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1-50 of 238
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Lean, angular-faced and authoritatively spoken lead / supporting actor Roy Scheider obviously never heard the old actor's axiom about "never appearing with kids or animals" lest they overshadow your performance. Breaking that rule did him no harm, though, as he achieved pop cult status by finding, fighting and blowing up a 25-foot-long Great White shark (nicknamed "Bruce") in the mega-hit Jaws (1975) and then electrocuting an even bigger Great White in the vastly inferior Jaws 2 (1978).
Athletic Scheider was born in November 1932 in Orange, New Jersey, to Anna (Crosson) and Roy Bernhard Scheider, a mechanic. He was of German and Irish descent. A keen sportsman from a young age, he competed in baseball and boxing (his awkwardly mended broken nose is a result of his foray into Golden Gloves competitions). While at college, his pursuits turned from sports to theater and he studied drama at Rutgers and Franklin and Marshall. After a stint in the military, Scheider appeared with the New York Shakespeare Festival and won an "Obie Award" for his appearance in the play "Stephen D."
His film career commenced with the campy Z-grade horror cheesefest The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964), and he then showed up in Star! (1968), Paper Lion (1968), Stiletto (1969) and Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970). In 1971 he really came to the attention of film audiences with his role in the Jane Fonda thriller Klute (1971) and then as Det. Buddy Russo (scoring his first Oscar nomination) alongside fiery Gene Hackman in the crime drama The French Connection (1971). His performance as a tough street cop in that film led him into another tough cop role as NYC Det. Buddy Manucci in the underappreciated The Seven-Ups (1973), which features one of the best car chase sequences ever put on film.
In the early 1970s the Peter Benchley novel "Jaws" was a phenomenal best-seller, and young director Steven Spielberg was chosen by Universal Pictures to direct the film adaptation, Jaws (1975), in which Scheider played police chief Brody and shared lead billing with Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss in the tale of a New England seaside community terrorized by a hungry Great White shark. "Jaws" was a blockbuster, and for many years held the record as the highest-grossing film of all time. Scheider then turned up as the shady CIA agent brother of Dustin Hoffman in the unnerving Marathon Man (1976) and in the misfired William Friedkin-directed remake of The Wages of Fear (1953) titled Sorcerer (1977), before again returning to Amity to battle another giant shark in Jaws 2 (1978). Seeking a change from tough cops and hungry sharks, he took the role of womanizing, drug-popping choreographer Joe Gideon, the lead character of the semi-autobiographical portrayal of director Bob Fosse in the sparkling All That Jazz (1979). It was another big hit for Scheider (and another Oscar nomination), with the film featuring a stunning opening sequence to the tune of the funky George Benson number "On Broadway", and breathtaking dance routines including the "Airotica" performance by the glamorous Sandahl Bergman.
Returning to another law enforcement role, Scheider played a rebellious helicopter pilot in the John Badham conspiracy / action film Blue Thunder (1983), a scientist in the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) simply titled 2010 (1984), a cheating husband who turns the tables on his blackmailers in 52 Pick-Up (1986), a cold-blooded hit man in Cohen and Tate (1988) and a CIA operative in the muddled and slow-moving The Russia House (1990). The versatile Scheider was then cast as the captain of a futuristic submarine in the relatively popular TV series SeaQuest 2032 (1993), which ran for three seasons.
Inexplicably, however, Scheider had seemingly, and slowly, dropped out of favor with mainstream film audiences, and while he continued to remain busy, predominantly in supporting roles (generally as US presidents or military officers), most of the vehicles he appeared in were B-grade political thrillers such as The Peacekeeper (1997), Executive Target (1997), Chain of Command (2000) and Red Serpent (2003).- Actress
- Producer
Lisa Blount was an actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably as Lynette Pomeroy in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Along with her husband, actor Ray McKinnon, she received an Academy Award for the 2002 short film The Accountant (2001).
Lisa Suzanne Blount was born in Fayetteville (Washington County) to Glen Roscoe Blount and Louise Martin Blount, natives of Floral (Independence County); she had one brother, Greg. The family moved to Jacksonville (Pulaski County). Blount graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1975 and attended the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville, beginning classes there when she was sixteen; she left UA before graduating in order to pursue an acting career.
Blount's movie career began in earnest at age nineteen when she was chosen to play a lead role in September 30, 1955 (1977), which was shot in Conway (Faulkner County) and released in 1977. Written and directed by James Bridges, it starred Richard Thomas, Dennis Quaid, and Tom Hulce. Though surrounded by accomplished actors, Blount's vivid portrayal of a James Dean-obsessed girl named Billie Jean stood out among her more well-known co-stars.
Blount married cinematographer actor Christopher Tufty on March 19, 1982; they later divorced. She married Ray McKinnon in 1998. She had no children.
Blount is best remembered for her 1982 role in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). The movie won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four others. Her screen character-the ambitious, cynical, and insecure Lynette Pomeroy-is the best friend of Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger). As a result of her performance in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Blount was voted "Favourite Female Newcomer" in 1983 by a US magazine readers' poll.
Blount added television roles to her repertoire. She received critical plaudits for her appearance in the second season of Moonlighting (1985) in the episode Sleep Talkin' Guy (1986). She played a high-class call girl named Toby, whose client talked in his sleep, revealing details of planned murders. Another memorable role was that of Jim Profit's outrageous stepmother Bobbi Stakowski in the short-lived but critically acclaimed Fox series Profit (1996). She appeared in eight episodes in 1996 and 1997.
Blount was given a key role in director John Carpenter's horror film Prince of Darkness (1987), in which she appeared as the love interest to Jameson Parker. As a result of her appearance in this and a few other horror movies, she was sometimes referred to by the press as a "scream queen" star.
Blount and McKinnon received an Academy Award in 2002 for a live-action short film she produced and he directed titled The Accountant, which concerned the plight of American family farms. Many critics believe that Blount's most poignant role was in the 2004 movie Chrystal (2004), which was written, directed, and co-produced by McKinnon, who also played the character Snake in the film. The movie co-starred fellow Arkansan Billy Bob Thornton and was shot in the Eureka Springs (Carroll County) area.
Following the making of Chrystal (2004), Blount and McKinnon moved back to her home state of Arkansas after several years of living in Los Angeles, California. This was in part due to Blount's failing health. She continued to be active and was working on several projects. She shot a pilot for the FX television network series Outlaw Country (2012) with fellow Arkansan Mary Steenburgen, recorded demos for a music project on which she had been working, performed on stage with Eddie Vedder at a rally for the West Memphis Three, and continued the work of designing and remodelling her historic home in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Her last big-screen appearance was as Charlotte Pearson in Randy and the Mob (2007), her husband's crime comedy shot in Atlanta, Georgia.
Blount died at her home in Little Rock after spending seventeen years fighting a chronic illness called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). She is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Floral. She had been inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame on September 9, 2010, shortly before her death.- Actor
- Soundtrack
He had that same genuine likability factor, owned that same trademark lantern jaw and was just as appealing and gifted as his older brother, Dick Van Dyke, but, for decades, Jerry Van Dyke bore the brunt of his brother's overwhelming shadow.
Six years younger than brother Dick, the comic actor was born on July 27, 1931, in Danville, Illinois. Raised there, the crew cut blond showed an aptitude for clowning in high school. His stand-up comedy venues first took the form of dives and strip clubs throughout the Deep South in which his banjo-playing became an intricate part of the routine. At one point, Jerry was a regular on the Playboy club circuit. He then set his sights on the top showrooms in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City and became a dependable opening act.
Jerry's early career should have been rightfully interrupted when he joined the Air Force in 1952. He, instead, kept the troops laughing by performing in Special Services shows. Winning a military talent contest actually earned him a couple of appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show") and resulting TV exposure. Following his tour of duty, he nabbed variety appearances and a regular comic relief role on The Judy Garland Show (1963). He found comic acting parts as well on TV. Like brother Dick, who was a huge TV star by this time, Jerry also did a stint emceeing a game show. In Jerry's case, it was Picture This (1963).
Ever the hapless klutz and happy-go-lucky stammerer, Jerry built up his TV reputation in the early 60s. He turned down the title role in Gilligan's Island (1964), which he rightfully deemed inane, but instead chose the equally silly My Mother the Car (1965). It proved to be a detrimental career move. While "Gilligan" became a surprise hit that still runs in syndication four decades later, Jerry had to live down starring in one of the most lambasted sitcoms of all time. Truthfully, the two shows were on an equal (sub)par with each other. It was just a cruel luck of the draw that Jerry ended up biting the bullet while Gilligan's Bob Denver found cult celebrity. Jerry's subsequent two series were also one seasoners with Accidental Family (1967), a sitcom in which he more or less played himself (a nightclub comedian), and Headmaster (1970), a drama starring Andy Griffith in which he played a physical education coach. Neither did much for his career. A promising co-star role with Griffith in the film Angel in My Pocket (1969) also went nowhere. Over the years, Jerry has appeared as a guest star on a number of brother Dick's shows, including the classic The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) in which he played, of course, Dick's brother.
The genially dim character "George Utley" on Bob Newhart's 1980s series was originally created for Jerry but Tom Poston assumed the part. Good fortune finally smiled on Jerry when he won the hapless role of "Luther Van Dam", a role that capped his long career, on Coach (1989). He earned four consecutive Emmy nominations and a steady paycheck for eight seasons. His seesaw struggle and survival after nearly five decades truly paid off this time, and only proves his love for the business.
Nearing the millennium, Jerry was seen frequently on the smaller screen. In addition to guesting on such shows as "The New Addams Family," "The District," "Diagnosis Murder," "My Name Is Earl," "Committed" and "Raising Hope," the veteran actor played the regular roles as grandpa types in the sitcom fantasies Teen Angel (1997) and You Wish (1997); had the recurring grandparent role of Big Jimmy Hughes in the comedy series Yes, Dear (2000) and ended his career as a grandpa in the established sitcom The Middle (2009) starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn.
In later years, Jerry spent much of his time at a ranch in Arkansas where he lived with his second wife, the former Shirley Jones (not the singer/actress), and raised cattle. Tragedy struck in 1991 when one of his three children, Kelly Van Dyke, a substance abuser, took her own life. On the sly, one could also find Jerry at the poker table as part of ESPN tournaments. He died in Arkansas on January 5, 2018, aged 86.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dick Hogan was born on 27 November 1917 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Rope (1948), Annapolis Salute (1937) and Submarine Patrol (1938). He died on 18 August 1995 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.- Billy E. Hughes was born on 28 November 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), Smoke in the Wind (1975) and Ole Rex (1961). He was married to Aida. He died on 20 December 2005 in Alma, Arkansas, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mindy McCready was born on 30 November 1975 in Fort Meyers, Florida, USA. She was an actress, known for Switchback (1997) and Mindy McCready: Ten Thousand Angels (1996). She died on 17 February 2013 in Heber Springs, Arkansas, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Born in Georgia but raised in Houston since the age of 7, this self-described "Prince of Darkness" was compelled to use the comedy stage as his philosophic soapbox. At 13, he would sneak out of his suburban house to hustle his way onto open-mike night rosters. In two brief decades, Hicks worked his way up the sweat-stained comedy ladder to national exposure on The Tonight Show, Late Show with David Letterman and an HBO cable special. Rolling Stone named him the "hot stand-up" of 1993. He was the hit of the 1990 and 1991 Just for Laughs comedy festivals in Montreal. Dead at 32, the enigmatic Hicks was admired, reviled and misunderstood. - The Montreal Gazette, March 28, 1994- Tammy Lea Marihugh was born in Los Angeles to part-time Hollywood stand-in, Malcolm Marihugh and his wife, Ellie, a former bank clerk, both of whom encouraged and helped their daughter's career so that by the time she was six, Marihugh had earned about S35,000 from winning child beauty contests, working as a model and appearing on TV. At four, Ellie took Tammy to a local photographer for some photos to send to her family back in Minot, ND. The photographer thought Tammy was so photogenic that he offered free pictures whenever she wanted them if he could use Tammy's photos for his own ads. Ellie agreed and Tammy's photo began appearing in several local Los Angeles newspapers. In December 1957, she won a TV Shirley Temple Smile contest. She was then offered a bit part in Playhouse 90 on CBS, where she recalled making $200 "just for smiling into the camera." In 1958, nearly 209,000 children entered photos for the "Howdy Doody" TV Show Smile Contest, and Tammy won, with a prize of $10,000. She toured the country, appeared several times on NBC, and posed for magazine covers. During October and November of 1958, she appeared several times on the popular Candid Camera-style show, People Are Funny, hosted by Art Linkletter. On the show, she was given thousands of dollars in play money, which on one episode she took to various stores trying to buy her father a 50-cent gift and on another, she tried to give away a kitten in public but found it hard to do so. She became very popular from these appearances and in April 1959, she joined the cast of The Bob Cummings Show in its final season with a contract paying $500 per episode. She appeared at the 1960 PATSY Awards, representing Asta, the dog from the 1957-1959 TV series The Thin Man. She soon began to get movie offers and debuted on the theatrical screen in 1960's The Last Voyage, playing the daughter to parents Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone. In June of 1960, Tammy was anointed "Little Miss Hot Dog", symbolizing the July celebration sponsored by the National Hot Dog Month Council. She became the youngest "Miss Hot Dog" in history. In December of that year, she became her parent's landlord when a judge approved her buying a six-room house for $16,000 near the MGM Studio, where she was signed to a seven-year contract making $500-700 weekly. Producer George Pal personally recommended her for the part of Gretel in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. She was instead cast as Pauline Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm's daughter. This was to be Tammy's final movie appearance and by the mid-1960's, she stopped appearing on TV as well. After a 1964 guest appearance on the CBS sitcom My Three Sons, it was five years later until her next and final acting role, also on My Three Sons, in a 1969 episode.
- Gwenllian Gill was born on 11 December 1915 in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Murder Tomorrow (1938), Menace (1934) and Flame in the Heather (1936). She was married to Donovan Pedelty. She died on 24 January 2004 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Amy Johnston was born on 22 September 1954 in La Jolla, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Charlie's Angels (1976) and Rooster: Spurs of Death! (1978). She was married to Steven. She died on 17 March 2021 in West Fork, Arkansas, USA.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Bill Coontz was born on 28 August 1917 in Johnson, Iowa, USA. He was an actor, known for Convoy (1978), Plunderers of Painted Flats (1959) and Frankenstein's Daughter (1958). He died on 7 April 1978 in Van Buren, Arkansas, USA.- Don McGovern was born on 19 March 1932 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Last Detail (1973), Mannix (1967) and Hit! (1973). He was married to Maureen Smith McGovern. He died on 15 October 2013 in Conway, Arkansas, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
For more than 20 years, Rick has been "The Voice of the Malvern Leopards", serving as the public address announcer for both the Malvern Leopard Football Stadium and the Basketball Field House. In addition to his acting credits, Rick has been the lead singer for rock bands since he was 13 years old. Influences include The Beatles, David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and David Phelps. Whenever possible he sings with his two daughters, Heather and Beth, at functions in Arkansas. He also has been featured in dozens of local television advertising campaigns for the furniture industry in Arkansas.- Actress
- Writer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene Castle and her husband Vernon Castle (born Vernon Blyth) were the best known ballroom dancers of the early 20th C. Beginning about 1914 they operated several clubs and studios in the NYC area, toured the country dancing, and were able to charge as much as a thousand dollars an hour for lessons. They appeared in an Irving Berlin musical ("Watch Your Step") and in the film "The Whirl Of Life" as themselves. Irene appeared in a number of films alone, notably the WWI drama "Patria". Vernon (as a military flying instructor) was killed in an airplane accident shortly before the war's end. Irene later married Robert Treman, an Ithaca NY businessman who stole her money and lost it on the stock market. In 1923 she married Frederic McLaughlin, a man sixteen years older than her. She married him for his money, divorcing him when he proved to be possessive and physically violent. Her fourth and final husband was George Enzinger an advertising executive from Chicago. She spent the later years of her life championing animal rights.- Bill Coyne was born on 14 March 1967. He was an actor, known for Suburbia (1983) and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980). He died on 22 March 2011 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA.
- The Great John L. was born on 26 March 1925 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), Silent Rage (1982) and Breaker! Breaker! (1977). He was married to Donna West Clark. He died on 6 November 2005 in Springdale, Arkansas, USA.
- Joe Mays was born on 25 February 1948 in Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Fatal Vision (1984), The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987) and The Magical World of Disney (1954). He died on 27 January 1994 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Earl Parker was born on 3 August 1927 in Eveleth, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Target: Harry (1969), Garrison's Gorillas (1967) and Combat! (1962). He died on 24 February 2002 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA.- Charles Portis was born on 28 December 1933 in El Dorado, Arkansas, USA. He was a writer, known for True Grit (2010), True Grit (1969) and Gringos. He died on 17 February 2020 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
- Actor
Joey Greb was a Brooklyn, New York club-fighter whose career spanned 3 decades and over 115 fights. Born Joseph Greco in Brooklyn, New York, he relocated to Herkimer, and launched his professional boxing career on April 19, 1928 losing by knockout to Joe Trabon in Kansas City. Over the next 12 years, Joey compiled a 51-58-10 record with 5 wins by knockout. He was defeated by world champions Fritzie Zivic (1933), Lou Ambers (1936), Jackie (Kid) Berg (1938, 1939), and Tippy Larken (1939). He went on to act in a few films, his most noted as a "punch-drunk", homeless ex-boxer in The Harder They Fall.- Robert Ginnaven was born on 1 January 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Steel Magnolias (1989), White Lightning (1973) and End of the Line (1987). He was married to Illa Ginnaven and Jeanne Tyler Ginnaven. He died on 17 February 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Slim Andrews was born on 8 December 1906 in Gravette, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Arizona Frontier (1940), Ridin' the Cherokee Trail (1941) and Rollin' Home to Texas (1940). He was married to Lucille. He died on 3 April 1992 in Gravette, Arkansas, USA.- Writer
- Actor
William Harrison was born on 29 October 1933 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Rollerball (1975), Rollerball (2002) and Welcome to Paradox (1998). He was married to Merlee Portman. He died on 22 October 2013 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.- Actor
- Producer
B. R. (Bobby) Harwell was born in Nashville, Arkansas on August 22, 1931. His first real taste of adventure came when, at the age of 18, he and his brother Bill signed on a Swedish freighter heading for India. The ship was forced to stop in Bermuda when a smoldering fire was discovered in the hold where he and Bill participated in an attempt to save the life of their trapped First Mate. The two of them later signed off the ship in India without proper papers. Considered illegals and getting no help from the US Embassy, their problem was solved by a caring Brit who was an agent for the Swedish ship they had recently left. B.R.'s adventures continued in Korea where he served in a combat medical group similar to the unit portrayed in the hit movie and TV series MASH. After the military he used the GI Bill to graduate Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas. Having a free spirit, he became a peregrinating observer of life, tasting it through an eclectic potpourri that included such diverse jobs as commercial fishing, hanging draperies, driving cabs, working in a skid row blood bank and teaching elementary school in a Miami ghetto. In the early eighties B. R. did his first print modeling job. From there he moved up to TV commercials and small roles in TV and film. At the age of 78 he wrote "Flawed", his first novel, which describes the frivolity of Hollywood commingled with incest, murder and betrayal.- Chris Carney was born on 19 August 1980 in Ohio, USA. He was married to Tiffany Thornton. He died on 4 December 2015 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA.