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1-50 of 140
- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Allison Scagliotti was born on September 21, 1990 in Monterey, California, USA as Allison Glenn Scagliotti. She is an actress, known as Claudia Donovan on Warehouse 13 (2009), as Maddie Clifford on Redemption Maddie (2007) and as Sawyer on Read It and Weep (2006). Her most recent television series is Stitchers (2015), on ABC Family, where she plays the character, Camille Engelson.- Andrea Alexis Parker learned to walk on the sand in Newport Beach, California. Andrea's natural grace led her beloved mother Karen Macaulay to enroll Andrea in ballet lessons at 5 years old, soon turning to serious classical training by the age of 8. By the time she was 11, Andrea's passion for dance was so strong that she began to leave home each summer to continue her formal ballet training in NYC and San Francisco. At 15, it was the thrill of her very young life to be invited to train full time with the San Francisco Ballet School and perform year-round with The San Francisco Ballet Company. Moving away from home to dance at The War Memorial Opera House while also touring with SFB was a dream come true, but life had other plans for Andrea.
Forced to retire from ballet at 18 when her 5'10" height (6'3" on point!) proved problematic for the lesser stature of the male ballet dancers, Andrea moved home to Los Angeles, where she studied and transitioned to contemporary dance. Andrea found herself a dance agent and began to book countless commercials, industrials, videos and dance gigs including MARRIED WITH CHILDREN. Her talent took her from LA to New York to Europe as a professional dancer, until she returned to Hollywood to study acting.
While continuing her studies, Andrea performed in several plays in Los Angeles where her talent was recognized by the legendary Susan Smith, eponymous head of what was then the hottest boutique talent agency in town. Andrea soon had her very first acting audition, and booked the role in what would become the classic Emmy-award winning SEINFELD episode "The Contest" and she never looked back as her acting took center stage.
Andrea's acting career took off when she was cast as George Clooney's love interest for the first two seasons of the global phenomenon hit series E.R. Next, she was set as the co-lead opposite David James Elliott in J.A.G. but faced a devastating disappointment when the network decided to go in another direction, replacing her after the pilot episode. Never one to quit anything, Andrea faced down those same network executives the very next season, landing her iconic starring role as Miss Parker in THE PRETENDER.
Andrea took the opportunity to learn fight choreography from some of the world's best stunt women, and learned how to handle firearms and shoot by the LAPD, bringing maximum authenticity to the boss lady roles she so often plays. She trained in stunt driving with world renowned stunt driving coach Bobby Ore, and held her own in the Toyota Celebrity Long Beach Grand Prix.
Andrea showed her incredible versatility as an actress when she shifted from drama to comedy, starring for 4 seasons as the gorgeous Lydia Weston in the underrated ABC ensemble comedy LESS THAN PERFECT, alongside such stars as Zachary Levi, Eric Roberts, Patrick Warburton, Sherry Shepherd, Will Sasso and Andy Dick.
Andrea was thrilled to join the cast of long running hit series DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES in its final season, and most recently held dual roles as twin sisters Mary Drake and Jessica DiLaurentis in the wildly popular Freeform series PRETTY LITTLE LIARS.
Andrea lives in Los Angeles and is married to the man of her dreams, film producer Michael Birnbaum. - Actor
- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter was born on February 5, 1989 in Monterey, California, to Sandra (Johnson) and Gary Sumpter. He was raised in his mother's hometown, Mount Sterling, Kentucky. At a young age, he enjoyed mountain climbing and play with his friends like any other normal kid, but when he went to Lexington, Kentucky, to model, he won the numerous awards and met his manager Mark Robert. Soon after that, Jeremy, his twin sister Jessica Sumpter, his little sister Gigi Sumpter, and his mom and dad moved to Los Angeles, California.
Jeremy's first movie was Frailty (2001), in which he played young Adam Meeks, opposite Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey. "Bill had been one of my favorite actors so to be able to work with him was unbelievable," says Jeremy. The adult Adam Meeks was played by Matthew McConaughey. His next movie was Local Boys (2002).
Jeremy was chosen by Danny Glover to play Henry Sturbuck in the Showtime original film Just A Dream. "Working with Danny was great, we had a great time filming in a small town in Utah," explains Jeremy. Jeremy received the "Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special - Leading Young Actor" from the Young Artist Awards. Jeremy was able to use his surfing skills on his next film, "Local Boys." This coming of age film was shot on location in southern California. "This was a hard film to shoot since we were surfing at the beach almost everyday and there were all these girls around in bikinis," jokes Jeremy.
After a worldwide search, Jeremy was chosen to play "Peter" in the P.J. Hogan film Peter Pan (2003). This was one of the most coveted roles in films for a teen actor in recent years. "It was a part that I really wanted," says Jeremy, "since I'd be able to fight pirates and fly around the stage on wires." Jeremy trained extensively in sword fighting and gymnastics prior to shooting the movie in Australia. Clubhouse (2004) was Jeremy's first television series, a dream role since he had always loved baseball and played little league when he was younger. Jeremy was cast in the role of Justin in Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life. After wrapping, he immediately went on to star in The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang in Oregon. A lot of the people from Napoleon Dynamite were involved in the film and it was a lot of fun for him to shoot. Jeremy shot "Calvin Marshall" in Oregon.
Jeremy Sumpter shot the Warner Bros./New Line big budget film "Into the Storm" and the independent feature film "Animal."
"The Squeeze," a feature film which was released in 2015 and starred Jeremy and Christopher McDonald. They teed off in a high stakes gambling matches careening throughout the South and landing in Las Vegas. Jeremy was also Co-Producer.
Jeremy recently shot Take Down" which is being distributed around the world.
In the future, Jeremy hopes to also work behind the camera as a director and producer. In his spare time, he surfs, plays basketball, football, golf and shoots pool.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Joel Courtney is an American actor, known for his starring roles in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Super 8 (2011) and the Netflix hit The Kissing Booth (2018).
Joel was born into a Navy family in Monterey, California, and is the youngest of four children - an older sister and two older brothers. After his father's retirement when he was 5, his family relocated to Moscow, Idaho, where Joel spent the rest of his childhood attending a small classical Christian school where both his parents taught. When he was 14, Joel went to Los Angeles with his father to visit his brother Caleb who was seeking a career as an actor. While in LA, Joel decided to spend a month auditioning for television commercials in the hopes of leaving with a little money in his pocket. However, before attending even his first audition, his brother's acting coach suggested that Joel attend a casting call for a top-secret J.J. Abrams project. After 11 callbacks, Joel landed his first acting job as the starring role in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Super 8 (2011)
After his success in Super 8 (2011), Joel appeared in several movies including Sins of Our Youth (2014), Mercy (2014), and Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn (2014). He then booked a starring role as Peter Moore in the CW show The Messengers (2015). Joel was able to return to Moscow, Idaho in the summer of 2014 to star in the movie The River Thief (2016), which was produced and directed by friends and community members from Joel's hometown. He was able to work with almost his entire family on the project, including his brother Josh and sister Chantelle who both had significant roles in the film. After The River Thief (2016), Joel went on to star in the high school drama F*&% the Prom (2017) before booking the Netflix hit The Kissing Booth (2018) which launched him back into the public spotlight as the lovable teenager Lee Flynn. As of 2019, The Kissing Booth (2018) was the most watched Netflix movie in history. Joel will reprise the role of Lee Flynn in The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Mary Page Keller received formal training at the University of Maryland and the Boston Conservatory of Music, leading to various parts in musical theater in Washington, D.C. After training in New York, doing everything from theater to soap opera, she relocated to Los Angeles to star in Duet (1987) - one of the first series for the fledgling Fox TV Network. She went on to headline other series and has recently added writing and producing to her resume, including developing multiple pilots for NBC Universal and Warner Brothers TV with her husband and screenwriting partner, Thomas Ian Griffith. They live in Los Angeles and have two sons, Conner and Eamon..- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Anna Akana was born on 18 August 1989 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Jupiter's Legacy (2021), Let It Snow (2019) and Ant-Man (2015).- Jean Bruce Scott was born on 25 February 1956 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Airwolf (1984), Magnum, P.I. (1980) and St. Elsewhere (1982). She has been married to Randy Reinholz since 30 September 1989. She was previously married to Robert Colman.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born on April 7, 1943, in Monterey Park, California, Roberta Jymme Schourup quickly gave way to the name Roberta Shore, at a young age, as an actress and singer on film and TV. Raised in San Gabriel, California, Roberta began her career at age ten, singing country western songs at supermarket openings with Tex Williams, who invited her to join his weekly TV show from Knotts Berry Farm. This is when she changed her stage name to "Jymme Shore". She subsequently joined The Pinky Lee Show (1950), NBC's number one rated children's daily television program at the time.
The well-dressed, confident-looking teen actress with the pretty brunette bangs gained her best notice, however, when Disney Studios hired her as a snooty dating nemesis for Annette Funicello in a couple of the star's showcases. Because the name Jymme was often confused as a male, Walt Disney himself suggested she use her name Roberta. Prominently feature in Annette (1958), which was an episodic series culled from "The Mickey Mouse Club" files, and the highly popular feature film The Shaggy Dog (1959), both of which had Roberta fighting Annette over the affections of Tim Considine. Roberta also performed the theme song for that movie. She appeared many times on episodes of The Mouseketeers, although she herself was not a Mouseketeer as she was deemed too tall. She provided voices for some of their animated projects and, as a singer, was featured on the Disney label, including songs that recreated her distinctive squeaky vocal effect.
As she blossomed, she played a school friend for Elinor Donahue, during one season of Father Knows Best (1954); scored some points playing Henrietta, better known as "Hank", a tomboyish teen on The Bob Cummings Show (1961), a short-lived 1961 TV series starring Robert Cummings; and was one of a plethora of girlfriends for Ricky Nelson's on his family's show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952). But the most notable role for Roberta on a TV series was as "Betsy Garth" on The Virginian (1962) for its first three seasons. A support player in other "young love" films, such as A Summer Place (1959), Blue Denim (1959) and Because They're Young (1960), nothing much clicked for Roberta, however, to push her into the front ranks.
Raised a Mormon, she eventually left the limelight altogether in 1965 and focused entirely on raising her family. She and her actor husband, Ron Frederickson, moved to Salt Lake City and little was heard from her again. A disc jockey on a Utah radio station at one time in the 1980s, decades later she was cast as Ishmael's wife, a major supporting role in Gary Rogers' The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey (2003) movie in 2003. Her husband played Ishmael. More recently, she has been a manufacturer's rep for a furniture business.- J.L. Reate was born on 14 September 1979 in Monterey County, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Golden Child (1986).
- Wells Adams was born on 16 May 1984 in Monterey, California, USA. He has been married to Sarah Hyland since 20 August 2022.
- Pamela Brull was born on 25 August 1953 in Monterey Park, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), The Guardian (1990) and The Secret Empire (1979).
- Visual Effects
- Actor
- Art Department
Before being cast away on a desert island for Amazon with Richard Hammond, Tory Belleci was best known as the daredevil on 'Mythbusters' who can build just about anything. He's hosted Science Channel's hit shows 'Pumpkin' Chunkin' and 'The Explosion Show,' Netflix's 'White Rabbit Project,' and has also starred on 'Thrill Factor' for Travel Channel. He's appeared many times on 'The Rachel Ray Show,' and 'The Late Show with Craig Ferguson' as a science entertainer. He's also appeared on 'Iron Chef' and 'Hell's Kitchen' as a celebrity judge and can be seen blowing things up on his web series 'Blow It Up!'
Tory started working in the special effects industry in 1994 after graduating from San Francisco State University's film school. For almost a decade, he worked as a model maker, sculptor, and painter at Industrial Light and Magic, building models for major Hollywood movies, including the Star Wars prequels. His models include the pod racers and The Federation battleship. Other movies he has worked on include Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, Terminator 3, The Matrix 2 & 3, and Van Helsing.
In 2003, Tory began work behind the scenes on Discovery Channel's 'Mythbusters,' and in the second season was featured as part of the show's build team, getting an on-screen credit by season three. In 2005, Tory convinced fellow Industrial Light and Magic veteran Grant Imahara to join the show. With fellow 'build-team' members Grant Imahara and Kari Byron, Tory became a fixture on the Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman-fronted show. 'Mythbusters' went on to become the most successful and longest-running pop-science show in TV history.
Tory also has written and directed several short films, including his short 'Sand Trooper,' which played at the Slamdance Film Festival and also aired on SyFy Channel.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
With his father, John Krall, being a Naval aviator, and his mother, Yung Krall, working as a spy for the CIA and FBI, Lance spent most of his young life moving from country to country, state to state. After retirement, the family finally settled in Atlanta, Georgia.
After getting his BA in Film and Theater at Georgia State University, Krall helped found The Whole World Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1993-2000, Krall got in his acting and comedy chops performing in, and directing, hundreds of improv shows and scripted plays.
In 1999, Krall was spotted by an International Creative Management talent agent, and was signed shortly thereafter. After an eight year run with The Whole World Theatre, it was time for Krall to move out west. In late 2000, Krall moved to Los Angeles and was quickly cast as a series regular on Steve Martin's variety show, "The Downer Channel," for NBC. After a disappointing four episode run, Krall took it upon himself, just as an experiment, to shoot his own sketch comedy show. With the help of his old troupe in Atlanta, Krall shot a thirty minute pilot named, for a lack of a better title, The Lance Krall Show. Satisfyed with the result, he shelved it, awaiting the right opportunity to show it off.
In the interim, Krall was cast in the feature "Made Up," directed by Tony Shalhoub, and later directed and starred in "Party Animals," a short film about a group of Hollywood wannabes that was an official selection in the Slamdance Film Festival.
In 2003, Krall was cast as Kip in the reality show parody, "The Joe Schmo Show." His popularity on that show gave Krall the open door he needed, and once he presented his homemade pilot to the enthusiastic executives at Spike TV, it was only a matter of days till The Lance Krall Show was green-lit.
Lance Krall is managed by Rory Rosegarten of The Conversation Company, LTD.- Producer
- Actor
- Composer
Sammy Hagar was born on 13 October 1947 in Monterey, California, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar (2016), Footloose (1984) and Over the Top (1987). He has been married to Kari Hagar since 29 November 1995. They have two children. He was previously married to Betsy Berardi.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Edwin Kho was born in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Carry On (2024), Forelock and Maggie (2022).- Simon Scott was born on 21 September 1920 in Monterey Park, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Cold Turkey (1971), The Wild Wild West (1965) and Mod Squad (1968). He died on 11 December 1991 in Los Alamitos, California, USA.
- Jerry Fujikawa was born on 18 February 1912 in Monterey County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Chinatown (1974), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and Kung Fu (1972). He was married to Marion Gates. He died on 30 April 1983 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Melissa Riso was born June 27, 1986 in Monterey California and was raised in a nearby small town called Salinas. She moved to San Diego right after high school and soon after graduated from Beauty College.
While growing her business as a professional hair stylist, she was cutting hair for a local news reporter who suggested she try modeling. Over time she became very popular with the Import Tuner scene and was on the covers of twelve magazines.
While attending local acting schools, she began booking infomercials and enjoyed doing background extra work for television shows such as "Las Vegas" and "Greek". She also began booking lead roles in a number of Music Videos for Xzibit, T.I. and more recently Tyga, Daft Punk, Pharrell and Krewella.
By late 2010 Melissa moved to move to Los Angeles to pursue her acting and modeling career. She started modeling for clothing lines and Skin Care products. Melissa started booking roles in short films such as "Timid Pimps", "Jungle Dead Two", "TeleviSean", :Spare Change" and many more.
Melissa's biggest success in 2014 was when she landed her first lead role in a National Pepsi Commercial. Then booking commercials for Fila and LA fitness to top off her success that year.
She enjoys the benefits of Hollywood having taken classes with Ivana Chubbuck, Lesley Khan, Stuart K. Robertson and Groundlings for Improv.
Melissa Riso continues to take acting classes and train in Krav Maga for her feature action role that she dreams of in the feature. - Riff Regan was born on 11 May 1975 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Just Friends (1996) and Roseanne (1988).
- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Edgar Kennedy, who was born on April 26, 1890, near Monterey, California, hit the road as a young man and traveled across the country, working in a succession of jobs. He became a professional boxer, claiming to have gone 14 rounds against The Manassas Mauler, Jack Dempsey.
In addition to his knowledge of the "Sweet Science", Kennedy possessed a good musical voice, and wound up singing in musical shows in the Midwest, his first taste of show business. During his cross-country peregrinations he wound up in Los Angeles, and found himself hired as an actor by comedy producer Mack Sennett. At the Sennett Studios he was allegedly one of the original Keystone Kops, but soon graduated from bit parts to supporting roles in Keystone comedies, including Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) with Charles Chaplin. Kennedy had good roles in other Chaplin movies, but when his contract expired in 1921 he went freelance, though he did occasionally return to Sennett.
After leaving Sennett Kennedy established himself as a first-rate supporting comic, and made a career out of playing harassed businessmen, next-door neighbors, cops, etc. By the late 1920s his craft was most prominently featured in comedies for Hal Roach, Sennett's arch-rival, where he flourished in support of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was with Roach that he developed his mastery of the "slow burn", a routine for which he became famous. He often played a none-too-bright policeman brought to the boiling point by the absurdities of Laurel and Hardy. He also directed the two in From Soup to Nuts (1928) and You're Darn Tootin' (1928).
RKO hired Kennedy to appear in a series of comedy shorts called "The Average Man," in which he played the head of a family. The shorts had very tight shooting schedules, often as few as three days, but Kennedy was always a pro and delighted the audience by giving them his all. He made over 200 short subjects and appeared in over 100 feature films, still in demand right up to the day he died of cancer on November 9, 1948.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Actor
Bob Mackie was born on 24 March 1939 in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is a costume designer and actor, known for The Carol Burnett Show (1967), Rocketman (2019) and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971). He was previously married to Lulu Porter.- Pilar M. Lastra was born on 15 January 1981 in Monterey Park, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Malibu Spring Break (2003), No Rules (2005) and Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (2005).
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Clarissa Thibeaux was born on 23 August 1990 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Runaways (2017) and Gentefied (2020).- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Willis Chung was born in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Magnum P.I. (2018), Fresh Off the Boat (2015) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Michanne Quinney was born in Monterey Park, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Mom (2013), S.W.A.T. (2017) and Criminal Minds (2005).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Christina July Kim was born in Monterey Park, California and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when she was 6 years old. She grew up in the Northeast Heights of Albuquerque and was the only Korean-American girl in her class all throughout school. Although Christina seemed very happy, she was very ashamed of her Korean heritage growing up. She first took a speech and drama class taught by M. Mercer in 8th grade where she landed the role of "Buttercup" in her school's production of "The Princess Bride". She escaped racial prejudices through acting and found freedom of expression through the theatre. In high school, she continued to study acting and with the counsel of her high school drama teacher D. Keyson, she decided to apply to the Bachelor of Fine Arts acting program at the University of Southern California. Out of 500+ applicants, Christina was accepted into the prestigious BFA program. Christina was Taft-Hartlied into SAG for her role as "Xiu" in the film Doc West (2009), starring Paul Sorvino and Terence Hill, produced by DAP Italy.- Actress
Midori was born on 29 January 1941 in Monterey County, California, USA. She is an actress, known for McCloud (1970), Krakatoa: East of Java (1968) and Hangup (1974).- Actor
- Composer
- Stunts
Robert Jacks was born on 9 August 1959 in Monterey, California, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994), A Troll's Bridge (2002) and Scary Movie (1991). He died on 8 August 2001 in Austin, Texas, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nicholas Wagner was born on 21 October 1979 in Monterey Park, California, USA. Nicholas is an actor and assistant director, known for Perry Mason (2020), Sumotherhood (2023) and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022).- Rachel Roy was born on 15 January 1974 in Monterey, California, USA. She was previously married to Damon Dash.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Gary Ambrosia was born on 25 April 1980 in Monterey County, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Project 12 (2012) and Pop Culture Breakdown with Overlord DVD (2021).- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Hank Harrison was born on 17 June 1941 in Monterey, California, USA. He was a writer, known for LSD-25 (1967), Kurt & Courtney (1998) and One Life (2003). He was married to Linda Risi. He died on 23 January 2022 in Galt, California, USA.- Danny Verduzco was born on 22 December 1986 in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Four Rooms (1995) and The Crow: City of Angels (1996).
- Steve Firstman was born on 10 December 1944 in Monterey, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950), Playhouse 90 (1956) and Schlitz Playhouse (1951).
- Actor
- Writer
Dina Ramona Silva is an actor/writer/musician. She was allergic to bees as a child, but thinks now she has outgrown it. She has yet to actually test this theory in fear of maybe dying. Dina has always loved the art of storytelling and performing. Her academic accolades include one semester at UCSC for theater and two years at Cabrillo Community College. Both colleges she studied theater but never graduated. Some say it was financial hardship that she never quite finished, others say it was the dyslexia. Maybe it's Maybelline or maybe she's born with it. Dina lives in Los Angeles in hopes that one day she'll finally finish something.- Brittany Williams is an actress and internationally published model best known for The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), and Traded (2016). She was born in Monterey Bay, California. Brittany's acting career began as a child in San Francisco. She studied Theater Arts at Monterey Peninsula College in her hometown before graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Brittany is a trained dancer and competed on a national dance team for five years.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Walter Willison is a Tony Award nominee, winner of a Theatre World Award and recipient of a Special William Inge Award. He is a true Renaissance man; an actor, singer, lyricist, writer, director and producer. He starred on Broadway in "Grand Hotel", "Two By Two", "Pippin", "Norman, Is That You?", "Wild and Wonderful", "A Celebration of Richard Rodgers", "A Gala Tribute to Joshua Logan", "A Celebration of George Abbott", "A Christmas Carol: The Musical" at Madison Square Garden, "Anyone Can Whistle Live at Carnegie Hall"; Bernstein's "Mass: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers", the Inaugural presentation of The Kennedy Center, "South Pacific: A 25th Anniversary Concert". Off-Broadway includes the title role in the first ever revival of Wright and Forrest's "Kean" at The York Theater, and he directed and starred as Noah opposite Pat Suzuki in The Jewish Repertory Theatre's "Two By Two: The Richard Rodgers' Centennial Concert". He starred as El Gallo in the historic First International Tour of "The Fantasticks" in Japan, directed by and costarring bookwriter/lyricist Tom Jones with composer Harvey Schmidt at the piano. Other notable stage appearances include "It's A Musical World: A Tribute to Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley" with Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse, Tony Bennett at The Hollywood Palladium; At the St. Louis Municipal Opera, he starred as Prince Charming in Walt Disney's "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" opposite Leslie Easterbrook, Perchik in "Fiddler On The Roof" with Herschel Bernardi, and Lancelot in "Camelot" with Tricia O'Neil and David Birney; numerous regional productions as Billy Bigelow in "Carousel" and Paul Bertholet in "Carnival", and the national tours of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" and "Your Own Thing".
Mr. Willison made his professional debut in the West Coast Premiere of Meredith Willson's "Here's Love" [aka "Miracle On 34th Street"] for The San Bernardino Civic Light Opera in 1964, followed by juvenile roles in The West Coast Premiere of "High Spirits" with Carolyn Jones, Mary Wickes and Adrienne Angel, "Bye Bye Birdie" with Dick Van Dyke and Rose Marie, "The Boyfriend" with Juliet Prowse and Lee Roy Reams, "Half a Sixpence" with Kenneth Nelson, and the West Coast Premiere of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" with Tammy Grimes and John Cullum in LA and San Francisco.
Films include Mike Frankovich's Emmy Award-winning "Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women", for which he was personally selected by Irving Berlin to play Ziegfeld star Frank Carter and croon Berlin's classic "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody"; "Harry and Walter Go To New York", "The Initiation", "Somebody Help Me", "Edward II", and he wrote the lyrics [with music by Jeffrey Silverman] for the songs he sings in the cult classic "Fantasies" ["Once Upon a Love" in Europe, "Femme" in France, etcetera) starring Bo Derek, directed by John Derek.
On Television, he starred as Dr. Calvin Campbell in NBC's hit 1976-1977 series "McDuff, The Talking Dog", as Clyde Griffiths in Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" episode of Turnley Walker's "The Great Novelists" series on PBS, and as Dr. George "Buck" Wheaton on "Days of Our Lives". He appeared "The Tony Awards", "The Today Show", "The David Frost Show", "Celebrity Revue", "The Great NBC Smilin' Saturday Morning" TV special, hosted by Freddy Prinz; "The Dating Game", and numerous other variety and talk shows.
Walter has written and directed plays, musicals and nightclub acts across the US. He collaborated with Douglas Holmes on the book for the critically acclaimed 1997 revisal of Frank Loesser's "Greenwillow: The Musical Folktale" [which Variety heralded was "redeemed by its new book"], also directing the World Premiere at in Sarasota, Florida, subsequently produced at theatres including the Utah State Opera and in Branson, Mo.; wrote lyrics, with music by John Kroner, and collaborated with Douglas Holmes on the book for "Wonderful Life: The Musical" [based on Frank Capra's film], which has been performed at regional theaters around the US; adapted and directed Hal Hackady & Larry Grossman's "Minnie's Boys: The Marx Brothers Musical In Concert" for The Jewish Repertory Theatre, Off-Broadway; directed the West Coast Premiere of Kenward Elmslie & Claibe Richardson & Truman Capote's "The Grass Harp" starring Susan Watson [introducing a then-six-year-old Christina Applegate], and Your Own Thing at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre; wrote book & lyrics, directed and costarred in "Front Street Gaieties: Dodge City's Hottest Revue" also starring with Susan Watson and Charles Ward at The Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica, and Off-Broadway: "Broadway Scandals of 1928: the new speakeasy musical, also starring with Diane J. Findlay, Shelley Bruce, and Joanna Rush, both with music by Jeffrey Silverman, and "Options", starring with Julie Budd and Joanna Rush, also with lyrics and music by Willison and Silverman.
Mr. Willison was honored to collaborate with John Willis as Associate Editor for the books "Theatre World" #42, 43 and 44 and "Screen World" volumes #27, 38, 39 and 40. He served as Vice-President of Theater World Awards Board of Directors from 2004 to 2006. He directed "The 61st Annual Theatre World Awards" at Studio 54, starring such luminaries as Lucie Arnaz, John Cullum, Judy Kaye, Pat Suzuki, and "The 62nd Annual Theatre World Awards" at Studio 54, starring Lucie Arnaz, Harry Connick, Jr., Ralph Fiennes, Tammy Grimes, Harry Groener, Ken Page, John Rubinstein, and contributed special material for Liza Minnelli.
He has 29 recordings released on CD, as performer, producer, or both, including the Original Broadway cast recordings of "Two By Two", "Grand Hotel", "Broadway Scandals of 1928", "A Christmas Carol: The Musical", "Anyone Can Whistle: Live at Carnegie Hall", "Collette Collage", "Unsung Sondheim", "Lost in Boston I", "Lost in Boston II", "Unsung Irving Berlin"; Robert Wright & George Forrest's "Anastasia: The Musical and Premiere Recordings of Wright & Forrest Songs from 'Grand Hotel', 'At The Grand', 'Betting on Bertie' &' Kean' ", "A Bag of Popcorn and a Dream: an intimate bigscreen revue", "Beauty and the Beast: A Gothic Musical"; and he produced: "Marcia Lewis: Nowadays", Maltby & Shire's restored "Cyrano" & "The Grand Tour", and "Neva Small: My Place in the World". He contributed booklet notes for Martin Charnin's "Mata Hari", Bob Merrill's "Breakfast at Tiffany's", and Wright & Forrest's "ANYA".
In 1980, Mr. Willison joined forces with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Jerome Lawrence and Margaret Goheen to create The William Inge Festival which annually honors our greatest living American playwrights, composers & lyricists in Inge's hometown of Independence, Kansas. He wrote, directed and appeared in tributes to Jerome Lawrence, Robert Anderson, William Gibson and Garson Kanin, appeared in "Penn Avenue to Broadway: A 25 Year Retrospective", with Hal Linden in "To Life!: A Tribute to Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick". At IngeFest 28, with Barbara Dana in his play "William Inge-The Interview: A Play on Reality" [based on interviews with William Inge], and with Ms. Dana, Susan Watson, Rita Gardner, Martin Vidnovic, Elizabeth Wilson in "Remember & Celebrate: Honoring Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt", recipients of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in The American Theatre Award. In 2016 he starred with Marcy DeGonge Manfredi, John Schuck and Daisy Eagan in "The William Inge Festival 35th Anniversary Tribute" and wrote and directed "Splendor: A Tribute to the Oscars".
From 2016-2017 Mr. Willison served as Artistic Director of The Ziegfeld Society of New York City. In 2017 Mr. Willison conceived, wrote and directed "Ziegfeld Follies of the Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue" at Birdland, starring with Liliane Montevecchi, Loni Ackerman, Shelly Burch, Carole Demas, and others; "The Unsinkable Tammy Grimes: A Musical Life in Revue" starring with Patricia Bosworth, Laura Kenyon, Chris Orbach, Lee Roy Reams, Steve Ross, Jane Summerhays and others; "We'll Take a Glass Together!: The Songs of Robert Wright & George Forrest" celebrating his 70th Birthday, starring with Karen Akers, Marcy De Gonge Manfredi, Heather Mac Rae, Lynnette Perry and Liliane Montevecchi, and in December 2017 he conceived, wrote, directed and costarred with Robert Cuccioli and Jim Dale in "Here's Love To The Music Man: A Celebration of Songwriter Meredith Willson".
He wrote and directed the acclaimed "Grand Hotel; The 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert", costarring with Liliane Montevecchi, Brent Barrett, Karen Akers and other fellow original cast members at 54 Below; directed Steve Ross & Karen Oberlin in "Cheek to Cheek: The Songs of Astaire & Rogers" and "The 32nd Annual Alec Wilder Tribute Concert" starring Klea Blackhurst and Karen Ziemba, also at 54 Below. In September, 2017, he appeared in his first solo nightclub act since 1978, "Walter Willison: Music In My Heart" at The Metropolitan Room, about which noted cabaret critic Sandi Durell praised "The expressive, sophisticated and natural Walter Willison, so capable when it comes to channeling emotions in every lyric. An extraordinary Broadway performer - an entertainer's entertainer."
Mr. Willison appears with a cast of Broadway Legends in Rick McKay's documentary "Broadway: Beyond The Golden Age" (2018). He wrote and directed "Blues, Ballads & Sin Songs: The Legend of Libby Holman" starring Lee Horwin with Joel A. Martin at the piano, which had its World Premiere at The Triad Theater in New York City on April 30th, 2018.
Most recently, Walter conceived, wrote, produced, and directed the critically acclaimed "Pippin: The 50th Anniversary Original Broadway Cast Reunion Concert", starring with John Rubenstein, Joy Franz, Candy Brown, Cheryl Clark, Gene Foote, Will D. McMillan, Pamela Sousa, Aaron Lee Battle, and the legendary Leland Palmer, at 54 Below in February 2023, which also live-streamed. He is a guest star in Bruce Kimmel's series "Sami", starring Cindy Williams, which drops on Amazon Prime on April 23, 2023. REV.4/20/2023- Actress
- Art Department
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Io Bottoms was born on 8 December 1980 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Arbitrage (2012), Somewhere (2010) and Marie Antoinette (2006).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Christopher Disney Miller was born on 10 December 1954 in Monterey County, California, USA. He is an assistant director and producer, known for The Black Hole (1979), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) and Tex (1982).- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Executive
Besides film, TV and commercials, she worked in dozens of professional plays and musicals. She retired from acting at age 25 and became apprentice to the world-renown voice teacher, Bob Corff. Seven years later, they were married. Together, they founded the "Corff Voice Studios" in Los Angeles. Claire also co-authored "Achieving the Standard American Accent" C.D. and workbook. She also co-authored a series of accent CDs and workbooks, which covers learning nearly every accent worldwide. In addition to her private lessons, she teaches at the famous Beverly Hills Playhouse and Lee Strasberg Institute.- Casting Department
- Actor
- Producer
Ulysses was born in Monterey Park, CA and grew up in Hong Kong. With both western and eastern cultural influence, not only can Ulysses read, write and speak fluent Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) and English, he has a unique personality and character traits that combines both worlds adding a different flavor to his work. Performed with various performance groups growing up in Hong Kong and America, Ulysses is an actor, singer and improviser who recently graduated from iO West.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Marissa Merrill was born on 15 April 1988 in Monterey County, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Knowing (2021), End (2009) and Another Yeti a Love Story: Life on the Streets (2017).- Actor
- Writer
Brook Fuller was born on 9 April 1958 in Monterey, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Leopard (1963), Little Dancer (2012) and The Christmas Tree (1969).- Stunts
- Actor
Sam Ly was born on 21 September 1988 in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Bullet Train (2022), Mulan (2020) and Captain Marvel (2019).- Robert Emmett was born on 28 September 1921 in Monterey, California, USA. He was a writer, known for That Was the Week That Was (1963), Matinee Theatre (1955) and ABC Stage 67 (1966). He was married to Kim Hunter. He died on 8 April 2000 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Location Management
- Producer
- Production Manager
Manny Padilla was born in Monterey Park, California, USA. He is a producer and production manager, known for Super 8 (2011), Live by Night (2016) and Inception (2010).- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Marta Villalobos was born on 10 February 1979 in Monterey, California, USA. She is a costume designer, known for Meet Dave (2008), Rent (2005) and Savages (2012).- Diane Linklater was born on 15 August 1937 in Monterey, California, USA. Diane was married to Chuck Linklater. Diane died on 8 June 2017 in Huntsville, Texas, USA.
- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Libby Letlow was born on 15 January 1980 in Monterey, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Diminuendo (2018), Cowboys & Engines (2015) and Prey: The Light in the Dark (2013).- Leon Panetta served as United States Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013 and as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011.
Prior to that, Panetta was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993, served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994, and served as former President Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997. Panetta is the cofounder and chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy and currently serves as moderator of the Leon Panetta Lecture Series, a program he created. He previously served as Distinguished Scholar to Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the California State University System and professor of public policy at Santa Clara University.