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- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
William Shatner has notched up an impressive 70-plus years in front of the camera, displaying heady comedic talent and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult television fans as the square-jawed Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.
Shatner was born in Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Anne (Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Bukovina in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while his maternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. After graduating from university, he joined a local Summer theatre group as an assistant manager. He then performed with the National Repertory Theatre of Ottawa and at the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival as an understudy working with such as Alec Guinness, James Mason, and Anthony Quayle. He came to the attention of New York critics and was soon playing important roles in major shows on live television.
Shatner spent many years honing his craft before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and The Intruder (1962) and on television guest-starring in dozens of series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Defenders (1961), The Outer Limits (1963) and The Twilight Zone (1959). In 1966, Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek (1966), co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy, with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known variously as "Trekkies" or "Trekkers".
After "Star Trek" folded, Shatner spent the rest of the decade and the 1970s making the rounds, guest-starring on many prime-time television series, including Hawaii Five-O (1968), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Ironside (1967). He has also appeared in several feature films, but they were mainly B-grade (or lower) fare, such as the embarrassingly bad Euro western White Comanche (1968) and the campy Kingdom of the Spiders (1977). However, the 1980s saw a major resurgence in Shatner's career with the renewed interest in the original Star Trek (1966) series culminating in a series of big-budget "Star Trek" feature films, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). In addition, he starred in the lightweight police series T.J. Hooker (1982) from 1982 to 1986, alongside spunky Heather Locklear, and surprised many fans with his droll comedic talents in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) and Miss Congeniality (2000).
He has most recently been starring in the David E. Kelley television series The Practice (1997) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004).
Outside of work, he jogs and follows other athletic pursuits. His interest in health and nutrition led to him becoming spokesman for the American Health Institute's 'Know Your Body' program to promote nutritional and physical health.- Actress
Karen Steele was born on March 20, 1931, in Honolulu, Hawaii. A former
cover girl and model, she was one of the most strikingly beautiful
actresses to ever work in film and television. She went to the
University of Hawaii and to Rollins College in Florida before gracing
our film screens with her first film in 1952. Rumor has it she was
mistaken for another actress by producer
Delbert Mann when he cast her as a
hard case in the drama film Marty (1955).
Like many actresses, as she got older, she turned to television
commercials for income. She also became involved in charitable causes
and community service. Karen Steele died of cancer in Kingman, Arizona,
on March 12, 1988, little more than a week before her 57th birthday.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Veteran actor and director Robert Selden Duvall was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, CA, to Mildred Virginia (Hart), an amateur actress, and William Howard Duvall, a career military officer who later became an admiral. Duvall majored in drama at Principia College (Elsah, IL), then served a two-year hitch in the army after graduating in 1953. He began attending The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre In New York City on the G.I. Bill in 1955, studying under Sanford Meisner along with Dustin Hoffman, with whom Duvall shared an apartment. Both were close to another struggling young actor named Gene Hackman. Meisner cast Duvall in the play "The Midnight Caller" by Horton Foote, a link that would prove critical to his career, as it was Foote who recommended Duvall to play the mentally disabled "Boo Radley" in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). This was his first "major" role since his 1956 motion picture debut as an MP in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), starring Paul Newman.
Duvall began making a name for himself as a stage actor in New York, winning an Obie Award in 1965 playing incest-minded longshoreman "Eddie Carbone" in the off-Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge", a production for which his old roommate Hoffman was assistant director. He found steady work in episodic TV and appeared as a modestly billed character actor in films, such as Arthur Penn's The Chase (1966) with Marlon Brando and in Robert Altman's Countdown (1967) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People (1969), in both of which he co-starred with James Caan.
He was also memorable as the heavy who is shot by John Wayne at the climax of True Grit (1969) and was the first "Maj. Frank Burns", creating the character in Altman's Korean War comedy M*A*S*H (1970). He also appeared as the eponymous lead in George Lucas' directorial debut, THX 1138 (1971). It was Francis Ford Coppola, casting The Godfather (1972), who reunited Duvall with Brando and Caan and provided him with his career breakthrough as mob lawyer "Tom Hagen". He received the first of his six Academy Award nominations for the role.
Thereafter, Duvall had steady work in featured roles in such films as The Godfather Part II (1974), The Killer Elite (1975), Network (1976), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) and
The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Occasionally this actor's actor got the chance to assay a lead role, most notably in Tomorrow (1972), in which he was brilliant as William Faulkner's inarticulate backwoods farmer. He was less impressive as the lead in Badge 373 (1973), in which he played a character based on real-life NYPD detective Eddie Egan, the same man his old friend Gene Hackman had won an Oscar for playing, in fictionalized form as "Popeye Doyle" in The French Connection (1971).
It was his appearance as "Lt. Col. Kilgore" in another Coppola picture, Apocalypse Now (1979), that solidified Duvall's reputation as a great actor. He got his second Academy Award nomination for the role, and was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most versatile actor in the world. Duvall created one of the most memorable characters ever assayed on film, and gave the world the memorable phrase, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!"
Subsequently, Duvall proved one of the few established character actors to move from supporting to leading roles, with his Oscar-nominated turns in The Great Santini (1979) and Tender Mercies (1983), the latter of which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Now at the summit of his career, Duvall seemed to be afflicted with the fabled "Oscar curse" that had overwhelmed the careers of fellow Academy Award winners Luise Rainer, Rod Steiger and Cliff Robertson. He could not find work equal to his talents, either due to his post-Oscar salary demands or a lack of perception in the industry that he truly was leading man material. He did not appear in The Godfather Part III (1990), as the studio would not give in to his demands for a salary commensurate with that of Al Pacino, who was receiving $5 million to reprise Michael Corleone.
His greatest achievement in his immediate post-Oscar period was his triumphant characterization of grizzled Texas Ranger Gus McCrae in the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989), for which he received an Emmy nomination. He received a second Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Stalin (1992), and a third Emmy nomination playing Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996).
The shakeout of his career doldrums was that Duvall eventually settled back into his status as one of the premier character actors in the industry, rivaled only by his old friend Gene Hackman. Duvall, unlike Hackman, also has directed pictures, including the documentary We're Not the Jet Set (1974), Angelo My Love (1983) and Assassination Tango (2002). As a writer-director, Duvall gave himself one of his most memorable roles, that of the preacher on the run from the law in The Apostle (1997), a brilliant performance for which he received his third Best Actor nomination and fifth Oscar nomination overall. The film brought Duvall back to the front ranks of great actors, and was followed by a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod for A Civil Action (1998).
Robert Duvall will long be remembered as one of the great naturalistic American screen actors in the mode of Spencer Tracy and his frequent co-star Marlon Brando. His performances as "Boo Radley" in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), "Jackson Fentry" in Tomorrow (1972), "Tom Hagen" in the first two "Godfather" movies, "Frank Hackett" in Network (1976), "Lt. Col. Kilgore" in Apocalypse Now (1979), "Bull Meechum" in The Great Santini (1979), "Mac Sledge" in Tender Mercies (1983), "Gus McCrae" in Lonesome Dove (1989) and "Sonny Dewey" in The Apostle (1997) rank as some of the finest acting ever put on film. It's a body of work that few actors can equal, let alone surpass.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rita Moreno is one of the very few performers to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy, thus becoming an EGOT. She was born Rosita Dolores Alverío in the hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1931 (but raised in nearby, smaller Juncos, which had no hospital), to seamstress Rosa María (Marcano) and farmer Francisco José "Paco" Alverío. Her mother moved to New York City in 1937, taking Rita with her while leaving her reportedly unfaithful husband and Rita's younger brother behind. Rita's professional career began before she reached adolescence.
From the age of nine, she performed as a professional dancer in New York night clubs. At age 11, she landed her first movie experience, dubbing Spanish-language versions of US films. Less than a month before her 14th birthday on November 22, 1945, she made her Broadway debut in the play "Skydrift" at the Belasco Theatre, costarring with Arthur Keegan and a young Eli Wallach. Although she would not appear again on Broadway for almost two decades, Rita Moreno, as she was billed in the play, had arrived professionally. In 1950, she was signed by MGM, but the studio dropped her option after just one year.
The cover of the March 1, 1954, edition of "Life Magazine" featured a three-quarters, over-the-left-shoulder profile of the young Puerto Rican actress/entertainer with the provocative title "Rita Moreno: An Actresses' Catalog of Sex and Innocence". It was sexpot time, a stereotype that would plague her throughout the decade. If not cast as a Hispanic pepper pot, she could rely on being cast as another "exotic", such as her appearance on Father Knows Best (1954) as an exchange student from India. Because of a dearth of decent material, Moreno had to play roles in movies that she considered degrading. Among the better pictures she earned featured roles in were the classic
Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956).
Director Robert Wise, who was chosen to co-direct West Side Story (1961) (the film version of the smash Broadway musical, a retelling of William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" with the warring Venetian clans the Montagues and Capulets re-envisioned as Irish/Polish and Puerto Rican adolescent street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks), cast Moreno as "Anita", the Puerto Rican girlfriend of Sharks' leader Bernardo, whose sister Maria is the piece's Juliet.
However, despite her talent, roles commensurate with that talent were not forthcoming in the 1960s. The following decade would prove kinder, possibly because the beautiful Moreno had aged gracefully and could now be seen
by filmmakers, TV producers and casting directors as something other
than the spitfire/sexpot that Hispanic women were supposed to conform
to. Ironically, it was in two vastly diverging roles--that of a $100 hooker in director Mike Nichols' brilliant realization of Jules Feiffer's
acerbic look at male sexuality, Carnal Knowledge (1971), and Milly the Helper in the children's TV show The Electric Company (1971)--that signaled a career renaissance.
Moreno won a 1972 Grammy Award for her contribution to "The Electric Company"'s soundtrack album, following it up three years later with a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for "The Ritz" (a role she would reprise in the film version, The Ritz (1976)). She then won Emmy Awards for The Muppet Show (1976) and The Rockford Files (1974).
She has continued to work steadily on screen (both large and small) and on stage, solidifying her reputation as a national treasure, a status that was officially ratified with the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in June 2004.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally, James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla,
Mississippi. At an early age, he started to take dramatic lessons
to calm himself down. It appeared to work as he has since starred in
many films over a 40-year period, beginning with the
Stanley Kubrick classic
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
For several movie fans, he is probably best known for his role as Darth Vader in the original
Star Wars trilogy (due to his contribution for the voice of the role, as the man in the Darth Vader
suit was David Prowse, whose voice was
dubbed because of his British West Country accent). In his brilliant course of memorable performances, among others, he has also appeared on
the animated series
The Simpsons (1989) three times
and played Mufasa both in
The Lion King (1994) and The Lion King (2019), while he returned too as the voice of Darth Vader in
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) and
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Angie Dickinson was born in Kulm, North Dakota, in 1931, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Brown. Mr. Brown was the publisher of The Kulm Messenger. The family left North Dakota in 1942 when Angie was 11 years old, moving to Burbank, California. In December of 1946, when she was a senior at Bellamarine Jefferson High School in Burbank, she won the Sixth Annual Bill of Rights Contest. Two years later her sister Janet, did likewise. Being the daughter of a printer, Angie at first had visions of becoming a writer, but gave this up after winning her first beauty contest. After finishing college she worked as a secretary in a Burbank airplane parts factory for 3-1/2 years. In 1953 she entered the local Miss America contest one day before the deadline and took second place. In August of the same year she was one of five winners in a beauty contest sponsored by NBC and appeared in several TV variety shows. She got her first bit part in a Warner Brothers movie in 1954 and gained television fame in the TV series The Millionaire (1955) and got her first good film role opposite John Wayne and Dean Martin in Rio Bravo (1959). Her success then climbed until she became one of the nation's top movie stars.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, the son of Thelma Mary (Spacek) and Elmore Rudolph Torn, who was an agriculturalist and economist, credited with popularizing the custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. "Rip" is a family name, taken by generations of Torn men and bestowed on Elmore by his father, who was also called "Rip." He was of German, Austrian, Bohemian, and Moravian descent. His mother was an elder sister of actress Sissy Spacek's father, Edwin Spacek.
Torn attended Texas A&M and the University of Texas, where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity. He majored in animal husbandry. Extremely naïve when he was young, Torn hitchhiked to Hollywood with the idea of becoming a movie star; he wanted to make enough money in order to buy a ranch. Success did not come overnight, as he had hoped, and Torn had to work many odd jobs while occasionally being cast in television roles. He made his feature film debut in Elia Kazan's Baby Doll (1956) in a small part.
Serious about learning his craft, he moved to New York City where he studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Torn also studied dance with Martha Graham. His serious acting career began on the small screen, where he made a name for himself in the Golden Age of Television; between 1957 and 1960, he appeared regularly on such prestigious live shows as Omnibus (1952) and Playhouse 90 (1956).
Torn made his Broadway debut in Kazan's staging of Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" on March 10, 1959, in support of Paul Newman, Sidney Blackmer and Geraldine Page, who would become his second wife. The play was a hit, closing on January 30, 1960 after 375 performances. He won a 1960 Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Theater World award for his role as "Tom, Jr.", a role he recreated in the 1962 film. (Torn also starred as "Boss Finley" in a later television adaptation of the play).
Torn earned a reputation as an actor's actor on stage, both Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as on screen. He continued to work in the New York theater despite his demanding TV and movie schedule as both an actor and director. He won two Obie awards for his work off-Broadway, for Distinguished Performance in Norman Mailer's "The Deer Park" (for the 1966-67 season), and for Distinguished Direction for "The Beard" (1967-68). He had his own stage company, and directed his daughter Angelica Page (by Geraldine Page) in John Paul Alexander's "Strangers in the Land of Canaan" at the Actors Studio. Torn made his feature film directorial debut with The Telephone (1988).
He was constantly in demand as a character actor, in supporting, second lead and occasional lead roles. Arguably his best performance on film came in Payday (1973), and he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Cross Creek (1983). Most of Torn's roles were in drama, though he was adept at comedy. His role in Albert Brooks' comedy Defending Your Life (1991) led to his being cast in The Larry Sanders Show (1992), on which he played talk show producer "Artie." Torn won six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role, winning once for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series in 1996.
Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956-61, whom he divorced to marry Geraldine Page. They remained married until her death in 1987. He was married to Amy Wright until his death. Torn helped his first cousin, Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, to make her way as an actress, seeing to it that she was accepted by the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Rip Torn died in on July 9, 2019 in Lakeville, Connecticut, aged 88.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Anne Bancroft was born on September 17, 1931 in The Bronx, NY, the middle daughter of Michael Italiano (1905-2001), a dress pattern maker, and Mildred DiNapoli (1907-2010), a telephone operator. She made her cinema debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) in 1952, and over the next five years appeared in a lot of undistinguished movies such as Gorilla at Large (1954), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), New York Confidential (1955), Nightfall (1956) and The Girl in Black Stockings (1957). By 1957 she grew dissatisfied with the scripts she was getting, left the film business and spent the next five years doing plays on Broadway. She returned to screens in 1962 with her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (1962), for which she won an Oscar. Bancroft went on to give acclaimed performances in The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Slender Thread (1965), Young Winston (1972), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), The Elephant Man (1980), To Be or Not to Be (1983), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) and other movies, but her most famous role would be as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). Her status as the "older woman" in the film is iconic, although in real life she was only eight years older than Katharine Ross and just six years older than Dustin Hoffman. Bancroft would later express her frustration over the fact that the film overshadowed her other work. Selective for much of her intermittent career, she appeared onscreen more frequently in the '90s and early '00s, playing a range of characters in such films as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), Point of No Return (1993), Home for the Holidays (1995), G.I. Jane (1997), Great Expectations (1998), Keeping the Faith (2000) and Up at the Villa (2000). She also started to make some TV films, including Deep in My Heart (1999) for which she won an Emmy. Sadly, on June 6, 2005, Bancroft passed away at the age of 73 from uterine cancer. Her death surprised many, as she had not disclosed her illness to the public. Among her survivors was her husband of 41 years, Mel Brooks, and their son Max Brooks, who was born in 1972. Her final film, the animated feature Delgo (2008), was released posthumously in 2008 and dedicated to her memory.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy, who owned a barbershop. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. Raised in a tenement and acting in community theaters since age eight, Nimoy did not make his Hollywood debut until he was 20, with a bit part in Queen for a Day (1951) and another as a ballplayer in the perennial Rhubarb (1951). After two years in the United States Army, he was still getting small, often uncredited parts, like an Army telex operator in Them! (1954). His part as Narab, a Martian finally friendly to Earth, in the closing scene in the corny Republic serial
Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), somewhat foreshadowed the role which would make him a household name: Mr. Spock, the half-human/half-Vulcan science officer on Star Trek (1966) one of television's all-time most successful series. His performance won him three Emmy nominations and launched his career as a writer and director, notably of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), the story of a humpback whale rescue that proved the most successful of the Star Trek movies. Stage credits have included "Fiddler on the Roof", "Oliver", "Camelot" and "Equus". He has hosted the well-known television series In Search of... (1977) and Ancient Mysteries (1994), authored several volumes of poetry and guest-starred on two episodes of The Simpsons (1989). In the latter years of his career, he played Mustafa Mond in NBC's telling of
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1998), voiced Sentinel Prime in the blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and played Spock again in two new Star Trek films, Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
Leonard Nimoy died on February 27, 2015 in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara Bain was born in Chicago, graduating from the University of
Illinois with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology. She then relocated to
New York City where she gained work as a dancer and high-fashion model.
Ms. Bain studied with Martha Graham, permanently cementing her love of dance;
however, it was with Lee Strasberg at the prestigious Actors Studio that she
discovered her true first love - acting. She is probably best known for
her work in the landmark television series Mission: Impossible (1966), created by Bruce Geller,
where she created the pivotal role of Impossible Missions Force Agent
"Cinnamon Carter", and, in the process, became the first actress in the
history of television to receive three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best
Dramatic Actress. Ms. Bain followed with the role of "Dr. Helena
Russell" in the now classic British syndicated science fiction
television series Space: 1999 (1975), created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson. Her stage
work has garnered her Los Angeles Critic's Circle and DramaLogue Awards
for her work on Arthur Kopit's "Wings", Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days" and Eugène Ionesco's
"The Chairs". Ms. Bain has worked on behalf of numerous charitable
causes and is the founder of the Screen Actors Guild's "BookPals"
Program which currently has some 300 of her colleagues reading to
children in Los Angeles schools. Following the success of the program
there, she helped the program to develop in other major cities
throughout North America.- Actor
- Animation Department
- Additional Crew
Sir Ian Holm was one of the world's greatest actors, a Laurence Olivier Award-winning, Tony Award-winning, BAFTA-winning and Academy Award-nominated British star of films and the stage. He was a member of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company and has played more than 100 roles in films and on television.
He was born Ian Holm Cuthbert on September 12, 1931, in Goodmayes, Essex, to Scottish parents who worked at the Essex mental asylum. His mother, Jean Wilson (née Holm), was a nurse, and his father, Doctor James Harvey Cuthbert, was a psychiatrist. Young Holm was brought up in London. At the age of seven he was inspired by the seeing 'Les Miserables' and became fond of acting. Holm studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1950 to the Royal Shakespeare Company. There he emerged as an actor whose range and effortless style allowed him to play almost entire Shakespeare's repertoire. In 1959 his stage partner Laurence Olivier scored a hit on Ian Holm in a sword fight in a production of 'Coriolanus'. Holm still had a scar on his finger.
In 1965 Holm made his debut on television as Richard III on the BBC's The Wars of the Roses (1965), which was a filmed theatrical production of four of Shakespeare's plays condensed down into a trilogy. In 1969 Holm won his first BAFTA Film Award Best Supporting Actor for The Bofors Gun (1968), then followed a flow of awards and nominations for his numerous works in film and on television. In 1981, he played one of his best known roles, Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981), for which he was nominated for Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In the late 1990s, he gave a highly-acclaimed turn as the lawyer, Mitchell, in Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and was subsequently cast in a number of high-profile Hollywood films of the next decade, playing Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element (1997), Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), and Professor Fitz in The Aviator (2004), as well as Zach Braff's character's father Gideon in Garden State (2004). His last non-Hobbit film role was a voice part as Skinner in Ratatouille (2007).
Ian Holm had five children, three daughters and two sons from the first two of his four wives and from an additional relationship. In 1989 Holm was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and in 1998 he was knighted for his services to drama. He died in London in June 2020.- Carroll Baker was born on May 28, 1931 in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania, the daughter of a traveling salesman, William W. Baker. She attended
community college for a year and then worked as a dancer and magician's
assistant. After a brief marriage, she had a small part in
Easy to Love (1953), did TV
commercials, and had a bit part on Broadway. She studied at the Actors
Studio and was married to director
Jack Garfein (one daughter,
Blanche Baker). Warner Brothers, sensing a
future Marilyn Monroe, cast her in
Giant (1956),
Baby Doll (1956) (Oscar nomination for
her thumb-sucking role),
The Carpetbaggers (1964) and
Harlow (1965) (title role). Moving to
Italy, she made films there and in England, Germany, Mexico and Spain .
After returning to American films, she married
Donald Burton in 1982 and resided in
Hampstead, London in the 1980s. They remained together until Burton's
death from emphysema in their home in Cathedral City, California in
2007. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg was born on September 29, 1931 in Malmo, Sweden. Growing up with seven brothers and sisters was not an adventure, but Anita's adventure began when she was elected Miss Sweden in 1950. She did not win the Miss Universe contest but she got a modeling contract in the United States. She quickly got a film contract with Howard Hughes's RKO that did not lead anywhere (but Anita herself has said that Hughes wanted to marry her). Instead, she started making movies with Universal, small roles that more often than not only required her to look beautiful. After five years in Hollywood, she found herself in Rome, where Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) meant her breakthrough. She stayed in Italy and made around 20 movies during the next ten years, some roles memorable, some to be forgotten. Her two marriages gave her a great deal of attention from the press. During the 1970s, the roles became less frequent, but she made a marvellous comeback with Fellini's Intervista (1987).
Anita Ekberg retired from acting in 2002 after 50 years in the motion picture industry. In December 2011, she was destitute following three months in a hospital with a broken thigh in Rimini, during which her home was robbed of jewelry and furniture, and her villa was badly damaged in a fire. Ekberg applied for help from the Fellini Foundation, which also found itself in difficult financial straits. She died at age 83 from complications of an enduring illness on January 11, 2015 at the clinic San Raffaele in Rocca di Papa, Italy. Ekberg had a new film project with exclusively female Italian producer "Le Bestevem", in which her character, as movie star, should have been recovered again as an icon of the silver screen, a project that was interrupted by her death.
Her funeral was held on January 14, 2015, at the Lutheran-Evangelical Christuskirche in Rome, after which her body was cremated and her remains were buried at the cemetery of Skanor Church in Sweden.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Red-haired Jacqueline Sue Scott began her career in show biz as a three-year-old by winning a tap-dancing contest. Though she once self-deprecatingly described herself as "the worst child tap dancer ever to haunt an audience" she made the successful transition from juvenile performer in tent shows to accomplished leading and character actress with an impressive number of screen credits to her resume.
The daughter of John D. Scott and Maxine Finley, Jackie was born in the small town of Sikeston, Missouri. She began acting professionally from the age of 17 with a small St. Louis community theatre company. She then moved to New York, graduated from New York's Hunter College, did some admin work for David Sarnoff at RCA and eventually studied acting under Uta Hagen. Her breakthrough came when she was chosen by the distinguished thespian Louis Calhern to play the part of his granddaughter in The Wooden Dish on Broadway. Mentored by Calhern (who undoubtedly taught her many tricks of the trade) Jackie was cast that same year opposite Paul Muni in Inherit the Wind, playing a young lass in love with the hapless teacher at the center of the infamous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial.
On the strength of some early television work in live anthology drama, Jacqueline was brought to Hollywood by William Castle, well-known as a producer of gimmicky low-budget horror movies. Her debut big screen appearance was to be in Macabre (1958), a picture shot in just seven days for a reputed investment of around $90,000. No audience members 'died of fright', nor were any of the $1000 life insurance policies handed out to audiences as part of the publicity campaign cashed in. While certainly no critical masterpiece, the enterprise managed to gross a cool $5 million. More importantly for Jacqueline was meeting on the set of Macabre her future husband (screenwriter and photographer Gene Lesser who also became her agent). Their marriage lasted an impressive (especially by Hollywood standards) 62 years.
Jacqueline's prolific output during the succeeding three decades consisted primarily of TV guest spots. Very much 'a working actress, she could always be counted upon to portray strength and give quietly effective performances, even in relatively passive roles like those many sympathetic wives and girlfriends in assorted Quinn Martin productions of the 60s and 70s. Among her better-known roles were Donna Kimble Taft, sister of David Janssen's man-on-the-run in five installments of The Fugitive (1963), the wife of an astronaut stranded in an alternate universe in The Parallel (1963) and the chimpanzee physician Dr. Kira (Roddy McDowall's friend) in Planet of the Apes (1974) (for which she had to undergo a three-hour make-up session). She later quipped in an interview: "When some of the crew said how pretty I looked, I knew they had been on the show too long!"
In films, Jacqueline was also frequently cast as supportive spouses: Walter Matthau's in Charley Varrick (1973) (her own personal favorite), Dennis Weaver's in Steven Spielberg's directorial debut picture Duel (1971) and James Stewart's in the western Firecreek (1968). A sturdier outdoorsy part came her way via the monster flick Empire of the Ants (1977) in which she found herself pitted against giant killer insects, along with co-stars Robert Lansing and (a less glamorous than usual) Joan Collins. Jackie's frequent forays into the Wild West included repeat appearances in Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Laramie (1959), Bonanza (1959) and Gunsmoke (1955).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dominic Chianese is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos (1999-2007), Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II (1974), and Leander in Boardwalk Empire (2011-2013). Chianese was born in the Bronx, New York. His father was a bricklayer. His paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Naples in 1904 and settled in the Bronx. Chianese graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1948.- Actor
- Additional Crew
James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to New York to pursue his dream of acting. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly small roles: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952).
He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Cal Trask, the bad brother who could not force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever
in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955).
George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink who strikes it rich when he discovers oil, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder race car, collided with another car while on the road near Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.- Age has not taken the flower off this Bloom. The well-known and
highly respected stage, screen and television actress Claire Bloom continues to be in demand as an
octogenarian actress and looks as beautiful as ever.
She was born Patricia Claire Blume on February 15, 1931, in Finchley, North London, to Elizabeth (Grew) and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales. Her parents were from Jewish families from Belarus. Educated at Badminton School in Bristol and Fern Hill Manor in New Milton, Claire expressed early interest in the arts and was stage trained as an adolescent at the Guildhall School, under the guidance of Eileen Thorndike, and then at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Marking her professional debut on BBC radio, she subsequently took
her first curtain call with the Oxford Repertory Theatre in 1946 in the
production of "It Depends What You Mean". She then received early
critical accolades for her Shakespearean ingénues in "King John", "The
Winter's Tale" and, notably, her Ophelia in "Hamlet" at age 17 at
Stratford-on-Avon opposite alternating Hamlets
Paul Scofield and
Robert Helpmann. By 1949 Claire was
making her West End debut with "The Lady's Not For Burning" with the
up-and-coming stage actor
Richard Burton.
A most becoming and beguiling dark-haired actress whose photogenic,
slightly pinched beauty was accented by an effortless elegance and
poise, Claire's inauspicious film debut came with a prime role in the
British courtroom film drama
The Blind Goddess (1948). It
was her second film, when
Charles Chaplin himself selected her
specifically to be his young leading lady in the classic sentimental
drama Limelight (1952), that propelled
her to stardom. Her bravura turn as a young suicide-bent ballerina
saved from despair by an aging music hall clown (Chaplin) was
exquisitely touching and sparked an enviable but surprisingly sporadic
career in films.
Despite the sudden film attention, Claire continued her formidable
presence on the Shakespearean stage. Joining the Old Vic Company for
the 1952-53 and 1953-54 seasons, she appeared as Helena, Viola,
Juliet, Jessica, Miranda, Virgilia, Cordelia and (again) Ophelia in a
highly successful tenure. Touring Canada and the United States as
Juliet, she made her Broadway bow in the star-crossed-lover role in
1956, also playing the Queen in "Richard II". A strong presence on both
the London and New York stages over the years, she gave other powerful
performances with "The Trojan Women", "Vivat! Vivat! Regina!",
"Hedda Gabler", "A Doll's House" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". Much
later in life she performed in a superb one-woman show entitled "These
Are Women: A Portrait of Shakespeare's Heroines" that included
monologues from several of her acclaimed stage performances.
Claire's stylish and regal presence was simply ideal for mature period
films, and she appeared opposite a roster of Hollywood's most talented
leading men, including
Laurence Olivier in the title role of
Richard III (1955),
Richard Burton and
Fredric March in
Alexander the Great (1956),
Yul Brynner in
The Brothers Karamazov (1958),
and Brynner and Charlton Heston in the
DeMille epic The Buccaneer (1958),
in which she had a rare dressed-down role as a spirited pirate girl. On
the more contemporary scene, she appeared with Burton in two classic
film dramas: the stark "kitchen sink" British stage piece
Look Back in Anger (1959) and
the Cold War espionage thriller
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965).
In addition she courted tinges of controversy, playing a housewife gone
bonkers in the offbeat sudser
The Chapman Report (1962)
and a lesbian in the supernatural chiller
The Haunting (1963).
Claire met first husband Rod Steiger while
performing with him on stage in 1959's "Rashomon". They married that
year and in 1960 had a daughter, Anna, who grew up to become a
well-regarded opera singer. Claire and Rod appeared in two lesser films
together,
The Illustrated Man (1969)
and
Three Into Two Won't Go (1969), in 1969. That same year, they divorced after 10 tumultuous years.
As with other maturing actresses during the 1970s, Claire looked toward
classy film roles in TV movies for sustenance, appearing in Backstairs at the White House (1979)
as First Lady Edith Wilson and
in Brideshead Revisited (1981),
for which she was nominated for an Emmy. Also lauded were the epic
miniseries Ellis Island (1984);
a remake of Terence Rattigan's
Separate Tables (1983);
The Ghost Writer (1984), an acclaimed adaption of Philip Roth's novel ;
and Shadowlands (1986), the
latter earning her a British Television Award.
Claire married Roth the writer (her third marriage) in 1990 after a brief second marriage to
producer Hillard Elkins (1969-1972). The
union with Roth lasted five years.
Claire appeared in several
Shakespearean teleplays over the decades while also portraying a choice
selection of historical royals, including Czarina Alexandra and
Katherine of Aragon.
On daytime drama, she delightfully played matriarch and murderess
Orlena Grimaldi on the daytime drama
As the World Turns (1956)
starting in 1993. She left the role in 1995 and was replaced.
Continuing sporadically in films from the 1970s on, Claire graced such films as the stylish British social comedy A Severed Head (1971), the tender coming-of-age drama Red Sky at Morning (1971) as Richard Thomas's mother, and one of that year's versions of Ibsen's A Doll's House (1973) (Jane Fonda starred as Nora in the other). She also movingly played George C. Scott's estranged wife in Islands in the Stream (1977) and had a very brief cameo as Hera in Clash of the Titans (1981), a small part as a manipulative mother in Déjà Vu (1985), and mature parts in the romantic dramedy Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) and classic Woody Allen drama Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).
In the new millennium, Claire has been seen in such quality films as and The Book of Eve (2002), Imagining Argentina (2003), The King's Speech (2010) (as Queen Mary), And While We Were Here (2012), Max Rose (2013) starring a dramatic Jerry Lewis, and Miss Dalí (2018). She has also made appearances on such TV miniseries as The Ten Commandments (2005) and Summer of Rockets (2019).
Claire wrote two memoirs. The first was the more career-oriented
"Limelight and After: The Education of an Actress," released in 1982.
Her more controversial second book, "Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir," published in 1996, focused on her personal life. - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Dick Gautier was born on 30 October 1931 in Culver City, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Transformers (1984), G.I. Joe (1985) and Get Smart (1965). He was married to Tess Hightower, Barbara Stuart and Beverly J. Gerber. He died on 13 January 2017 in Arcadia, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gavin MacLeod's pleasing, agreeable manner on two hit TV series in the 1970s and '80s belied a number of shady villains he portrayed in his early career. Born Allan George See in Mt. Kisco, New York, on February 28, 1931, and raised in Pleasantville, he was the son of Margaret (Shea) and George See, a gas station owner who was part Chippewa Indian (Ojibwa). He followed his 1952 graduation from Ithaca College (Fine Arts major) with Air Force military duty, then moved to New York City and worked for a while as an usher and elevator operator at Radio City Music Hall. Focusing on acting, he changed his stage name to "Gavin McLeod."
A solid break on Broadway in "A Hatful of Rain" in 1956 led to a move to Los Angeles in an attempt to break into film and TV. MacLeod began to earn a minor reputation as a second-string heavy in such crime shows as "The Thin Man," "Steve Canyon," "Manhunt," "Mr. Lucky," "Peter Gunn," "Michael Shayne," "The Untouchables" and "Perry Mason." This led to a regular comedy role as part of the McHale's Navy (1962) TV series. He also managed several film roles, although far down the credits, with I Want to Live! (1958), Compulsion (1959), Pork Chop Hill (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959), Twelve Hours to Kill (1960), High Time (1960), War Hunt (1962) and McHale's Navy (1964). He was a member of the superb supporting cast of The Sand Pebbles (1966). He returned to Broadway in "The Captains and the Kings" in 1962.
MacLeod's career more or less flowed and ebbed until 1972, when his shiftless typecast was shattered forever. As Murray Slaughter, the balding, beaming, wisecracking, gleaming-toothed news writer on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), MacLeod became a happy household name. From then on, he
could only be envisaged as a lovable schmuck and nice guy. From there he went on to another benign starring role with the TV series, The Love Boat (1977), as the ingratiating Captain Stubing.
On the down side, "Love Boat" marred MacLeod's chances to be considered for more challenging work, and his inability to cope with success led to alcoholism and divorce from second wife Patti. However, he later turned his life around, remarried his wife, and they both wrote a book called "Back on Course" (1987). MacLeod continued sporadically on the musical stage ("Gypsy," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Gigi"), in TV reunions ("Love Boat" specials) and as a TV guest ("Murder, She Wrote," "Touched by an Angel," "The King of Queens," "Oz," "That 70s Show," "JAG" and "The Comeback Kid").- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
A familiar name thanks to his handsome, brush-mustachioed titular cop on a popular 70's TV show, Bronx-born actor/singer/musician Hal Linden (né Harold Lipschitz, March 20, 1931) was the son of Lithuanian immigrant Charles Lipshitz and his wife Frances Rosen. He had one older brother, Bernard, who would become a future Professor of Music at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Similarly musical, Hal took up classical clarinet in his late teens and went on to play regularly with symphony orchestras. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, he studied music at Queens College, moving later to City College where he earned a degree in business. Hal supplemented his income playing in dance bands and was asked, at one point, to join Sammy Kaye on tour. Around this time he changed his marquee name to the more inviting "Hal Linden."
This mild invitation into professional show business sparked an interest in acting. Upon receiving his discharge, Hal enrolled at New York's American Theatre Wing where he trained in voice and drama. Eventually drafted into the Army in 1952, he utilized his talents by singing and providing entertainment for the troops. Discharged in 1954, he turned to summer stock and met Frances Martin, a dancer, the following year while both were in the chorus of "Mr. Wonderful" in Cape Cod. They married three years later and she willingly gave up her career to raise a family (four children).
During the early 1950s, he toured with Sammy Kaye and Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra, among other bands. Hal's first Broadway show was with the 1956 musical "Bells Are Ringing" where he understudied lead Sydney Chaplin in the role of Jeff Moss. He later took over the role. He would make a bigger impression as Billy Crocker in the Broadway revival of Cole Porter in 1962. Hal accumulated more musical credits with leads in "Something More," "Illya, Darling" and "The Apple Tree" (as the Devil).
Although Hal also appeared in a couple of straight plays during this time ("Angel in the Pawnshop," "Three Men on a Horse"), he would win the 1971 Tony award for his earnest portrayal of Mayer Rothschild in the musical "The Rothschilds." This was quickly followed by the title role in the musical "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," "The Enclave," "The Pajama Game," and other stage roles.
Hal's musical prominence finally led to legit television parts in the early 70's with guest appearances on "Circle of Fear," "Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside" and "The F.B.I." This, in turn, gave him the clout to be tested in a star role, that of the personable precinct boss on the highly popular Barney Miller (1975) sitcom. The long-running comedy program lasted eight seasons and Hal was subsequently Emmy-nominated each year, becoming a highly pleasant household name thanks to his warmly masculine looks, easy charm and dazzling smile.
Accommodating this TV triumph was several light and heavy TV-movie vehicles, including How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (1976), Father Figure (1980), The Other Woman (1983) and the two-person musical I Do! I Do! (1983) co-starring Lee Remick. Following that, Hal has appeared in other shorter-run TV series -- the title magician in Blacke's Magic (1986), title restaurateur in Jack's Place (1992) and as the beleaguered patriarch in the domestic sitcom The Boys Are Back (1994).
Although film stardom eluded Hal, he has supported a handful of films, including A New Life (1988), Just Friends (1996), Out to Sea (1997), Dumb Luck (2001), Time Changer (2002), Light Years Away (2008), Stevie D (2016), The Samuel Project (2018) and Grand-Daddy Day Care (2019). A much bigger presence on TV, Hal dominated with a number of guest appearances -- "The Golden Girls," "The Nanny," "Touched by an Angel," "Law & Order," "Will & Grace," "The King of Queens," "Hot in Cleveland," "2 Broke Girls" and "Grey's Anatomy." In 2006 and 2007, he enjoyed a recurring role on the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful (1987).
In between, he continued to impress on the stage with performances in such acclaimed plays and musicals as "Company," "Cabaret," "I'm Not Rappaport," "Tuesdays with Morrie," "The Sisters Rosenzweig" and "A Christmas Carol," while continuing musical tours as a clarinetist. The national chairman of the March of Dimes for many years, Hal's career length has now surpassed six decades. His wife Frances died in 2010.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Martin Sam Milner was born December 28, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Jerre Martin, originally from Oregon, was a dancer with the Paramount Theater circuit. His
father, Sam Gordon Milner, a Polish Jewish immigrant, was a film distributor. The Milners moved to Seattle
when Martin was a baby and to Los Angeles soon after. At age 15, Martin's father got him an agent and he was chosen to play the role of
"John Day" in
Life with Father (1947), Warner
Bros.' version of Clarence Day, Jr.'s popular Broadway play. Milner
contracted polio shortly after filming was completed and his career was
put on hold for a year as he recovered from the illness. After
graduating from North Hollywood High School and studying for one year
at the University of Southern California, Milner worked steadily in
films during the years 1949-1960. He appeared in films such as
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949),
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957),
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
and
Sweet Smell of Success (1957).
He put his career on hold again when he was inducted into the Army in
1952 for two years. Shortly after joining the Army, he was assigned to
the Human Research Division, where he directed military training films
and served as Master of Ceremonies for a touring show based at Fort
Ord, California. Milner married television actress and singer
Judy Jones in 1957 and they have four children--Amy, Molly, Stuart, and
Andrew.
Milner met Jack Webb during the
filming of
Halls of Montezuma (1951) and later worked with him on his "Dragnet" radio show
as well as the TV series Dragnet (1951).
Milner appeared as 17-year-old high school student "Stephen Banner" in
the episode "The Big Producer" in 1952. According to Webb's biography
"Just the Facts, Ma'am", Webb owed Milner money from a card game. When
Webb called him to the studio to pay him back, he offered Milner a role
in the "Dragnet" radio show. After that, Webb continued to find roles
for Milner until he offered him the role of "Pete Malloy" on
Adam-12 (1968). Milner continued to
appear in films throughout the 1970s and 1980s and made many guest
appearances on television shows such as
Murder, She Wrote (1984),
the "Columbo" made-for-TV movies,
MacGyver (1985), and
Diagnosis Murder (1993).
Milner was an avid fisherman and has been co-host of the syndicated
radio talk show "Let's Talk Hook-up" since 1993. He also hosts fishing
trips through "Let's Talk Hook-Up."
Apart from the Webb connection, Milner starred as "Tod Stiles" in his own groundbreaking CBS-TV series, Route 66 (1960). The series was notable for its coast-to-coast location shooting, eloquent scripts by co-creator Stirling Silliphant and others, impressive guest casts, and a distinctive theme song by Nelson Riddle. The series allowed Milner to explore a range of characterizations as his nomadic travels in a Corvette convertible took him from job to job all over the United States, where he dug deeply into the lives of the people he encountered there -- with traveling companions "Buz Murdock" (George Maharis) and, after Maharis left the show, "Lincoln Case" (Glenn Corbett).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Philip Baker Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Berdene (McDonald) and William Alexander Hall, a factory worker who was originally from Montgomery, Alabama. He did not start acting until he was 30 years old. Known to film fans for his turn as Richard Nixon in Robert Altman's one-man show film Secret Honor (1984), he shot to cult fame when he turned in another electrifying performance, as Sydney, the veteran gambler, in Paul Thomas Anderson's debut feature, Hard Eight (1996). However, it was his work in the same director's star-studded Magnolia (1999) that really caught the mass film public's attention; his performance as the legendary quiz show presenter "Jimmy Gator" was highly acclaimed. These acclaimed smaller films led to Hall's casting in multiple blockbuster hits of the 1990s and 2000s, including The Sum of All Fears (2002) and Dogville (2003), directed by Lars von Trier.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
French ballet dancer Leslie Caron was discovered by the legendary MGM
star Gene Kelly during his search for
a co-star in one of the finest musicals ever filmed, the Oscar-winning
An American in Paris (1951),
which was inspired by and based on the music of
George Gershwin. Leslie's gamine looks
and pixie-like appeal would be ideal for Cinderella-type rags-to-riches
stories, and Hollywood made fine use of it. Combined with her fluid
dancing skills, she became one of the top foreign musical artists of
the 1950s, while her triple-threat talents as a singer, dancer and
actress sustained her long after musical film's "Golden Age" had
passed.
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron was born in France on July 1, 1931. Her
father, Claude Caron, was a French chemist, and her American-born
mother, Margaret Petit, had been a ballet dancer back in the States
during the 1920s. Leslie herself began taking dance lessons at age 11.
She was on holidays at her grandparents' estate near Grasse when the
Allies landed on the 15th of August 1944. After the German rendition,
she and her family went to Paris to live. There she attended the
Convent of the Assumption and started ballet training. While studying
at the National Conservatory of Dance, she appeared at age 14 in "The
Pearl Diver," a show for children where she danced and played a little
boy. At age 16, she was hired by the renowned
Roland Petit to join the Ballet des
Champs-Elysees, where she was immediately given solo parts.
Leslie's talent and reputation as a dancer had already been recognized
when on opening night of Petit's 1948 ballet "La Rencontre," which was
based on the theme of Orpheus and featured the widely-acclaimed dancer
'Jean Babilee', she was seen by then-married
Hollywood couple Gene Kelly
and Betsy Blair. Leslie did not meet the
famed pair at the end of the show that night as the 17-year-old went
home dutifully right after her performance, but one year later Kelly
remembered Leslie's performance when he returned to Paris in search for
a partner for his upcoming movie musical
An American in Paris (1951).
The rest is history.
Kelly and newcomer Caron's touching performances and elegant and
exuberant footwork (especially in the "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and
"Embraceable You" numbers, as well as the dazzling 17-minute ballet to
the title song) had critics and audiences simply enthralled. The film,
directed by Vincente Minnelli, won a
total of six Oscar awards, including "Best Picture," plus a Golden
Globe for "Best Picture in a Musical or Comedy". Leslie was put under a
seven-year MGM contract where her luminous skills would also be
featured in non-musical showcases.
While Leslie's dramatic mettle was tested as a New Orleans nightclub
entertainer opposite Ralph Meeker's boxer
in Glory Alley (1952) and as a French
governess in
The Story of Three Loves (1953),
it was as the child-like urchin who falls for a cruel carnival
puppeteer (Mel Ferrer) in
Lili (1953) that finally lifted Leslie to
Academy Award attention. The film, which went on to inspire the
Tony-winning Broadway musical "Carnival," earned Leslie not only an
Oscar nomination, but the British Film Award for "Best Actress" as
well. At her waif-like best once again in the musical
Daddy Long Legs (1955), Leslie
was paired this time with the "other" MGM male dancing legend
Fred Astaire. The story, which unfolded in
an appealing Henry Higgins/Eliza Dolittle style, was partly
choreographed by Roland Petit, who founded
the Ballet des Champs-Elysees, Leslie's former dance company.
While the actress gave poignant life to the ugly-duckling-turned-swan
tale, The Glass Slipper (1955),
choreographed by Petit and co-starring Britisher
Michael Wilding as Prince Charming,
Leslie also played a ballerina in love with WWII soldier
John Kerr in
Gaby (1956), a lukewarm remake of the
superior Waterloo Bridge (1940).
It took another plush musical classic,
Gigi (1958), to remind audiences once again
of Leslie's unique, international appeal.
Audrey Hepburn, who had played the title
part on Broadway, was keen on doing the film, but producer
Arthur Freed wrote the part expressly for
Leslie. It was also Freed who called up
Fred Astaire to suggest her as his leading
lady in Gigi (1958). Leslie tried the role
out on the London stage prior to doing the film version. The musical
wound up receiving nine Academy Awards, including "Best Picture," and
Leslie herself was nominated for a Golden Globe as "Best Musical/Comedy
Actress".
A few more forgettable film roles came and went until she returned
triumphantly in a non-musical adaptation of a highly successful 1954
Broadway musical. The film version of
Fanny (1961) was more adult in nature for
Leslie and was blessed with gorgeous cinematography, a touching script
and the continental flavor of veterans,
Maurice Chevalier,
Charles Boyer, and
Horst Buchholz. At the movie's
centerpiece is a child-like Leslie (at age 30!) who is mesmerizing as a
young girl with child who is deserted by her sailor/boyfriend. Even
more adult in scope was the shattering British drama
The L-Shaped Room (1962)
wherein the actress plays a pregnant French refugee who is abandoned
yet again. She earned her a second British Academy Award and a second
Oscar nomination for this superb performance.
On stage in London with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Leslie earned
applause in another Audrey Hepburn
Broadway vehicle, "Ondine," in 1961. While the mid-1960s and 1970s saw
her film career take a Hollywood detour into breezy comedy with a
number of lightweight fare opposite the likes of
Rock Hudson,
Cary Grant and
Warren Beatty, she managed to shine with a
complex working class mother role in the remarkable Italian film
Il padre di famiglia (1967)
starring Nino Manfredi and
Ugo Tognazzi, and was spotted in the
popular crossover film Valentino (1977)
starring iconic Russian ballet star
Rudolf Nureyev.
In the 1980s, Leslie appeared in stage productions of "Can-Can", "On
Your Toes" and "One for the Tango". She also was invited and accepted
to appear on American TV. At the age of 75, the actress won her first
Emmy Award with her very moving portrayal of an elderly woman and
closeted rape victim in a 2006 episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
More recent filming have included
Damage (1992) by
Louis Malle,
Chocolat (2000) by
Lasse Hallström, and the Merchant Ivory
romantic comedy/drama
The Divorce (2003).
Leslie's private life has been more turbulent than expected. She is
divorced from the late meat packing heir and musician
Geordie Hormel; from avant-garde Royal
Shakespeare director Peter Hall, by
whom she has two children, Christopher and Jennifer (both of whom have
careers in the entertainment field); and from her
Chandler (1971) movie producer
Michael Laughlin.
One of the few MGM post-musical stars to enjoy a long, lasting and formidable dramatic career, Leslie Caron is still continuing today though on a much more limited basis. In 2008, the actress published her memoirs, "Thank Heaven," later translated to French as "Une Francaise à Hollywood". In 2010, she triumphed on the Chatelet Theater stage in Paris with her portrayal of Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music. More recently the still mesmerizing octogenarian had a recurring role as a countess in the British TV series The Durrells (2016). Over the years, she has received a number of "Life Achievement" awards for her contributions to both film and dance.- Actress
- Producer
Long a vital, respected thespian of the classic and contemporary stage, this grand lady did not become a household name and sought-after film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning performance as Cher's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Movie (and TV) fans then discovered what East coast theater-going audiences had uncovered decades before -- Olympia Dukakis was an acting treasure. Her adaptability to various ethnicities (Greek, Italian, Jewish, Eastern European, etc.), as well her chameleon-like versatility in everything from cutting edge comedy to stark tragedy, kept her in high demand for 30 years as one of Hollywood's topnotch character players.
Olympia Dukakis was born on June 20, 1931, in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek immigrants, Alexandra (Christos), from the Peloponnese, and Constantine S. Dukakis, from Anatolia. She majored in physical therapy at Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. Olympia practiced as a physical therapist during the polio epidemic. She later returned to her alma mater and entered the graduate program in performing arts, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Olympia found early success by distinguishing herself first on stage performing in summer stock and with several repertory and Shakespearean companies throughout the county. She made her Broadway debut as an understudy in "The Aspern Papers" at age 30, followed by very short runs in the plays "Abraham Cochrane" (1964) and "Who's Who in Hell" (1974). In 1999, she premiered a one-woman play "Rose," at the National Theatre in London and subsequently on Broadway in 2000. The play earned her an Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award nomination and she continues to tour the country with it.
Olympia was seen on the New York stage in the Roundabout Theatre's production of "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" (2011), in San Francisco in A.C.T.'s production of "Vigil" (2011) and as "Prospera" in "The Tempest" (2012) at Shakespeare & Co. She has performed in over 130 productions Off-Broadway and regionally at theaters including the Public Theatre, A.C.T., Shakespeare in the Park, Shakespeare & Co., and the Williamstown Summer Theatre Festival, where she also served as Associate Director. She was seen again at Shakespeare & Co. in the summer of 2013 as the title role in "Mother Courage and Her Children."
Olympia married Yugoslav-American actor Louis Zorich in 1962. The New York-based couple went on to co-found The Whole Theatre Company in Montclair, New Jersey, and ran the company for 19 years (1971-1990). As actress, director, producer and teacher, she still found the time to raise their three young children. She also became a master instructor at New York University for fourteen years. She scored theater triumphs in "A Man's a Man," for which she won an Off-Broadway Obie Award in 1962; several productions of "The Cherry Orchard" and "Mother Courage"; "Six Characters in Search of an Author"; "The Rose Tattoo"; "The Seagull"; "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" (another Obie Award); and, more notably, her many performances as the title role in "Hecuba." A good portion of her successes was launched within the walls of her own theater company, which encouraged the birth of new and untried plays.
Olympia's prolific stage directing credits include many of the classics: "Orpheus Descending," "The House of Bernarda Alba," "Uncle Vanya," and "A Touch of the Poet," as well as the more contemporary ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Kennedy's Children"). She also adapted such plays as "Mother Courage" and "The Trojan Women" for the theater company. Over the duration of their marriage, she and her husband have experienced shared successes, appearing together in "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "Camino Real, "The Three Sisters" and "The Seagull," among many others. Both are master interpreters of Chekhovian plays -- one of their more recent acting collaborations was in "The Chekhov Cycle" in 2003.
Making an inauspicious debut in a bit role as a mental patient in Lilith (1964), she tended to gravitate toward off-the-wall films with various offshoots of the ethnic mother. She played mom to such leads as Dustin Hoffman in John and Mary (1969), Joseph Bologna in the cult comedy Made for Each Other (1971) and Ray Sharkey in The Idolmaker (1980). Interestingly, it was her scene-stealing work on Broadway in the comedy "Social Security" (1986) that caught director Norman Jewison's eye and earned her the Moonstruck (1987) movie role. The Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress was the last of a stream of awards she earned for that part, including the Los Angeles Film Critics, Golden Globe and American Comedy awards.
From then on, silver-haired Olympia was frequently first in line for a number of cream-of-the-crop matron roles: Steel Magnolias (1989), Dad (1989), Look Who's Talking (1989), The Cemetery Club (1993), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and Mother (1995).
On TV, she received high praise for her work especially for her sympathetic trans-gendered landlady Anna Madrigal in the acclaimed miniseries Tales of the City (1993) and its sequels More Tales of the City (1998) (Emmy Nominee) and Further Tales of the City (2001). She was additionally seen in episodes of Bored to Death (2009), and TV movies The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (Judi Dench), Sinatra (1992) (Golden Globe Nominee), and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) (Emmy Nominee). This work is among more than 40 other series, mini-series and guest starring roles she accumulated over her long career. Several recurring TV roles also came her way with Center of the Universe (2004), Bored to Death (2009), Sex & Violence (2013), Forgive Me (2013), Switch (2018) and one last return to her popular Anna Madrigal role with the series sequel Tales of the City (2019).
The septuagenarian hardly slowed down and continued strongly into the millennium with top supporting film credits including The Intended (2002), The Event (2003), the title role in the mystery Charlie's War (2003), The Thing About My Folks (2005), Jesus, Mary and Joey (2005), Away from Her (2006), Day on Fire (2006), In the Land of Women (2007), The Last Keepers (2013), A Little Game (2014), 7 Chinese Brothers (2015), The Infiltrator (2016), Her Secret Sessions (2016) and Change in the Air (2018). The film Cloudburst (2011), in which she shared a co-lead with Brenda Fricker, became a critical and audience darling, winning a multitude of "Best Film" awards and several "Best Actress" honors (Seattle, San Diego) at various film festivals.
An ardent liberal and Democrat, she was the cousin of 1988 presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Moreover, she was a strong advocate of women's rights and environmental causes. Olympia published her best-selling autobiography "Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress" in 2003, an introspective chronicle full of her trademark candor and wry humor. She was also a figure on the lecture circuit covering topics as widespread as life in the theater to feminism, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
A hardcore New Yorker, she resided there following the death of her husband in 2018, and until her death in May 2021. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greek America Foundation, the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Mamie Van Doren was born on 6 February 1931 in Rowena, South Dakota, USA. She is an actress, known for Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), Teacher's Pet (1958) and The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (1966). She has been married to Thomas Dixon since 26 June 1979. She was previously married to Ross McClintock, Lee Meyers, Ray Anthony and Jack Newman.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
The son of a legendary actress
(Mary Martin) and a district
attorney, Larry Martin Hagman was born on September 21, 1931 in Fort
Worth, Texas. After his parents' divorce, he moved to Los Angeles,
California to live with his grandmother. When he was 12, his
grandmother died and he moved back to his mother's place, who had
remarried and was launching a Broadway career. After attending Bard
College in New York State, he decided to follow his mother's acting
road. His first stage tryout was with the
Margo Jones Theatre-in-the-Round in
Dallas, Texas. He then appeared in the New York City Center production
of "Taming the Shrew", followed by a year in regional theater. In his
early-to-mid twenties, Larry moved to England as a member of the cast
of his mother's stage show, "South Pacific", and was a member of the
cast for five years. After that, he enlisted in the United States Air
Force, where he produced and directed several series for members of the
service.
After completing his service in the Air Force, Larry returned to New
York City for a series of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, esp. "Once
Around the Block", "Career", "Comes a Day", "A Priest in the House",
"The Beauty Part", "The Warm Peninsula", "The Nervous Set" among many
others. He began his television career in 1961 with a number of guest
appearances on shows as "The ALCOA Hour". He was later chosen to be in
the popular daytime soap opera
The Edge of Night (1956),
in which he starred for two years. But that was his start, he later
went on to become the friendliest television star in the NBC sitcom
I Dream of Jeannie (1965),
in which he played the amiable astronaut Anthony Nelson. In the series,
his life was endangered by this gorgeous blonde bombshell genie played
by Barbara Eden. The series ran for five
years and after that, he continued his success in
The Good Life (1971) and
Here We Go Again (1973), as
well as a number of guest-starring roles on many series. He was also
with Lauren Bacall in the television
version of the hit Broadway musical
Applause (1973).
In 1977, the soap opera Dallas (1978)
came aboard and Larry's career was secured. He credits "Superchick" for
convincing him to do the show. This program of an excessively rich
Texas family, was one of the best, beloved, most-watched shows of all
time as he portrayed the role of the evil yet perverted millionaire
J.R. Ewing, the man who loved to be hated. The series ran for an
amazing 14 1/2 seasons and the "Who shot J.R.?" episode remains the
second highly-rated television show in the history of the satellite.
Since his name was familiar with Texas, it was suiting that he hosted
"Lone Star" (1985), an eight-part documentary series related to the
history of Texas, for the Public Television Stations. That aired while
celebrating the 150th anniversary of Texas as an independent republic.
In the spring of 1987, Kari-Lorimar released "Larry Hagman--Stop
Smoking for Life". Proceeds from this home video were donated to the
American Cancer Society.
In July 1995, he needed a liver transplant in order for him to regain
his life back after years of strong drinking that led to cirrhosis. He
went over to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for this where he spent seven
weeks in the hospital, and an operation took 16 hours but saved his
life. In July 1996, one year after he had a new liver, he served as the
National Spokesperson for the 1996 U.S. Transplant Games presented by
the National Kidney Foundation and, on November 2, he later received
the Award for his efforts in escalating public awareness of the concept
of organ donation. He continued to serve as an advocate of organ
donation and transplantation until his death. In November 1996, he
starred in
Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996),
a 2-hour movie in which the ratings were a huge success for CBS, as
well as in the network's drama series
Orleans (1997) when his role of Judge
Luther Charbonnet gave him some of the best reviews of his
36-year-career.
When he was feeling better than he had for so many years, he completed
his two movie projects:
The Third Twin (1997), a
four-hour miniseries based on the author's best-selling novel, that
aired on CBS, and Mike Nichols's
Primary Colors (1998), a film
based on the best-selling book by a journalist,
Joe Klein. Starring in that film were
John Travolta,
Emma Thompson,
Billy Bob Thornton,
Kathy Bates and
Adrian Lester. Larry played Governor
Picker, an antipolitics politician who stands a grave danger crisis to
the governor's bid for office. Primary Colors was his second
presidential film having also appeared in
Oliver Stone's
Nixon (1995). Following these movies, his
second Dallas reunion movie,
Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998),
aired on CBS. He also served as executive producer.
Away from films, Larry was actively involved in a series of civic and
philanthropic events. An adamant non-smoker, he served as the
chairperson of the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout",
from 1981 to 1992. Larry Hagman died at age 81 on November 23, 2012 at
Medical City Dallas Hospital in Dallas, Texas from complications of
throat cancer.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Born on June 9, 1931 in Chicago, Joan Marshall attended St. Clement's School. Looking far more mature than her age would indicate, when she was just 14 years old she auditioned for, and was hired, as a showgirl at Chicago's Chez Paree, one of the country's foremost nightclubs in the 1940s and 1950s. Two years later, she was appearing in Las Vegas productions. Vegas was where she met her first husband and her son, Steven, was born. Her daughter Shari was born three years later. Moving to Beverly Hills, she starred on the television series Bold Venture (1959) (1959-60 season). She made around 10 feature films, liking only a few of them. In 1961, she starred in Homicidal (1961) (billed as "Jean Arless"), playing two roles, one male and one female. This small film has developed a cult-like following.
She was signed by CBS and appeared often on such television shows as The Jack Benny Program (1950) and The Red Skelton Hour (1951). She had a gift for comedy, which often was overlooked because of her beauty. Possessing a flair for writing, in the 1970s, she collaborated with her old school friend, the award-winning writer Dirk Wayne Summers, co-scripting sitcoms.
She married film director Hal Ashby and, over the first six months of their marriage, and at his insistence, she related personal experiences of her life. Ashby (and Robert Towne) turned these details of her life into the romantic comedy film Shampoo (1975). She was reportedly displeased her husband had used such personal details in creating this film.
Her real-life wedding (to Ashby) can be seen in the opening scenes behind the credits in Ashby's romantic comedy film The Landlord (1970). Ashby died in 1988 and, two years later, Joan married business executive Mel Bartfield. Although there were many rumors that Joan was secretly wed to Richard Chamberlain, this was not the case. She and Chamberlain were -- and remained -- very close friends. After visiting Jamaica, West Indies, she fell in love with the island nation, where she had a home, and where she died of lung cancer on June 28, 1992, at the age of 61. Her ashes were spread under her favorite tree on the property.- Actress
- Soundtrack
It is perhaps ironic that the film for which this performer is best remembered was also her musical swansong and one of her very last motion picture appearances. That was, of course, South Pacific (1958), with Mitzi Gaynor famously cast as feisty Ensign Nellie Forbush, warbling "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair". She had not been first choice for the role: director Joshua Logan wanted Elizabeth Taylor while Richard Rodgers was fixated on Doris Day. Since neither was available, they had to settle on Mitzi. In retrospect, her performance (she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award) was perhaps the best thing about the movie. Hers was the only voice (other than that of Ray Walston) that was not dubbed in post- production. South Pacific was marred by Logan's lethargic direction and by garish hues, due to the use of colour filters in several lengthy sequences. The picture nonetheless became one of the highest grossing films of the 50s.
She was born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber of Hungarian aristocratic ancestry. Her father was violinist, cellist and music director Henry de Czanyi von Gerber, her mother Pauline was a dancer. Mitzi began performing in public from the age of four. Her family moved from Detroit to Hollywood when she was eleven. There, she was trained as a ballerina in the corps de ballet. Just three years later, she was on stage as a singer and dancer with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Company in a production of Roberta. While playing the lead in Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta, Gaynor was discovered by a 20th Century Fox talent scout, auditioned and signed to a seven year contract. She made her screen debut as a dancer in My Blue Heaven (1950), singing 'Live Hard, Work Hard, Love Hard'. The studio kept her initials but changed her name from Gerber to Gaynor, likely in deference to Janet Gaynor, one of their major box-office stars of the 20s and 30s.
Aged 19, vivacious, blonde, slightly snub-nosed and undeniably cute, Mitzi began her career as a lead performer in musicals, acting alongside some of the genre's most prominent names. Now a headliner in her own right, she portrayed 19th century entertainer Lotta Crabtree in the biopic Golden Girl (1951), a South Sea Islander in Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952) and the 'Queen of Vaudeville', Eva Tanguay, in The I Don't Care Girl (1953). All were minor box-office hits. Arguably her best role was that of Emily Ann Stackerlee in Damon Runyon's Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952), with Gaynor at her exuberant best, dancing and singing "Bye Low". Her final picture -- before Fox dropped her contract-- was the star-studded extravaganza There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). In this, she played second fiddle to Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor and Dan Dailey.
That same year (1954) and not long away from the limelight, Gaynor married the very savvy talent agent and public relations executive Jack Bean. Bean soon quit his job with MCA to set up his own agency, Bean & Rose, which was largely about shepherding and rejuvenating Gaynor's career. She signed a new contract with Paramount in 1955 which resulted in a trio of films, the best of which was The Joker Is Wild (1957), starring Frank Sinatra as vaudevillian and night club entertainer Joe E. Lewis and Gaynor as his chorus girl wife. Next up, she played another showgirl in Les Girls (1957). This stodgy and confusingly scripted enterprise was chiefly notable for being Gene Kelly 's final appearance in a major musical and for the show-stopping number "Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?" performed by Kelly and Gaynor (both dressed as bikers, effectively lampooning Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953)).
After South Pacific (a part which her husband managed to secure for her) Gaynor made only a handful of films. Her last effort was For Love or Money (1963), a matrimonial comedy starring Kirk Douglas. In 1963, Gaynor retired from films, explaining that she felt 'kind of ordinary' as an actress. She considered her talents to be better suited to the stage, to live performances. Consequently, the latter part of her career was spent on the nightclub circuit (especially in Las Vegas) and in television specials. In the 90s, Gaynor's career found a new lease of life as a featured columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, chronicling the golden years.
Gaynor's many accolades have included a Golden Laurel (1958). She received a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard in 1960, and, in 2017, she was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame. Jack Bean, her husband of 52 years died of pneumonia at the couple's Beverly Hills home on December 4 2006.- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
He, along with the other members of the "Compass Players" including
Elaine May, Paul Sills, Byrne Piven, Joyce Hiller Piven and Edward Asner helped start the famed
"Second City Improv" company. They used the games taught to them by
fellow cast mate, Paul Sills 's mother, Viola Spolin. He later worked in
legitimate theater as an actor before entering into a very successful
comedy duo with Elaine May. The two were known as "the world's fastest
humans".- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
The daughter of a noted surgeon, Dana Wynter was born Dagmar Winter in Berlin, Germany, and grew up in England. When she was 16 her father went to Morocco, reportedly to operate on a woman who wouldn't allow anyone else to attend her; he visited friends in Southern Rhodesia, fell in love with it and brought his daughter and her stepmother to live with him there. Wynter later enrolled as a pre-med student at Rhodes University (the only girl in a class of 150 boys) and also dabbled in theatrics, playing the blind girl in a school production of "Through a Glass Darkly", in which she says she was "terrible."
After a year-plus of studies, she returned to England and shifted gears, dropping her medical studies and turning to an acting career. She was appearing in a play in Hammersmith when an American agent told her he wanted to represent her. She left for New York on November 5, 1953, "Guy Fawkes Day," a holiday commemorating a 1605 attempt to blow up the Parliament building. "There were all sorts of fireworks going off," she later told an interviewer, "and I couldn't help thinking it was a fitting send-off for my departure to the New World."
Wynter had more success in New York than in London, acting on TV (Robert Montgomery Presents (1950), Suspense (1949), Studio One (1948), among others) and the stage before "going Hollywood" a short time later. The willowy, dark-eyed actress appeared in over a dozen films, worked in "Golden Age" television (such as Playhouse 90 (1956)) and even co-starred in her own short-lived TV series, the globe-trotting The Man Who Never Was (1966). Married and divorced from well-known Hollywood lawyer Greg Bautzer, Wynter, once called Hollywood's "oasis of elegance", divided her time between homes in California and County Wicklow, Ireland until her death.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Diana Dors was born Diana Mary Fluck on October 23, 1931 in Swindon,
Wiltshire, England. She and her mother both nearly died from the
traumatic birth. Because of the trauma, her mother lavished on Diana
anything and everything she wanted--clothes, toys and dance lessons
were the order of the day. Diana's love of films began when her mother
took her to the local movies theaters. The actresses on the screen
caught Diana's attention and she said, herself, that from the age of
three she wanted to be an actress. She was educated in the finest
private schools, much to the chagrin of her father (apparently he
thought private education was a waste of money). Physically, Diana grew
up fast. At age 12, she looked and acted much older than what she was.
Much of this was due to the actresses she studied on the silver screen
and Diana trying to emulate them. She wanted nothing more than to go to
the United States and Hollywood to have a chance to make her place in
film history. After placing well in a local beauty contest, Diana was
offered a role in a thespian group (she was 13).
The following year, Diana enrolled at the London Academy of Music and
Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to hone her acting skills. She was the youngest
in her class. Her first fling at the camera was in
The Shop at Sly Corner (1947).
She did not care that it was a small, uncredited role; she was on film
and at age 16, that's all that mattered. That was quickly followed by
Dancing with Crime (1947),
which consisted of nothing more than a walk-on role. Up until this
time, Diana had pretended to be 17 years old (if producers had known
her true age, they probably would not have let her test for the role).
However, since she looked and acted older, this was no problem. Diana's
future dawned bright in 1948, and she appeared in no less than six
films. Some were uncredited, but some had some meat to the roles. The
best of the lot was the role of Charlotte in the classic
Oliver Twist (1948). Throughout the
1950s, she appeared in more films and became more popular in Britain.
Diana was a pleasant version of
Marilyn Monroe, who had taken the United
States by storm. Britain now had its own version.
Diana continued to play sexy sirens and kept seats in British theaters
filled. She really came into her own as an actress. She was more than a
woman who exuded her sexy side, she was a very fine actress as her
films showed. As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, she began to play
more mature roles with an effectiveness that was hard to match. Films
such as Craze (1974),
Swedish Wildcats (1972),
The Amorous Milkman (1975)
and Three for All (1975) helped
fill out her resume. After filming
Steaming (1985), Diana was diagnosed
with cancer, which was too much for her to overcome. The British were
saddened when word came of her death at age 52 on May 4, 1984 in
Windsor, Berkshire, England.- Stunts
- Actor
- Director
As the highest paid stuntman in the world, Hal Needham broke 56 bones,
his back twice, punctured a lung and knocked out a few teeth. His
career has included work on 4500 television episodes and 310 feature
films as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, 2nd unit director and
ultimately, director.
He wrote and directed some of the most financially successful action
comedy films, making his directorial debut with the box office smash,
Smokey and the Bandit (1977).
The ten features he directed include
Hooper (1978) and
The Cannonball Run (1981)... A
real outlaw race from coast-to-coast, where he drove a fake ambulance
that could peg the speedometer at 150 mph, on which the movie,
"Cannonball Run", was based. He also set trends in movies - the first
director to show outtakes during end credits.
Needham wrecked hundreds of cars, fell from tall buildings, got blown
up, was dragged by horses, rescued the cast and crew from a Russian
invasion in Czechoslovakia, set a world record for a boat stunt on
Gator (1976), jumped a rocket powered
pick-up truck across a canal for a GM commercial and was the first
human to test the car airbag.
He invented and introduced to the film industry, the air ram, air bag,
the car cannon turnover, the nitrogen ratchet, the jerk-off ratchet,
rocket power and The Shotmaker Camera Car to make stunts safer and yet
more spectacular at the same time.
Needham revolutionized the art of the stuntman - from new devices and
techniques, to conceptualizing the organization and execution of
complicated action set pieces. To a large degree, he elevated the
stuntman and his craft to become important and critical elements in
contemporary American Film.
He mentored a new generation of stuntmen and fought for the respect and
recognition that stuntmen and stuntwomen deserve for their contribution
to moviemaking.
Life also got exciting outside of the movie business. Needham owned a
NASCAR race team and was the first team owner to use telemetry
technology. His Skoal-Bandit race team was one of the most popular
NASCAR teams ever - second only to that of the King,
Richard Petty. Needham set
Guinness World Records and was the financier and owner of The Budweiser
Rocket Car. The car is now on display in the Smithsonian's National Air
& Space Museum.
His many awards include an Emmy and an Academy Award.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Dreamy Tab Hunter stood out in film history as one of the hottest teen idols of the 1950s era. With blond, tanned, surfer-boy good looks, he was artificially groomed and nicknamed "The Sigh Guy" by the Hollywood studio system, yet managed to continue his career long after his "golden boy" prime.
Hunter was born Arthur Kelm on July 11, 1931 in New York City, to Gertrude (Gelien) and Charles Kelm. His father was Jewish and his mother was a German Catholic immigrant. Following his parents' divorce, Hunter grew up in California with his mother, older brother Walter, and maternal grandparents, Ida (Sonnenfleth) and John Henry Gelien. His mother changed her sons' surnames to her maiden name, Gelien. Leaving school and joining the Coast Guard at age fifteen (he lied about his age), he was eventually discharged when the age deception was revealed. Returning home, his life-long passion for horseback riding led to a job with a riding academy.
Hunter's fetching handsomeness and trim, athletic physique eventually steered the Californian toward the idea of acting. An introduction to famed agent Henry Willson had Tab signing on the dotted line and what emerged, along with a major career, was the stage moniker of "Tab Hunter." Willson was also responsible with pointing hopeful Roy Fitzgerald towards stardom under the pseudonym Rock Hudson. With no previous experience Tab made his first, albeit minor, film debut in the racially trenchant drama The Lawless (1950) starring Gail Russell and Macdonald Carey. His only line in the movie was eventually cut upon release. It didn't seem to make a difference for he co-starred in his very next film, the British-made Island of Desire (1952) opposite a somewhat older (by ten years) Linda Darnell, which was set during WWII on a deserted, tropical South Seas isle. His shirt remained off for a good portion of the film, which certainly did not go unnoticed by his ever-growing legion of female (and male) fans.
Signed by Warner Bros., stardom was clinched a few years later with another WWII epic Battle Cry (1955), based on the Leon Uris novel, in which he again played a boyish soldier sharing torrid scenes with an older woman (this time Dorothy Malone, playing a love-starved Navy wife). Thoroughly primed as one of Hollywood's top beefcake commodities, the tabloid magazines had a field day initiating an aggressive campaign to "out" Hunter as gay, which would have ruined him. To combat the destructive tactics, Tab was seen escorting a number of Hollywood's lovelies at premieres and parties. In the meantime, he was seldom out of his military fatigues on film, keeping his fans satisfied in such popular dramas as The Sea Chase (1955), The Burning Hills (1956) and The Girl He Left Behind (1956)--the last two opposite the equally popular Natalie Wood. At around this time, Hunter managed to parlay his boy-next-door film celebrity into a singing career. He topped the charts for over a month with the single "Young Love" in 1957 and produced other "top 40" singles as well.
Like other fortunate celebrity-based singers such as Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen, his musical reign was brief. Out of it, however, came the most notable success of his film career top-billing as baseball fan Joe Hardy in the classic Faustian musical Damn Yankees (1958) opposite Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston, who recreated their devil-making Broadway roles. Musically, Tab may have been overshadowed but he brought with him major star power and the film became a crowd pleaser. He continued on with the William A. Wellman-directed Lafayette Escadrille (1958) as, yet again, a wholesome soldier, this time in World War I. More spicy love scenes came with That Kind of Woman (1959), an adult comedy-drama which focused on soldier Hunter and va-va-voom mistress Sophia Loren demonstrating some sexual chemistry on a train.
Seldom a favorite with the film critics, the 1960s brought about a career change for Tab. He begged out of his restrictive contract with Warners and ultimately paid the price. With no studio to protect him, he was at the mercy of several trumped-up lawsuits. Worse yet, handsome Troy Donahue had replaced him as the new beefcake on the block. With no film offers coming his way, he starred in his own series The Tab Hunter Show (1960), a rather featherweight sitcom that centered around his swinging bachelor pad. The series last only one season. On the positive side he clocked in with over 200 TV programs over the long stretch and was nominated for an Emmy award for his outstanding performance opposite Geraldine Page in a Playhouse 90 episode. Following the sparkling film comedy The Pleasure of His Company (1961) opposite Debbie Reynolds, the quality of his films fell off drastically as he found himself top-lining such innocuous fare as Operation Bikini (1963), Ride the Wild Surf (1964) (1965), City in the Sea (1965) [aka War-Gods of the Deep], and Birds Do It (1966) both here and overseas.
As for stage, a brief chance to star on Broadway happened in 1964 alongside the highly volatile Tallulah Bankhead in Tennessee Williams's "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." It lasted five performances. He then started to travel the dinner theater circuit. Enduring a severe lull, Tab bounced back in the 1980s and 1990s -- more mature, less wholesome, but ever the looker. He gamely spoofed his old clean-cut image by appearing in delightfully tasteless John Waters' films as a romantic dangling carrot to heavyset transvestite "actress" Divine. Polyester (1981) was the first mainstream hit for Waters and Tab went on to team up with Allan Glaser to co-produce and co-star a Waters-like western spoof Lust in the Dust (1984).
Co-starring with "Exorcist" star Linda Blair in the bizarre horror film Grotesque (1988), Tab's last on-camera appearance would be in a small role in the film Dark Horse (1992), which he produced. He preferred spending most of his time secluded on his ranch and breeding horses. In 2005, he returned to the limelight when he "came out" with a tell-all memoir on his Hollywood years. His long-time partner was film producer Allan Glaser.
Tab died on July 8, 2018, in Santa Barbara, California, three days shy of his 87th birthday.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Bill McKinney, the movie and television character actor who was one of
the great on-screen villains, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on
September 12, 1931. He had an unsettled life as a child, moving 12
times before joining the Navy at the age of 19 during the Korean War.
Once, when his family moved from Tennessee to Georgia, he was beaten by
a local gang and thrown into a creek for the offense of being from the
Volunteer State.
In his four years on active duty in the Navy, McKinney served two years
on a mine sweeper in Korean waters. He was also stationed at Port
Hueneme in Ventura County, California, and he would journey to nearby
Los Angeles while on liberty from his ship. During his years in the
Navy, McKinney decided he wanted to be an actor and would make it his
life if he survived the Korean War.
Discharged in Long Beach, California, in 1954, McKinney settled in
southern California. He attended acting school at the famous Pasadena
Playhouse in 1957, and his classmates included
Dustin Hoffman and
Mako. McKinney supported himself as an
arborist, trimming and taking down trees, a job he continued into the
1970s, when he was appearing in major films. McKinney has had a
life-long love affair with trees since he was a child.
After his time at the Pasadena Playhouse, McKinney was admitted to
Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. He made his
movie debut in the exploitation picture,
She Freak (1967), and was busy on
television, making his debut in 1968 on
The Monkees (1965) and attracting
attention as "Lobo" on
Alias Smith and Jones (1971).
But it was as the Mountain Man in
John Boorman's
Deliverance (1972), a movie nominated
for Best Picture of 1972 at the Academy Awards, that brought McKinney
widespread attention and solidified his reputation as one of moviedom's
all-time most heinous screen villains.
In his autobiography, McKinney's
Deliverance (1972) co-star,
Burt Reynolds (whose character
dispatches The Mountain Man with an arrow in the back) said of
McKinney, "I thought he was a little bent. I used to get up at five in
the morning and see him running nude through the golf course while the
sprinklers watered the grass...."
McKinney denies this, and also disputes Reynolds contention that he was
overly enthusiastic playing the infamous scene where his character
buggers Ned Beatty.
"He always played sickos", Reynolds said of McKinney, "but he played
them well. With my dark sense of humor, I was kind of amused by him....
McKinney turned out to be a pretty good guy who just took the method
way too far".
McKinney told Maxim magazine in an interview honoring him and his
Mountain Man partner 'Herbert "Cowboy" Coward' as the #1 screen
villains of all time that Reynolds' stories were untrue. "If you lose
control on a movie set", McKinney told Maxim, "it's not acting, it's
indulgence".
McKinney's wild-and-reckless screen persona and penchant for on-screen
villainy attracted offers from A-list directors, which is a testament
to his professionalism. He began appearing in films directed by top
directors: Sam Peckinpah's
Junior Bonner (1972),
John Huston's
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972),
Peter Yates's
For Pete's Sake (1974) and, most
chillingly, as the assassin in
Alan J. Pakula's
The Parallax View (1974). (One
director who did not hire him was
Stanley Kubrick, who had
considered him for the role of the Marine drill instructor in
Full Metal Jacket (1987) but
demurred as he thought he came across as too scary after screening
"Deliverance".)
McKinney also appeared in the classic TV movie,
The Execution of Private Slovik (1974),
while guest-starring on some of the top TV shows, including
He'll Never See Daylight (1975)
and Columbo (1971).
It was on the set working for a new director, who would go on to win an
Oscar that McKinney made a fateful connection. He played the aptly
named "Crazy Driver" in
Michael Cimino's
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974),
starring Clint Eastwood. McKinney became
part of the Eastwood stock company and enjoyed one of his best roles as
the commander of the Red Legs in
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976),
under the direction of Eastwood, himself. McKinney appeared in another
six Eastwood films from
The Gauntlet (1977) to
Pink Cadillac (1989), when the
Eastwood stock company disbanded, and had another terrific turn in
Eastwood's well-reviewed
Bronco Billy (1980), this time
playing a member of Bronco Billy's circus, a character that was neither
crazy, demented or odd.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976),
which Orson Welles praised as an extremely
well-directed film at a time when respectable critics did not associate
Clint Eastwood with art, let alone
craftsmanship, and
Bronco Billy (1980), which was a hit
with the critics but not with Eastwood fans, established the laconic
superstar's reputation as a director, and McKinney was in both films.
In the
mid-'70s, McKinney also was a memorable misanthrope as 'Ron Howard''s
employer who is done in by
John Wayne's
The Shootist (1976) in the eponymous
film directed by Don Siegel, Eastwood's
mentor. Other memorable movies that McKinney has appeared in during his
career include the initial Rambo film,
First Blood (1982),
Against All Odds (1984),
Heart Like a Wheel (1983),
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
and The Green Mile (1999).
He never retired, continuing to act into his late seventies. He also
performed as a singer and recorded a CD, "Love Songs from Antry",
featuring Sinatra-like numbers and some country & western tunes.
Bill McKinney died on December 1, 2011 in Van Nuys, California from
cancer of the esophagus. He was 80 years old.- With that impish, gap-toothed grin, nervous bundle of energy, Robert Morse could never be contained long enough to become a film star. The live stage would be his calling.
He was born Robert Allen Morse on May 18, 1931, in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of May (Silver) and Charles Morse, who worked at a record store. His father was of German Jewish descent and his mother was of Russian Jewish ancestry. He developed an interest in performing in high school. Moving to New York, he joined elder brother Richard who was already studying acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Robert made his debut with the musical "On the Town", in 1949, and trained with Lee Strasberg, before making his inauspicious film debut in The Proud and Profane (1956), but movie offers were few. Instead, he brightened up the lights of Broadway as "Barnaby Tucker" in "The Matchmaker" (and in the film version of The Matchmaker (1958)), as well as in "Say, Darling" (Tony nomination in 1958), "Take Me Along" (Tony nomination in 1959) and his best-known role as the ever-ambitious "J. Pierpont Finch" in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", in which he finally won the Tony, in 1961, while singing his signature song, "I Believe in You", to himself in the mirror. He took that role to film, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967), six years later.
Morse's best movie roles also came in the 60s, as a Britisher arranging his uncle's funeral in the cult favorite, The Loved One (1965), and as Walter Matthau's philandering buddy/advisor in A Guide for the Married Man (1967). His offbeat musical talents were used for the intriguing experimental James Thurber-like TV series, That's Life (1968), with E.J. Peaker, which combined sketches, monologues and musical interludes, but the show lasted only one season.
Overall, Bobby's work has never been less than interesting with no gray areas in his performances -- ranging from bizarre to irritating, from frenzied to fascinating. After earning acclaim and another Tony-nomination as the cross-dressing musician on the lam in "Sugar", a Broadway musical version of Some Like It Hot (1959), Morse appeared less and less -- his eccentricities proving both difficult to cast and to deal with.
Following an unfulfilling stint on the daytime soap, All My Children (1970), he came back in grand style in the one-man tour de farce,
Tru (1992), based on the life of the equally-eccentric Truman Capote - a perfect fit, if ever there was one, between actor and role. With this role, Bobby became one of the choice few to ever win Tony awards for both a musical and dramatic part. At the age of 85, Morse returned to the lights of Broadway in the 2016 revival of "The Front Page" starring Nathan Lane.
Robert continued to be seen in odd roles from time to time, such as "Grandpa" in the revamped TV movie, Here Come the Munsters (1995). Into the millennium, he focused on TV work. He made a huge dramatic impression as an advertising agency founder Bertram Cooper on the popular series Mad Men (2007) and earned five Emmy nominations. He also impressed as Dominick Dunne on the series American Crime Story (2016) and provided the TV voice of Santa Claus in the animated short series Teen Titans Go! (2013).
Married twice, his five children include actresses Andrea Doven, Hilary Morse and Robin Morse. Robert Morse died on April 20, 2022, in Los Angeles. He was 90. - Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Born in Decatur, Alabama and christened Dean Carroll Jones, the actor's father worked for a railroad company and the family moved often, living in Washington, DC, Nashville, and New Orleans. "It was in New Orleans I really learned how to sing", Jones told the Pittsburgh Press in 1969. Dropping out of school at 15, he worked for a short time singing in a club in that city, but when the club closed, he returned to Decatur and got his degree but Jones had gotten the show business bug.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, Jones got a job acting in a melodrama at Knott's Berry Farm. He was spotted by veteran composer Vernon Duke, who was planning a musical. The musical project fell through, but Duke enabled Jones an audition with Arthur Freed, the famous producer of MGM feature film musicals such as "Singin' In the Rain". It did not go as planned. "He's an actor, not singer!", Freed exclaimed as related by Jones in a 1966 L.A. Times interview.
Still, the studio signed Jones, and in his first credited role, he found himself acting opposite James Cagney in the 1956 drama "These Wilder Years." The veteran actor helped him through their scene. "There I was, just out of the U.S. Navy without an acting lesson to my name," Jones told the Christianity Today. "In walks Cagney and says, 'Walk to your mark and remember your lines.' That's all I've been doing for 50 years."
Jones had mostly small roles of a far grittier nature than his later Disney fare. "I played drug addicts, pimps, hard-cased killers, ex-cons and angry young men," he told The Times in 1995. And he reveled in the movie life. In a 2007 interview with the Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington, Illinois, he recalled being on the MGM Culver City studio back-lot, with "Liz Taylor yelling, 'Hey Dean-O, let's go down to Stage 22 and watch Bing and Frank sing!'" Jones would appear with Elvis Presley in 1957 in "Jailhouse Rock".
He made his debut on Broadway in 1960 opposite Jane Fonda in "There Was a Little Girl", which flopped. Jones went on to the more successful "Under the Yum-Yum Tree" later that same year. He appeared in the title role of the Disney television series "Ensign O'Toole", a military comedy, which debuted in 1962 on NBC on Sunday evenings. The show was followed by Disney's anthology television show, so Disney caught the end of some episodes of Jones series, and liked what he saw.
Beginning in 1965 with "That Darn Cat!", Jones became closely identified with Disney family fare. In addition to the "Love Bug" and "The Ugly Dachshund", he was the leading man in "Monkeys, Go Home", "The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit", "The Million Dollar Duck", "The Shaggy D.A.", "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo", and other Disney feature films.
But in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was leading an off-screen life contrary to his wholesome image. He had numerous affairs and was drinking heavily. "I had thought if I became a star I'd be happy," he said in a 1976 L.A. Times interview. "I had thought if I had a fairly large amount of money I'd be happy. I thought if I had a house on a hill I'd be happy. I thought if I had a Ferrari I'd be happy. One goal after another was accomplished. And with no fulfillment." Jones was able to keep his torment largely separated from his work life. Even the head of the studio was fooled. "I remember having lunch with Walt one day, and he told me, 'Dean, you're a perfect fit for these pictures. You're such a good family man!'" Jones told the Pantagraph. "I wasn't a good family man", Jones acknowledged. "I was showing up at home smelling of perfume that wasn't my wife's".
Jones' first marriage to Mae Inez Entwisle ended in divorce in 1970. They had two daughters. He was married to actress Lory Patrick from 1973 until his death in 2015. Lory had a son, Michael Patrick, whom Jones adopted.- Solidly built, boyishly handsome American leading-man, Christopher
George was the son of Greek immigrants. Weaned on stories of the
legendary Greek heroes, George and his brother Nick (later a prominent
fashion photographer) both quit high school to join the Marines.
Completing his education after his tour of duty, George acted in
numerous TV commercials, winning a New York Film Festival Award for his
efforts. Appearing in Broadway plays like A Street Car Named Desire and
films like Howard Hawks's El Dorado (1966). He became a great friend of John Wayne also
in Chisum (1970). George also became a TV star in the wartime adventure
series The Rat Patrol (1966). He later starred in the science fiction series The Immortal (1969)
and then returned to filmmaking. He also starred in Project X (1968), The Train Robbers (1973),
Midway (1976), Grizzly (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), The Exterminator (1980), Graduation Day (1981), and his last, Mortuary (1982). He
also appeared in another 30 other films and TV guest appearances.
Christopher George died of a heart attack. He was married to
his wife, actress Lynda Day George (a frequent co-star) for 14
years. - Argentinian leading lady Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges was one of three siblings, born in Buenos Aires to a French father and Italian mother. When she was five years of age, her father, a publisher, fled with his family to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they went on to live for several years in somewhat reduced circumstances. According to one of two conflicting stories, her father had gotten into "into conflict with a criminal gang". According to another, he may have fallen foul of the ruling political elite. Whatever the case, both parents died prematurely in what was possibly a suicide pact (in their car of carbon monoxide poisoning) by the time Linda was 13.
Educated at the Conservatoria Franklin in Uruguay, she studied voice and piano. A brief marriage to the Argentinian actor Tito Gómez ended in an annulment after just five days and Linda briefly toyed with the idea of entering a convent (as had several of her aunts). Fate, of course, intervened. While vacationing in Mexico with her older brother, she was 'discovered' by the film producer and director Miguel Alemán Velasco, who also happened to be the son of the country's ruling president. Signed under contract, she adopted the moniker Linda Cristal and made several Spanish language films which soon established her as one of Mexico's rising stars. Conscious of her potential and hoping to break into Hollywood, she decided to learn English as her fourth language (already fluent in Spanish, French and Italian) and subsequently made her American film debut with a small role in the Dana Andrews western Comanche (1956). A dispute over the non-payment of her wages and a car accident in 1956 then led to a brief hiatus in her career.
Fast forward three years and a bit of publicity (she was named "Motion Picture Sweater Queen" in 1958) and Linda was lured back to Hollywood by Universal to again hit the saddle in a couple of back-to-back minor westerns, The Last of the Fast Guns (1958) and The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958). In between attempts to break free from typecasting as decorative Latinas (The Pharaohs' Woman (1960), Panic in the City (1968)) -- a metamorphosis which never happened -- she at least got herself noticed by some high profile people in the business (ie. John Wayne) and was able to thus secure roles in better productions like The Alamo (1960) and Two Rode Together (1961). While her motion picture career was at an impasse, she learned of producer David Dortort casting for the part of Victoria Montoya in the upcoming TV series The High Chaparral (1967). Invited to an audition, she found the set script as too saccharine and bland. Audaciously improvising, she re-imagined her character as more tempestuous, resourceful and proud, later saying in an interview that she knew the producers "were looking for a heroine with fire and spunk". Having secured the coveted role, she made it her own for four seasons (1967-71), ultimately winning two Primetime Emmy nominations and netting her the Golden Globe Award in 1970 as Best Actress in a TV Drama.
After High Chaparral ceased production in 1971, Linda made guest appearances in a handful of TV shows and played a Mexican migrant worker and union leader in Charles Bronson's robust action film Mr. Majestyk (1974). She later worked for some time as a realtor, presided over her own import/export business and invested wisely to become financially very well-off. She made a final comeback to acting as the mistress of a mob boss in the daytime soap General Hospital (1963), eventually calling it quits in 1988. Linda spent her remaining years between residences in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Buenos Aires and passed away at her Beverly Hills home on June 27 2020 at the age of 89. - Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Monica Vitti was born on 3 November 1931 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress and writer, known for L'Avventura (1960), Red Desert (1964) and L'Eclisse (1962). She was married to Roberto Russo. She died on 2 February 2022 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Ulster-Scots, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The Janssen family settled in Hollywood when he was a teenager and he attended Fairfax High School, where he developed an interest in acting. His film debut was a bit part in It's a Pleasure (1945), and at the age of 18 signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox. However, the studio dropped him after allegedly becoming disenchanted with his odd hairline and big prominent ears. Janssen had better luck at Universal, where he signed on in the early 1950s and became a supporting player in 32 films before appearing on TV as the star of Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957). He resumed his movie career in 1961, a year after the series ended. His biggest success came from his lead in the series The Fugitive (1963), playing the haunted, hunted Dr. Richard Kimble, on the run for a murder he didn't commit. After the series ended, Janssen launched himself into a grueling schedule by appearing in lead and supporting roles in movies, but he had better luck with made-for-TV-movie roles and a short-lived series, O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971). He had another hit series with the cult favorite
Harry O (1973). Janssen continued appearing in lead roles in nearly 20 made-for-TV-movies during the 1970s as well as other TV projects. He died in 1980 from a sudden heart attack at his Malibu home at the age of 48. Unfounded speculation holds that Janssen succumbed to alcoholism, a problem that plagued him most of his adult life. There were even unfounded rumors about drug use.
However, a much more reasonable explanation for David Janssen's sudden demise is that this intense, dedicated, determined actor simply worked himself to death.- Actress
- Soundtrack
After endless stage and television work, Barrie received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the ground-breaking racial drama One Potato, Two Potato (1964), as Julie, a young, white mother who marries a black man after she and her daughter are abandoned by her husband. The following decade, Barrie portrayed Evelyn in Breaking Away (1979), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and later, an Emmy nomination, when she reprised the role in the television series based on the film. Later in her career, Barrie also was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance as Sue Berlin, mother to the title character, Judy Berlin (1999).- 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
- Writer
- Producer
Nick Adams, best known to audiences as Johnny Yuma of the TV series The Rebel (1959), played leads and supporting parts in many films of the 1950s, often cast in the same "troubled young man" mold as his good friend, James Dean. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Twilight of Honor (1963). He died in 1968 due to an overdose of drugs he was taking for a nervous disorder.- Actor
- Director
Fiery, forceful and intimidating character actor James Tolkan has
carved out a nice little niche for himself in both movies and
television alike as a formidable portrayer of fierce and flinty
hard-boiled tough guy types. James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20,
1931 in Calumet, Michigan. His father, Ralph M. Tolkan, was a cattle
dealer. James attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern
Arizona College. After serving a year-long stint in the United States
Navy, Tolkan went to New York and studied acting with both
Lee Strasberg and
Stella Adler at the Actors Studio. Short
and bald, with beady, intense eyes, a wiry, compact, muscular build, a
gruff, jarring, high-decibel voice, and an aggressive, confrontational,
blunt-as-a-battle-ax, rough-around-the-edges demeanor, Tolkan has been
often cast as rugged, cynical no-nonsense cops, mean, domineering
authority figures, and various ruthless and dangerous criminals.
Tolkan first began acting in movies in the late 1960s and was highly
effective in two pictures for Sidney Lumet:
He was a rabidly homophobic police lieutenant in the superbly gritty
Serpico (1973) and a sneaky district
attorney in the equally excellent
Prince of the City (1981).
Best known as the obnoxiously overzealous high school principal Gerard
Strickland in the Back to the Future films, Tolkan's other most
memorable roles include Napolean in
Woody Allen's
Love and Death (1975), a ramrod
army officer in WarGames (1983), mayor
Robert Culp's mordant, wisecracking assistant in
Turk 182 (1985), the hard-nosed
Stinger in Top Gun (1986), the choleric
Detective Lubric in
Masters of the Universe (1987),
meek mob accountant Numbers in
Dick Tracy (1990), and
Wesley Snipes' bullish superior in
Boiling Point (1993).
James has had recurring parts on the television series
A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001)
(he also directed two episodes),
Mary (1985),
Cobra (1993),
The Hat Squad (1992) and
Remington Steele (1982).
Among the television series James has done guest spots on are
Naked City (1958),
Hill Street Blues (1981),
Miami Vice (1984),
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990),
The Equalizer (1985),
The Wonder Years (1988) and
The Pretender (1996). Besides
his film and television work, Tolkan has also performed on stage in
productions of such plays as "Between Two Thieves", "Wings", "One
Tennis Shoe", "The Front Page", "Twelve Angry Men", "Full Circle", "The
Tempest", "Golda", "The Silent Partner" and the original 1984 Broadway
production of David Mamet's "Glengary, Glen
Ross". When he isn't acting, James Tolkan spends his spare time
collecting folk art.- The daughter of a United Press executive, Mala Powers attended the
Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop as a kid and fell in love with acting the first
time she set foot on a stage. She made her film debut in Universal's
1942 Tough As They Come (1942) before actress Helene Thimig (Max Reinhardt's wife) convinced her to
continue studying rather than become a child actress. Powers worked in
radio ("Cisco Kid", "Red Ryder", "This Is Your F.B.I.", "Lux Radio
Theater", "Screen Guild on the Air") and met actress Ida Lupino while
working on the latter show; Lupino auditioned and approved Powers for
the top role in Outrage (1950), made by Lupino's Filmmakers production
company. Powers' promising career was derailed by illness in the early
'50s; when she resumed work, it was as the "B queen" of Westerns and
sci-fi flicks (and much TV). For many years she has been lecturing on
and teaching the Michael Chekhov acting technique throughout the
U.S. - Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the most versatile actresses, Janice Rule was born in Norwood,
Ohio, on August 15, 1931. Janice made her screen debut in the
star-studded movie
Goodbye, My Fancy (1951). She
played the rival for
James Stewart's affections, and
was driven away by witch Kim Novak, in
Bell Book and Candle (1958),
a pre-Bewitched (1964) comedy.
Janice appeared in the first season of the ground-breaking science
fiction series
The Twilight Zone (1959)
playing "Helen Foley" (named after
Rod Serling's favorite teacher). In 1961,
Janice married Ben Gazzara and they had one
daughter, Elizabeth Gazzara
(they divorced in 1979). After marrying, Janice took off a few years
from movie acting, then returned to the silver screen and gave her best
performances. In a change of pace role, she was the party girl in
The Chase (1966); and Janice showed a
real flair for comedy as "Matt Helm"'s partner in
The Ambushers (1967) with
Dean Martin. She did a wonderful job
realistically portraying a frontier woman in
Welcome to Hard Times (1967),
and received acclaim for her performance as a disturbed artist in
3 Women (1977). The last movie Janice
appeared in was
American Flyers (1985), and her
last TV appearance was in the science fiction genre,
The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985)
in 1992. From science fiction, to comedy, to portraying loose women, to
playing strong women - Janice Rule covered the whole spectrum of human
emotion and life.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
George was stage struck at the age of 14 and ran away from school to get a 25 shilling (25p) a week job at a seaside theatre, He spent 6 years going through the mill of small town repertory theatre then the cinema discovered him. After making 12 films he left the studios for 7 years during which time he went back to the theatre appearing in classics at the Old Vic and plays in the West End with films in between - his 13th was The Curse of the Fly,- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Armed with an acid dry wit and a full arsenal of sarcasm and sass, African-American character comedienne Marla Gibbs showed up on 1970s television with a bang in middle age (44). Landing the feisty maid role on the popular ground-breaking CBS sitcom The Jeffersons (1975), eventually led to her very own sitcom 227 (1985) a decade later and international celebrity. A divorced mother with three children (Angela Elayne Gibbs, Dorian Gibbs, Joseph Gibbs) at the time of her initial success, it was a job transfer from Detroit to Los Angeles, while working as a United Airlines reservation clerk, that set up this more-than-welcome surprise and change of destiny.
Born in Chicago on June 14, 1931, Marla attended Peters Business School (1950-1952) following high school and toiled for a time as a receptionist and switchboard operator in the Detroit area. Eventually, she secured work with United Airlines. After moving to Southern California on a transfer, Marla gave acting a try and initially studied at the Mafundi Institute and Watts Writers Workshop, located in the Watts area of L.A.
Bitten hard by the acting bug, Marla went on to appear in a number of local productions, including "Medea", "The Amen Corner" and "The Gingerbread Lady". After only a couple of minor film roles, including the blaxploitation film, Black Belt Jones (1974), she nabbed the role of Florence Johnston and television stardom.
On The Jeffersons (1975), the role of Florence, the maid, was initially set up as a mere one-shot guest role but Marla showed the character's potential. And, so it came to be that Florence Johnston became THE scene-stealing foil to Sherman Hemsley's equally mouthy, money-minded George Jefferson. Until the sitcom became a certified hit, Marla cautiously kept her job with the Airlines. However, with wisecracks and Emmy Award nominations (totaling 5) a plenty, Marla never really had to look back. The role of Florence was a natural for a spin-off series and it happened with the sitcom, Checking In (1981), in which the character becomes a housekeeper for a very swanky hotel. However, the sitcom was harmed by a writer's strike before it could gain a core audience. Fortunately for Marla, she was ushered right back into the Jefferson household following its quick demise (four episodes). Two months after the last "Jeffersons" episode aired in July 1985, 227 (1985) was included in that year's fall schedule.
Daughter Angela Elayne Gibbs produced an award-winning play by Christine Houston entitled "227", with Marla as the lead, at Marla's own local Crossroads Theatre, which the actress founded in 1981. The award-winning play was a solid hit and Marla wisely purchased the television rights. Once "The Jeffersons" was over, she pushed for "227" as a sitcom vehicle. Producer Norman Lear gave it the green light and Marla settled right back in for another popular series ride (for NBC), this time as resident gossip Mary Jenkins, whose demeanor was warmer and more approachable than the feisty Florence Johnson. This sitcom, which featured spitfire Jackée Harry as vampish neighbor Sandra Clark, ran for five years.
An eight-time NAACP Image Award winner, Marla has received several honors over the years, including Essence Woman of the Year. She has not carried a series since "227", but has been seen from time to time on other popular shows, including ER (1994), Cold Case (2003), Chappelle's Show (2003), Judging Amy (1999), Touched by an Angel (1994), The King of Queens (1998) and Dawson's Creek (1998). She has also had recurring roles on daytime
(Passions (1999)) as well as prime-time (Pryor's Place (1984), The Hughleys (1998)) and gave a knowing portrayal as Natalie Cole's mother in the heart-warming television movie, Lily in Winter (1994).
In later years, Marla turned up again on the big screen with plucky roles in Up Against the Wall (1991), The Meteor Man (1993), Lost & Found (1999), Foolish (1999), Border to Border (1998), The Brothers (2001), and standout roles in The Visit (2000) and Stanley's Gig (2000).
Elsewhere, Marla's voice has been heard on the animated series 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997) and, in addition to acting, sang the theme song to the film Stanley's Gig (2000), "In the Memory of You", which will be included on a CD, entitled "Scenes In Jazz". Marla owned a jazz club for some time in South Central L.A. called "Marla's Memory Lane, a jazz and supper club that ran from 1981 to 1999. She released her own CD of music, "It's Never Too Late", in May 2006, and co-wrote with Ray Colcord, the theme song to her starring series "227".
Into the millennium, Marla suffered both personal and professional setbacks. Her older sister, Susie Garrett, who co-starred on the hit sitcom Punky Brewster (1984), died of cancer in 2002. A few years later, in 2006, Marla suffered a small aneurysm followed by a stroke. She recovered and made a gradual comeback as a guest on such TV shows as Lincoln Heights (2006), House of Payne (2006), Mr. Box Office (2012), Scandal (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2010), The Blexicans (2015), American Horror Story (2011), This Is Us (2016), Black-ish (2014), NCIS (2003), Bless This Mess (2019) and the revamped One Day at a Time (2017). At one point, she played the recurring role of Grandma Eddy on the comedy series The First Family (2012) which starred her old "227" castmate Jackée Harry. On stage, Marla appeared in such comedies as "Boeing, Boeing" and was featured in such comedy films as C'mon Man (2012), Madea's Witness Protection (2012), Grantham & Rose (2014), Lemon (2017), Please Stand By (2017), Love Jacked (2018) and She Ball (2020).- Actor
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Charles Nelson Reilly was born to Charles Joseph Reilly and Signe Elvera Nelson. His father was Irish-American and Catholic, his mother was Swedish-American and Lutheran. As a child he amused himself with improvised puppet theater performances.
He had a traumatic experience in 1944, when present for the Hartford circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. A fire during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus killed 167 people and injured 700 people. While Reilly was one of the survivors, he was left with a life-long fear of fires. He never attended public performances of theater and circus again, as an audience member, for fear of another fire.
Reilly wanted to enter show business as a youth, and in particular to become an opera singer. He took lessons at the University of Hartford Hartt School, but eventually realized that his voice skills were inadequate. He turned to theater next, and debuted in film with a bit role in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957). During the late 1950s, Reilly appeared regularly in comic roles in theatrical performances off-Broadway.
In 1960, Reilly first gained critical attention, for a small but noteworthy part in Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie". In 1961, Reilly joined the cast of the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". He won his first Tony Award in 1962 for that performance. He kept appearing in Broadway shows for the rest of the decade.
As a notable actor, Reilly started making television appearances in the 1960s. He started as a guest in panel shows and as a player in television advertisements. He eventually gained a key role in the television series "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir", where he appeared from 1968 to 1970. In the 1970s, Reilly was a regular in game shows and children's series, such as "Match Game" and "Uncle Croc's Block".
In 1976, Reilly started teaching acting to others, while shifting his own career from acting to directing. He directed Broadway shows regularly and was nominated for a Tony Award for directing in 1997. He also directed a number television episodes. In the 1990s, he had guest roles in television series such as "X-Files" and "Millennium".
In the 2000s, Reilly was primarily known for the autobiographical play "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly", and for its film adaptation. While touring the United States, he developed respiratory problems which led to his retirement. His illness got worse, and he died due to pneumonia in 2007.- Actor
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John Gavin, the American film and TV actor, businessman and diplomat who was Ronald Reagan's first Ambassador to Mexico, was born Juan Vincent Apablasa in Los Angeles, California.
The future "Jack" Gavin was a fifth-generation Angeleno, the son of Delia Diana Pablos and Juan Vincent Apablasa, and was of Mexican, Chilean, and Spanish ancestry, a descendant of early landowners in Spanish California and the powerful Pablos family of the Mexican state of Sonora. His stepfather was Herald Ray Golenor. John had a fluency in Spanish that aided him in his career in diplomacy. He graduated with honors from Stanford University, majoring in Latin American economic history. "Law, Latin America and diplomacy were my early interests," Gavin later remembered. Too young to participate in World War II, he did serve in the military during the Korean Conflict. He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy in 1952, where he served in naval air intelligence until his 1955 discharge. After his hitch in the Navy, Universal -- the home studio of 6'5" heartthrob Rock Hudson, who was on his way to becoming the top box office star in America -- offered the 6'4" Gavin a screen-test and a contract with the studio. Studio bosses always liked internal competition to keep the pressure on their major stars; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed Robert Taylor as a young backup to the King of Hollywood Clark Gable, and similarly, Gavin was positioned as the "next Rock Hudson".
Tall, dark and handsome, Gavin debuted in Behind the High Wall (1956), and three years later, in 1959, he had his first major lead in Douglas Sirk's remake of Imitation of Life (1959) opposite Lana Turner. Sirk, whose Ross Hunter-produced melodramas of the mid-1950's made Hudson a superstar, first directed Gavin in the role of a German soldier in his adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958) the year before. Imitation of Life (1959), which was produced by Ross Hunter in his typical lavish style, was a huge hit. Gavin was on the road to becoming a major Hudson-style heart-throb, it seemed.
The following year, Gavin achieved cinematic immortality by appearing in two classics in supporting roles, as Sam Loomis in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and as Julius Caesar in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960). Of Psycho (1960) and Spartacus (1960), he has said, "I didn't have an inkling they would be classics. Had I realized that, perhaps I would have paid more attention." The momentum of his cinema career petered out after appearing opposite Susan Hayward in the 1961 remake of Fannie Hurst's Back Street (1961), though he did move on to star in two television series during the 1960s, Destry (1964) and Convoy (1965). Both series were produced by companies that were subsidiaries of the Universal-M.C.A., Revue Studios and Universal TV, created by the legendary agent and studio boss Lew Wasserman, the éminence grise behind Ronald Reagan's movie, TV and political careers. More importantly, in 1961, he was appointed special adviser to the secretary general of the Organization of American States, a position he held until 1973. He also performed task-group work for the Department of State and the Executive Office of the President. From 1966 to 1973, he also served on the board of the Screen Actors Guild and was guild president from 1971-1973. For the next eight years, he was engaged in business activities, many of which took him to Mexico and other Latin American countries. The producers of the James Bond series signed him to replace George Lazenby as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), until they convinced Sean Connery to reprise the role with a $1 million charitable contribution and a $1 million salary. Thus, Gavin lost out on what could have been his career break into the big-time. However, he did not lament the loss of the role. If he had been a more successful actor, it "might have prevented me from fulfilling my real childhood dream: to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico."
During the 1970s, Gavin made some more movies, toured in summer stock in a production of The Fantasticks (Gavin has a fine baritone voice), and appeared on Broadway and in the touring show of the musical Seesaw (1973). He ended the decade by starring in TV mini-series Doctors' Private Lives (1979); he left show business to pursue business interests. The 1980s brought America a new president, and on May 7, 1981, Republican Gavin was appointed Ambassador to Mexico by President Reagan, serving until June 10, 1986. The American diplomatic mission in Mexico, one of the largest in the world, employed more than 1,000 American and Mexican employees tasked by over a dozen U.S. government agencies in consulates and offices throughout Mexico.
Gavin married the former stage and television actress Constance Towers in 1974. Each partner had two children from previous marriages. Gavin's daughter, Christina Gavin, followed in his footsteps and became an actress.
Since leaving government service, Gavin has become a successful businessman and civic leader, co-founding and managing successful ventures in the U.S. and Latin America. In 1986, Gavin was named president of Univisa Satellite Communications, a subsidiary of Univisa, Inc. He is founder/chairman of Gamma Holdings and serves on the boards of Apex Mortgage Capital, International Wire Holdings, and KKFC. Inc, and is a trustee and director of certain Merrill Lynch mutual funds. He is also a member of the Latin America Strategy Board of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. Previously he was a managing director and partner of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (Latin America) as well as a director of Atlantic Richfield (where he had served as vice president of federal and international relations). He also served on the boards of Dresser Industries, Claxson and several other major corporations. Gavin also serves on the boards of several non-profit corporations, pro bono, including The Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, and the California Community Foundation. Gavin also is a member of the Congressional Policy Advisory Board as a defense and foreign policy expert.
Gavin served as founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Century Council's from May 1991 until December 1994, then served on the Council's Advisory Board until 1996. The Century Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting alcohol abuse, focuses on drunk driving and underage drinking problems and is supported by America's leading distillers.
John died on February 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills.