fight trainer 'Billy Crash' in Tarantino's 2012 DJANGO UNCHAINED. That same year, Goggins also appeared in Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN, where he portrayed Congressman 'Wells A. Hutchins.'
For television, Goggins headlined and executive-produced season two of the contemporary espionage thriller "Deep State." He starred as 'Nathan Miller,' a former CIA operative who now works in the private sector as a fixer for the deep state and is at the heart of the new season. The series aired in the U.S. on EPIX, and Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa aired it globally in 50 markets in the summer of 2019.
Goggins won a Critics Choice Award for his role opposite Danny McBride in the HBO series "Vice Principals," which aired for two seasons. Created by McBride and Jody Hill, who also created "Eastbound & Down," "Vice Principals" is a dark comedy about a high school and the two people who almost run it, the vice principals (McBride and Goggins).
He starred in the first season of HISTORY's "Six," a military action drama from A+E Studios and The Weinstein Co that was the top new cable series of 2017 in total viewers. Inspired by current events, it followed an elite team of Navy SEALs whose mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan went awry when they uncovered a U.S. citizen working with the terrorists. Goggins played 'Rip Taggart,' the one-time leader of the SEAL team SIX squad.
For over a decade, Goggins has been one of the most magnetic and intense actors on television. He received an Emmy® nomination and four Critics Choice Award nominations for his mesmerizing portrayal of 'Boyd Crowder' on FX's Peabody Award-winning Drama series "Justified," which ran for six seasons. Goggins' 'Boyd' was the long-time friend, yet ultimate nemesis to U.S. Marshal 'Raylan Givens' (Timothy Olyphant). Elmore Leonard, EP and writer of the short story "Fire in the Hole" on which the show is based, says of 'Boyd,' "There has never been a more poetic bad guy on television in the way that he sees the world."
Goggins' critical turn as the complex transgender prostitute 'Venus Van Dam' on the FX drama series "Sons of Anarchy" earned him two Critics Choice Award nominations and helped shed a fresh light on the transgender community.
For seven years Walton garnered much acclaim for his complex and edgy portrayal of 'Detective Shane Vendrell' on FX's gritty, award-winning drama series "The Shield." He was nominated for a Television Critics Association (TCA) Award in the category of "Individual Achievement in Drama."
He has also taken his turn behind the camera. Goggins' collaborations with his partners at Ginny Mule Pictures include winning an Academy Award® for their 2001 short film, THE ACCOUNTANT, which he produced and starred in. The team produced, directed and starred in their first feature, CHRYSTAL, starring Billy Bob Thornton, which was accepted into the 2005 Sundance Film Festival's Dramatic Competition. For their third collaboration, Goggins produced and starred in the feature RANDY AND THE MOB, which won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2007 Nashville Film Festival.
Goggins and his Ginny Mule partners completed their fourth feature, THAT EVENING SUN, starring Hal Holbrook and Goggins. The film made its world premiere at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, TX in 2009, where it won the Narrative Feature Audience Award and received the Special Jury Award for "Best Ensemble Cast." It went on to win awards at over 14 film festivals, culminating with the honor of the "Wyatt Award" from the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and two Independent Spirit Award nominations.
Goggins is co-owner of Mulholland Distilling, a portfolio of premium spirits reflecting the vibrant, rich culture of Los Angeles and one of the first spirits companies from the city of Los Angeles since prohibition. Its namesake William Mulholland was the visionary who expanded the boundaries and possibilities of L.A. by bringing water to the desert town. Now, Mulholland Distilling is bringing a different kind of water to the city, the water of life. American Whiskey. Vodka. Gin. "The Spirit of Los Angeles." With a mission to create artisanal spirits inspired by the diversity and verve of Los Angeles, the brand has worked with top distillers, blenders and mixologists across the nation to bring only the best to the City of Angels (www.mulhollanddistilling.com).
Goggins enjoys traveling the world and has spent time in Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Central America, Morocco and India. He is an avid photographer and has captured many of his journeys on film.- Actor
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Walter Pidgeon, a handsome, tall and dark-haired man, began his career studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He then did theater, mainly stage musicals. He went to Hollywood in the early 1920s, where he made silent films, including Mannequin (1926) and Sumuru (1927). When talkies arrived, Pidgeon made some musicals, but he never received top billing or recognition in these. In 1937 MGM put him under contract, but only in supporting roles and "the other man" roles, such as in Saratoga (1937) opposite Jean Harlow and Clark Gable and in The Girl of the Golden West (1938) opposite Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Although these two films were big successes, Pidgeon was overlooked for his contributions to them. MGM lent him out to Fox, where he finally had top billing, in How Green Was My Valley (1941). When he returned to MGM the studio tried to give him bigger roles, and he was cast opposite his frequent co-star Greer Garson. However, Garson seemed to come up on top in Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), although Pidgeon did receive an Academy Award nomination for his role in the latter film.
Pidgeon remained with MGM through the mid-'50s, making films like Dream Wife (1953) and Hit the Deck (1955) with Jane Powell and old pal Gene Raymond. In 1956 Pidgeon left the movies to do some work in the theater, but he returned to film in 1961.
Pidgeon retired from acting in 1977. He suffered from several strokes that eventually led to his death in 1984.- Actor
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Walter Matthau was best known for starring in many films which included Charade (1963), The Odd Couple (1968), Grumpy Old Men (1993), and Dennis the Menace (1993). He often worked with Jack Lemmon and the two were Hollywood's craziest stars.
He was born Walter Jake Matthow in New York City, New York on October 1, 1920. His mother was an immigrant from Lithuania and his father was a Russian Jewish peddler and electrician from Kiev, Ukraine. As a young boy, Matthau attended a Jewish non-profit sleep-away camp. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school was Seward Park High School.
During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in Britain as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He was based at RAF Old Buckenham, Norfolk during this time. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting.
Matthau appeared in the pilot of Mister Peepers (1952) alongside Wally Cox. He later appeared in the Elia Kazan classic, A Face in the Crowd (1957), opposite Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith, and then appeared in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), with Kirk Douglas, a film Douglas has often described as his personal favorite. Matthau then appeared in Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. In 1968, Matthau made his big screen appearance as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple (1968) alongside Jack Lemmon. The two were also in the sequel (The Odd Couple II (1998)) as well as Grumpy Old Men (1993) and Grumpier Old Men (1995). Matthau was in Dennis the Menace (1993), alongside Mason Gamble. On July 1, 2000, Matthau died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. He was 79 years old.- Actor
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In many ways the most successful and familiar character actor of American sound films and the only actor to date to win three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Walter Brennan attended college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying engineering. While in school he became interested in acting and performed in school plays. He worked some in vaudeville and also in various jobs such as clerking in a bank and as a lumberjack. He toured in small musical comedy companies before entering the military in 1917. After his war service he went to Guatemala and raised pineapples, then migrated to Los Angeles, where he speculated in real estate. A few jobs as a film extra came his way beginning in 1923, then some work as a stuntman. He eventually achieved speaking roles, going from bit parts to substantial supporting parts in scores of features and short subjects between 1927 and 1938. In 1936 his role in Come and Get It (1936) won him the very first Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He would win it twice more in the decade, and be nominated for a fourth. His range was enormous. He could play sophisticated businessmen, con artists, local yokels, cowhands and military officers with apparent equal ease. An accident in 1932 cost him most of his teeth, and he most often was seen in eccentric rural parts, often playing characters much older than his actual age. His career never really declined, and in the 1950s he became an even more endearing and familiar figure in several television series, most famously The Real McCoys (1957). He died in 1974 of emphysema, a beloved figure in movies and TV, the target of countless comic impressionists, and one of the best and most prolific actors of his time.- Actor
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Born in Ottawa, Illinois, Walt Willey attended Southern Illinois University, where he majored in Fine Arts. It was during his time at college that he became involved in acting, performing major roles in several productions. In 1981, Walt left Illinois for New York to break into acting professionally.
After numerous Off-Broadway productions, including Dust Off with Dan Lauria, and stints on NBC's Another World as "James La Russo", and "Joe Novak" on ABC's Ryan's Hope,
Walt joined the cast of ABC's All My Children in 1987 - playing the role of lawyer.
Walt branched out into stand-up comedy in 1990 entertaining across the country, headlining at such famous comedy clubs as Caroline's in New York, Zanies in Chicago, and the Comedy Store in California. He continues to tour nationally, and friend and fellow comic, The View's Joy Behar, proposed him for membership into the famous Friars Club. Walt joined the likes of Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, and Billy Crystal when he was inducted into this prestigious entertainment fraternity in January 2001.
In 2006, Walt raised many eyebrows with the release of Wild and Willey, his first comedy DVD. For those who have known him from his portrayal of "Jackson Montgomery" and his on-air hosting stints, this DVD was a bit of a shock. Walt invokes both of his major influences, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, with his take on life, love, sex, kids, and celebrity.
Walt co-hosted The 20th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, with Susan Lucci. He also co-hosted the 1992 Ford Supermodel of the World with Beverly Johnson, and again in 1993 with Rachel Hunter. Willey was co-host of ABC's coverage of the Tournament of Roses Paradein 1994, 1995, and again in 1997. Walt also hosted Disney's A Magical Time in a Magical Place.
At Disney's Super Soap Weekend, Walt has hosted the "Talk Show", "Street Jam", the game show "Super Soap Spin" and was the only person besides his friend Meredith Veira, to be allowed to host the on-property "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-Play It!"
A published satirist and cartoonist, Walt has been a regular columnist and cartoonist for Soap Opera Update and Soap Opera Weekly. His lithograph, "Soaperman", hangs in Chicago's Underground Comics Hall of Fame, and his collection of drawings, The Arthurian Legend: A Re-Telling of the Christ Myth garnered popular and critical raves during its gallery tour.
His other "Pop Culture Achievements", as he calls them, include appearing as himself, in comic-book form, in Valiant Comics' The Second Life of Dr. Mirage, Phil Hartman's portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live, and being a celebrity panelist on The Match Game and To Tell the Truth.
In 2009, Walt co-founded a regional community theatre in his hometown of Ottawa, Illinois where they have presented The Odd Couple, Arsenic and Old Lace, Plaza Suite, and Harvey, as well as original works of local historical significance. Guest artists have included: Jill Larson, Julia Barr, Taylor Miller, Kale Browne, and Vincent Irizarry.
Walt has been touring with the one-man show he authored, Wild Bill! An Evening with James Butler Hickok, often in conjunction with his Wild Bill! In-School Program for high schools.
Walt regularly hosts charity fundraisers, and developed the WilleyWorld Endowment Fund, benefiting children's charities.
When not working, Walt resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his son, Chance, and daughter, Merit.- Actor
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Wally Kurth was born on 31 July 1958 in Billings, Montana, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for General Hospital (1963), Pom Poko (1994) and Days of Our Lives (1965). He has been married to Debra Yuhasz since 4 July 2003. They have one child. He was previously married to Rena Sofer and Cynthia Ettinger.- Actor
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In 1902, 16-year-old Wallace Beery joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant to the elephant trainer. He left two years later after a leopard clawed his arm. Beery next went to New York, where he found work in musical variety shows. He became a leading man in musicals and appeared on Broadway and in traveling stock companies. In 1913 he headed for Hollywood, where he would get his start as the hulking Swedish maid in the Sweedie comedy series for Essanay. In 1915 he would work with young ingénue Gloria Swanson in Sweedie Goes to College (1915). A year later they would marry and be wildly unhappy together. The marriage dissolved when Beery could not control his drinking and Gloria got tired of his abuse. Beery finished with the Sweedie series and worked as the heavy in a number of films. Starting with Patria (1917), he would play the beastly Hun in a number of films. In the 1920s he would be seen in a number of adventures, including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Sea Hawk (1924) and The Pony Express (1925). He would also play the part of Poole in So Big (1924), which was based on the best-selling book of the same name by Edna Ferber. Paramount began to move Beery back into comedies with Behind the Front (1926). When sound came, Beery was one of the victims of the wholesale studio purge. He had a voice that would record well, but his speech was slow and his tone was a deep, folksy, down home-type. While not the handsome hero image, MGM executive Irving Thalberg saw something in Beery and hired him for the studio. Thalberg cast Beery in The Big House (1930), which was a big hit and got Beery an Academy Award nomination. However, Beery would become almost a household word with the release of the sentimental Min and Bill (1930), which would be one of 1930's top money makers. The next year Beery would win the Oscar for Best Actor in The Champ (1931). He would be forever remembered as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934) (who says never work with kids?). Beery became one of the top ten stars in Hollywood, as he was cast as the tough, dim-witted, easy-going type (which, in real life, he was anything but). In Flesh (1932) he would be the dim-witted wrestler who did not figure that his wife was unfaithful. In Dinner at Eight (1933) he played a businessman trying to get into society while having trouble with his wife, link=nm0001318]. After Marie Dressler died in 1934, he would not find another partner in the same vein as his early talkies until he teamed with Marjorie Main in the 1940s. He would appear opposite her in such films as Wyoming (1940) and Barnacle Bill (1941). By that time his career was slowing as he was getting up in age. He continued to work, appearing in only one or two pictures a year, until he died from a heart attack in 1949.- Actor
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Wade Nichols was without a doubt one of the most handsome and sensual male porn actors to emerge during the 1970's Golden Age of Adult Cinema. Nichols was born as Dennis Posa on October 28, 1946 in Freeport, New York. His father was a florist and his mother worked in the children's section of a local library. Nichols loved to draw and paint pictures while growing up as a kid as well as was a member of the rifle team in high school. Following graduation from high school in 1964, Wade studied pottery and design at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. While a student at this particular college Nichols won a role in a touring company production of the play "The Trojan Women." Wade moved to New York City in 1968 and got a job working as a commercial artist for the women's clothing company Jiffy Simplicity.
Nichols left his office job and worked as a male escort before making his hardcore gay porn film debut in 1975. Wade subsequently appeared in a handful of both straight and gay X-rated movies alike throughout the mid to late 1970's, with an especially memorable turn in the hardcore classic Barbara Broadcast (1977) as the hunky kitchen worker who makes love to C.J. Laing. Moreover, Nichols in 1979 recorded the disco album "Like an Eagle" for Casablanca Records using the name Dennis Parker and toured Europe to promote said album. Wade also first began playing the character of Police Chief Derek Mallory on the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1979 under the same alias. Alas, Nichols's character was eventually written out of the show due to the fact that Nichols was seriously ill from AIDS. He died at age 38 of complications from AIDS on January 28, 1985. Nichols was survived by his mother, his older brother Richard, and his partner at the time of his death.- Actor
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Macon, Missouri-born Henderson Forsythe was a respected film, stage and television actor, best-known for his 30-year run as "Dr. David Stewart" on the long-running American soap opera As the World Turns (1956). He won a Tony Award in 1979 for his work in the original Broadway production of 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' and later played the role again in London's West End. He only appeared in around 10 films during a 25-year period, preferring to devote most of his time to stage and television work. He died in Williamsburg Landing, Virginia, in 2006 at age 88 from undisclosed causes.- Kin Shriner was born on 6 December 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for General Hospital (1963), Port Charles (1997) and Manhunter (1986).
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Actor, raconteur, art collector and connoisseur of haute cuisine are just some of the attributes associated with Vincent Price. He was born Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri, to Marguerite Cobb "Daisy" (Wilcox) and Vincent Leonard Price, who was President of the National Candy Company. His grandfather, also named Vincent, invented Dr. Price's Baking Powder, which was tartar-based. His family was prosperous, as he said, "not rich enough to evoke envy but successful enough to demand respect." His uniquely cultivated voice and persona were the result of a well-rounded education which began when his family dispatched him on a tour of Europe's cultural centres. His secondary education eventually culminated in a B.A. in English from Yale University and a degree in art history from London's Courtauld Institute.
Famously, his name has long been a byword for Gothic horror on screen. However, Vincent Price was, first and foremost, a man of the stage. It is where he began his career and where it ended. He faced the footlights for the first time at the Gate Theatre in London. At the age of 23, he played Prince Albert in the premiere of Arthur Schnitzler 's 'Victoria Regina' and made such an impression on producer Gilbert Miller that he launched the play on Broadway that same year (legendary actress Helen Hayes played the title role). In early 1938, he was invited to join Orson Welles 's Mercury Theatre on a five-play contract, beginning with 'The Shoemaker's Holiday'. He gave what was described as "a polished performance". Thus established, Vincent continued to make sporadic forays to the Great White Way, including as the Duke of Buckingham in Shakespeare's 'Richard III' (in which a reviewer for the New Yorker found him to be "satisfactorily detestable") and as Oscar Wilde in his award-winning one man show 'Diversions and Delights', which he took on a hugely successful world-wide tour in 1978. While based in California, Vincent was instrumental in the success of the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, starring in several of their bigger productions, including 'Billy Budd' and 'The Winslow Boy'. In 1952, Vincent joined the national touring company of 'Don Juan in Hell' in which he was cast as the devil. Acting under the direction of Charles Laughton and accompanied by noted thespians Charles Boyer, Cedric Hardwicke and Agnes Moorehead, he later recalled this as one of his "greatest theatrical excitements".
As well as acting on stage, Vincent regularly performed on radio network programs, including Lux Radio Theatre, CBS Playhouse and shows for the BBC. He narrated or hosted assorted programs ranging from history (If these Walls Could Speak) to cuisine (Cooking Price-Wise). He wrote several best-selling books on his favourite subjects: art collecting and cookery. In 1962, he was approached by Sears Roebuck to act as a buying consultant "selling quality pictures to department store customers". As if that were not enough, he lectured for 15 years on art, poetry and even the history of villainy. He recorded numerous readings of poems by Edgar Allan Poe (nobody ever gave a better recital of "The Raven"!), Shelley and Whitman. He also served on the Arts Council of UCLA, was a member of the Fine Arts Committee for the White House, a former chairman of the Indian Arts & Crafts Board and on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
And besides all of that, Vincent Price remained a much sought-after motion picture actor. He made his first appearance on screen as a romantic lead in Service de Luxe (1938), a frothy Universal comedy which came and went without much fanfare. After that, he reprized his stage role as Master Hammon in an early television production of 'The Shoemaker's Holiday'. For one reason or another, Vincent was henceforth typecast as either historical figures (Sir Walter Raleigh, Duke of Clarence, Mormon leader Joseph Smith, King Charles II, Cardinal Richelieu, Omar Khayyam) or ineffectual charmers and gigolos. Under contract to 20th Century Fox (1940-46), Laura (1944) provided one of his better vehicles in the latter department, as did the lush Technicolor melodrama Leave Her to Heaven (1945) which had Vincent showcased in a notably powerful scene as a prosecuting attorney. His performance was singled out by the L.A. Times as meriting "attention as contending for Academy supporting honors".
His first fling with the horror genre was Dragonwyck (1946), a Gothic melodrama set in the Hudson Valley in the early 1800's. For the first time, Vincent played a part he actually coveted and fought hard to win. His character was in effect a precursor of those he would later make his own while working for Roger Corman and American-International. As demented, drug-addicted landowner Nicholas Van Ryn, he so effectively terrorized Gene Tierney's Miranda Wells that the influential columnist Louella Parsons wrote with rare praise: "The role of Van Ryn calls for a lot of acting and Vincent admits he's a ham and loves to act all over the place, but the fact that he has restrained himself and doesn't over-emote is a tribute to his ability". If Vincent was an occasional ham, he proved it with his Harry Lime pastiche Carwood in The Bribe (1949). Much better was his starring role in a minor western, The Baron of Arizona (1950), in which he was convincingly cast as a larcenous land office clerk attempting to create his own desert baronetcy.
With House of Wax (1953) , Vincent fine-tuned the character type he had established in Dragonwyck, adding both pathos and comic elements to the role of the maniacal sculptor Henry Jarrod. It was arduous work under heavy make-up which simulated hideous facial scarring and required three hours to apply and three hours to remove. He later commented that it "took his face months to heal because it was raw from peeling off wax each night". However, the picture proved a sound money maker for Warner Brothers and firmly established Vincent Price in a cult genre from which he was henceforth unable to escape. The majority of his subsequent films were decidedly low-budget affairs in which the star tended to be the sole mitigating factor: The Mad Magician (1954), The Fly (1958) (and its sequel), House on Haunted Hill (1959), the absurd The Tingler (1959) (easily the worst of the bunch) and The Bat (1959). With few exceptions, Vincent's acting range would rarely be stretched in the years to come.
Vincent's association with the genial Roger Corman began when he received a script for The Fall of the House of Usher, beginning a projected cycle of cost-effective films based on short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. As Roderick Usher, Vincent was Corman's "first and only choice". Though he was to receive a salary of $50,000 for the picture, it was his chance "to express the psychology of Poe's characters" and to "imbue the movie versions with the spirit of Poe" that clinched the deal for Vincent. He made another six films in this vein, all of them box office winners. Not Academy Award stuff, but nonetheless hugely enjoyable camp entertainment and popular with all but highbrow audiences. Who could forget Vincent at his scenery chewing best as the resurgent inquisitor, luring Barbara Steele into the crypt in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)? Or as pompous wine aficionado Fortunato Luchresi in that deliriously funny wine tasting competition with Montresor Herringbone (Peter Lorre) in Tales of Terror (1962)? Best still, the climactic battle of the magicians pitting Vincent's Erasmus Craven against Boris Karloff's malevolent Dr. Scarabus in The Raven (1963) (arguably, the best offering in the Poe cycle). The Comedy of Terrors (1963) was played strictly for laughs, with the inimitable combo of Price and Lorre this time appearing as homicidal undertakers.
For the rest of the 60s, Vincent was content to remain in his niche, playing variations on the same theme in City in the Sea (1965) and Witchfinder General (1968) (as Matthew Hopkins). He also spoofed his screen personae as Dr. Goldfoot and as perennial villain Egghead in the Batman (1966) series. He rose once more to the occasion in the cult black comedy The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) (and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)) commenting that he had to play Anton Phibes "very seriously so that it would come out funny". The tagline, a parody of the ad for Love Story (1970), announced "love means never having to say you're ugly".
During the 70s and 80s, Vincent restricted himself mainly to voice-overs and TV guest appearances. His final role of note was as the inventor in Edward Scissorhands (1990), a role written specifically for him. The embodiment of gleeful, suave screen villainy, Vincent Price died in Los Angeles in October 1993 at the age of 82. People magazine eulogized him as "the Gable of Gothic." Much earlier, an English critic named Gilbert Adair spoke for many fans when he said "Every man his Price - and mine is Vincent."- Vincent Irizarry was born on November 12, 1959 in Queens, New York, USA as Vince Michael Irizarry. He is an Emmy Award winning actor, 4 times nominated, known for performing numerous long running principal roles on several TV shows such as All My Children, Guiding Light, Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara, and Bold and the Beautiful. Vincent has also starred in several TV movies and mini-series, such as Jackie Collins' Lucky Chances (opposite Sandra Bullock), Left to Die (opposite Barbara Hershey), and Lying Eyes, to name a few. His feature work has been opposite Clint Eastwood, (Heartbreak Ridge), Sissy Spacek (Marie: A True Story), and Worth, opposite Jeffrey Johnson, Eric Roberts, and Corey Feldman. His most recent Primetime work has been Guest Starring roles on NCIS:LA, Homeland, and Wild West Chronicles. Vincent is a trained tenor, having performed with the Lyon Symphony Orchestra, as well as for Broadway Cares. Vincent has 4 children and 2 granddaughters, and was married to Avalon House, and Signy Coleman, both now divorced.
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Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio was born on June 30, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, to Phyllis, a restaurant manager and server, and Gene D'Onofrio, a theatre production assistant and interior designer. He is of Italian descent and has two older sisters. He studied at the Actors Studio and the American Stanislavski Theatre. Vincent D'Onofrio is known as an "actor's actor". The wide variety of roles he has played and the quality of his work have earned him a reputation as a versatile talent.
His first paid role was in Off-Broadway's "This Property Is Condemned". He continued appearing in plays and worked as a bouncer, a bodyguard and a delivery man. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut in "Open Admissions", followed by work in numerous other stage plays. In 2012, D'Onofrio returned to teach at the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute. As a film actor, D'Onofrio's career break came when he played a mentally unbalanced recruit in Full Metal Jacket (1987), directed by the renowned Stanley Kubrick. For this role D'Onofrio gained nearly 70 pounds. He had a major role in Dying Young (1991), and appeared prominently in the box-office smash Men in Black (1997) as the bad guy (Edgar "The Bug").
Other films of note in which he has appeared are Mystic Pizza (1988), JFK (1991), The Player (1992), Ed Wood (1994), The Cell (2000), The Break-Up (2006) and Jurassic World (2015). In 1996, D'Onofrio garnered critical acclaim along with co-star Renée Zellweger for The Whole Wide World (1996), which he helped produce. He also made a guest appearance in The Subway (1997), where he played an accident victim who could not be rescued and was destined to die. For this performance he won an Emmy nomination. In 2000, he both produced and starred in Steal This Movie (2000), a biopic of radical leader Abbie Hoffman.
In 2001, D'Onofrio took the role which has likely given him his greatest public recognition: Det. Robert Goren, the lead character in the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001). Goren is based on Sherlock Holmes but, instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, D'Onofrio's character focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence. He played the part for 10 years.
In his career D'Onofrio's various film characters have included a priest, a bisexual former porn star, a hijacker, a serial killer, Orson Welles, a space alien, a 1960s radical leader, a pulp fiction writer, an ingenious police investigator and Stuart Smalley's dope-head brother. His on-screen love interests have included Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Marisa Tomei, Tracey Ullman, Rebecca De Mornay and Lili Taylor. One of his latest roles is in Marvel's Daredevil (2015) as Daredevil's nemesis, Wilson Fisk. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.- Producer
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Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, California, along with his fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent. He was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair), and adoptive father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatre manager, in an artists' housing project in New York City's Greenwich Village. He never knew his biological father. His mother is white (with English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry), and his adoptive father is African-American; referring to his biological father's background, Diesel has said that he himself is "definitely a person of colour".
His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At age seventeen and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to Vin Diesel.
Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial (1995), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1995) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.
Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it did not sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial (1995) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1995) earned Vin more work, when the director of The Iron Giant (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career steadily grew, with him securing his first lead role, as Richard B. Riddick in the sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000). The role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.
Since then, he has headlined a series of blockbusters, often but not only centered on fast-driving motor vehicles: The Fast and the Furious (2001), xXx (2002), The Pacifier (2005), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Furious 7 (2015). He also voiced Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and starred in the lower-budgeted courtroom drama Find Me Guilty (2006), the latter directed by Sidney Lumet.- Actor
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Since his screen debut as a young Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness (1985), Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances.
Mortensen was born in New York City, to Grace Gamble (Atkinson) and Viggo Peter Mortensen, Sr. His father was Danish, his mother was American, and his maternal grandfather was Canadian. His parents met in Norway. They wed and moved to New York, where Viggo, Jr. was born, before moving to South America, where Viggo, Sr. managed chicken farms and ranches in Venezuela and Argentina. Two more sons were born, Charles and Walter, before the marriage grew increasingly unhappy. When Viggo was seven, his parents sent him to the St. Paul's boarding school, in the Córdoba Sierras, in Argentina. Then, at age eleven, his parents divorced. His mother moved herself and the children back to her home state of New York.
Viggo attended Watertown High School, and became a very good student and athlete. He graduated in 1976 and went on to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. After graduation, he moved to Denmark - driven by the need for a defining purpose in life. He began writing poetry and short stories while working many odd jobs, from dock worker to flower seller. In 1982, he fell in love and followed his girlfriend back to New York City, hoping for a long romance and a writing career. He got neither. In New York, Viggo found work waiting tables and tending bar and began taking acting classes, studying with Warren Robertson. He appeared in several plays and movies, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, where his performance in "Bent" at the Coast Playhouse earned him a Drama-logue Critic's Award.
He made his film debut with a small part in Witness (1985). He appeared in Salvation! (1987) and married his co-star, Exene Cervenka. The two had a son, Henry Mortensen. But after nearly eleven years of marriage, the couple divorced.
In 1999, Viggo got a phone call about a movie he did not know anything about: "The Lord of the Rings." At first, he didn't want to do it, because it would mean time away from his son. But Henry, a big fan of the books, told his father he shouldn't turn down the role. Viggo accepted the part and immediately began work on the project, which was already underway. Eventually, the success of "The Lord of the Rings" made him a household name - a difficult consequence for the ever private and introspective Viggo.
Critics have continually recognized his work in over thirty movies, including such diverse projects as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Sean Penn's The Indian Runner (1991), Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993), Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (1997), Tony Scott's Crimson Tide (1995), Andrew Davis's A Perfect Murder (1998), Ray Loriga's My Brother's Gun (1997), Tony Goldwyn's A Walk on the Moon (1999), and Peter Farrelly's Green Book (2018).
Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer and painter.- Actor
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Val Kilmer was born in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Swanette (Ekstadt) and Eugene Dorris Kilmer, who was a real estate developer and aerospace equipment distributor. His mother, born in Indiana, was from a Swedish family, and his father was from Texas. Val studied at Hollywood's Professional's School and, in his teens, entered Juilliard's drama program. His professional acting career began on stage, and he still participates in theater; he played Hamlet at the 1988 Colorado Shakespeare Festival. His film debut was in the 1984 spoof Top Secret! (1984), wherein he starred as blond rock idol Nick Rivers. He was in a number of films throughout the 1980s, including the 1986 smash Top Gun (1986). Despite his obvious talent and range, it wasn't until his astonishingly believable performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991) that the world sat up and took notice. Kilmer again put his good baritone to use in the movie, performing all of the concert pieces. Since then, he has played two more American legends, Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993) and Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993). In July 1994, it was announced that Kilmer would be taking over the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne from Michael Keaton.- Actor
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Brian Bloom is an American actor and writer known for playing Brock Pike in The A-Team, Captain America, Daredevil, Bullseye, the Silver Surfer and the Punisher in several Marvel games and cartoons, Kleiver in Jak and Daxter, Black Mask in Batman: Arkham Origins, Nick Reyes in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Varric Tethras in Dragon Age and B.J. Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein. He wrote The A-Team and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.- Patrick Tovatt was born on 11 December 1940 in Garrett Ridge, Colorado, USA. He is an actor, known for Joe Gould's Secret (2000), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Great Performances (1971).
- A talented actor on the rise, Dylan Bruce continues to build on an expansive resume. Dylan most recently starred in NBC's supernatural thriller "Midnight Texas" for two seasons. Immediately after that Bruce starred as Detective Nolan Wells in the first season of "The Murders" on CityTV.
Previously, Bruce was a series regular on the BBC America hit series, "Orphan Black" and had a recurring role on both NBC's "Heroes Reborn", CBS's 'American Gothic" and the CW sci-fi phenomenon "Arrow". He starred opposite Heather Graham in the TV movie "Flowers in the Attic" and it's sequel, "Petals on the Wind". As well as numerous other TV movies, guest star roles include "The Sopranos", "CSI - New York", "Vegas" and "NCIS", and got his start on the CBS Daytime Drama "As The World Turns".
A native of Vancouver and Seattle, Bruce graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Drama and Economics. - Actor
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A Northern California native, Jeff Meek is the youngest of four children. His father, James Meek, retired as a Chief Master Sergeant; his mother was a junior high teacher. She taught English and music.
As a child, Jeffrey moved around a lot and lived in Fairfield, CA, Zweibrücken (Germany), and Marquette, Michigan. Later, Jeffrey attended Arlington High School in Riverside, CA, where he starred in school plays. He was also very athletic and played football, tennis (he was the intramural tennis champ), basketball and baseball.
After High School, he attended the University of California at Irvine. Jeffrey graduated from UCI with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama in 1983 and in 1984 moved to New York City after he was cast as Quinn McCleary on "Search for Tomorrow". Jeffrey started practicing Martial Arts (Aikido) and fronted his own band in the early 80's. The band was called 'Crime' and included Jaco Pastorius, Derf Scratch of Fear and John Densmore, the drummer of the Door's. Jeffrey accepted the role of Remo Williams in the television series Remo Williams 1987.
Jeffrey has starred opposite, Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington and Bob Hoskins in "Heart Condition" (1990), with Academy Award winners Mickey Rourke, Morgan Freeman and Forrest Whittaker in "Johnny Handsome" (1989), and opposite Kurt Russell and Kelly McGillis in "Winter People" (1989)
In 1991, Jeffrey was the lead in "The Exile", an espionage series, which was shot on location in Paris, France. While shooting "The Exile" he got the offer to do "Raven". The martial arts television series, was shot in Hawaii in 1992 - 1993. Jeffrey played Jonathan Raven, a former Black Dragon and Special Forces agent, who now lives in Hawaii. In 1994, Jeffrey portrayed Father Thomas Mullberry in the movie "The St. Tammany Miracle". Jeffrey's next part was in Judith Krantz's "Dazzle" in 1995. Jeffrey played a villain named Villum who tries to free his boss from prison in "Timelock" in 1996. Also in 1996, Jeffrey starred as Tom Barrett in "Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story". This is the true story about the ups and downs in Greg Louganis life. In 1997, He played the gynecologist Dr. Teitlebaum on "Alright, Already". Later that year, he starred in "The Visioner". In 1998, Jeffrey had two guest appearances in "Pacific Blue".
In 1998, Jeffrey starred in "Mortal Kombat Conquest." The series was a prequel to the Mortal Kombat movies. Jeffrey played two characters: Lord Rayden and Shao Kahn. "I am working in Orlando Florida playing two parts on the TV series Mortal Kombat . I play Rayden, the God of Thunder-protector of Earth Realm, and Shao Khan, the ruler of the evil empire of Outworld. It is sort of like playing Obie Wan and Darth Vader at the same time." He is credited as Jeff Meek. Mortal Kombat Conquest was shot in Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida, USA at both MGM Studios and Splendid China Theme Park.
After finishing "Mortal Kombat: Conquest", Jeffrey headed to Toronto to start shooting "Code Name: Phoenix", which was finished in 1999.
In 1999, Jeffrey had a guest appearance in "Hercules - The Legendary Journeys". It was the Halloween episode and Jeffrey played Vlad, the Impaler -a vampire. Hercules was shot on location in New Zealand.
Jeffrey's next guest appearances (again credited as Jeff Meek) were in the crossover episodes of "The Pretender and Profiler" in 1999. In 2000, Jeffrey portrayed Taylor Williams in the movie "Vice". "Vice" was shown as a world premiere on 29 June 2000 at the Dances With Films festival and several other Film Festivals where it won various awards.
From May 20 to July 2, 2000 Jeffrey played The Stranger in the musical "Celebration of the Lizard" at San Diego Repertory Theatre. "Celebration of the Lizard" based on Jim Morrison's poem of the same name and features 33 songs by rock 'n' roll icons, The Doors. The Stranger is fighting for survival on the ravaged streets of L.A. in the not-too-distant future.
In December 2000 he finished shooting "She's no Angel". In 2001 Jeffrey did a voice over for the computer game "Law and Order." He appeared in two episodes of "Charmed" in 2002. "Break a Leg" was shot in 2002.
In 2002, He played Reverend Thomas Dade, an Episcopal priest, in six episodes of "General Hospital".
Jeffrey co-wrote the film "Beyond the Sea" about the life and music of Bobby Darin. Kevin Spacey stars and directs the film. In 2003 Jeffrey made a guest appearance as Jonathan Drake in "She spies: Love kills". In 2005, he appeared in "Break a Leg".
In 2006, he moved to New York to star as Craig Montgomery in "As the World Turns".
Jeffrey lives in California, although he travels extensively with his work.
Having performed in over 100 plays and musicals, Jeffrey has played commanding roles as Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire", at the, Tony Award winning, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Jim Morrison, in the Doors musical, "Celebration of the Lizard", produced by Doors co-founder and keyboardist, Ray Manzerek, at The San Diego Repertory Theatre and the title role in Shakespeare's "Coriolanus". Jeff also played the lead role of, Markus, in the west coast premier of Rob Ackerman's dark comedy, "Tabletop", at The Laguna Playhouse and, most recently, starred as, Mack the Knife, in San Diego Repertory's production of, "The Threepenny Opera". He has received two Dramalogue Awards. Jeffrey has won several awards for his stage work, including Dramalogue Best Actor Awards for his roles in "Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander" and "Cuba and His Teddy Bear". He also received the Empire Theatre League's Best Actor in a Comedy Award for his role in "God's Favorite".
Jeffrey is an athlete and continues to enjoy sports such as martial arts, basketball and golf. He has a black belt in TKD and Aikido.
He enjoys music and is known as a "huge" Jim Morrison fan; he likes groups with "good" energy" like Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Skid Row.
Jeffrey developed a strong interest in working behind the camera (writing, directing and producing) these days.- Actor
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Shawn can most recently be seen in Magnum PI on CBS and Chicago Med on NBC. Prior to that, he was featured in ABC's The Rookie and recurred in Freeform's Famous In Love starring Bella Thorne. He co-created and starred in the film Love In The Sun for Hallmark. He also stars in the film Savannah Surprise on Netflix and the independent feature Last Seen In Idaho.- Actor
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Tom Eplin was born on 25 October 1960 in Hayward, California, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Another World (1964), Delta Fever (1987) and As the World Turns (1956). He was previously married to Courtney Gibbs and Ellen Wheeler.- Actor
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Nathaniel Marston was born on 9 July 1975 in Sharon, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for One Life to Live (1968), The Craft (1996) and As the World Turns (1956). He was married to Rita Bias. He died on 11 November 2015 in Reno, Nevada, USA.- Music Artist
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Usher Raymond IV was born in Dallas, Texas, to Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Raymond III. He began singing when he was six years old, joining the local church choir at the behest of his mother who acted as choir director. Jonetta, a single mom, raised Usher and his younger brother, James, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before moving the family to Atlanta, Georgia, when Usher was 12 years old. Cited by the singer as his best friend, Usher's mother continues to guide the teen star's career as his manager, a duty she assumed after quitting her full-time office job several years ago. Upon moving to Atlanta, Usher began participating in various local talent shows. It was at one such exhibition, in 1992, that he was spotted by Bryant Reid, brother of L.A. Reid, the famed R&B producer and co-president (with 'Kenneth Babyface' Edmonds') of LaFace Records. Bryant arranged for Usher to audition for his brother, and the popular producer was immediately taken with the young singer's precocious talent--legend has it that Reid offered Usher a contract on the spot. Usher recorded and released his debut album on LaFace in 1994. The record, which was co-executive-produced by Reid and Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, generated the minor hit "Think of You". Usher was only 14 when he worked on the album, and puberty proved somewhat of an impediment to the process. As a result, the producers brought in several vocal coaches in order to help him complete the record. Their efforts were not in vain, as the album captured Usher's youthful exuberance and native singing prowess, not to mention the interest of many listeners. After graduating from high school, he entered the studio to record his sophomore effort, "My Way", which was produced by Jermaine Dupri of So So Def Records, and was released in October of 1997, around the time of Usher's 19th birthday. The record was already highly anticipated based on the success of its first hit single, "You Make Me Wanna", an impassioned love song in the classic R&B tradition. The song was an instant juggernaut, hovering at or near the top of Billboard's R&B singles chart from the moment of its release, and it eventually spent considerable time in the # 2 position on the pop singles chart, second only to Elton John's wildly popular "Candle in the Wind '97." The success of "My Way" proved that the teenage crooner had won over the hearts of legions of listeners. It also illustrated the artistic maturation he had undergone since his debut recording. This time around, Usher wrote his own songs, penning five of the album's nine tracks. The remaining four songs were contributed by such R&B heavyweights as Babyface, Teddy Riley and producer Dupri. Usher spent six months living at Dupri's house while recording the album; the time together, he says, helped them understand each other, and helped Dupri realize the genuine growth Usher was experiencing in his life. "My Way" yielded a second smash, "Nice & Slow", that also put a chokehold on the singles charts upon its release, and the video for the song garnered a fair share of critical acclaim. Shot by famed hip-hop director Hype Williams, the video, which was filmed in Paris, features a dramatic romantic storyline that almost rivals the song itself. Usher was recognized for the strength of his recent work when he won the 1997 Soul Train Award for Best R&B Single by a Male, for "You Make Me Wanna" He also earned a Grammy nomination, though one of the few blemishes on his young career came during the awards telecast when he inadvertently introduced Album of the Year award winner Bob Dylan as "Bill" before an international television audience. For the most part, though, TV has been kind to the kid. In addition to numerous appearances on programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986), Usher has also been a recurring character on the syndicated TV show Moesha (1996), which stars pop songstress Brandy Norwood. Usher appeared on several episodes as Jeremy Davis, a boarding-school student romantically involved with the show's title character. For the foreseeable future, however, Usher is concentrating on taking his musical abilities to the next level by perfecting his skills as a live performer. He's had plenty of practice, touring on P. Diddy's No Way Out spectacular, and with Mary J. Blige on her national tour.- Actor
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The award-worthy actor, now enjoying an over five decade career, has a resume that includes everything from Shakespeare to Seinfeld -- from the villainous Senator on Ozark to the wise judge on Lincoln Lawyer.
Born on June 28, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Clair, an architect and musician, and Marian (Holman) Davison, a secretary, Bruce's parents divorced when he was just three. He developed a burgeoning interest in acting while majoring in art at Penn State and after accompanying a friend to a college theater audition. Making his professional stage debut in 1966 as Jonathan in "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Bad" at the Pennsylvania Festival Theatre, he made it to Broadway within just a couple of years (1968) with the role of Troilus in "Tiger at the Gates" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The year after that he was seen off-Broadway in "A Home Away from Home" and appeared at the Lincoln Center in the cast of "King Lear."
Success in the movies came immediately for the perennially youthful-looking actor after he and a trio of up-and-coming talents (Barbara Hershey [then known as Barbara Seagull], Richard Thomas and Catherine Burns) starred together in the poignant but disturbing coming-of-age film Last Summer (1969). From this he was awarded a starring role opposite Kim Darby in The Strawberry Statement (1970), an offbeat social commentary about 60s college radicalism, and in the cult horror flick Willard (1971) in which he bonded notoriously with a herd of rats.
Moving further into the 70s decade, his film load did not increase significantly as expected and the ones he did appear in were no great shakes. With the exception of his co-starring role alongside Burt Lancaster in the well-made cavalry item Ulzana's Raid (1972) and the powerful low-budget Short Eyes (1977) in which he played a child molester, Bruce's film roles were underwhelming, such as his elder Patrick Dennis in the Lucille Ball musical film version of Mame (1974), as well as The Jerusalem File (1972), Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976), Grand Jury (1976) and Brass Target (1978).
As such, Bruce wisely looked elsewhere for rewarding work and found it on the stage and on the smaller screen. Earning strong theatrical roles in "The Skin of Our Teeth," "The Little Foxes" and "A Life in the Theatre," he won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for his work in "Streamers" in 1977. On TV, he scored in mini-movie productions of Mourning Becomes Electra (1978), Deadman's Curve (1978) (portraying Dean Torrence of the surf-era pop duo Jan and Dean) and, most of all, Summer of My German Soldier (1978) co-starring Kristy McNichol as a German prisoner of war in the American South who falls for a lonely Jewish-American girl. In 1972 Bruce married actress Jess Walton who appeared briefly as a college student in The Strawberry Statement (1970) and later became a daytime soap opera fixture. The marriage was quickly annulled the following year.
The 1980s was also dominated by strong theater performances. Bruce took over the role of the severely deformed John Merrick as "The Elephant Man" on Broadway; portrayed Clarence in "Richard III" at the New York Shakespeare Festival; was directed by Henry Fonda in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial"; played a moving Tom Wingfield opposite Jessica Tandy's Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie"; received a second Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for his work in the AIDS play "The Normal Heart"; and finished off the decade gathering up fine reviews in the amusing A.R. Gurney period piece "The Cocktail Hour". While hardly lacking for work on film (Kiss My Grits (1982), Crimes of Passion (1984), Spies Like Us (1985), and The Ladies Club (1985)), few of them made use of his talents and range.
It was not until he was cast in the ground-breaking gay drama Longtime Companion (1989) that his film career revitalized. Giving a quiet, finely nuanced, painfully tender performance as the middle-aged lover and caretaker of a life partner ravaged by AIDS, Bruce managed to stand out amid the strong ensemble cast and earn himself an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor". Although he lost out to the flashier antics of Joe Pesci in the mob drama Goodfellas (1990) that year, Bruce was not overlooked -- copping Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics awards. Other gay-themed films also welcomed his presence, including The Cure (1995) and It's My Party (1996). The actor eventually served as a spokesperson for a host of AIDS-related organizations, including Hollywood Supports, and has been active with foundations that assist abused children.
Bruce has been all over the screen since his success in Longtime Companion (1989). Predominantly seen as mature, morally responsible dads and politicians, his genial good looks and likability have on occasion belied a weak or corrupt heart. Bruce married actress Lisa Pelikan in 1986 and they have one son, Ethan, born in 1996. (Color of Justice (1997)). Popular films have included Six Degrees of Separation (1993) starring Will Smith, the family adventure film Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995) and the box-office hit X-Men (2000) and its sequel in the role of Senator Kelly. More controversial art-house showcases include Dahmer (2002), as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's father, and Hate Crime (2005), as a bigoted, murderous pastor.
Into the millennium, Bruce has played mature gents and several high-level officials in such films as The Dead Girl (2006), Christmas Angel (2009), Camp Hell (2010), Black Beauty (2015), Displacement (2016), 9/11 (2017), Along Came the Devil (2018), Itsy Bitsy (2019)
Divorced from second wife Lisa Pelikan, Bruce is happily married to Michele Correy and has a daughter with her, Sophia Lucy, born in 2006. They live in the Los Angeles area.- Actor
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Richard Dreyfuss is an American leading man, who has played his fair share of irritating pests and brash, ambitious hustlers.
He was born Richard Stephen Dreyfus in Brooklyn, New York, to Geraldine (Robbins), an activist, and Norman Dreyfus, a restaurateur and attorney. His paternal grandparents were Austro-Hungarian Jewish immigrants, and his mother's family was Russian Jewish.
Richard worked his way up through bit parts (The Graduate (1967), for one) and TV before gaining attention with his portrayal of Baby Face Nelson in John Milius' Dillinger (1973). He gained prominence as a college-bound young man in American Graffiti (1973) and as a nervy Jewish kid with high hopes in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). By the latter part of the 1970s Dreyfuss was established as a major star, playing leads (and alter-egos) for Steven Spielberg in two of the top-grossing films of the that decade: Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He won a Best Actor Oscar in his first romantic lead as an out-of-work actor in The Goodbye Girl (1977). Dreyfuss also produced and starred in the entertaining private eye movie The Big Fix (1978). After a brief lull in the early 1980s, a well-publicized drug problem and a string of box-office disappointments (The Competition (1980), Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), The Buddy System (1984)), a clean and sober Dreyfuss re-established himself in the mid-'80s as one of Hollywood's more engaging leads. He co-starred with Bette Midler and Nick Nolte in Paul Mazursky's popular Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). That same year he provided the narration and appeared in the opening and closing "bookends" of Rob Reiner's nostalgic Stand by Me (1986). He quickly followed that with Nuts (1987) opposite Barbra Streisand, Barry Levinson's Tin Men (1987) in a memorable teaming with Danny DeVito, and Stakeout (1987) with Emilio Estevez. Dreyfuss continued working steadily through the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, most notably in Mazursky's farce Moon Over Parador (1988), Spielberg's Always (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). He appeared as a member of an ensemble that included Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands and Danny Aiello in the romantic comedy Once Around (1991) and as a pop psychiatrist, the author of several successful self-help books, who is driven to the edge by nutcase Bill Murray in the popular comedy What About Bob? (1991). Dreyfuss has also remained active in the theater ("Death and Maiden", 1992) and on TV. In his next project he starred the thriller Silent Fall (1994) with John Lithgow and Linda Hamilton, being the film debut of Liv Tyler, Steven Tyler's daughter (Aerosmith's lead vocals). Just later Dreyfuss made Another Stakeout (1993), sequel of Stakeout (1987) where was team again with Emilio Estevez accompanied of Rosie O'Donnell, the adaptation of Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers (1993) and followed with a supporting turn as the querulous political opponent in The American President (1995). Dreyfuss received some of the best notices of his career as a determined, inspiring music teacher coping with a deaf son and the demands of his career in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995). Closing the 20th century he was in Sidney Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) with Andy Garcia, the crime comedy Mad Dog Time (1996) as the mob boss Vic, the screwball comedy Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) about an anthropologist who creates a false lost New Guinea tribe for not losing his job in the university, TV movie Lansky (1999) about the infamous mob boss to end, the too TV movie Fail Safe (2000) playing The President, and The Crew (2000), about four older mobsters retired in Miami, partnering with Hollywood legends Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya and Seymour Cassel.
His start in the 21st century was with the adaption of Luis Sepúlveda's novel The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001), playing an old man to must to hunt a female jaguar turned crazy. It was followed by the supporting apparition in the comedy Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) and another TV movie about 1981 Ronald Reagan's shooting The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001). After the short-lived TV series The Education of Max Bickford (2001) about a teacher in a women's college where his daughter is student, Dreyfuss returned to cinema in Silver City (2004) and the box-office bomb Poseidon (2006) with Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum and Josh Lucas. Playing former vice-president Dick Cheney in the Oliver Stone's biopic W. (2008) and Irv, the cunning tourist in Greece turned in assistant of a troubled tour guide in My Life in Ruins (2009), Dreyfuss participated in low-budget productions as Leaves of Grass (2009) and The Lightkeepers (2009), for making a cameo in the wild and crazy Piranha 3D (2010) about prehistoric men-eater piranhas that make a bloodbath in a spring break. Returning to first line playing evil Alexander Dunning in the actioner RED (2010), his further productions included Paranoia (2013) as Liam Hemsworth's father partnering Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman, road movie Cas & Dylan (2013) opposites Tatiana Maslany and the biopic TV mini-series Madoff (2016) about the infamous multi-billion-dollar and hustler Bernie Madoff. Tireless and always implied in new projects, Dreyfuss played George, the funny online date of Candice Bergen in Book Club (2018), the comedy and road movie The Last Laugh (2019) with Chevy Chase, and the set in wilderness thriller Daughter of the Wolf (2019) with Gina Carano and Brendan Fehr. Making his 73rd birthday in 2020, Dreyfuss is an example of talent, diversity and love for his work, touching not only all the genres in cinema but leaving an unforgettable footprint at any of them.- Actor
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Malcolm John Taylor was born on June 13, 1943 in Leeds, England, to working-class parents Edna (McDowell), a hotelier, and Charles Taylor, a publican. His father was an alcoholic. Malcolm hated his parents' ways. His father was keen to send his son to private school to give him a good start in life, so Malcolm was packed off to boarding school at age 11. He attended the Tonbridge School and the Cannock House School in Eltham, Kent. At school, he was beaten with the slipper or cane every Monday for his wayward behavior. Whilst at school, he decided that he wanted to become an actor; it was also around this time that his love for race cars began. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) to study acting. Meanwhile, he worked at his parents' pub but lost his job when the pub went bankrupt, his father drinking all the profits. He then had a variety of jobs, from coffee salesman to messenger.
His first big-screen role was in Poor Cow (1967), although his two-minute scene was ultimately cut from the completed film. Soon after, he caught the attention of director Lindsay Anderson who cast him in the role of a rebellious student in his film If.... (1968). The film catapulted Malcolm to stardom in Britain but failed everywhere else. He was so enthusiastic about the film's success that he wanted to do another right away. He began writing what would become the semi-autobiographical O Lucky Man! (1973). Then he starred as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork Orange (1971), a role that gave him world fame, and legendary status (although typecasting him as a in villainous roles). In early 1976, he spent nearly a year working on what would later be one of the most infamous films of all time, the semi-pornographic Caligula (1979), financed by Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione. Around that time, the British film industry collapsed, forcing him to flee to America to continue working. His first American film was Time After Time (1979). He then did Britannia Hospital (1982), the last part of Lindsay Anderson's working-class trilogy that started with If.... (1968).
In the mid-1980s, the years of alcohol and drug abuse, including $1000 a week on cocaine, caught up with him. Years of abuse took its toll on him; his black hairs were now gray. Looking older than he really was, nobody wanted to cast him for playing younger roles. The big roles having dried up, he did many B-rated movies. The 1990s were kinder to him, though. In 1994, he was cast as Dr. Tolian Soran, the man who killed Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations (1994). He was back on the track, playing villains again. He played another in the classic BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North (1996). Today, with more than 100 films under his belt, he is one of the greatest actors in America. He still does not have American citizenship, but he likes the no-nonsense American ways. He resides in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles, California.- Actor
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Roberts is an Academy Award nominee for his role in Runaway Train, and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for Runaway Train, Star 80, and King of the Gypsies.
In addition, Roberts received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for his role in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and It's My Party. He also starred in La Cucaracha, which won Best Film at the Austin Film Festival, and for which Roberts won Best Actor at the New York Independent Film Festival that same year. Other notable performances include his roles in The Dark Knight, Final Analysis, and Paul Thoman Anderson's Inherent Vice for Warner Bros., Millennium Films' Lovelace and The Expendables for Lionsgate.
On television, Roberts' memorable recurring roles include USA's Suits, CSI and Code Black for CBS, NBC's Heroes, and Crash for Starz. He has appeared in guest star roles on ABC's Greys Anatomy, NBC's Will & Grace, Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, CBS' Hawaii Five-O, HBO's Entourage, and so much more.
Upcoming, Roberts plays Matt Dillon's doctor in Head Full of Honey, a Warner Bros. Germany production that is directed by Til Schweiger. Emily Mortimer and Nick Nolte also star. He also has a supporting role in the independent Hard Luck Love Song directed by Justin Corsbie. Roberts will play "Skip," a grizzled doorman whom offers advice to characters played by Michael Dorman and Sophia Bush. The film also stars Dermott Mulroney, and American rapper, RZA. Finally, Roberts is set to recur as DEA boss "Erick Sheldon" in La Reina del Sur for Telemundo Global Studio and Netflix.
Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and grew up in and around the Atlanta area. He began his career in theatre in New York City where he won the Theatre World Award for his role on Broadway in Burn This.
He resides in Los Angeles with his wife of 26 years and brood of felines.
Roberts is represented by Sovereign Talent Group, Cultivate Entertainment, and Miles Anthony Associates in the UK.- Actor
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Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in 1949, a decision for which he was severely criticized when his star began to dim in the 1960s and he was excoriated for squandering his talents. No actor ever exerted such a profound influence on succeeding generations of actors as did Brando. More than 50 years after he first scorched the screen as Stanley Kowalski in the movie version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and a quarter-century after his last great performance as Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), all American actors are still being measured by the yardstick that was Brando. It was if the shadow of John Barrymore, the great American actor closest to Brando in terms of talent and stardom, dominated the acting field up until the 1970s. He did not, nor did any other actor so dominate the public's consciousness of what WAS an actor before or since Brando's 1951 on-screen portrayal of Stanley made him a cultural icon. Brando eclipsed the reputation of other great actors circa 1950, such as Paul Muni and Fredric March. Only the luster of Spencer Tracy's reputation hasn't dimmed when seen in the starlight thrown off by Brando. However, neither Tracy nor Olivier created an entire school of acting just by the force of his personality. Brando did.
Marlon Brando, Jr. was born on April 3, 1924, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., a calcium carbonate salesman, and his artistically inclined wife, the former Dorothy Julia Pennebaker. "Bud" Brando was one of three children. His ancestry included English, Irish, German, Dutch, French Huguenot, Welsh, and Scottish; his surname originated with a distant German immigrant ancestor named "Brandau." His oldest sister Jocelyn Brando was also an actress, taking after their mother, who engaged in amateur theatricals and mentored a then-unknown Henry Fonda, another Nebraska native, in her role as director of the Omaha Community Playhouse. Frannie, Brando's other sibling, was a visual artist. Both Brando sisters contrived to leave the Midwest for New York City, Jocelyn to study acting and Frannie to study art. Marlon managed to escape the vocational doldrums forecast for him by his cold, distant father and his disapproving schoolteachers by striking out for The Big Apple in 1943, following Jocelyn into the acting profession. Acting was the only thing he was good at, for which he received praise, so he was determined to make it his career - a high-school dropout, he had nothing else to fall back on, having been rejected by the military due to a knee injury he incurred playing football at Shattuck Military Academy, Brando Sr.'s alma mater. The school booted Marlon out as incorrigible before graduation.
Acting was a skill he honed as a child, the lonely son of alcoholic parents. With his father away on the road, and his mother frequently intoxicated to the point of stupefaction, the young Bud would play-act for her to draw her out of her stupor and to attract her attention and love. His mother was exceedingly neglectful, but he loved her, particularly for instilling in him a love of nature, a feeling which informed his character Paul in Last Tango in Paris (1972) ("Last Tango in Paris") when he is recalling his childhood for his young lover Jeanne. "I don't have many good memories," Paul confesses, and neither did Brando of his childhood. Sometimes he had to go down to the town jail to pick up his mother after she had spent the night in the drunk tank and bring her home, events that traumatized the young boy but may have been the grain that irritated the oyster of his talent, producing the pearls of his performances. Anthony Quinn, his Oscar-winning co-star in Viva Zapata! (1952) told Brando's first wife Anna Kashfi, "I admire Marlon's talent, but I don't envy the pain that created it."
Brando enrolled in Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop at New York's New School, and was mentored by Stella Adler, a member of a famous Yiddish Theatre acting family. Adler helped introduce to the New York stage the "emotional memory" technique of Russian theatrical actor, director and impresario Konstantin Stanislavski, whose motto was "Think of your own experiences and use them truthfully." The results of this meeting between an actor and the teacher preparing him for a life in the theater would mark a watershed in American acting and culture.
Brando made his debut on the boards of Broadway on October 19, 1944, in "I Remember Mama," a great success. As a young Broadway actor, Brando was invited by talent scouts from several different studios to screen-test for them, but he turned them down because he would not let himself be bound by the then-standard seven-year contract. Brando would make his film debut quite some time later in Fred Zinnemann's The Men (1950) for producer Stanley Kramer. Playing a paraplegic soldier, Brando brought new levels of realism to the screen, expanding on the verisimilitude brought to movies by Group Theatre alumni John Garfield, the predecessor closest to him in the raw power he projected on-screen. Ironically, it was Garfield whom producer Irene Mayer Selznick had chosen to play the lead in a new Tennessee Williams play she was about to produce, but negotiations broke down when Garfield demanded an ownership stake in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Burt Lancaster was next approached, but couldn't get out of a prior film commitment. Then director Elia Kazan suggested Brando, whom he had directed to great effect in Maxwell Anderson's play "Truckline Café," in which Brando co-starred with Karl Malden, who was to remain a close friend for the next 60 years.
During the production of "Truckline Café," Kazan had found that Brando's presence was so magnetic, he had to re-block the play to keep Marlon near other major characters' stage business, as the audience could not take its eyes off of him. For the scene where Brando's character re-enters the stage after killing his wife, Kazan placed him upstage-center, partially obscured by scenery, but where the audience could still see him as Karl Malden and others played out their scene within the café set. When he eventually entered the scene, crying, the effect was electric. A young Pauline Kael, arriving late to the play, had to avert her eyes when Brando made this entrance as she believed the young actor on stage was having a real-life conniption. She did not look back until her escort commented that the young man was a great actor.
The problem with casting Brando as Stanley was that he was much younger than the character as written by Williams. However, after a meeting between Brando and Williams, the playwright eagerly agreed that Brando would make an ideal Stanley. Williams believed that by casting a younger actor, the Neanderthalish Kowalski would evolve from being a vicious older man to someone whose unintentional cruelty can be attributed to his youthful ignorance. Brando ultimately was dissatisfied with his performance, though, saying he never was able to bring out the humor of the character, which was ironic as his characterization often drew laughs from the audience at the expense of Jessica Tandy's Blanche Dubois. During the out-of-town tryouts, Kazan realized that Brando's magnetism was attracting attention and audience sympathy away from Blanche to Stanley, which was not what the playwright intended. The audience's sympathy should be solely with Blanche, but many spectators were identifying with Stanley. Kazan queried Williams on the matter, broaching the idea of a slight rewrite to tip the scales back to more of a balance between Stanley and Blanche, but Williams demurred, smitten as he was by Brando, just like the preview audiences.
For his part, Brando believed that the audience sided with his Stanley because Jessica Tandy was too shrill. He thought Vivien Leigh, who played the part in the movie, was ideal, as she was not only a great beauty but she WAS Blanche Dubois, troubled as she was in her real life by mental illness and nymphomania. Brando's appearance as Stanley on stage and on screen revolutionized American acting by introducing "The Method" into American consciousness and culture. Method acting, rooted in Adler's study at the Moscow Art Theatre of Stanislavsky's theories that she subsequently introduced to the Group Theatre, was a more naturalistic style of performing, as it engendered a close identification of the actor with the character's emotions. Adler took first place among Brando's acting teachers, and socially she helped turn him from an unsophisticated Midwestern farm boy into a knowledgeable and cosmopolitan artist who one day would socialize with presidents.
Brando didn't like the term "The Method," which quickly became the prominent paradigm taught by such acting gurus as Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Brando denounced Strasberg in his autobiography "Songs My Mother Taught Me" (1994), saying that he was a talentless exploiter who claimed he had been Brando's mentor. The Actors Studio had been founded by Strasberg along with Kazan and Stella Adler's husband, Harold Clurman, all Group Theatre alumni, all political progressives deeply committed to the didactic function of the stage. Brando credits his knowledge of the craft to Adler and Kazan, while Kazan in his autobiography "A Life" claimed that Brando's genius thrived due to the thorough training Adler had given him. Adler's method emphasized that authenticity in acting is achieved by drawing on inner reality to expose deep emotional experience
Interestingly, Elia Kazan believed that Brando had ruined two generations of actors, his contemporaries and those who came after him, all wanting to emulate the great Brando by employing The Method. Kazan felt that Brando was never a Method actor, that he had been highly trained by Adler and did not rely on gut instincts for his performances, as was commonly believed. Many a young actor, mistaken about the true roots of Brando's genius, thought that all it took was to find a character's motivation, empathize with the character through sense and memory association, and regurgitate it all on stage to become the character. That's not how the superbly trained Brando did it; he could, for example, play accents, whereas your average American Method actor could not. There was a method to Brando's art, Kazan felt, but it was not The Method.
After A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), for which he received the first of his eight Academy Award nominations, Brando appeared in a string of Academy Award-nominated performances - in Viva Zapata! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953) and the summit of his early career, Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954). For his "Waterfront" portrayal of meat-headed longshoreman Terry Malloy, the washed-up pug who "coulda been a contender," Brando won his first Oscar. Along with his iconic performance as the rebel-without-a-cause Johnny in The Wild One (1953) ("What are you rebelling against?" Johnny is asked. "What have ya got?" is his reply), the first wave of his career was, according to Jon Voight, unprecedented in its audacious presentation of such a wide range of great acting. Director John Huston said his performance of Marc Antony was like seeing the door of a furnace opened in a dark room, and co-star John Gielgud, the premier Shakespearean actor of the 20th century, invited Brando to join his repertory company.
It was this period of 1951-54 that revolutionized American acting, spawning such imitators as James Dean - who modeled his acting and even his lifestyle on his hero Brando - the young Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. After Brando, every up-and-coming star with true acting talent and a brooding, alienated quality would be hailed as the "New Brando," such as Warren Beatty in Kazan's Splendor in the Grass (1961). "We are all Brando's children," Jack Nicholson pointed out in 1972. "He gave us our freedom." He was truly "The Godfather" of American acting - and he was just 30 years old. Though he had a couple of failures, like Désirée (1954) and The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), he was clearly miscast in them and hadn't sought out the parts so largely escaped blame.
In the second period of his career, 1955-62, Brando managed to uniquely establish himself as a great actor who also was a Top 10 movie star, although that star began to dim after the box-office high point of his early career, Sayonara (1957) (for which he received his fifth Best Actor Oscar nomination). Brando tried his hand at directing a film, the well-reviewed One-Eyed Jacks (1961) that he made for his own production company, Pennebaker Productions (after his mother's maiden name). Stanley Kubrick had been hired to direct the film, but after months of script rewrites in which Brando participated, Kubrick and Brando had a falling out and Kubrick was sacked. According to his widow Christiane Kubrick, Stanley believed that Brando had wanted to direct the film himself all along.
Tales proliferated about the profligacy of Brando the director, burning up a million and a half feet of expensive VistaVision film at 50 cents a foot, fully ten times the normal amount of raw stock expended during production of an equivalent motion picture. Brando took so long editing the film that he was never able to present the studio with a cut. Paramount took it away from him and tacked on a re-shot ending that Brando was dissatisfied with, as it made the Oedipal figure of Dad Longworth into a villain. In any normal film Dad would have been the heavy, but Brando believed that no one was innately evil, that it was a matter of an individual responding to, and being molded by, one's environment. It was not a black-and-white world, Brando felt, but a gray world in which once-decent people could do horrible things. This attitude explains his sympathetic portrayal of Nazi officer Christian Diestl in the film he made before shooting One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Edward Dmytryk's filming of Irwin Shaw's novel The Young Lions (1958). Shaw denounced Brando's performance, but audiences obviously disagreed, as the film was a major hit. It would be the last hit movie Brando would have for more than a decade.
One-Eyed Jacks (1961) generated respectable numbers at the box office, but the production costs were exorbitant - a then-staggering $6 million - which made it run a deficit. A film essentially is "made" in the editing room, and Brando found cutting to be a terribly boring process, which was why the studio eventually took the film away from him. Despite his proved talent in handling actors and a large production, Brando never again directed another film, though he would claim that all actors essentially direct themselves during the shooting of a picture.
Between the production and release of One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Brando appeared in Sidney Lumet's film version of Tennessee Williams' play "Orpheus Descending," The Fugitive Kind (1960) which teamed him with fellow Oscar winners Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward. Following in Elizabeth Taylor's trailblazing footsteps, Brando became the second performer to receive a $1-million salary for a motion picture, so high were the expectations for this re-teaming of Kowalski and his creator (in 1961 critic Hollis Alpert had published a book "Brando and the Shadow of Stanley Kowalski"). Critics and audiences waiting for another incendiary display from Brando in a Williams work were disappointed when the renamed The Fugitive Kind (1960) finally released. Though Tennessee was hot, with movie versions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) burning up the box office and receiving kudos from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, The Fugitive Kind (1960) was a failure. This was followed by the so-so box-office reception of One-Eyed Jacks (1961) in 1961 and then by a failure of a more monumental kind: Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), a remake of the famed 1935 film.
Brando signed on to Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) after turning down the lead in the David Lean classic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) because he didn't want to spend a year in the desert riding around on a camel. He received another $1-million salary, plus $200,000 in overages as the shoot went overtime and over budget. During principal photography, highly respected director Carol Reed (an eventual Academy Award winner) was fired, and his replacement, two-time Oscar winner Lewis Milestone, was shunted aside by Brando as Marlon basically took over the direction of the film himself. The long shoot became so notorious that President John F. Kennedy asked director Billy Wilder at a cocktail party not "when" but "if" the "Bounty" shoot would ever be over. The MGM remake of one of its classic Golden Age films garnered a Best Picture Oscar nomination and was one of the top grossing films of 1962, yet failed to go into the black due to its Brobdingnagian budget estimated at $20 million, which is equivalent to $120 million when adjusted for inflation.
Brando and Taylor, whose Cleopatra (1963) nearly bankrupted 20th Century-Fox due to its huge cost overruns (its final budget was more than twice that of Brando's Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)), were pilloried by the show business press for being the epitome of the pampered, self-indulgent stars who were ruining the industry. Seeking scapegoats, the Hollywood press conveniently ignored the financial pressures on the studios. The studios had been hurt by television and by the antitrust-mandated divestiture of their movie theater chains, causing a large outflow of production to Italy and other countries in the 1950s and 1960s in order to lower costs. The studio bosses, seeking to replicate such blockbuster hits as the remakes of The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), were the real culprits behind the losses generated by large-budgeted films that found it impossible to recoup their costs despite long lines at the box office.
While Elizabeth Taylor, receiving the unwanted gift of reams of publicity from her adulterous romance with Cleopatra (1963) co-star Richard Burton, remained hot until the tanking of her own Tennessee Williams-renamed debacle Boom! (1968), Brando from 1963 until the end of the decade appeared in one box-office failure after another as he worked out a contract he had signed with Universal Pictures. The industry had grown tired of Brando and his idiosyncrasies, though he continued to be offered prestige projects up through 1968.
Some of the films Brando made in the 1960s were noble failures, such as The Ugly American (1963), The Appaloosa (1966) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). For every "Reflections," though, there seemed to be two or three outright debacles, such as Bedtime Story (1964), Morituri (1965), The Chase (1966), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), Candy (1968), The Night of the Following Day (1969). By the time Brando began making the anti-colonialist picture Burn! (1969) in Colombia with Gillo Pontecorvo in the director's chair, he was box-office poison, despite having worked in the previous five years with such top directors as Arthur Penn, John Huston and the legendary Charles Chaplin, and with such top-drawer co-stars as David Niven, Yul Brynner, Sophia Loren and Taylor.
The rap on Brando in the 1960s was that a great talent had ruined his potential to be America's answer to Laurence Olivier, as his friend William Redfield limned the dilemma in his book "Letters from an Actor" (1967), a memoir about Redfield's appearance in Burton's 1964 theatrical production of "Hamlet." By failing to go back on stage and recharge his artistic batteries, something British actors such as Burton were not afraid to do, Brando had stifled his great talent, by refusing to tackle the classical repertoire and contemporary drama. Actors and critics had yearned for an American response to the high-acting style of the Brits, and while Method actors such as Rod Steiger tried to create an American style, they were hampered in their quest, as their king was lost in a wasteland of Hollywood movies that were beneath his talent. Many of his early supporters now turned on him, claiming he was a crass sellout.
Despite evidence in such films as The Appaloosa (1966) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) that Brando was in fact doing some of the best acting of his life, critics, perhaps with an eye on the box office, slammed him for failing to live up to, and nurture, his great gift. Brando's political activism, starting in the early 1960s with his championing of Native Americans' rights, followed by his participation in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's March on Washington in 1963, and followed by his appearance at a Black Panther rally in 1968, did not win him many admirers in the establishment. In fact, there was a de facto embargo on Brando films in the recently segregated (officially, at least) southeastern US in the 1960s. Southern exhibitors simply would not book his films, and producers took notice. After 1968, Brando would not work for three years.
Pauline Kael wrote of Brando that he was Fortune's fool. She drew a parallel with the latter career of John Barrymore, a similarly gifted thespian with talents as prodigious, who seemingly threw them away. Brando, like the late-career Barrymore, had become a great ham, evidenced by his turn as the faux Indian guru in the egregious Candy (1968), seemingly because the material was so beneath his talent. Most observers of Brando in the 1960s believed that he needed to be reunited with his old mentor Elia Kazan, a relationship that had soured due to Kazan's friendly testimony naming names before the notorious House un-American Activities Committee. Perhaps Brando believed this, too, as he originally accepted an offer to appear as the star of Kazan's film adaptation of his own novel, The Arrangement (1969). However, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Brando backed out of the film, telling Kazan that he could not appear in a Hollywood film after this tragedy. Also reportedly turning down a role opposite box-office king Paul Newman in a surefire script, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Brando decided to make Burn! (1969) with Pontecorvo. The film, a searing indictment of racism and colonialism, flopped at the box office but won the esteem of progressive critics and cultural arbiters such as Howard Zinn. He subsequently appeared in the British film The Nightcomers (1971), a prequel to "Turn of the Screw" and another critical and box office failure.
Kazan, after a life in film and the theater, said that, aside from Orson Welles, whose greatness lay in film making, he only met one actor who was a genius: Brando. Richard Burton, an intellectual with a keen eye for observation if not for his own film projects, said that he found Brando to be very bright, unlike the public perception of him as a Terry Malloy-type character that he himself inadvertently promoted through his boorish behavior. Brando's problem, Burton felt, was that he was unique, and that he had gotten too much fame too soon at too early an age. Cut off from being nurtured by normal contact with society, fame had distorted Brando's personality and his ability to cope with the world, as he had not had time to grow up outside the limelight.
Truman Capote, who eviscerated Brando in print in the mid-'50s and had as much to do with the public perception of the dyslexic Brando as a dumbbell, always said that the best actors were ignorant, and that an intelligent person could not be a good actor. However, Brando was highly intelligent, and possessed of a rare genius in a then-deprecated art, acting. The problem that an intelligent performer has in movies is that it is the director, and not the actor, who has the power in his chosen field. Greatness in the other arts is defined by how much control the artist is able to exert over his chosen medium, but in movie acting, the medium is controlled by a person outside the individual artist. It is an axiom of the cinema that a performance, as is a film, is "created" in the cutting room, thus further removing the actor from control over his art. Brando had tried his hand at directing, in controlling the whole artistic enterprise, but he could not abide the cutting room, where a film and the film's performances are made. This lack of control over his art was the root of Brando's discontent with acting, with movies, and, eventually, with the whole wide world that invested so much cachet in movie actors, as long as "they" were at the top of the box-office charts. Hollywood was a matter of "they" and not the work, and Brando became disgusted.
Charlton Heston, who participated in Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington with Brando, believes that Marlon was the great actor of his generation. However, noting a story that Brando had once refused a role in the early 1960s with the excuse "How can I act when people are starving in India?," Heston believes that it was this attitude, the inability to separate one's idealism from one's work, that prevented Brando from reaching his potential. As Rod Steiger once said, Brando had it all, great stardom and a great talent. He could have taken his audience on a trip to the stars, but he simply would not. Steiger, one of Brando's children even though a contemporary, could not understand it. When James Mason' was asked in 1971 who was the best American actor, he had replied that since Brando had let his career go belly-up, it had to be George C. Scott, by default.
Paramount thought that only Laurence Olivier would suffice, but Lord Olivier was ill. The young director believed there was only one actor who could play godfather to the group of Young Turk actors he had assembled for his film, The Godfather of method acting himself - Marlon Brando. Francis Ford Coppola won the fight for Brando, Brando won - and refused - his second Oscar, and Paramount won a pot of gold by producing the then top-grossing film of all-time, The Godfather (1972), a gangster movie most critics now judge one of the greatest American films of all time. Brando followed his iconic portrayal of Don Corleone with his Oscar-nominated turn in the high-grossing and highly scandalous Last Tango in Paris (1972) ("Last Tango in Paris"), the first film dealing explicitly with sexuality in which an actor of Brando's stature had participated. He was now again a top ten box office star and once again heralded as the greatest actor of his generation, an unprecedented comeback that put him on the cover of "Time" magazine and would make him the highest-paid actor in the history of motion pictures by the end of the decade. Little did the world know that Brando, who had struggled through many projects in good faith during the 1960s, delivering some of his best acting, only to be excoriated and ignored as the films did not do well at the box office, essentially was through with the movies.
After reaching the summit of his career, a rarefied atmosphere never reached before or since by any actor, Brando essentially walked away. He would give no more of himself after giving everything as he had done in Last Tango in Paris (1972)," a performance that embarrassed him, according to his autobiography. Brando had come as close to any actor to being the "auteur," or author, of a film, as the English-language scenes of "Tango" were created by encouraging Brando to improvise. The improvisations were written down and turned into a shooting script, and the scripted improvisations were shot the next day. Pauline Kael, the Brando of movie critics in that she was the most influential arbiter of cinematic quality of her generation and spawned a whole legion of Kael wannabes, said Brando's performance in Last Tango in Paris (1972) had revolutionized the art of film. Brando, who had to act to gain his mother's attention; Brando, who believed acting at best was nothing special as everyone in the world engaged in it every day of their lives to get what they wanted from other people; Brando, who believed acting at its worst was a childish charade and that movie stardom was a whorish fraud, would have agreed with Sam Peckinpah's summation of Pauline Kael: "Pauline's a brilliant critic but sometimes she's just cracking walnuts with her ass." He probably would have done so in a simulacrum of those words, too.
After another three-year hiatus, Brando took on just one more major role for the next 20 years, as the bounty hunter after Jack Nicholson in Arthur Penn's The Missouri Breaks (1976), a western that succeeded neither with the critics or at the box office. Following The Godfather and Tango, Brando's performance was disappointing for some reviewers, who accused him of giving an erratic and inconsistent performance. In 1977, Brando made a rare appearance on television in the miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979), portraying George Lincoln Rockwell; he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance. In 1978, he narrated the English version of Raoni (1978), a French-Belgian documentary film directed by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux and Luiz Carlos Saldanha that focused on the life of Raoni Metuktire and issues surrounding the survival of the indigenous Indian tribes of north central Brazil.
Later in his career, Brando concentrated on extracting the maximum amount of capital for the least amount of work from producers, as when he got the Salkind brothers to pony up a then-record $3.7 million against 10% of the gross for 13 days work on Superman (1978). Factoring in inflation, the straight salary for "Superman" equals or exceeds the new record of $1 million a day Harrison Ford set with K-19: The Widowmaker (2002). He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand, and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, Superman II, but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage.
Before cashing his first paycheck for Superman (1978), Brando had picked up $2 million for his extended cameo in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) in a role, that of Col. Kurtz, that he authored on-camera through improvisation while Coppola shot take after take. It was Brando's last bravura star performance. He co-starred with George C. Scott and John Gielgud in The Formula (1980), but the film was another critical and financial failure. Years later though, he did receive an eighth and final Oscar nomination for his supporting role in A Dry White Season (1989) after coming out of a near-decade-long retirement. Contrary to those who claimed he now only was in it for the money, Brando donated his entire seven-figure salary to an anti-apartheid charity. He then did an amusing performance in the comedy The Freshman (1990), winning rave reviews. He portrayed Tomas de Torquemada in the historical drama 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), but his performance was denounced and the film was another box office failure. He made another comeback in the Johnny Depp romantic drama Don Juan DeMarco (1994), which co-starred Faye Dunaway as his wife. He then appeared in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), co-starring Val Kilmer, who he didn't get along with. The filming was an unpleasant experience for Brando, as well as another critical and box office failure.
Brando had first attracted media attention at the age of 24, when "Life" magazine ran a photo of himself and his sister Jocelyn, who were both then appearing on Broadway. The curiosity continued, and snowballed. Playing the paraplegic soldier of The Men (1950), Brando had gone to live at a Veterans Administration hospital with actual disabled veterans, and confined himself to a wheelchair for weeks. It was an acting method, research, that no one in Hollywood had ever heard of before, and that willingness to experience life.- Actor
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With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman attended Los Angeles City College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage including appearing in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly!.
Throughout the 1970s, he continued his work on stage, winning Drama Desk and Clarence Derwent Awards and receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance in The Mighty Gents in 1978. In 1980, he won two Obie Awards, for his portrayal of Shakespearean anti-hero Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival and for his work in Mother Courage and Her Children. Freeman won another Obie in 1984 for his performance as The Messenger in the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music production of Lee Breuer's The Gospel at Colonus and, in 1985, won the Drama-Logue Award for the same role. In 1987, Freeman created the role of Hoke Coleburn in Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisy, which brought him his fourth Obie Award. In 1990, Freeman starred as Petruchio in the New York Shakespeare Festival's The Taming of the Shrew, opposite Tracey Ullman. Returning to the Broadway stage in 2008, Freeman starred with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets' drama The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.
Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including "Easy Reader", "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula" on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show The Electric Company (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971). Next, there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played Casca in Julius Caesar (1979) and the title role in Coriolanus (1979). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) and Brubaker (1980), Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981). For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) and, then, he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination in the film version of Driving Miss Daisy (1989) opposite Jessica Tandy. The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade.
His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman Ned Logan, wooed out of retirement by friend William Munny to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a sh and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture. In 1993, Freeman made his directorial debut on Bopha! (1993) and soon after formed his production company, Revelations Entertainment.
More strong scripts came in, and Freeman was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997).
Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in Neil LaBute's black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as Alex Cross in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as God to Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the comedy The Big Bounce (2004).
2005 was a huge year for Freeman. First, he he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer Frankie Dunn, as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. He also narrated Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) and appeared in Batman Begins (2005) as Lucius Fox, a valuable ally of Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman for director Christopher Nolan. Freeman would reprise his role in the two sequels of the record-breaking, genre-redefining trilogy.
Roles in tentpoles and indies followed; highlights include his role as a crime boss in Lucky Number Slevin (2006), a second go-round as God in Evan Almighty (2007) with Steve Carell taking over for Jim Carrey, and a supporting role in Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007). He co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the breakout hit The Bucket List (2007) in 2007, and followed that up with another box-office success, Wanted (2008), then segued into the second Batman film, The Dark Knight (2008).
In 2009, he reunited with Eastwood to star in the director's true-life drama Invictus (2009), on which Freeman also served as an executive producer. For his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the film, Freeman garnered Oscar, Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award nominations, and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor.
Recently, Freeman appeared in RED (2010), a surprise box-office hit; he narrated the Conan the Barbarian (2011) remake, starred in Rob Reiner's The Magic of Belle Isle (2012); and capped the Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Freeman has several films upcoming, including the thriller Now You See Me (2013), under the direction of Louis Leterrier, and the science fiction actioner Oblivion (2013), in which he stars with Tom Cruise.- Actor
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A former college athlete at the University of Texas, Fess studied drama in the early fifties and debuted in Springfield Rifle (1952). He made only a handful of movies until he was signed by Walt Disney to star in the "Davy Crockett" series. When Walt was looking for an actor to play the part of Davy, he screened the sci-fi movie Them! (1954) with James Arness. When he saw Fess in a scene, he chose him over Arness and Fess became an instant celebrity when "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" debuted in 1955. His appeal with children was enormous with the coon-skinned hat, the #1 hit song "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett", The Davy Crockett Bubble Gum Cards and Comic Books. But the craze ended almost as fast as it started in 1956, and Fess was typecast. Fess appeared in other Disney movies dealing with the early years of Davey and also in non-Crockett parts such as Old Yeller (1957). By 1959, unable to achieve the success that he had gained as Crockett, his career had leveled off. He made guest appearances on a number of television shows, but his attempted return to television in the series Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1962) was not successful. Unable to procure the rights to play Crockett from Disney, Fess tried the frontiersman role once again with the TV series Daniel Boone (1964). He played this role for six years and the fact that he had a beautiful red-headed wife in a color series did not hurt him at all. After Daniel Boone (1964), Fess retired from the screen and went into real estate, which was profitable. He was later forced to sue his "Daniel Boone" producers over the profits generated by the series.- Actor
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Jack Bannon was born on 14 June 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Little Big Man (1970), L.A. Heat (1996) and Hard Vice (1994). He was married to Ellen Travolta and Kathleen Larkin. He died on 25 October 2017 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA.- Actor
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Kurt Vogel Russell was born on March 17, 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts and raised in Thousand Oaks, California to Louise Julia Russell (née Crone), a dancer & Bing Russell, an actor. He is of English, German, Scottish and Irish descent. His first roles were as a child on television series, including a lead role on the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963). Russell landed a role in the Elvis Presley movie, It Happened at the World's Fair (1963), when he was eleven years old. Walt Disney himself signed Russell to a 10-year contract, and, according to Robert Osborne, he became the studio's top star of the 1970s. Having voiced adult Copper in the animated Disney film The Fox and the Hound (1981), Russell is one of the few famous child stars in Hollywood who has been able to continue his acting career past his teen years.
Kurt spent the early 1970s playing minor league baseball. In 1979, he gave a classic performance as Elvis Presley in John Carpenter's ABC TV movie Elvis (1979), and married the actress who portrayed Priscilla Presley in the film, Season Hubley. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role. He followed with roles in a string of well-received films, including Used Cars (1980) and Silkwood (1983), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture. During the 1980s, he starred in several films by director Carpenter; they created some of his best-known roles, including the infamous anti-hero Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York (1981) (and later in its sequel Escape from L.A. (1996)), Antarctic helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horror film The Thing (1982), and Jack Burton in the fantasy film Big Trouble in Little China (1986), all of which have since become cult classics.
In 1983, he became reacquainted with Goldie Hawn (who appeared with him in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968)) when they worked together on Swing Shift (1984). The two have lived together ever since. They made another film together, Garry Marshall's comedy Overboard (1987). His other 1980s titles include The Best of Times (1986), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Winter People (1989) and Tango & Cash (1989).
In 1991, he headlined the firefighter drama Backdraft (1991), he starred as Wyatt Earp in the Western film Tombstone (1993), and had a starring role as Colonel Jack O'Neil in the science fiction film Stargate (1994). In the mid-2000s, his portrayal of U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in Miracle (2004) won the praise of critics. In 2006, he appeared in the disaster-thriller Poseidon (2006), and in 2007, in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (2007) segment from the film Grindhouse (2007). Russell appeared in The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014), a documentary about his father and the Portland Mavericks, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Russell starred in the Western films Bone Tomahawk (2015) and The Hateful Eight (2015), and had a leading role in the dramatization Deepwater Horizon (2016). He also co-starred in the action sequels Furious 7 (2015) and The Fate of the Furious (2017).
Russell and Goldie Hawn live on a 72-acre retreat, Home Run Ranch, outside of Aspen. He has two sons, Boston Russell (from his marriage to Hubley) and Wyatt Russell (with Hawn). He also raised Hawn's children, actors Oliver Hudson and Kate Hudson, who consider him their father. Russell is also an avid gun enthusiast, a hunter and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. He is also an FAA-licensed private pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings, and is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.- Actor
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Victor French was the son of a stuntman. His debut was a small role in Lassie (1954), uncredited. He had his first real acting experiences in western-films, where he usually played the "bad guy" due to his rather gruff look. This changed with Little House on the Prairie (1974), (as Isaiah Edwards). In 1977, he left Little House on the Prairie (1974) to play in his own sitcom Carter Country (1977), which lasted for two seasons. French then teamed up again with Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven (1984), as (Mark Gordon). French, along with Leonard Nimoy, founded LA's "Company of Angels", one of the area's earliest attempts to establish LA as a type of "Off-Broadway-West Coast". Its limited seating arrangement (99 seats) served as the prototype of LA's Equity-Waiver code. After he left the company in the mid 1970s, he went on to teach acting privately. He was well sought-after, and it became apparent that he had to take students on "by referral only". His philosophy and style was gentle and encouraging to young actors just entering the field. He directed in LA Theaters and won the Critics Circle Award for "12 Angry Men." In the 1980s, he declined to play "bad guys." Victor French died 1989 after finishing the last episode of Highway to Heaven (1984).- Tall, rangy Jim Davis spent much of his early career in westerns mainly at Republic Pictures. The Missouri-born and -raised Davis' relaxed, easygoing manner and Southern drawl easily fit most moviegoers' image of the cowboy and Republic put him in a ton of them over the years (the fact that, unlike a lot of movie cowboys, he looked right at home on a horse didn't hurt, either). He alternated between good-guy and villain roles, one of his better ones being that of the devious, murderous fur trapper working for Kirk Douglas' competition in The Big Sky (1952). He is best known, however, for his role as Ewing family patriarch Jock in the long-running TV series Dallas (1978).
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Burl Ives was one of six children born to a farming family in Hunt City, Jasper, Illinois, the son of Cordellia "Dellie" (White) and Levi Franklin Ives. He first sang in public for a soldiers' reunion when he was age 4. In high school, he learned the banjo and played fullback, intending to become a football coach when he enrolled at Eastern Illinois State Teacher's College in 1927. He dropped out in 1930 and wandered, hitching rides, doing odd jobs, street singing.
Summer stock in the late 1930s led to a job with CBS radio in 1940; through his "Wayfaring Stranger" he popularized many of the folk songs he had collected in his travels. By the 1960s, he had hits on both popular and country charts. He recorded over 30 albums for Decca and another dozen for Columbia. In 1964 he was singer-narrator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), an often-repeated Christmas television special. His Broadway debut was in 1938, though he is best remembered for creating the role of Big Daddy in the 1950s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) when it ran on Broadway through the early 1950s.
His four-decade, 30+ movie career began with Ives playing a singing cowboy in Smoky (1946) and reached its peak with (again) his role as Big Daddy role in the movie version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and winning an Oscar for best supporting actor in The Big Country (1958), both in 1958. Ives officially retired from show business on his 80th birthday in 1989 and settled in Anacortes, Washington, although he continued to do frequent benefit performances at his own request. Burl Ives died in 1995.- Actor
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Mike is one of four children. His father, Joe, who died in 1956, was a carpenter at Hollywood studios. Mike attended grammar school with Natalie Wood and Ricky Nelson. He entered the Marines in the 1950s for two years. Later, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles and studied acting at the Jeff Corey Workshop. He started getting big parts in movies, which led to a regular role on Days of Our Lives (1965) and, ultimately, to M*A*S*H (1972). When M*A*S*H (1972) went off the air, he resisted series TV for many years until he was offered Providence (1999). In the meantime, he formed his own production company, which made the Robin Williams vehicle, Patch Adams (1998), based on Mike's own acquaintance with the doctor. Mike is very politically involved. He lobbied against the firing of gay teachers. He was outspoken about the US involvement in El Salvador in the 80s. He served as a member of California's Commission on Judicial Performance from February 2, 1998 to February 28, 2001.- Actor
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Legendary actor Ricardo Montalban was the epitome of Latin elegance, charm and grace on film and television and in the late 1940s and early 1950s reinvigorated the Rudolph Valentino / Ramon Novarro "Latin Lover" style in Hollywood without achieving top screen stardom. Moreover, unlike most minority actors of his time, he fought to upscale the Latin (particularly, Mexican) image in Hollywood. His noted militancy may have cost him a number of roles along the way, but he gained respect and a solid reputation as a mover and shaker within the acting community while providing wider-range opportunities for Spanish-speaking actors via Los Angeles theater.
He was born in Mexico City on November 25, 1920, the youngest of four children to Castilian Spanish immigrants, Ricarda Merino and Jenaro Montalbán. His father was a dry goods store owner. Montalbán moved to Los Angeles as a teen and lived with his much older brother Carlos Montalbán, who was then pursuing show business as both an actor and dancer. Ricardo attended Fairfax High School in Hollywood and was noticed in a student play but passed on a screen test that was offered. Instead, he traveled with his brother to New York, where he earned a bit part in the Tallulah Bankhead stage vehicle "Her Cardboard Lover" in 1940, and won subsequent roles in the plays "Our Betters" and "Private Affair".
Returning to Mexico to care for his extremely ill mother, his dark good looks and magnetic style helped propel him into the Spanish-language film industry. After nearly a dozen or so films, he was on the verge of stardom in Mexico when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took an interest in him and he relocated back to Los Angeles. Making his Hollywood leading debut as a robust bullfighter and twin brother of MGM star Esther Williams in the "B"-level musical Fiesta (1947), he attracted immediate attention. His second film with Williams, On an Island with You (1948), led to a contract with the studio, where he routinely ignited "Latin Lover" sparks opposite such prime female stars as Cyd Charisse, Shelley Winters, Anne Bancroft, Pier Angeli, Laraine Day and (once again) Esther Williams, this time in Neptune's Daughter (1949) (one of his MGM extravaganzas opposite gorgeous Lana Turner was actually called Latin Lovers (1953)). His strongest Hispanic competition in films at the time was Argentine-born fellow MGM player Fernando Lamas, who wound up eventually marrying Esther Williams after divorcing another MGM beauty, Arlene Dahl.
Although Montalban was the epitome of the "Latin lover" type, it actually damaged his cinematic career, pigeonholing him and hurting his momentum. He was seldom able to extricate himself from the usual portrayals of bandidos and gigolos, although he did manage to find an interesting film from time to time, such as his turn as a Mexican undercover policeman in the gritty Border Incident (1949), Mystery Street (1950), the classic war film Battleground (1949) and the hard-edged boxing drama Right Cross (1950). Occasionally, he was handed ethnic roles outside the Latino realm, such as his villainous Blackfoot Indian chief in Across the Wide Missouri (1951) starring Clark Gable, his heroic, bare-chested rebel warrior in the steamy Italian sword-and-sandals costumer The Queen of Babylon (1954) alongside Rhonda Fleming and his Japanese Kabuki actor in the Oscar-winning feature Sayonara (1957). It was during the filming of Across the Wide Missouri (1951) that he suffered a serious injury to his spine after he slipped and fell off a running horse, which resulted in a permanent limp.
Well established by this time, Montalban returned to the stage in 1954 with varied roles in such fare as "Can-Can", "The Inspector General", "South Pacific" and "Accent on Youth", before making his Broadway debut as Chico in the original musical "Seventh Heaven" (1955) with Gloria DeHaven, Kurt Kasznar and Bea Arthur. He then earned a Tony Award nomination as the only non-African-American actor in the tropical-themed musical "Jamaica" (1957) co-starring Lena Horne. He also toured as the title role in "Don Juan in Hell" in the 1960s, returning to Broadway with it in 1973 with Agnes Moorehead, Paul Henreid and Edward Mulhare, and touring once again with the show in 1991.
His strong work ethic and reservoir of talent enabled him to continue on television long after his exotic beefcake status in films had waned. He had married Loretta Young's half-sister Georgiana Young in 1944, and appeared on his sister-in-law's television series (The New Loretta Young Show (1962)) several times. He also showed up in a number of television dramatic anthologies (Playhouse 90 (1956) and Colgate Theatre (1958)) and made guest appearances on the popular series of the day, such as Death Valley Days (1952), Bonanza (1959), Burke's Law (1963), Dr. Kildare (1961), The Defenders (1961) and, more notably, a first-season episode of Star Trek (1966) in which he memorably portrayed galaxy arch-villain Khan Noonien Singh. He resurrected this character memorably in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
Over the years, he continued to appear occasionally on the big screen, typically playing continental smoothies, in such films as Love Is a Ball (1963), Madame X (1966) and Sweet Charity (1969), but it was television that finally made him a household name. Montalban captivated audiences as the urbane, white-suited concierge of mystery Mr. Roarke in the Aaron Spelling series Fantasy Island (1977). He stayed with the series for six seasons, buoyed by his popular "odd couple" teaming with the late Hervé Villechaize, who played Mr. Roarke's diminutive sidekick, and fellow greeter, Tattoo. While it may have seemed a somewhat lightweight and undemanding role for the talented Montalban, it nevertheless became his signature character. The series faltered after Villechaize, who had become erratic and difficult on the set, was fired from the series in 1983. Corpulent Britisher Christopher Hewett, as Lawrence, replaced the Tattoo character but to little avail and the series was canceled one season later. The troubled Villechaize committed suicide on September 4, 1993.
An Emmy Award winner for his role in the miniseries How the West Was Won (1976) and a noteworthy villain in the Dynasty (1981) spin-off series The Colbys (1985), Montalban was also famous for a series of television commercials in which he returned somewhat to his "Latin lover" persona, primarily in a series of slick commercials for Chrysler's Cordoba automobile, pitching the elegant auto with its "rich, Corinthian leather" (it later came to light that this phrase had been conjured up as a marketing tool, and that there was no such product from Corinth or anywhere else!). As for film and television work in his later years, he good-naturedly spoofed his Hollywood image in a number of featured roles, including a hilarious send-up of himself in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). Two of his final, larger-scaled film roles were as the grandfather in the two "Spy Kids" sequels: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) and Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). His deep, soothing, confident tones could also be heard in animated features and television series.
Frustrated at Hollywood's portrayal of Mexicans, he helped to found, and gave great support, attention and distinction to, the image-building "Nosotros" organization, a Los Angeles theatre-based company designed for Latinos working in the industry. Nosotros and the Montalban foundation eventually bought the historic Doolittle Theater in Hollywood and renamed the theatre in his honor in 2004. It became the first major theater facility (1200 seats) in the United States to carry the name of a Latino performing artist. In 1980, along with Bob Thomas, he published his memoir, entitled "Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds".
A class act who was beloved in the industry for his gentle and caring nature, the long-term effects of his spinal injury eventually confined him to a wheelchair in his later years. He died in his Los Angeles home of complications from old age on January 14, 2009 at age 88. His wife having died on November 29, 2007, he was survived by their two daughters and two sons: Laura, Anita, Victor and Mark.- Actor
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Tall, blond and of rugged proportions, handsome actor Philip Carey started out as a standard 1950s film actor in westerns, war stories and crime yarns but didn't achieve full-fledged stardom until well past age 50 when he joined the daytime line-up as ornery Texas tycoon Asa Buchanan on the popular soap One Life to Live (1968) in 1979. He lived pretty much out of the saddle after that, enjoying the patriarchal role for nearly three decades.
He was born with the rather unrugged name of Eugene Carey on July 15, 1925, in Hackensack, New Jersey. Growing up on Long Island, he served with the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War. He attended (briefly) New York's Mohawk University and studied drama at the University of Miami where he met his college sweetheart, Maureen Peppler. They married in 1949 and went on to have three children: Linda, Jeffrey and Lisa Ann.
The 6'4" actor impressed a talent scout with his brawny good looks while appearing in the summer stock play "Over 21" in New England, and he was offered a contract with Warner Bros as a result. Billed as Philip Carey, he didn't waste any time toiling in bit parts, making his film debut billed fifth in the John Wayne submarine war drama Operation Pacific (1951). Phil could cut a good figure in military regalia and also showed strong stuff in film noir. A most capable co-star, he tended to be upstaged, however, by either a stronger name female or male star or by the action at hand. He was paired up with Frank Lovejoy in the McCarthy-era I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. (1951), and Steve Cochran in the prison tale Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951). Warner Bros. star Joan Crawford was practically the whole movie in the film noir This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) co-starring the equally overlooked David Brian and Dennis Morgan; Calamity Jane (1953) was a vehicle for Doris Day; and he donned his familiar cavalry duds in the background of Gary Cooper in the Civil War western Springfield Rifle (1952).
In 1953, Carey left Warner Bros. and signed up with Columbia Pictures where he was, more than not, billed as "Phil Carey." Here again he fell into the rather non-descript rugged mold as the stoic soldier or stolid police captain. He did find plenty of work, however, and was frequently top-billed. He battled the Sioux in The Nebraskan (1953); played a former subordinate member of the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gang who has to clear his name in Wyoming Renegades (1955); was a brute force to be reckoned with in They Rode West (1954); and had one of his standard movie roles (as an officer) in a better quality movie, Columbia's Pushover (1954), which spent more time promoting the debut of its starlet Kim Novak as the new Marilyn Monroe. Overshadowed by James Cagney and Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts (1955) and by Van Heflin, young Joanne Woodward (in her movie debut) and villain Raymond Burr in the western Count Three and Pray (1955), Phil turned his durable talents more and more to TV in the late 1950s.
The man of action took on the role of Canadian-born Lt. Michael Rhodes on the series Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers (1956) alongside Warren Stevens. He eventually left Columbia studios to do a stint (albeit relatively short) playing Raymond Chandler's unflappable detective Philip Marlowe (1959). Most of the 60s and 70s, other than a few now-forgotten film adventures such as Black Gold (1962), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) and Three Guns for Texas (1968), were spent either saddling up as a guest star on The Rifleman (1958), Bronco (1958), The Virginian (1962) and Gunsmoke (1955) or hard-nosing it on such crime series as 77 Sunset Strip (1958), Ironside (1967), McCloud (1970), Banacek (1972) and The Felony Squad (1966). He also played the regular role of a stern captain in the Texas Rangers western series Laredo (1965).
Phil was a spokesperson for Granny Goose potato chips commercials, and his deep voice served him well for many seasons as narrator of the nature documentary series Untamed Frontier (1967). One of his best-remembered TV guest appearances, however, was a change-of-pace role on the comedy All in the Family (1971) in which he played a vital, strapping blue-collar pal of Archie Bunker's whose manly man just happened to be a proud, astereotypical homosexual. His hilarious confrontational scene with a dumbfounded Archie in Kelsey's bar remains a classic.
Phil's brief regular role in the daytime soap Bright Promise (1969) in 1972 was just a practice drill for the regular role he would play in 1979 as Texas oilman Asa Buchanan in One Life to Live (1968). His popularity soared as the moneybags manipulator you loved to hate. Residing in Manhattan for quite some time as a result of the New York-based show, he played the role for close to three decades until diagnosed with lung cancer in January of 2006. Forced to undergo chemotherapy, he officially left the serial altogether in May of 2007, and his character "died" peacefully off-screen a few months later.
Divorced from his first wife, Phil married a much younger lady, Colleen Welch, in 1976 and had two children by her -- daughter Shannon (born 1980) and son Sean (born 1983). Phil lost his battle with cancer on February 6, 2009, at the age of 83.