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- Actress
- Soundtrack
An honest-to-goodness Southern Belle, similar to her most famous character role, "Elly May Clampett" on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Donna Douglas grew up in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, loving "critters". She got married soon after high school, had a son, divorced and won a couple of beauty contests, all within the span of a few years. She moved to New York and soon appeared on television series, including a well-remembered guest-star shot on The Twilight Zone (1959) in one of the series' most famous episodes, Eye of the Beholder (1960), in which she plays a woman who tries to undergo a series of experimental treatments to make her beautiful, only for the treatments to fail. The twist was she was beautiful, at least to the viewers, but considered hideous to the pig people of the planet, she was on. She immediately won the character role of "Elly May Clampett" on one of the greatest situation comedies of all time, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). This extremely comical series debuted with The Clampetts Strike Oil (1962), on her 30th birthday, Wednesday, September 26th, 1962, which is among the narrowest & sheerest coincidences, that are hardest to believe.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
One of the leading sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s, film actress Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the only child of Vera J. (nee Palmer; later Peers) and Herbert W. Palmer. Her parents were well-to-do, with her father a successful attorney in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, where she spent a portion of her childhood. Her parents were both born with the same surname, and her ancestry was seven eighths English and Cornish and one eighth German. She was reportedly a talented pianist and played the violin when she was young.
Tragedy struck when Jayne was three, when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. Three years later, her mother remarried and she and her mother moved to Dallas, Texas, buying a small home where she had violin concerts in the driveway of their home. Her IQ was reportedly 163, and she attended the University of Dallas and participated in little-theater productions. In 1949, at the age of 16, she married a man five years her senior named Paul Mansfield. In November 1950, when Jayne was seventeen, their daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield was born. The union ended in divorce but she kept the surname Mansfield as a good surname for an actress.
After some productions there and elsewhere, Jayne decided to go to Hollywood. Her first film was a bit role as a cigarette girl in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). Although the roles in the beginning were not much, she was successful in gaining those roles because of her ample physical attributes which placed her in two other films that year, Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Illegal (1955). Her breakout role came the next year with a featured part in The Burglar (1957). By the time she portrayed Rita Marlowe in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) and Playgirl After Dark (1960), Jayne was now known as the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She did not get the plum roles that Marilyn got in her productions. Instead, her films were more of a showcase for her body more than anything else. She did have a real talent for acting, but the movie executives insisted she stay in her dumb blonde stereotype roles. By the 1960s, her career had options that grew lower. She made somewhat embarrassing guest appearances like on the popular game show What's My Line? (1950), she appeared on the show four times in 1956, 1957, 1964, and 1966 and many other 1950s and 1960s game shows. By 1962, she was dropped from 20th Century Fox and the rest of her career had smaller options like being in B movies and low budget movies or performing at food stores or small nightclubs.
While traveling from a nightclub in Biloxi, Mississippi and 30 miles from New Orleans to where she was to be on television the following day, she was killed instantly on Highway 90 in Slidell, Louisiana in a car crash in the early hours of June 29, 1967, when the car in which she was riding slammed into the back of a semi-tractor trailer truck that had stopped due to a truck in front of the tractor trailer that was spraying for bugs. Her car went under the truck at nearly 80 miles per hour. Her boyfriend Samuel Brody and their driver Ronnie Harrison, were also killed. The damage to the car was so bad that the engine was twisted sideways. She was not, however, decapitated, as had long been misreported. She was 34 years old.
Mansfield's funeral was on July 3, 1967 and hundreds of people lined the main street of Pen Argyl for Mansfield's funeral, a small private ceremony at Fairview Cemetery in Plainfield (outside Pen Argyl), Pennsylvania (where her father was also buried), attended by her family. The only ex-husband to attend was Mickey Hargitay. Her final film, Single Room Furnished (1966), was released the following year. In 2000, Mansfield's 97 year old mother, Mrs. Vera Peers, was interred alongside Mansfield.
After Mansfield's death, Mansfield's mother, as well as her ex-husband Mickey Hargitay, William Pigue (legal guardian for her daughter, Jayne Marie), Charles Goldring (Mansfield's business manager), and Bernard B. Cohen and Jerome Webber (both administrators of the estate) all filed unsuccessful suits to gain control of her estate, which was initially estimated at $600,000 ($3,712,000 in 2018 dollars), including the Pink Palace (estimated at $100,000 ($619,000 in 2018 dollars)), a sports car sold for $7,000 ($43,000 in 2018 dollars), her jewelry, and Sam Brody's $185,000 estate left to her in his last will ($1,145,000 in 2018 dollars).
In 1971, Beverly Brody sued the Mansfield estate for $325,000 ($2,011,000 in 2018 dollars) worth of presents and jewelry given to Mansfield by Sam Brody; the suit was settled out of court.
In 1977, Mansfield's four eldest children (Jayne Marie, Mickey, Zoltan, and Mariska) went to court to discover that some $500,000 in debt which Mansfield had incurred ($3,093,000 in 2018 dollars) and litigation had left the estate insolvent.- Actress
- Producer
Lisa Sheridan was born on December 5, 1974, in Macon, Georgia. She spent her childhood running around in the woods - until she did her first play at the age of 11. Lisa studied in the conservatory program at Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated with honors and won the Thomas Auclair Memorial Scholarship Award for Most Promising Student Actor. She went on to study in Moscow and performed in fringe theatre in London before relocating to Los Angeles. She is best known for her roles as a series regular in three network series and for her extensive work in network television and independent film. She lived in Los Angeles.
In 1998, she was cast as a series regular in the short-lived UPN's western drama Legacy (1998), alongside Brett Cullen, Melissa Leo and Tony Hale. She was then a series regular in FOX's FreakyLinks (2000) alongside Ethan Embry (her love interest), Eric Balfour, and Erika Christensen. She then continued playing guest roles in Concealing Evidence (2003), The Family Jewels (2004), Bloodlines (2004), Mr. Monk and the Game Show (2004), End Game (2005), and Clinical Risk (2005). Another regular role came in Shaun Cassidy's ABC sci-fi television series Invasion (2005), alongside William Fichtner, Eddie Cibrian (who played her fiancé), and Alexis Dziena. Unfortunately that series ended, like "Legacy" and "FreakyLinks", after the first season.
After "Invasion", she continued playing guest roles. In 2007, she had recurring roles on Journeyman (2007) opposite Kevin McKidd and Reed Diamond as Dr. Theresa Sanchez, and on CSI: Miami (2002) as Kathleen Newberry. Other roles include Try the Pie (2007), Out of the Past (2007), One Hit Wonder (2008), Miss Red (2009), Child's Play (2009), and Boom Goes the Dynamite (2013). She also appeared in two episodes of Halt and Catch Fire (2014).
She appeared in movies as well. In the romantic comedy Elsa & Fred (2014) she acted alongside Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine, in A Magic Christmas (2014) alongside Jonathan Silverman and Burt Reynolds, and the lead in Only God Can (2015). She also had a lead in Strange Nature (2018), alongside Stephen Tobolowsky and John Hennigan. Her prior feature film appearances included playing the lead in McCartney's Genes (2008), starring in the short film Pirates (2003) directed by Eric McCormack, in Carolina (2003) alongside Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine, and in Beat (2000) alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Courtney Love.- Actor
- Soundtrack
A deadpan, freckle-faced, curly red-haired, highly talented child actor of the late 50s, Rusty Hamer entered films and TV at age 5 and became a precocious TV celebrity the very next year, trading clever quips with volatile top comedian Danny Thomas as his smart-alecky son, Rusty Williams, on the hit sitcom, The Danny Thomas Show (1953), in 1953. The popular sitcom co-starred Jean Hagen as Rusty's level-headed mother, and pretty, pig-tailed Sherry Jackson as his older sister.
Born Russell Craig Hamer on February 15, 1947, in Tenafly, New Jersey, he was the youngest of three sons born to shirt salesman Arthur Walter (who died when Rusty was 6) and former silent screen actress Dorothy Hamer (nee Chretin). Moving to Los Angeles in 1951, Rusty and his brothers, John and Walter, were prodded by the parents to perform in local theatre productions. Rusty learned to recited stories and perform skits at various community for service club and church functions.
Rusty's first on-camera role was a tiny part in the western Fort Ti (1953) as George Montgomery's young nephew and was given a role in an episode of the TV anthology "Fireside Theatre." While spotted in one of his theatre stage shows, Rusty was brought in to test for the Thomas series and won the role of "Rusty Williams." His mother and older brother John Hamer would appear briefly on Rusty's TV show.
Playing a 'second banana' scamp to the well-loved comedy star was no easy task, yet this boy showed an incredibly sharp comedy sense far beyond his years and the show ran a very healthy eleven seasons. During the long run, Rusty appeared only occasionally elsewhere. Seen in an episode of "Four Star Playhouse," he played, alongside the equally delightful young Gigi Perreau, orphan kids under the wing of mushy-hearted Lou Costello in Abbott & Costello's last film together Dance with Me, Henry (1956). Rusty also appeared on various variety shows ("The Red Skelton Show," "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show," "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show") usually in tandem with his beloved TV family.
A major cast change in the series erupted when Hagen asked to leave the show (her character dies) and Jackson grew up and left home for college. Rusty's stepmother and little stepsister, played by Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright, respectively, were a delightful addition to the show and contributed greatly to the show's enduring popularity. Performing in 300 plus episodes, Rusty was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his TV work in 1960.
In 1964, and with the end of the TV series, 17-year-old Rusty Hamer, at age 17, found himself out of work for the first time. The talented kid had become an awkward teen and offers dried up immediately. Hoping to branch out into dramatic roles, outside of an isolated appearance on "Green Acres" and appearances reprising his "Rusty Williams" persona, the only work he was able to find in later years were reunion specials and a new, updated sitcom revolving around his old TV family now playing Rusty as a married medical student. Make Room for Granddaddy (1970) not successful, however, and was canceled after the 1970-1971 season. Nothing else came his way although he continued to take acting classes and worked at a messenger service and as a carpenter's apprentice to support himself.
The aimless, embittered young man, left Hollywood for good for Louisiana in 1976 to help care for his Alzheimer's-stricken mother and his life quickly fell apart. Left with no job skills, Rusty had extreme difficulty finding direction, consequently living a wanderlust lifestyle, taking menial jobs that ranged from working on Exxon oil rigs to delivering newspapers to toiling as a short order cook in older brother John's cafe. His poverty-ridden status, so different from his youthful celebrity, caused him to spiral into deep depression and, eventually, alcohol abuse. Increasingly violent and delusional and suffering from chronic back pain, he shot himself to death in his trailer on January 18, 1990. He was only 42.
Chalking up another child star statistic who met a tragic, untimely end, Rusty had the true makings of a terrific comedy actor. Danny Thomas himself once said that Rusty was "the best boy actor I ever saw in my life. He had a great memory . . . great timing and you could change a line on him at the last minute and he came right back with it." It was Hamer's suicide, in fact, that prompted former child actor Paul Petersen to establish his support group A Minor Consideration. The group has been successful in assisting many former child actors with no other work skills to make a positive career transition.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Born as Bobby Wayne Pearson in Seminole, Oklahoma, on August 18, 1930, singer and comedian Jesse Pearson broke into films in 1963 with a hit, but his success was too ephemeral. After recording two singles on Decca Records that had little airplay, Pearson joined the national company of the stage musical "Bye Bye Birdie", and took the role of American rock idol Conrad Birdie who is drafted by the Army at the peak of his popularity, echoing Elvis Presley's story. After a year travelling with the show all over the United States, producer Fred Kohlmar liked Jesse's performance enough to have him repeat the Birdie part in the 1963 film version. This was followed by another funny role as Corporal Silas Geary in George Marshall's comedy western "Advance to the Rear" (1964), but as he had no more film offers, Pearson turned to television, appearing in shows such as "The Great Adventure", "McHale's Navy", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Death Valley Days", "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Bonanza".
Between acting jobs Pearson worked as composer Rod McKuen's assistant. When the musician was casting a voice for his album "The Sea" (1967), he felt the actor's presence and intimate vocal quality was just what the project needed, and it became the first in a string of albums narrated by Jesse Pearson. After he won a Gold Record for the million-selling "The Sea", Pearson recorded three more albums for McKuen: "Home to the Sea" (1968), and two recordings based on poems by Walt Whitman, "The Body Electric" and "The Body Electric-2", released in the early 1970s. Billed as Jess Pearson, he also narrated the tribute album to songwriter-singer Woody Guthrie "We Ain't Down Yet" and Bolivian composer Jaime Mendoza-Nava's religious LPs "And Jesus Said..." and "Meditation in Psalms", all in 1976. Pearson also recorded the album "The Glory of Love" for RCA Victor, which remains unreleased to this day.
Back to motion pictures in 1978, Pearson narrated the Viking saga "The Norseman", starring Lee Majors and Cornel Wilde and, as the decade allowed movies with more explicit sexual representation in cinemas, he wrote and directed the adult film "The Legend of Lady Blue" (1978) and wrote "Pro-Ball Cheerleader" (1979), under the name A. Fabritzi. But by then he was diagnosed with cancer, and moved to Monroe, Louisiana with his partner, to be close to his mother. Jesse Pearson died on December 5, 1979.- Emile Meyer was born on 18 August 1910 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Paths of Glory (1957), Shane (1953) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). He died on 19 March 1987 in Covington, Louisiana, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
As the brash and bruising tough guy with wide, flaring nostrils, compact features and boorish, bullying personality, you could have placed bets that anyone who had the guts to go nose-to-nose against crew cut-wearing badger Frank Sutton had better be one tough order. Nope. Far from it. Sutton's most feared, ulcer-inducing on-camera nemesis would be none other than one of TV's gentlest souls ever--Mayberry's own lovable gas station attendant Gomer Pyle.
As the antagonistic, in-your-face Sgt. Vince Carter, whose outer bluster occasionally revealed a softer inner core, the 41-year-old Sutton finally found himself front and center co-starring in one of sitcomdom's most successful spin-offs--Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), the offspring of The Andy Griffith Show (1960). Fans really took to Sutton's volatile character whose hilarious slow burn meshed perfectly with Jim Nabors' awkward guile. The gimmick of watching Carter's devious but ultimately failed plans to transfer Pyle out of his unit each week worked for five seasons. Off-stage Nabors and Sutton shared a mutual respect for each other. After the show's demise, in fact, Sutton went on to become a part of Jim's roster of regulars on The Jim Nabors Hour (1968), a variety show that had a very short run.
Frank Spencer Sutton was born in Clarksville, Tennessee. Although some sources list the year of his birth as 1922, his grave marker indicates 1923. An only child, both his parents had jobs working for the local newspaper. When he was eight, the family moved to Nashville, his father dying some time later of an intestinal ailment. Belonging to the drama club and appearing in high school plays sparked his early interest in acting, and he majored in Dramatic Arts at Columbia University, graduating cum laude. Gaining experience on the local stages, he eventually found a job as a radio announcer. Following WWII military service, he returned to acting and in the 1950s segued into TV, appearing on a couple of the more popular children's adventure series -- Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949) and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950). Based in New York, Sutton also found work on the soaps The Edge of Night (1956) and The Secret Storm (1954).
Sutton's imposing mug and hothead countenance proved quite suitable for playing both good guys and bad guys and he became a steady, reliable fixture in rugged surroundings. With work on such series as "Gunsmoke", "Maverick", "The Fugitive", "Combat!", and "The Untouchables" he could be counted on to play everything from a crass, outspoken blue-collar buddy to a menacing henchman. Film appearances were sporadic, with only a few secondary roles offered. His best chances were in Four Boys and a Gun (1957), Town Without Pity (1961) (a very good performance as one of a trio of American GIs accused of raping a young German girl) and The Satan Bug (1965).
In the early 1970s, after the success of the "Gomer Pyle" series, Sutton was seen in TV guest spots while performing in small-scale stock plays all over the US. His stage work would include comedic roles in "The Odd Couple," "Anything Goes" and "No Hard Feelings." In fact, he died suddenly of a heart attack on June 28, 1974, while in rehearsals for a show at a Louisiana dinner theater. The 50-year-old actor was survived by his wife of 25 years, daytime soap writer Toby Igler, and children Joseph and Amanda. He was buried in his home town.- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Born in New Orleans' French Quarter, Louis Prima longed to play jazz. When he was a child, he studied the violin. His older brother Leon took up trumpet while Louis was still quite young, and he soon followed in his brother's footsteps. He played in clubs like "The Famous Door" in the 1930s, and by the time the 1940s rolled around, Prima and his band were becoming well known. Like many other big bands, Prima always had a woman singer, his most famous being Keely Smith, with whom he recorded the classic "That Old Black Magic". She began with him when she was 16 years old, and he eventually married her. They were divorced in 1962, and he married 20-year-old Gia Maione that same year. In 1967 Prima voiced King Louie of the apes in the animated Disney feature The Jungle Book (1967). Prima died in 1978, but his music continues as some of the best jazz and swing music ever recorded.- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Anne Rice began life in New Orleans as Howard Allen O'Brien, named after her father, as the second of four daughters of Howard and Katherine Allen O'Brien. She decided to call herself "Anne" when she enrolled in first grade at the Redemptorist Catholic School. Her mother (who had long suffered from alcoholism) died when Anne was nearly fifteen. Her father remarried and soon relocated the family to Richardson (suburb of Dallas), Texas. She graduated in 1959 and entered Texas Woman's University where she completed two years of school in one. In 1960, Anne moved to San Francisco, where she took a furnished apartment in the Haight-Ashbury district. In 1961, Anne married Stan Rice (whom she had met in High School and who had proposed by telegram from Texas) and, in 1962, they were both living in Haight-Ashbury. They graduated from San Francisco State in 1964, she in political science, he in creative writing. Their daughter, Michele, was born on September 21, 1966. In 1969, they moved to Berkeley. There, she wrote a short story, "Interview With the Vampire". In 1970, Michele was diagnosed with leukemia. In 1972, Anne received her M.A. in creative writing; Michele died August 5. The next year, Anne turned "Interview" into a novel, and, over a year later, Knopf offered her a $12,000 advance for it. Christopher Rice was born on March 11, 1978. In 1980, they moved to San Francisco's Castro District. "The Vampire Lestat" brought a $100,000 advance from Knopf. In 1988, they moved to New Orleans and bought a mansion in the Garden District. Stan (who had chaired the creative writing program at S.F. State) turned to painting. "The Witching Hour" brought a $5 million advance. In 1994, "Interview" was very successfully released as a movie (amid much controversy -- some over content, mostly over casting) and Anne entered into a $17 million contract for three more Vampire Chronicles.- Producer
- Make-Up Department
- Actress
Alicia Allain was born on 14 July 1969 in Brusly, Louisiana, USA. She was a producer and actress, known for Leather Jackets (1991), Caged Fear (1991) and The Badge (2002). She was married to John Schneider and Patrick Dollard. She died on 21 February 2023 in Holden, Louisiana, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Lee Frost rates highly as one of the best, most talented and versatile filmmakers in the annals of exploitation cinema. Frost was born on August 14, 1935, in Globe, Arizona. He grew up in Glendale, California, and Oahu, Hawaii. He eventually wound up in Hollywood, where he started his career making TV commercials for the studio Telepics. Frost made his film debut with the early 1960s nudie cutie Surftide 77 (1962). He went on to make a slew of films in many different genres: tongue-in-cheek horror comedy (House on Bare Mountain (1962)), mondo shock documentaries (Hollywood's World of Flesh (1963), Mondo Bizarro (1966), Mondo Freudo (1966)), perverse softcore roughies (The Defilers (1965), The Animal (1968)), crime drama (The Pick-Up (1968)), westerns (Hot Spur (1968), The Scavengers (1969)) and even Nazisploitation (Love Camp 7 (1969), which has been widely cited as the prototype for the notorious Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975)). A majority of Frost's 1960s features were made for legendary trash flick producer Bob Cresse. Moreover, Lee added sex inserts into such foreign films as London in the Raw (1964), Night Women (1964) and Witchcraft '70 (1969). Frost continued cranking out entertainingly sleazy drive-in items throughout the 1970s; they include the startling psycho sniper outing Zero in and Scream (1971), the passable biker opus Chrome and Hot Leather (1971), the gritty Chain Gang Women (1971), the hilariously campy The Thing with Two Heads (1972), the immensely enjoyable Policewomen (1974), the gnarly blaxploitation winner The Black Gestapo (1975), the rowdy redneck romp Dixie Dynamite (1976) and the jolting roughie porno shocker A Climax of Blue Power (1974). Frost often cast former football player Phil Hoover in his 1970s movies and frequently collaborated with producer/screenwriter Wes Bishop (in addition to their own pictures, Frost and Bishop wrote the script for Jack Starrett's terrific Race with the Devil (1975), which Frost was originally supposed to direct as well). Both Frost and Bishop often appear as actors, usually in small parts, in Frost's films. Lee worked as an editor on industrial movies for a film laboratory throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. His last feature was the straight-to-video Shannon Whirry erotic thriller Private Obsession (1995).
Lee Frost died at age 71 on May 25, 2007.- Actress
- Writer
Shirley Prestia was born on 18 August 1947 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Species (1995), Wag the Dog (1997) and What Women Want (2000). She died on 6 October 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Actress
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Carol Sutton was born on 3 December 1944 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Steel Magnolias (1989), Ray (2004) and Monster's Ball (2001). She was married to Archie Sutton . She died on 10 December 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- A New Orleans native, Patrick John McNamara became known on screen as 'J. Patrick' to avoid confusion with another Actor's Equity member of longer standing. McNamara initially started out performing in plays at the University of New Orleans in order to improve his public speaking, because (in his own words) "I knew that I was going to be a lawyer. I did a play, I was good at it, and that was that. Then I went to law school and hated it." After briefly working for Flying Tiger Airlines in New York, McNamara returned to his home town to complete a degree in theater studies. Before long, he was 'on the boards' performing on stage, including at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He further honed his newly acquired skills at Wayne State University in Detroit and subsequently secured a job teaching voice at the National Academy of Drama, Carnegie Hall.
McNamara resumed his acting career at an avant-garde Off-Broadway club in Manhattan's East Village where he spent the next three years. After that, he taught drama classes at Antioch College in Ohio and then spent time in Europe before returning to New Orleans. He operated a theatrical company there from 1974 to 1977, but the venture proved unprofitable, and, therefore, short-lived. Turning to screen work, McNamara joined Equity and began to amass a solid number of film and TV credits which included two pictures directed by Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and 1941 (1979)), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) (and the sequel - as Bill Preston's dad), an oilman in Dallas (1978) and Dr. Katherine Pulaski's former commander in a season two episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). He was frequently cast as professors, doctors, psychologists or senior executives.
McNamara retired from acting in 2016 and spent his remaining years in New Orleans, devoting time to his favorite hobby: playing poker. - Gia Allemand was born on 20 December 1983 in Howard Beach, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report (2011), Ghost Trek: Goomba Body Snatchers Mortuary Lockdown (2013) and The Bachelor (2002). She died on 14 August 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Jim Croce was born on Sunday, January 10th, 1943 in a working-class section of Philadelphia, in an Italian-American family. While a teenager, he began playing the accordion, and then learning to play an acoustic guitar when he was 18. After a short stint in the U.S. Army, where he supposedly met the character who inspired the song "Bad Bad Leroy Brown," Jim entered Villanova University for a degree in psychology, but he spent a lot of time working with bands, playing musical instruments and performing musical solos, more than 90% of the time.
Jim worked as a construction worker after graduation, after surviving from a diesel accident, he then worked temporarily as a school teacher of a Junior High school in South Philadelphia. On Sunday, August 28th, 1966, Jim Croce married his wife, Ingrid Jacobson. Then in 1967, they moved to New York City where they performed together, as a folk duo performing in city nightclubs & coffeehouses & recorded an album, that's titled "Another Day, Another Town".
Jim and Ingrid moved back to Pennsylvania where they bought a farmhouse and became parents to their only son, A.J. Croce. A.J.'s name at birth was Adrian James Croce. Adrian was born on Tuesday, September 28th, 1971, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, while Jim was a diesel truck driver to earn & pay their daily food & all other monthly utility bills. A year later, one of Jim's long time college friends advised him to record some of his newer songs & send them to ABC Records, where they signed Jim up and his first solo album, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" was released in 1972 & it was one of the top 20 best selling albums of 1972, in the United States of America.
Combined, in 1972 to 1973, Jim Croce' performed in more than 250 concerts, he was a guest-star as TV shows and released his second album in mid 1973 titled "Life and Times." This album, featured his all time and most popular hit song, (solo 45 RPM, or 33 RPM album), of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown!".
He also recorded his third album, "I've Got a Name" and the title song was used in the soundtrack of The Last American Hero (1973). It starred Jeff Bridges, and the complete album which was released on Monday, July 23rd, 1973.
His song, "Time in a Bottle" from his first solo album, received sudden national sales after being featured in "She Lives" a made for ABC-TV movie which originally aired on Wednesday, September 12th, 1973, during the. evening hours.
Eight days later, Thursday, September 20th, 1973, Jim Croce's life and career came to a sudden end when he and his musical partner, Maury Muehleisen and others boarded a private airplane in Natchitoches, Louisiana to travel to a gig in Texas when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff killing everyone on board.
His third album includes the songs "I Got a Name," and "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" which were posthumous hits. In all, Jim Croce had eight top-10 singles and three top-10 albums from 1972 to 1974.
In the lyrics to the hauntingly wistful "Time in a Bottle", Jim left his own best epitaph as if he had foresaw his own death. Lyric: "There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them".
Jim Croce's lifetime: Sunday, January 10th, 1943, to Thursday, September 20th, 1973, was 11,211 days, (equaling 1,601 weeks & 4 days). His life-loss date, Thursday, September 20th, 1973, was also the date of a famous tennis match, in Houston, Texas' Astrodome, nicknamed "The Battle of the Sexes", as female tennis player, Billie Jean King defeated male tennis player, Bobby Riggs, because he was an egotistical narcissistic darer & challenge maker. Earlier in the 1970's decade, Bobby RIggs dared another female tennis player, in a male-versus-female tennis match & he defeated her. Riggs' second dare, was much more than he expected.
Jim Croce was a loving father of his only child & son, A.J. Croce for the final 723 days (103 weeks & 2 days) of his life & Jim Croce was the husband of Ingrid Jacobson. The duo were married on Sunday, August 28th, 1966, & it lasted until Thursday, September 20th, 1973, it was his last 2,580 days equaling 368 weeks & 4 days. Jim Croce's marriage was 1,857 days when parenthood began on Tuesday, September 28th, 1971, when Ingrid bore their son, A.J. Croce.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Dr. John was born on November 21, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as Malcolm Rebbenack. At 13 he decided to become a musician, and was supported by his family, who themselves were musicians in a small way. "Mac" dropped out of school in the 11th grade in 1956, at the age of 16, to become a blues piano player. He has become known as "Dr. John, The Night Tripper" (or "Dr. John", for short) and a prime example of the "New Orleans Sound" style of blues/jazz. He has received two Grammy Awards, and is in the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.- Stunts
- Actor
Fred Kennedy was born on 22 December 1909 in Ainsworth, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor, known for Rio Grande (1950), Jeep-Herders (1945) and The Charge at Feather River (1953). He died on 5 December 1958 in Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA.- Ruth Kempf was born on 9 March 1915 in Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for Live and Let Die (1973), J.D.'s Revenge (1976) and Death Brings Roses (1982). She died on 9 September 2012 in Opelousas, Louisiana, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Fred Niblo entered films in 1917 after two decades as a touring actor in vaudeville and one-time manager of 'The Four Cohans' (he married Josephine Cohan, the sister of George M. Cohan). He made his film debut with two early Australian silent films in 1916. He worked for Thomas H. Ince from 1917 as producer-director, many of his films starring his second wife, Australian actress Enid Bennett. Niblo joined Paramount under a three-year contract from 1918-21 and then settled at MGM (1923-31). During this period, his chief claim to fame rests on directing the epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), filmed in Italy (though completed in California) at the (then) staggering cost of $4 million. Niblo was brought in by Louis B. Mayer to replace director Charles Brabin after the production ran into financial difficulties.He not only rescued it but made it into one of the biggest blockbusters of the decade. However, it was second-unit director B. Reeves Eason who deserves credit for the famous chariot race.
In 1926 Niblo replaced Swedish director Mauritz Stiller who had a disagreement with producer Irving Thalberg, on Greta Garbo's The Temptress (1926). This, alongside Camille (1926) and The Mysterious Lady (1928), were his last successes. His career failed to survive the transition to sound and even a stint in England could not resuscitate it. After a few small parts as an actor, Niblo slipped quietly into relative obscurity in 1943.- Actor
- Writer
Jim Garrison is so far the only one to hold a trial in relation to the murder of USA president John F. Kennedy in 1963. Jim Garrison was at the time a very skilled district attorney of New Orleans. Three years later, he has a conversation with a governor, which arose his suspicion of the whole affair, mainly the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald could hardly have been the lone assassin. Links from Oswald lead to offices in New Orleans. Garrison's investigations ended with the trial against Clay Shaw in 1967. Shaw was acquitted, but the evidence against him presented by Jim Garrison trembled USA, and triggered a discussion about the assassin of Kennedy which is still at its peak now, 30 years later. The focus of Garrison's evidence was to prove there was a conspiracy against JFK, and that the investigations conducted by The Warren Commission were totally mistargeted. This Mr. Garrisson did to the extreme. An investigation in 1979 found that "there may well have been more than one assassin". Jim Garrison is now retired. He appears very briefly in the film "JFK" (about his own investigations), as leader of the official investigation team, Earl Warren. Kevin Costner plays Jim Garrison in the Oscar Winner.- Don Hood was born on 25 November 1940 in Marks, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for The Toy (1982), Absence of Malice (1981) and Runaway Jury (2003). He was married to Martha Seitzler and Louise Ware. He died on 20 March 2003 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Ernie Ladd was born on 28 November 1938 in Rayville, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for WWF Championship Wrestling (1972), That '70s Show (1998) and World Class Championship Wrestling: Star Wars (1981). He was married to Roslyn. He died on 10 March 2007 in Franklin, Louisiana, USA.- Ylenia Carrisi was born on 29 November 1970 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Champagne in paradiso (1984), La ruota della fortuna (1987) and Verstehen Sie Spaß? (1980). She died on 31 December 1993 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Stan Rice was an actor, known for Billy Jack (1971). He was married to Anne Rice. He died on 9 December 2002 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 - October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orleans to a French Creole family, Domino signed to Imperial Records in 1949. His first single "The Fat Man" is cited by some historians as the first rock and roll single and the first to sell more than 1 million copies. Domino continued to work with the song's co-writer Dave Bartholomew, contributing his distinctive rolling piano style to Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (1952) and scoring a string of mainstream hits beginning with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955). Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 US pop hits. By 1955, five of his records had sold more than a million copies, being certified gold.- Actor
- Producer
Robert Keys was born on 13 July 1921 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The High and the Mighty (1954), Street of Darkness (1958) and Big Jim McLain (1952). He died on 12 August 2004 in Mandeville, Louisiana, USA.- Barry Seal was born on 16 July 1939 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He died on 19 February 1986 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Director
J. Michael Riva was born on 28 June 1948 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Iron Man (2008), The Color Purple (1985) and Django Unchained (2012). He was married to Julia Riva and Wendy Riva. He died on 7 June 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Al Hirt was born on 7 November 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), 21 Jump Street (2012) and The Green Hornet (1966). He was married to Beverly Essel , Zide Bowers Jahncke and Mary Patureau. He died on 27 April 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Mary Katherine Joyce was born on 21 August 1991 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. She died on 2 May 2010 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Training from a early age at Sylvia Youngs stage school, the Royal Academy of Dancing and the Brit school. Going on to do a post graduate in Acting at DSL (Drama Studio London). Catherine was born in London England. Growing up in Brixton, South London. Born to a American mother and English father. Catherine has been acting and dancing from a young age. She was fortunate to work in film and theatre and numerous commercials. Working with the likes of Trevor Nunn in Les Miserables, and Sam Mendes in Oliver.- Actor
- Music Department
- Director
Shannon Hoon was born on 26 September 1967 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Without a Paddle (2004), Private Parts (1997) and Remember the Daze (2007). He was married to Lisa Crouse. He died on 21 October 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Harold G. Herthum was born on 11 April 1929 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Forrest Gump (1994), JFK (1991) and Tin Cup (1996). He was married to Thelma Cowart Herthum. He died on 4 July 1998 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Art Neville was born on 17 December 1937 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for RED (2010), Shazam! (2019) and Hancock (2008). He was married to Doris Neville and Lorraine. He died on 22 July 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Lenore Banks was born on 31 December 1931 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for God's Not Dead (2014), Hard Target (1993) and The Baytown Outlaws (2012). She died on 17 June 2020 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
- Michael was born in Cincinnati Ohio to William and Rosemary Showers. He married twice before marrying Heather Knight with whom he had two sons, Nathaniel Evan Showers (5/13/93) and Nicholas Gracian Showers (7/29/96). His granddaughter, Evelyn Lorraine Showers (6/6/2010) shares the first name of his mother's sister, Evelyn Plain. Michael studied pyschology at University of Cincinnati, served in the US Air Force and was a licensed optician in addition to being a talented actor. His son Nicholas, was named for his favorite philosopher: Baltazaar Gracian.
- David Ogle was born on 9 October 1954 in the USA. He was an actor, known for Urban Cowboy (1980). He died on 9 September 1990 in Sicily Island, Louisiana, USA.
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
David Mills was born on 20 November 1961 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for NYPD Blue (1993), The Corner (2000) and The Wire (2002). He died on 30 March 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Coronji Calhoun was born on 28 November 1990 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Monster's Ball (2001). He died on 13 October 2021 in New Sarpy, Louisiana, USA.
- Writer
- Actor
"Cajun" humorist Wilson (who described himself as part-Cajun) was born in Roseland in Tangipahoa Parish, near the Mississippi border. Originally an itinerant safety engineer, he often encountered Cajuns during his travels, and developed a talent for telling Cajun jokes and stories. Wilson's first album of Cajun humor sold over a million copies; he went on to release more than two dozen additional albums. He wrote three comedic books: Justin Wilson's Cajun Humor (1974), Justin Wilson's Cajun Fables (1982), and More Cajun Humor (1984). Wilson also excelled as a chef, and hosted a popular cooking show on public television. Over the years he issued several cookbooks, including The Justin Wilson Cook Book (1965), The Justin Wilson #2 Cookbook: Cookin' Cajun (1979), The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook (1984), Justin Wilson's Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help (1986), and Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook (1997). Despite his national popularity, Wilson angered some South Louisianians with his stereotypical portrayal of a poorly educated Cajun who spoke substandard English.- Actor
- Writer
- Location Management
Trained for the theater at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (BA) and the University of New Orleans (MFA). He studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Royal Shakespeare Company in England, UK. He studied Juggling and Clown Makeup at Ringlilng Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. He owned The Rose Dinner Theater in Gretna, LA. Taught Screenwriting at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. The son of Freida Bridgeman, a faculty member in the Theater Department at UW-Stevens Point.- Actor
- Soundtrack
B.J. Hopper was born on 5 December 1924 in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Toy (1982), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) and Flakes (2007). He died on 22 August 2011 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.- Dorothy Hamer was born on 14 July 1914. She was an actress, known for The Danny Thomas Show (1953). She died on 20 June 1991 in Deridder, Louisiana, USA.
- Actress
Baroness Rothschild was born on 8 February 1902 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress. She died on 6 October 1965 in Mandeville, Louisiana, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Location Management
Chi Chi DeVayne was born on 24 September 1985 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008), Pinks All Outtakes (2008) and Little America (2020). He died on 20 August 2020 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.- Keith Nale was born on 16 August 1960 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was married to Dana. He died on 18 April 2023 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
- Harry Connick Sr. was born on 27 March 1926 in Mobile, Alabama, USA. He was married to Londa Jean Matherne, Barbara Bossett, Anita Frances Levy and Jean Maria daRoza. He died on 25 January 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
He was the lead singer for the Memphis, Tennesse bands The Box Tops and Big Star.
The Box Tops charted with 10 Hot 100 singles between 1967-70.
Those songs were: "The Letter" (#1), "Neon Rainbow" (#24), "Cry Like A Baby" (#2), "Choo Choo Train" (#26), "I Met Her In Church" (#37), "Sweet Cream Ladies, Foward March" (#28), "I Shall Be Released" (#67), "Soul Deep" (#18), "Turn On A Dream" (#58), "You Keep Tightening Up On Me" (#92).
Big Star was originally called Rock City and then Ice Water.
The original Big Star line-up was Christopher Bell (vocals & guitar), Alex Chilton (vocals & guitar), Andy Hummel (vocals & bass) and Jody Stephens (vocals & drums).
Big Star's records (No. 1 Record (1972), Radio City (1973) and Sister Lovers (1978)) were all critically acclaimed but suffered from very poor distribution. As a result, very few heard the band at the time of the albums original releases. The original pressings of these records are now sought-after collector's items.
Big Star's music has proved very influential on other bands and musicians such as R.E.M., The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, The Posies and Matthew Sweet.
Moved from Memphis to New York in 1977 and played with future db's members Chris Stamey and Will Rigby in the band Alex Chilton And The Cossacks. That band recorded one single ("Bangkok" b/w "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" 1978).
Has resided in New Orleans, L.A. since 1982.
Has recorded several solo albums including Like Flies On Sherbert (1979), Bach's Bottom (1981), Feudalist Tarts (1985), High Preist (1987), Black List (1989), Cliches (1994), A Man Called Destruction (1995) and Set (2000).
He released two live albums Live In London (1982) and Live In Anvers (2004).
Big Star reformed for a one-off show at Missouri University on April 25th 1993. The new reformed line-up consists of Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens with Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies (replacing Christopher Bell who died in an December 1978 automobile accident and Andy Hummel who now works for General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas.). The performance resulted in a live album (Columbia: Live At Missouri University 4/25/93).
They performed sporadically since and released an album of all new material entitled In Space on Rykodisk Records in September 2005.
Was one of the many people affected by Hurricane Katrina and moved back to Memphis.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Charlie Rich was born on 14 December 1932 in Colt, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Wild (2014), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and The Firm (1993). He was married to Margaret Ann Rich. He died on 25 July 1995 in Hammond, Louisiana, USA.