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1-15 of 15
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Menahem Golan was born Menahem Globus to parents of Polish decent in Tiberias, Israel, in May 1929. In his early years, he was a pilot for the fledgling Israeli Air Force, changing his surname to Golan for patriotic reasons in 1948. A few years later, he took the first step towards his future career by attending the Old Vic Theatre School in London. After returning to Israel, he produced for theater, until joining producer Roger Corman as an assistant on The Young Racers (1963). Golan's debut film in partnership with his younger cousin Yoram Globus was El Dorado (1963). The two cousins set up Noah Films to produce for the Israeli market. Golan's role was as producer and the creative partner, with Globus as the financial expert. The company was first recognized overseas when its production Sallah Shabati (1964) won an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and then won the Golden Globe in the same category in 1965. However, the cousins were desperate to break into the international market. Some of their films had been picked up for distribution in America, such as Kazablan (1973) by MGM, but this was not enough.
In 1979 the pair bought control of a failing production company, The Cannon Group Inc., from Dennis Friedland and Christopher C. Dewey, and it was this company that gave them international renown. Under their control, the Cannon Group grew from a small company making a few obscure pictures a year to a studio that produced 35 pictures in 1987 alone. They developed a large, independent, and international empire, with production, distribution, and exhibition interests across Europe. Golan and Globus hit their peak with Cannon in the mid-1980s, signing Sylvester Stallone for a record US$13 million in 1983 for Over the Top (1987) and purchasing the UK's Thorn-EMI Screen Entertainment in 1986. This last deal led to their ownership of the ABC cinema circuit and Elstree Studios in Britain. However, by 1987, the money was starting to run out. Many of their movies were not making enough at the box office despite the cousins' wide cinema ownership, and they had taken on a lot of debt during their rapid growth, making more expensive pictures in the process. They were initially rescued by Warner Bros., which took distribution rights to Cannon's better films--for example, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), based on a character that Warner already owned--and also took an interest in some of its assets. The end of Cannon came in 1989 when, virtually bankrupt, the company was bought by the now-disgraced financier Giancarlo Parretti and renamed Pathé Communications (after the new MGM-Pathé collapsed in 1992, Globus produced pictures with Christopher Pearce, which were released under a resurrected Cannon Pictures label. The last of these was American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1993) before the company folded for good).
Golan fell out with Parretti and Globus, leaving Pathé, and starting 21st Century Pictures. He produced a number of films that received widespread distribution, such as Death Wish: The Face of Death (1994) and Captain America (1990), but by the mid-1990s this company had folded, too. Golan's name was later linked with other new companies, such as International Dynamic Pictures and Magic Entertainment, and he rejoined cousin Yoram for both. However, the two soon fell out again and went their separate ways, with Golan writing and directing for other producers in the interim. Golan's latest company is New Cannon Inc., and his recent works include Crime and Punishment (2002) and Return from India (2002). Unfortunately for his fans, it now seems unlikely that Golan will recreate the success of his heyday. Menahem Golan has long been criticized (sometimes unfairly) for an emphasis on quantity rather than quality. It's true that some of the movies he has produced have been laughable or unwatchable. However, now out of the limelight of a critical industry, some of his company's once-derided films have achieved cult status, such as Mona Lisa (1986), Godfrey Reggio's Powaqqatsi (1988), and the "Lemon Popsicle" series. Golan's ongoing drive, energy, and past contribution to the world of cinema will undoubtedly and belatedly be recognized for the achievement this represents.- Charles Keating was born on 22 October 1941 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Another World (1964), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) and The Bodyguard (1992). He was married to Mary Ellen Cudbody. He died on 8 August 2014 in Weston, Connecticut, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Transportation Department
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Danny was injured in a diving accident in Oaks Bluff, Martha's Vineyard on August 8, 1974 leaving him a quadriplegic at age 19. He graduated from Stonehill College in 1979 majoring in Criminal Justice and then enjoyed a successful corporate career in Boston working for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Lotus Development Corporation before deciding to relocate to Fort Lauderdale to develop businesses involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This was also when he became an avid sailor at the Shake A Leg organization in Miami. He was married in 1988 on Cape Cod and divorced in 1995. His acting career started shortly thereafter at the tender age of 40 and completely by accident. His old buddy, Peter Farrelly, who was with him on that fateful day in 1974, invited him to the premier of Dumb and Dumber. When Peter asked Danny what he thought of the movie, Danny busted his chops by pointing out that there weren't any wheelchair users in the film. That led to an invitation to play a role in Kingpin and every Farrelly film since. Danny now resides in Los Angeles studying film and theatre, going after the business, and now producing as well.- Bill Reimbold was born on 12 March 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Fifth Element (1997) and Superman III (1983). He died on 8 August 2014 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Gary White was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Meaning of Life (1983), Bullshot Crummond (1983) and Paper Mask (1990). He died on 8 August 2014 in London, England, UK.- Art Department
Simon Chung was born on 16 April 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Simon is known for American Dad! (2005). Simon died on 8 August 2014 in Granada Hills, California, USA.- J.J. Murphy was born on 7 May 1928 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He was an actor, known for Game of Thrones (2011), Cal (1984) and Angela's Ashes (1999). He was married to Mary. He died on 8 August 2014 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
- Art Department
- Animation Department
- Writer
Budd Lewis was born on 13 November 1948 in Louisiana, USA. He was a writer, known for R.O.T.O.R. (1987), Dark Angel (1990) and Dragonfight (1990). He was married to Grae ?. He died on 8 August 2014.- Aurel Cioranu was born on 17 October 1929 in Bucharest, Romania. He was an actor, known for Haiducii lui Saptecai (1971), The Poseidon Explosion (1973) and Eu, tu si Ovidiu (1978). He died on 8 August 2014 in Bucharest, Romania.
- Michelle Frost was born on 6 January 1987. She died on 8 August 2014 in Staffordshire, England, UK.
- David Rosand was born on 6 September 1938 in New York, USA. He died on 8 August 2014 in New York, New York, USA.
- Additional Crew
Mac Newbury was born on 28 September 1924 in Port Arthur, Texas, USA. Mac is known for My Girl (1991), Straight Talk (1992) and Doctor Detroit (1983). Mac died on 8 August 2014 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Aged 16, he went to Melbourne University, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in piano in 1950. His Piano Sonatina (1954), based on an Aboriginal legend, was the first work of a resident Australian chosen for performance at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany. In 1958, he was awarded the Lizette Bentwich Scholarship by the University of Melbourne, which allowed him to undertake postdoctoral studies at Oxford, England where he studied composition with Edmund Rubbra and Egon Wellesz and came into contact with contemporaries such as Peter Maxwell Davies and John Cage. Sculthorpe returned to Australia in 1960 and in 1963 accepted the first appointment in composition at the University of Sydney's Music Department. Sculthorpe continues to be actively involved in the national and international music scene, attending festivals and performances and teaching at summer schools, as well as composing.- Wlodzimierz Biernacki was born on 10 May 1954 in Poland. He was an actor, known for M jak milosc (2000), Na dobre i na zle (1999) and Blisko, coraz blizej (1983). He died on 8 August 2014 in Poland.
- Soundtrack
Johnny Ray Allen was born on 29 July 1958 in Aberdeen, Mississippi, USA. He died on 8 August 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.