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- Actor
- Soundtrack
Since David McCallum's father, David McCallum Sr., was first violinist for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother, Dorothy Dorman, was a cellist, it's not surprising that David was originally headed for a career in music, playing oboe. He studied briefly at the Royal Academy of Music. He left that, however, for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and joined Actor's Equity in 1946, his first acting work being for BBC Radio. He made nearly a dozen movies in the United Kingdom before his critically acclaimed work as Lt. Wyatt in Billy Budd (1962).
To the older generation, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of U.N.C.L.E. agent Illya Kuryakin in the hit TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). To younger audience, he is best known for his superlative portrayal of Dr. Donald "Duckie" Mallard on NCIS (2003).
McCallum was first married to actress Jill Ireland, whom he met while filming Hell Drivers (1957). In 1962 he introduced Ireland to Charles Bronson when both were filming The Great Escape (1963). She eventually left McCallum and married Bronson in 1968. McCallum and Ireland had three sons: Paul, Jason (an adopted son who died from an accidental drug overdose in 1989), and Val (short for Valentine).
He met fashion model Katherine Carpenter during a photo shoot for Glamour in 1965 and married her two years later. The couple had a son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie. They were together for 58 years and were active with charitable organizations that support the The United States Marine Corps: Katherine's father was a Marine who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and her brother lost his life in the Vietnam War. McCallum had eight grandchildren.
David McCallum died on September 25 2023 in New York City from natural causes at the age of 90.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Michael Caine was born as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London, to Ellen (née Burchell), a cook, and Maurice Micklewhite Sr., a fish-market porter. He had a younger brother, Stanley Caine, and an older maternal half-brother named David Burchell. He left school at age 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before joining the British army and serving in Korea during the Korean War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England, he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager. He adopted the name of Caine on the advice of his agent, taking it from a marquee that advertised The Caine Mutiny (1954). In the years that followed, he worked in more than 100 television dramas, with repertory companies throughout England and eventually in the stage hit "The Long and the Short and the Tall".
Zulu (1964), the epic retelling of a historic 19th-century battle in South Africa between British soldiers and Zulu warriors, brought Caine to international attention. Instead of being typecast as a low-ranking Cockney soldier, he played a snobbish, aristocratic officer. Although "Zulu" was a major success, it was the role of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965) and the title role in Alfie (1966) that made Caine a star of the first magnitude. He epitomized the new breed of actor in mid-1960s England, the working-class bloke with glasses and a down-home accent. However, after initially starring in some excellent films, particularly in the 1960s, including Gambit (1966), Funeral in Berlin (1966), Play Dirty (1969), The Battle of Britain (1969), Too Late the Hero (1970), The Last Valley (1971) and especially Get Carter (1971), he seemed to take on roles in below-average films, simply for the money he could by then command.
However, there were some gems amongst the dross. He gave a magnificent performance opposite Sean Connery in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and turned in a solid one as a German colonel in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Educating Rita (1983), Blame It on Rio (1984) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (for which he won his first Oscar) were highlights of the 1980s, while more recently Little Voice (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999) (his second Oscar) and Last Orders (2001) have been widely acclaimed. Caine played Nigel Powers in the parody sequel Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. He appeared in several other of Nolan's films including The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). He also appeared as a supporting character in Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men (2006) and Pixar's sequel Cars 2 (2011).
As of 2015, films in which Caine has starred have grossed over $7.4 billion worldwide. He is ranked the ninth highest grossing box office star. Caine is one of several actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting every decade from five consecutive decades (the other being Laurence Olivier and Meryl Streep). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1992 Birthday Honours, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2000 Birthday Honours in recognition for his contributions to the cinema.
Caine has been married twice. First to actress Patricia Haines from 1954 to 1958. They had a daughter, Dominique, in 1957. A bachelor for some dozen-plus years after the divorce, he was romantically linked to Edina Ronay (for three years), Nancy Sinatra, Natalie Wood, Candice Bergen, Bianca Jagger, Françoise Pascal and Jill St. John. In 1971 he met his second wife, fashion model Shakira Caine (née Baksh), and they married in 1973, six months before their daughter Natasha was born. The couple has three grandchildren, and in 2023, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
When he was 11, he wanted to be a comedian like Sid Caesar. Then, when he was 15 and saw Lee J. Cobb in 'Death of a Salesman,' he decided he would be a comedy actor and found that Mel Brooks was a great influence on his screen writing. He combined both talents with directing in The World's Greatest Lover (1977), followed by The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
The entertainment world has enjoyed a six-decade love affair with comedienne/singer Carol Burnett. A peerless sketch performer and delightful, self-effacing personality who rightfully succeeded Lucille Ball as the carrot-topped "Queen of Television Comedy," it was Burnett's traumatic childhood that set the stage for her comedy.
Carol's rags-to-riches story started out in San Antonio, Texas, on April 26, 1933, where she was born to Ina Louise (Creighton) and Joseph Thomas "Jodie" Burnett, both of whom suffered from acute alcoholism. As a child, she was left in the care of a beloved grandmother, who shuttled the two of them off to Hollywood, California, where they lived in a boarding house and shared a great passion for the Golden Age of movies. The plaintive, loose-limbed, highly sensitive Carol survived her wallflower insecurities by grabbing attention as a cut-up at Hollywood High School. A natural talent, she attended the University of California and switched majors from journalism to theater. Scouting out comedy parts on TV and in the theater, she first had them rolling in the aisles in the mid-1950s performing a lovelorn novelty song called "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" (then Secretary of State) in a nightclub act. This led to night-time variety show appearances with Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan and where the career ball really started rolling.
Carol's first big TV breaks came at age 22 and 23 as a foil to a ventriloquist's dummy on the already-established The Paul Winchell Show (1950) in 1955, and as Buddy Hackett's gawky girlfriend on the short-lived sitcom Stanley (1956). She also developed an affinity for game shows and appeared as a regular on one of TV earliest, Stump the Stars (1947) in 1958. While TV would bring Carol fans by the millions, it was Broadway that set her on the road to stardom. She began as the woebegone Princess Winnifred in the 1959 Broadway musical "Once Upon a Mattress" which earned her first Tony Award nomination. [She would later appear in three TV adaptations - Once Upon a Mattress (1964), Once Upon a Mattress (1972) and
Once Upon a Mattress (2005).] This, in turn, led to the first of an armful of Emmy Awards as a repertoire player on the popular variety series The Garry Moore Show (1958) in 1959. Burnett invented a number of scene-stealing characters during this time, most notably her charwoman character. With the phenomenal household success of the Moore show, she moved up quickly from second banana to headliner and appeared in a 1962 Emmy-winning special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962) co-starring close friend Julie Andrews. She earned the Outer Critics Circle Award for the short-lived musical "Fade Out, Fade In" (1964); and made her official film debut opposite Bewitched (1964) star Elizabeth Montgomery and Dean Martin in the lightweight comedy Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963).
Not surprisingly, fellow redhead Lucille Ball, who had been Carol's treasured idol growing up, subsequently became a friend and mentor to the rising funny girl. Hilarious as a guest star on The Lucy Show (1962), Carol appeared as a painfully shy (natch) wallflower type who suddenly blooms in jaw-dropping fashion. Ms. Ball was so convinced of Carol's talent that she offered Carol her own Desilu-produced sitcom, but Burnett had her heart set on fronting a variety show. With her own team of second bananas, including character crony Harvey Korman, handsome foil Lyle Waggoner, and lookalike "kid sister" type Vicki Lawrence, the The Carol Burnett Show (1967) became an instant sensation, and earned 22 Emmy Awards during its 11-year run. It allowed Carol to fire off her wide range of comedy and musical ammunition--whether running amok in broad sketch comedy, parodying movie icons such as Gloria Swanson, Shirley Temple, Vivien Leigh or Joan Crawford, or singing/gushing alongside favorite vocalists Jim Nabors, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé. She managed to bring in huge stars not known at all for slapstick comedy, including Rock Hudson and even then-Governor Ronald Reagan while providing a platform for such up-and-coming talent as Bernadette Peters and The Pointer Sisters In between, Carol branched out with supporting turns in the films Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978).
Her program, whose last episode aired in March of 1978, was the last truly successful major network variety show to date. Carol took on new challenges to display her unseen dramatic mettle, and accomplished this amazingly in TV-movie showcases. She earned an Emmy nomination for her gripping portrayal of anti-Vietnam War activist Peg Mullen in Friendly Fire (1979), and convincingly played a woman coming to terms with her alcoholism in Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982). Neither character bore any traces of the usual Burnett comedy shtick. Though she proved she could contain herself for films, Carol was never able to acquire crossover success into movies, despite trouper work in The Four Seasons (1981), Annie (1982) (as the hammy villainess Miss Hannigan), and Noises Off... (1992). The last two roles had been created onstage by Broadway's Dorothy Loudon.
Carol would return from time to time to the stage and concert forums with productions of "Plaza Suite", "I Do! I Do", "Follies", "Company" and "Putting It Together". A second Tony nomination came for her comedy work in "Moon Over Buffalo" in 1995. Carol has made frequent appearances on her own favorite TV shows too, such as Password (1961) (along with Elizabeth Montgomery, Carol was considered one of the show's best players) and the daytime soaper, All My Children (1970).
During the early 1990s, Carol attempted a TV comeback of sorts, with a couple of new variety formats in Carol & Company (1990) and The Carol Burnett Show (1991), but neither could recreate the magic of the original. She has appeared, sporadically, on various established shows such as "Magnum, P.I.," "Touched by an Angel," "Mad About You" (for which she won an Emmy), "Desperate Housewives," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Emmy nomination), "Hawaii Five-0," "Glee" and "Hot in Cleveland." Befitting such a classy clown, she has received a multitude of awards over time, including the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1985. Her personal life has been valiant--tears in between the laughs. Married three times, her second union with jazz-musician-turned-variety-show-producer Joe Hamilton produced three daughters. Eldest girl, Carrie Hamilton, an actress and former teen substance abuser, tragically died of lung and brain cancer at age 38. Shortly before Carrie's death, mother and daughter managed to write a play, together, entitled "Hollywood Arms", based on Carol's 1986 memoir, "One More Time". The show subsequently made it to Broadway.
Today, at age 80 plus, Carol has been seen less frequently but still continues to make appearances, especially on TV. Most recently she has guested on the shows "Glee," "Hot in Cleveland" and the revivals of "Hawaii Five-0" and "Mad About You." As always she signs off a live appearance with her signature ear tug (acknowledging her late grandmother), reminding us all, between the wisecracks and the songs, how glad and lucky we all are to still have some of "this time together".- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julia Chalene Newmeyer was born on August 16, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, the eldest of three children. Her father, Don, was a one-time professional football player (LA Buccaneers, 1926), her mother, Helene Jesmer, was a star of the Follies of 1920 and later became a fashion designer under the professional name of Chalene. From an early age, Julie studied piano, dance, and classical ballet. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, and spent a year touring Europe with her mother and brother. She became prima ballerina for the Los Angeles Opera. She attended UCLA studying classical piano, philosophy, and French.
Newmar went to New York and tried out for Broadway musicals; in 1955, she made her Broadway debut as the ballerina in "Silk Stockings". She won acclaim for her role as Stupefyin' Jones in "Li'l Abner". Though audiences and critics alike were stupefied by her good looks, that was not the compliment Newmar wanted.
Newmar wanted to be known for her comedy, as she told the New York Times: "Tell me I'm funny, and it's the greatest compliment in the world." She had beauty, brains and a fantastic sense of humor. Promoting her various Broadway and off-Broadway show appearances, she often posed as a pin-up girl. Making the transition to television, Newmar appeared in Rod Serling's science-fiction series The Twilight Zone (1959), playing Miss Devlin (devil). As physical perfection, Julie was perfect to play Rhoda the Robot in My Living Doll (1964); the sitcom had an enthusiastic cult following. In 1966, urged on by her friends, she tried out for and was cast as Catwoman (a character she had never heard of) in the wildly popular television series Batman (1966) On account of a movie commitment, Newmar was unavailable to play Catwoman in the third season. (Her role was taken over by Eartha Kitt.)
Newmar was very busy in the 1960s and 1970s, making guest appearances in many television series and several television movies. She toured the country in stage productions of "Damn Yankees" and "Dames at Sea", among others. Becoming an entrepreneur, in 1977, Newmar turned up in People magazine wearing her new invention, Nudemar pantyhose. In the 1980s, she appeared in nine films while she was busy raising her son and working in the real-estate business. Newmar went back to UCLA to take a few real-estate courses. In 1991, she toured in a stage production of "The Women". Still very active, and very beautiful, she occasionally has appeared at fan conventions.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Renée Taylor was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA to Frieda
(née Silverstein) and Charles Wexler. She worked as a comedian in the
early 1960s at the New York City nightclub Bon Soir. Her opening act
was a then unknown Barbra Streisand.
She earned notice for her portrayal of
Eva Braun in
Mel Brooks's
The Producers (1967), and continued
to act in several film, television, and theater productions. However,
despite an impressive, 60-year resume, she is better remembered as
Sylvia Fine, the overbearing, classic Jewish mother of
Fran Drescher's title character in
The Nanny (1993).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor.
Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is
considered one of the few truly international filmmakers.
Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.
His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years before World War II began.
On Germany's invasion in 1939, as a family of mostly Jewish heritage, they were all
sent to the Krakow ghetto. His parents were then captured and sent to
two different concentration camps:
His father to Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria, where he survived the war, and his mother to Auschwitz where
she was murdered. Roman witnessed his father's capture and then, at only 7, managed to escape the ghetto and survive the war, at first
wandering through the Polish countryside and pretending to be a Roman-Catholic kid visiting his relatives.
Although this saved his life, he was severely mistreated suffering nearly fatal beating which
left him with a fractured skull.
Local people usually ignored the cinemas where German films were shown, but Polanski seemed little
concerned by the propaganda and often went to the movies. As the war progressed, Poland became increasingly war-torn and he lived his life as a tramp, hiding in barns and forests, eating whatever he could steal or find.
Still under 12 years old, he encountered some Nazi soldiers who forced him to hold targets while they shot at them. At the war's
end in 1945, he reunited with his father who sent him to a technical school, but young Polanski seemed to have already chosen another
career.
In the 1950s, he took up acting, appearing in Andrzej Wajda's A Generation (1955) before studying at the Lodz Film School.
His early shorts such as Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958), Le gros et le maigre (1961) and Mammals (1962), showed his taste for black humor and interest in bizarre human relationships.
His feature debut, Knife in the Water (1962), was one of the first Polish post-war films not associated with the war theme.
It was also the first movie from Poland to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
Though already a major Polish filmmaker, Polanski chose to leave the country and headed to France.
While down-and-out in Paris, he befriended young scriptwriter, Gérard Brach, who eventually became his long-time collaborator.
The next two films, Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-sac (1966), made in England and co-written by Brach, won respectively Silver and then Golden Bear awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, Rosemary's Baby (1968). However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it was Chinatown (1974).
It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. After Tess (1979), which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films.
It wasn't until The Pianist (2002) that Polanski came back to full form. For that movie, he won nearly all the most important film awards, including the Oscar for Best Director, Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, the BAFTA and Cesar Award.
He still likes to act in the films of other directors, sometimes with interesting results, as in A Pure Formality (1994).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Joan Collins is an English actress from Paddington, London. She is most famous for playing the role of vengeful schemer Alexis Carrington Colby in the soap opera "Dynasty" (1981-1989). In 1997, She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama. In 2015, She was promoted to the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to charity.
She was the daughter of talent agent Joseph William Collins (1902-1988) and his wife, dance teacher Elsa Bessant, (1906-1962). Joseph was born in South Africa, and of Jewish descent. As a talent agent, his most famous clients were Shirley Bassey, the Beatles, and Tom Jones. Elsa was born in the United Kingdom to an Anglican family.
Collins was educated at Francis Holland School in London, an independent day school for girls. She made her theatrical debut c. 1942, as a child actress. She had a role in a performance of the play "A Doll's House" (1879) by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906). In 1949, She started training as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. In 1950, she signed a contract with a British film studio, the Rank Organisation of businessman Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (1888-1972).
Collins made her film debut in the short film "Facts and Fancies" (1951), and her feature film debut in "Lady Godiva Rides Again" (1951), where she played an unnamed Beauty Queen Contestant. She had supporting roles as the Greek maid Marina in "The Woman's Angle" (1952) and gangster's moll Lil Carter in "Judgment Deferred" (1952).
Collins had her big break when cast as juvenile delinquent Norma Hart in prison drama "I Believe in You" (1952). She was hailed as Britain's new "bad girl" and started being offered high-profile roles in British films. The next stage in her career started when cast as Princess Nellifer of Egypt in the historical epic "Land of the Pharaohs" (1955), an international production . While the film was not successful at the box office, it became a cult classic and Nellifer was one of her most recognizable roles. Studio executive Darryl Francis Zanuck (1902-1979) was sufficiently impressed to offer her a 7-year-long contract with American studio 20th Century Fox. She took the offer.
Collins' first American film was the historical drama "The Virgin Queen" (1955), where she shared the top-billing with established stars Bette Davis and Richard Todd. She then played the leading role of actress Evelyn Nesbit (1884/1885-1967) in the biographical film "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing" (1955). The role was intended for established actress Marilyn Monroe, but she replaced Monroe based on a studio decision.
Collins was placed on loan to studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for her next role, that of gold digger Crystal in "The Opposite Sex" (1956). She received the top billing in the refugee-themed film "Sea Wife" (1956), and enjoyed box-office success with the interracial-love themed drama "Island in the Sun" (1957). In the drama film "The Wayward Bus" (1957), she received top-billing over her co-star Jayne Mansfield. Her next films included the spy thriller "Stopover Tokyo" (1957), the Western "The Bravados" (1958), the comedy "Rally Round the Flag, Boys" (1959), the caper film "Seven Thieves" (1960), and the biblical epic Esther and the King (1960).
By 1960, Collins was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest stars, but she demanded a release from her studio contract. She had campaigned for the title role in the upcoming production of "Cleopatra", but the studio chose to cast Elizabeth Taylor in the role. Collins felt slighted. As a freelance actress for most of the 1960s, she had few film roles. Among her most notable roles was playing the leading lady in "The Road to Hong Kong" (1962), the last film in the long-running "Road to ..." series. The male leads for the entire series were Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, but their usual leading lady Dorothy Lamour was considered too old for the role. Collins replaced Lamour.
Collins started appearing frequently on television guest star roles. Among her most notable television roles was the villainous Siren in "Batman", and pacifist spokeswoman Edith Keeler in "Star Trek: The Original Series". "Road to ..." played in only one episode of Star Trek, the time-travel episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967). However the episode is regarded among the best episodes in the entire Star Trek franchise, with Collins considered one of the most memorable guest stars in the original series.
In 1970, Collins returned to her native United Kingdom. She started appearing frequently in British thriller and horror films of the decade. Among her films was revenge-themed drama "Revenge" (1971),science fiction film "Quest for Love" (1972), horror anthology "Tales from the Crypt" (1972), psychological horror "Fear in the Night" (1972), thriller "Dark Places", horror anthology "Tales That Witness Madness" (1973), and horror film "I Don't Want to Be Born" (1975).
Collins appeared in a few comedies in-between horror films, but none was particularly successful. She returned to the United States in order to play a role in the giant monster film "Empire of the Ants" (1977). She then returned to mostly appearing in thriller roles. She was catapulted back to stardom with the lead role of nymphomaniac Fontaine Khaled in the erotic drama "The Stud" (1978), an adaptation of a novel written by her younger sister Jackie Collins. The film was a surprise box office hit, earning 20 million dollars at the worldwide box office. "Road to ..." returned to the role of Fontaine in the sequel film ''The Bitch'' (1979), which was also a hit.
Collins found herself in high demand in both stage and film. But she gained more notoriety with the television role of Alexis Carington in "Dynasty". She started appearing in the role in the second season of the soap opera. Her performance is credited with the subsequent rise of the show's Nielsen's ratings. She became a household name, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983.
By 1985, "Dynasty" was the number-one show in the United States, beating out rival soap opera "Dallas". Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award for her role, winning once in 1983. She was also once nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in a Drama Series. Collins was viewed as a sex symbol at the time, and in 1983 appeared in a 12-page photo layout for Playboy magazine. She was 50-years-old, unusually old for a Playboy model.
Collins appeared in a total of 195 episodes of "Dynasty". The series was canceled with the last episode of its 9th season, due to falling ratings. New ABC entertainment president Bob Iger (1951-) is credited with ending the series as soon as possible. The show had a cliffhanger ending, and several of its subplots were not resolved. Collins returned to the role of Alexis in the sequel mini-series "Dynasty: The Reunion" (1991). The miniseries only lasted for 2 episodes, but resolved several subplots and was a ratings hit.
Throughout the 1990s., Collins returned to guest star roles in television. She appeared in (among others) "Roseanne", "Egoli: Place of Gold", and "The Nanny", She had the recurring role of Christina Hobson in the short-lived soap opera "Pacific Palisades" (1997). She appeared in 7 of its 13 episodes. Her next notable soap opera role was that of so-called "rich bitch" Alexandra Spaulding in 2002 episodes of the long-running series "Guiding Light". Collins was the third actress to play this role. following Beverlee McKinsey and Marj Dusay.
In film, Collins played Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma Flintstone's mother, in "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" (2000). It was the second live-action film based on the popular animated series "The Flintstones". In 2006, she toured the United Kingdom with "An Evening with Joan Collins", an one-woman show where she narrated the highs and lows of her career and life. She later toured the word with both this show and its sequel "Joan Collins Unscripted".
Collins had a notable guest star-role as Ruth Van Rydock in the television film "Agatha Christie's Marple: They Do It with Mirrors" (2009). The film was an adaptation of the 1952 novel by Agatha Christie, where Ruth is an old school friend of Jane Marple, who assigned Jane to investigate a home for juvenile delinquents.
Collins played herself in three episodes of the sitcom "Happily Divorced" (2011-2013). She had the recurring role of Crystal Hennessy-Vass in the sitcom "Benidorm" (2007-2018). She had another recurring role as Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Oxford in the soap opera "The Royals" (2015-2018).
Collins had two different roles in the horror anthology series "American Horror Story". She played wealthy grandmother Evie Gallant, and witch Bubbles McGee. She appeared in a total of four episodes in 2018.
By 2024, Collins was 90-years-old. She has never retired from acting, and she continues to appear in new roles.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
One of the leading sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s, film actress Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the only child of Vera J. (nee Palmer; later Peers) and Herbert W. Palmer. Her parents were well-to-do, with her father a successful attorney in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, where she spent a portion of her childhood. Her parents were both born with the same surname, and her ancestry was seven eighths English and Cornish and one eighth German. She was reportedly a talented pianist and played the violin when she was young.
Tragedy struck when Jayne was three, when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. Three years later, her mother remarried and she and her mother moved to Dallas, Texas, buying a small home where she had violin concerts in the driveway of their home. Her IQ was reportedly 163, and she attended the University of Dallas and participated in little-theater productions. In 1949, at the age of 16, she married a man five years her senior named Paul Mansfield. In November 1950, when Jayne was seventeen, their daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield was born. The union ended in divorce but she kept the surname Mansfield as a good surname for an actress.
After some productions there and elsewhere, Jayne decided to go to Hollywood. Her first film was a bit role as a cigarette girl in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). Although the roles in the beginning were not much, she was successful in gaining those roles because of her ample physical attributes which placed her in two other films that year, Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Illegal (1955). Her breakout role came the next year with a featured part in The Burglar (1957). By the time she portrayed Rita Marlowe in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) and Playgirl After Dark (1960), Jayne was now known as the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She did not get the plum roles that Marilyn got in her productions. Instead, her films were more of a showcase for her body more than anything else. She did have a real talent for acting, but the movie executives insisted she stay in her dumb blonde stereotype roles. By the 1960s, her career had options that grew lower. She made somewhat embarrassing guest appearances like on the popular game show What's My Line? (1950), she appeared on the show four times in 1956, 1957, 1964, and 1966 and many other 1950s and 1960s game shows. By 1962, she was dropped from 20th Century Fox and the rest of her career had smaller options like being in B movies and low budget movies or performing at food stores or small nightclubs.
While traveling from a nightclub in Biloxi, Mississippi and 30 miles from New Orleans to where she was to be on television the following day, she was killed instantly on Highway 90 in Slidell, Louisiana in a car crash in the early hours of June 29, 1967, when the car in which she was riding slammed into the back of a semi-tractor trailer truck that had stopped due to a truck in front of the tractor trailer that was spraying for bugs. Her car went under the truck at nearly 80 miles per hour. Her boyfriend Samuel Brody and their driver Ronnie Harrison, were also killed. The damage to the car was so bad that the engine was twisted sideways. She was not, however, decapitated, as had long been misreported. She was 34 years old.
Mansfield's funeral was on July 3, 1967 and hundreds of people lined the main street of Pen Argyl for Mansfield's funeral, a small private ceremony at Fairview Cemetery in Plainfield (outside Pen Argyl), Pennsylvania (where her father was also buried), attended by her family. The only ex-husband to attend was Mickey Hargitay. Her final film, Single Room Furnished (1966), was released the following year. In 2000, Mansfield's 97 year old mother, Mrs. Vera Peers, was interred alongside Mansfield.
After Mansfield's death, Mansfield's mother, as well as her ex-husband Mickey Hargitay, William Pigue (legal guardian for her daughter, Jayne Marie), Charles Goldring (Mansfield's business manager), and Bernard B. Cohen and Jerome Webber (both administrators of the estate) all filed unsuccessful suits to gain control of her estate, which was initially estimated at $600,000 ($3,712,000 in 2018 dollars), including the Pink Palace (estimated at $100,000 ($619,000 in 2018 dollars)), a sports car sold for $7,000 ($43,000 in 2018 dollars), her jewelry, and Sam Brody's $185,000 estate left to her in his last will ($1,145,000 in 2018 dollars).
In 1971, Beverly Brody sued the Mansfield estate for $325,000 ($2,011,000 in 2018 dollars) worth of presents and jewelry given to Mansfield by Sam Brody; the suit was settled out of court.
In 1977, Mansfield's four eldest children (Jayne Marie, Mickey, Zoltan, and Mariska) went to court to discover that some $500,000 in debt which Mansfield had incurred ($3,093,000 in 2018 dollars) and litigation had left the estate insolvent.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth Montgomery was born into show business. Her parents were
screen actor Robert Montgomery
and Broadway actress
Elizabeth Allen. Elizabeth
graduated from the Spence School in New York City and attended the
Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After three years' intensive
training, she made her TV debut in her father's 1950s playhouse series
Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
and appeared in more than 200 live programs over the next decade. She
once remarked, "I guess you could say I'm a TV baby." Notable early
film roles included
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
and Johnny Cool (1963). However, she is best remembered for her leading
role as the witch Samantha in the top-rated ABC sitcom
Bewitched (1964). Her family -
mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead),
look-alike cousin Serena (Montgomery, wearing a dark wig) and advertising executive husband Darrin
(first Dick York then
Dick Sargent) - tried to suppress her
supernatural skills but often turned to her tricks to solve problems.
The signal of impending witchcraft was a twitch of Samantha's nose.
After her first and only TV series ended she turned to made-for-TV
movies, many of which won critical praise:
A Case of Rape (1974),
The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975),
Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story (1993).
She narrated the movie
The Panama Deception (1992)
which won an Academy Award in 1993. Reference works showed her as 62
when she died though the family said she was 57. The family did not
disclose the type of cancer which caused her death.- Actor
- Production Designer
- Soundtrack
Born in Japan, Makoto Iwamatsu was living there with his grandparents while his parents studied art in the United States, when Japan and the U.S. went to war in 1941. His parents remained in the U.S., working for the Office of War Information, and, at the cessation of the conflict, were granted U.S. residency by Congress. "Mako", as he became known, joined his parents in New York and studied architecture.
He entered the U.S. Army in the early 1950s and acted in shows for military personnel, discovering a talent and love for the theatre. He abandoned his plans to become an architect and instead enrolled at the famed Pasadena Community Playhouse. Following his studies there, he appeared in many stage productions and on television. In 1966, he won an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his first film role, as the coolie "Po-Han" in The Sand Pebbles (1966). He worked steadily in feature films since.
He appeared on Broadway in the leading role in Stephen Sondheim's "Pacific Overtures", and co-founded and served as artistic director for the highly-acclaimed East-West Players theatre company in Los Angeles.
Following a long battle with cancer, Mako passed away on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife, Shizuko Hoshi (who co-starred in episodes of M*A*S*H (1972)) as well, and his children and grandchildren.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Lean, ruggedly handsome leading man and supporting actor whose "outdoor" looks have improved with age, Tom Skerritt attended Wayne State University and UCLA. He was first noticed in a UCLA production of "The Rainmaker" before making his movie debut in War Hunt (1962). However, he spent most of the next decade in television, regularly appearing in Combat! (1962), The Virginian (1962), Gunsmoke (1955) and 12 O'Clock High (1964). Skerritt's next big break was appearing alongside Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's biting satire M*A*S*H (1970). Several other film roles quickly followed, before he landed the plum role of Capt. Dallas of the ill-fated commercial towing vehicle Nostromo in the creepy sci-fi epic Alien (1979).
Skerritt turned up again in another thriller playing a cop hunting a serial killer in the eerie The Dead Zone (1983), as a Navy Officer Flight instructor in Top Gun (1986) , in the six-chick flick Steel Magnolias (1989), and then as the poster boy for a "Guess" Jeans ad campaign utilizing his mature, weather-beaten features. Skerritt didn't neglect his TV background and reappeared on the small screen in Cheers (1982), The China Lake Murders (1990) and picked up an Emmy in 1994 for his performance as Sheriff Brock in the superb series Picket Fences (1992).
Skerritt has remained continually busy for the past decade, contributing natural, entertaining and reliable performances in TV series, made-for-TV movies and major theatrical releases. He recreated the role of Will Kane in the TV production of High Noon (2000), and appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the mercenary war drama Tears of the Sun (2003).- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Soundtrack
Kim Novak was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 13, 1933 with the birth name of Marilyn Pauline Novak. She was the daughter of a former teacher turned transit clerk and his wife, also a former teacher. Throughout elementary and high school, Kim did not get along well with teachers. She even admitted that she didn't like being told what to do and when to do it.
Her first job, after high school, was modeling teen fashions for a local department store. Kim, later, won a scholarship in a modeling school and continued to model part-time. Kim later worked odd jobs as an elevator operator, sales clerk, and a dental assistant. The jobs never seemed to work out so she fell back on modeling, the one job she did well.
After a stint on the road as a spokesperson for an appliance company, Kim decided to go to Los Angeles and try her luck at modeling there. Ultimately, her modeling landed her an uncredited role in the RKO production of The French Line (1953). The role encompassed nothing more than being seen on a set of stairs.
Later a talent agent arranged for a screen test with Columbia Pictures and won a small six month contract. In truth, some of the studio hierarchy thought that Kim was Columbia's answer to Marilyn Monroe. Kim, who was still going by her own name of Marilyn, was originally going to be called "Kit Marlowe". She wanted to at least keep her family name of Novak, so the young actress and studio personnel settled on Kim Novak.
After taking some acting lessons, which the studio declined to pay for, Kim appeared in her first film opposite Fred MacMurray in Pushover (1954). Though her role as "Lona McLane" wasn't exactly a great one, it was her classic beauty that seemed to capture the eyes of the critics. Later that year, Kim appeared in the film, Phffft (1954) with Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday. Now more and more fans were eager to see this bright new star. These two films set the tone for her career with a lot of fan mail coming her way.
Her next film was as "Kay Greylek" in 5 Against the House (1955). The film was well-received, but it was her next one for that year that was her best to date. The film was Picnic (1955). Although Kim did a superb job of acting in the film as did her co-stars, the film did win two Oscars for editing and set decoration. Kim's next film was with United Artists on a loan out in the controversial Otto Preminger film The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Her performance was flawless, but it was was Kim's beauty that carried the day. The film was a big hit.
In 1957, Kim played "Linda English" in the hit movie Pal Joey (1957) with Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth. The film did very well at the box office, but was condemned by the critics. Kim really didn't seem that interested in the role. She even said she couldn't stand people such as her character.
That same year, Novak risked her career when she started dating singer/actor Sammy Davis Jr.. The interracial affair alarmed studio executives, most notably Harry Cohn, and they ended their relationship in January of the following year. In 1958, Kim appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's, now classic, Vertigo (1958) with James Stewart. This film's plot was one that thoroughly entertained the theater patrons wherever it played. The film was one in which Stewart's character, a detective, is hired to tail a friend's wife (Kim) and witnesses her suicide. In the end, Stewart finds that he has been duped in an elaborate scheme.
Her next film was Bell Book and Candle (1958) which was only a modest success. By the early 1960s, Kim's star was beginning to fade, especially with the rise of new stars or stars that were remodeling their status within the film community. With a few more nondescript films between 1960 and 1964, she landed the role of "Mildred Rogers" in the remake of Of Human Bondage (1964). The film debuted to good reviews.
In the meantime, Kim broke off her engagement to director Richard Quine and embarked on a brief dalliance with basketball player Wilt Chamberlain. While filming The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965), she had a romance with co-star Richard Johnson, whom she married, but the marriage failed the following year.
Kim stepped away from the cameras for a while, returning in 1968 to star in The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968). It was a resounding flop, perhaps the worst of her career. However, after that, Kim, basically, was able to pick what projects she wanted. After The Great Bank Robbery (1969) in 1969, Kim was away for another four years until she was seen with then-boyfriend Michael Brandon in a television movie called The Third Girl from the Left (1973), playing a veteran Las Vegas showgirl experiencing a midlife crisis.
In a personal development, Novak met equine veterinarian Robert Malloy in October 1974 and the couple married in 1976. Subsequent films were not the type to get the critics to sit up and take notice, but afforded her the opportunity to work with strong talent. She appeared to good effect in Satan's Triangle (1975), Just a Gigolo (1978), The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and Malibu (1983).
In 1986 and 1987, Kim played, of all people, "Kit Marlowe" in the TV series Falcon Crest (1981). In 1990, she starred alongside Ben Kingsley in The Children (1990), a fine independent film shot in Europe. It was not widely distributed, thus few got to see Novak giving one of her most powerful performances.
Her last film, on the silver screen, was Liebestraum (1991), in which she played a terminally ill woman with a past. The film was a major disappointment in every aspect. Kim clashed with director Mike Figgis over how to play her character. Consequently, the role was cut to shreds. Kim has ruled out any plans for a comeback and says she just isn't cut out for Hollywood.
Fortunately, she has found long-lasting happiness outside her career. Today she lives in Eagle Point, Oregon with her husband Bob, on a ranch where they raise horses and llamas. Kim is also an accomplished artist and has exhibited her painting in galleries around the country. She enjoys riding, canoeing and expressing herself through paint, poetry and photography.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
William Smith was probably best known for his portrayal as "Falconetti" in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). He first came to the screen as a child actor in films such as Going My Way (1944) and The Song of Bernadette (1943), before entering the service during the Korean War, where his fluency in foreign languages landed him in the N.S.A. Security Squadron 6907.
While working towards his doctorate, he landed a contract with MGM and never looked back. Over the next thirty years, Smith became one of the kings of B-movie and television villainy.
Smith died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles in 2021, aged 88.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Fred Willard radiated a unique charm that established him as one of the industry's most gifted comic actors, first coming to prominence as ambitious but dimwitted sidekick Jerry Hubbard to Martin Mull's smarmy talk-show host Barth Gimble in the devastating satirical series Fernwood Tonight (1977). A master of sketch comedy, he was most heralded for his quick wit and improvisational expertise. His 50 appearances in sketches on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) were indicative of his ability to transform any character into a unique comic portrayal. Fred starred in an oft sold-out one-man show, "Fred Willard: Alone At Last!" (actually with a cast of 12) that received two Los Angeles Artistic Director Awards, for Best Comedy and Best Production. He was also an alumnus of The Second City and headed a sketch comedy workshop, The MoHo Group.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Welsh-born stage veteran Dame Siân Phillips is forever identified on television as the tarantula mother/empress Livia in the classic BBC miniseries I, Claudius (1976) (for which she won a BAFTA-TV award), and as the Reverend Mother in the science fiction epic film Dune (1984). Her broad range of roles went from endearing to downright deadly.
She was born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips on May 14, 1933, in Wales, to Sally (Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker and policeman. Brought brought up bilingual in both English and Welsh, she performed on the Welsh radio station at age 11. She toured extensively for the Arts Council in Wales in original Welsh plays and in translations from the English classics before becoming an award-winning television actress in her late teens.
Siân attended the University of Wales and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), making her London debut in the title role of "Hedda Gabler" (1957). After a brief marriage, she met and married actor Peter O'Toole in 1959 and appeared frequently with him on stage, including "Ride a Cock Horse" (1965) and "Man and Superman" (1965), and in the movies Becket (1964), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) (which earned her a National Society of Film Critics award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actress"), Murphy's War (1971) and Under Milk Wood (1971). They had two daughters, actresses Kate O'Toole and Pat O'Toole.
While her husky resonant voice served her well as an announcer, newsreader and narrator at different stages of her career, her severely chiseled looks and arch, regal bearing entitled her to perform some of the more notable classics, with critically-acclaimed turns in "Saint Joan", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "The Duchess of Malfi", being just a few. Siân's occasional patricians have also graced such well-mounted films as Young Cassidy (1965), Nijinsky (1980) and The Age of Innocence (1993).
After 20 years of marriage, Siân divorced O'Toole, known for his carousing and hard-living ways. She quickly remarried a much younger actor, Britisher Robin Sachs, but they too would divorce in 1991. Despite her personal turmoil, she continued to delve into her stage work, beginning a new phase of her career in musicals. Her participation in such productions as "Pal Joey" (her musical debut), "Gigi" and "A Little Night Music" ultimately led to her acclaimed one-woman cabaret show "Marlene", a tribute to legendary Marlene Dietrich, which opened to rave reviews in London in 1997. Two years later, she won a Tony Award nomination for this role on Broadway.
Over the years, Siân has distinguished herself regularly in such quality miniseries as Oresteia (1979), Crime and Punishment (1979), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) (as Clementine Churchill), Smiley's People (1982) (as Lady Smiley), The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987) (as the Duchess of Windsor), A Killing on the Exchange (1987), The Snow Spider (1988), The Chestnut Soldier (1991), The Borrowers (1992) and its sequel The Return of the Borrowers (1993) (as Mrs. Driver) and Aristocrats (1999).
She has continued to work into the millennium with elderly roles on stage with "My Old Lady", "Calendar Girls", "Crossing Borders" (a cabaret show), "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", "The Importance of Being Earnest", "Playing for Time" and "Les Blancs", while in movies she appeared in The Gigolos (2006), Love Song (2012), Miss Dalí (2018), Be Happy! (2019), Dream Horse (2020) and was the narrator and grandmother in a rather radical retelling, animated version of A Christmas Carol (2020). Siân was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours for her services to drama. She was also awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the 2016 Queen's New Years Honours for her services to drama.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Giovanni Brass was born on 26 March 1933 into the family of a famous artist, Italico Brass, who was his grandfather. Italico gave his
grandson a nickname "Tintoretto," which Giovanni later adapted into his cinematic name, Tinto Brass.
Tinto inherited his grandfather's artistic skills, but he applied them to film instead of canvas. When he joined the Italian film industry, he worked with such famous directors as Federico Fellini (his idol) and Roberto Rossellini. In 1963 he directed his first film,
Chi lavora è perduto (In capo al mondo) (1963). Afterwards, he went on to make such avante garde art films as Attraction (1969) and L'urlo (1966). He was approached in 1976 to directed a sexploitation quickie, Madam Kitty (1976), but he wisely chose to have the script rewritten, turning it into a dark, political satire. The success of "Salon Kitty" lead Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione to choose Brass to helm Caligula (1979), the big-budget adaption of Gore Vidal's novel "Caligula." Tinto finished shooting the film, but when he refused to convert it into the "flesh flick" that Guccione wanted it to be by including footage of Penthouse centerfolds making out and romping, he was fired and locked out of the editing room. He later disowned the film when he saw the botched editing (the film was spliced together amateurishly from outtakes and rehearsal footage) and Guccione's hardcore sex scenes spliced in with his work. Ironically, "Caligula" remains Tinto's most famous film. After it became a huge international box-office hit, Brass was hired to shoot a spy thriller Snack Bar Budapest (1988). Afterwards, he decided that he should focus on erotica, as a way to rebel against the hypocrisy of censors, explaining that sex is a normal part of life and we should just deal with it.
With his latest films Black Angel (2002) (an update of the classic novella "Senso") and the erotic comedy Fallo (1988), Brass cemented his reputation of an undisputed master of erotica and avante-garde art films.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
As might be said for the late and great comedians
Harvey Korman and
Madeline Kahn, it seems that
Mel Brooks was the only director on
the planet who knew how to best utilize this funnyman's talents on
film. Brooks once remarked that, whenever he cast Dom in one
of his films he'd add an extra two days to the shooting schedule because of delays between takes due to the constant laughter from cast and crew at Dom's improvisations.
The lovable, butterball comedian was a mainstay on 1960s and '70s TV
variety as a "second banana," or comic-relief player. While his harsher
critics believed his schtick would be better served in smaller doses, Dom
nevertheless went on to find some range in a few moving, more
restrained projects. Those few glimpses behind all the mirth and
merriment revealed a dramatic actor waiting to be unleashed. As they
say, behind every clown's smile, one finds tears.
He was born Dominick DeLuise on August 1, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York,
to parents John, a sanitation engineer, and Vicenza (DeStefano)
DeLuise, both Italian immigrants. A natural school-class clown, his irrepressible sense of humor helped Dom
fit in at school, and he started drawing belly laughs fairly young in his very first school play that had him portraying an inert copper penny! He later attended New York's High School of Performing Arts, but
when it came to college, he decided to major in biology at Tufts
University, outside Boston. That decision failed to expunge the idea of being a comedian from his head and heart, however, and that determination finally prevailed.
Dom's formative years as an actor were spent apprenticing at the
Cleveland Playhouse, where which he gamely played roles in everything from
contemporary shows like "Guys and Dolls" and "Stalag 17" to classics like "The School for Scandal" and
even "Hamlet." He earned his first professional paycheck playing the titular Bernie the
dog in "Bernie's Last Wish." Dom also got a taste
of what it was like in front of the camera in Cleveland, appearing on the local TV kiddie's show "Tip
Top Clubhouse."
Back in NYC, he took over the lead role of Tinker the toymaker in
another children's local program,
Tinker's Workshop (1954),
for one season in 1958. He also started making noise on the
off-Broadway scene. Appearing in the plays "The Jackass" and "All in
Love," he became part of the featured ensemble of the 1961 musical
revue "An Evening with Harry Stoones," which included 19-year-old
Barbra Streisand. More outlandish
musical roles came his way in the early 1960s with "Little Mary
Sunshine" (as Corporal Billy Jester) and "The Student Gypsy, or the
Prince of Liederkrantz" (his Broadway debut as Muffin T. Raggamuffin).
While appearing in the lighthearted summer stock spoof "Summer &
Smirk" in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Dom met fellow performer
Carol Arthur (née Carol Arata). They
married on November 23, 1965. Their three sons,
Peter DeLuise,
Michael DeLuise and
David DeLuise all eventually found their way into show
business. In 1971, Dom returned successfully to Broadway in a
perfectly-suited Neil Simon vehicle,
"The Last of the Red Hot Lovers."
Dom was first noticed on the smaller screen, creating the sketch
character of Dominick the Great, a magician who tries in vain to mask
his inept prestidigitations with feigned dignity on
Garry Moore's popular show. The comedian truly thrived in this TV variety atmosphere and soon
began popping up seemingly everywhere:
(The Hollywood Palace (1964),
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967),
The Jackie Gleason Show (1966)).
Balding, blushing, dimpled and moon-faced (comparisons to a ripe tomato
were not wide of the mark), he was readily equipped with a high-wattage,
Cheshire Cat smile that became his trademark. At his best, looking
embarrassed or agitated, the laughs usually came at his own expense,
whether playing a panic-stricken klutz or squirming nervous-Nelly type.
Dom took his magician character to the ensemble comedy show
The Entertainers (1964),
which also showcased Carol Burnett and
Bob Newhart, and found more regular
employment as a bumbling private eye in puppeteer
Shari Lewis' daytime children's
program, and as a foil for
Dean Martin on the entertainer's
regular and summer replacement shows. Dom again repeated his Dominick
the Great character on Martin's show and received great reception. He
later found himself part of Martin's "in-crowd" of comedians on his
"celebrity roasts."
Dom's obvious comic genius was more readily evident, and succeeded better, in
tandem with other performers than it was on its own. Hosting duties for his very
first comedy/variety program
The Dom DeLuise Show (1968),
which featured wife Carol as part of the regular roster, lasted only
one summer. The sitcom
Lotsa Luck! (1973), which showcased
Dom as bachelor Stanley Belmont having to contend with a live-in mother
(a harping Kathleen Freeman)
and sister (an ungainly
Beverly Sanders), was canceled after its
first season. He gave it a rest for awhile before trying once again
with the sketch-like sitcom
The Dom DeLuise Show (1987),
but it, too, quickly faded. Another brief stint was as host of a
revamped Candid Camera (1991).
While Dom made an unlikely film debut as a high-strung Air Force technician in the
gripping nuclear drama Fail Safe (1964)
starring Henry Fonda, it was in zany,
irreverent comedy that he found his true calling. Appearing in support
of others such as Sid Caesar and
Mary Tyler Moore, respectively, in the
so-so comedies The Busy Body (1967)
and
What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968),
he proved a delight as an inept, dim-witted spy in the
Doris Day caper
The Glass Bottom Boat (1966).
Mel Brooks first cast Dom as the
miserly Russian Orthodox priest, Father Fyodor, in his film
The Twelve Chairs (1970), and
found plenty of room for the comedian after that -- as campy director
Buddy Bizarre in
Blazing Saddles (1974), the
silly-ass director's assistant in
Silent Movie (1976), Emperor Nero in
History of the World: Part I (1981),
the voice of the cheese-oozing Pizza the Hutt in the "Star Wars" parody
Spaceballs (1987), and as Sherwood
Forest's very own puffy-cheeked Godfather, Don Giovanni, in
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
A very close friend of action star
Burt Reynolds, Dom romped through
a number of Reynolds' freewheeling films as well, including
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980),
The Cannonball Run (1981) and
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).
One of his finest scene-stealing film roles, in fact, was as Reynolds'
schizo pal in The End (1978). Dom
went on to direct a number of stage productions for his close friend at
the Burt Reynolds Theatre in Jupiter, Florida -- among them
"Butterflies Are Free," "Same Time, Next Year" (starring Burt and
Carol Burnett), "Brighton Beach Memoirs"
(starring son Peter), and the musical "Jump" (featuring wife Carol).
Still another comic buddy, Gene Wilder,
handed Dom the roles of the indulgent opera star in
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
and harassed movie mogul Adolf Zitz in
The World's Greatest Lover (1977).
Dom later joined Wilder once again, along with Wilder's wife
Gilda Radner, in the leaden comedy
Haunted Honeymoon (1986), a clumsy haunted-house spoof that even Dom, in full drag, could not salvage.
Change-of-pace roles were few and far between. One that did come Dom's way was
the compulsive-eating protagonist in
Fatso (1980). Directed by and co-starring
Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft, Dom
managed to mix comedy with pathos. Obesity was also a chronic,
real-life problem for the comedian and, at one point in 1999, it was
reported that he had tipped the scales at 325 lbs. On a positive note,
this passion for food actually fed into a more lucrative sideline -- as
a respected chef and culinary author ("Eat This" and "Eat This Too") in
which he appeared all over the tube cooking and demonstrating his
favorite recipes. He also found time to write children's books on the side.
Dom tackled broad comedy films with great abandon -- a wallflower he
was not -- but they were hit-or-miss. Some of his biggest misses
were the Mae West disaster
Sextette (1977), the
Dudley Moore showcase
Wholly Moses! (1980) (although Dom
was arguably the best thing in it),
Loose Cannons (1990), in which he
appeared as portly pornographer Harry "The Hippo" Gutterman,
Driving Me Crazy (1991),
which filmed far away in Germany, and
The Silence of the Hams (1994), a parody on the horror genre in which he
played Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza.
Films could also be a family affair. True to life, Dom played a
sympathetic kiddie show host in the moving TV-movie
Happy (1983). Also the executive
producer, he was joined by wife Carol and all three sons in the cast.
In addition, Dom offered a cameo in
Between the Sheets (2003), a
film written by Peter, directed, edited and
executive-produced by Michael, and featuring roles for the rest of the
family.
Dom's voiceover skills did not go untapped, either, in films including
the animated features
The Secret of NIMH (1982),
An American Tail (1986) and
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989),
plus all of their offshoots. The heavily-bearded DeLuise even displayed
scene-stealing antics on the operatic scene, once playing the speaking
part of Frosch the Jailer in Johann Srauss II's operetta "Die ," at the
Metropolitan Opera.
Suffering from various physical ailments in later years, some of which
were exacerbated by his chronic obesity and diabetes, Dom's health
declined, and he died in 2009 at age 75. His wife and three children
survive him, as do three grandchildren.- Actor
- Stunts
Robert Fuller was born in Troy, New York on July 29, 1933 at 1:50 PM and was raised in Key West, Florida. He was an only child and his birth name was Leonard Leroy Lee, but he was nicknamed Buddy Lee by his friends.
Robert started his education at St Mary's in New York and when his mother Betty divorced she took Robert and they moved to Florida where she was nightclub dancer. Robert was put into Miami Military Academy, where he did 5th to 6th grade. After that he spent one year in a standard school. At this time Betty met and married Robert Simpson who was a naval officer and they moved to Chicago for one year then returned to Key West where he attended Robert attended Key West High for 9th grade. (15 years of age). Robert quit school at 9th grade as he did not enjoy school and openly admits he did not do well there. He worked a variety of jobs before moving to Hollywood.
When his mother Betty married Robert Simpson, Robert took the name Robert Simpson Jr. This changed when Robert started acting and he decided he needed a different handle. At the time he had no idea what his name should be but he had a relative with a first name of Fuller and he figured it went well with his name so the handle of Robert Fuller was created.
Robert was very close to his step-dad and considered him as a dad rather than a step-dad, so for the remainder of this biography I will refer to him as Robert's dad or father.
Eventually, Betty convinced Robert Simpson to quit the navy. She taught him to dance, and this led to them opening a dance school in Key West. In the daytime his mother taught ballet to the local children and in the evening they both taught ballroom dancing to the hundreds of navy personnel who were stationed in Key West at that time. In 1950 when Robert was just 16 his parents decided to move to Hollywood. Robert's dad became a very accomplished dancer, and had a plan to get into the motion picture business as a dancer, which he did successfully. His dad subsequently changed his name to Robert Cole and danced in almost every musical made between 1950 up to his retirement in 1987. This included working in many top grade musicals such as Oklahoma, Jailhouse Rock, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in which young Robert Fuller also appeared as a dancer in the chorus line.
After the move to Hollywood Robert had several jobs. The most significant of these was at Graumans Chinese Theatre where he started as a doorman and worked his way up to Assistant Manager. He met a number of people around his own age of 18 years, who were members of the Screen Extras Guild, and they convinced him to join as they were earning significantly more than Robert. This was the start of Robert's journey into acting, and it was then he changed from Robert Simpson Jr to Robert Fuller.
After joining SEG Robert started doing extra work and in 1952 got his first job in the movie Above and Beyond with Robert Taylor. This was followed by extra work in a great many films including Raintree County with Liz Taylor, The Harder They Fall with Humphrey Bogart and The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit with Gregory Peck.
His Dad convinced him to look for jobs as a dancer which he did successfully getting roles in I Love Melvin with Debbie Reynolds, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Marilyn Monroe and Latin Lovers with Lana Turner.
In 1953, while the Korean war was on, Robert at the age of 19 was drafted into the United States Army where he served 2 years, 15 months of which was in Korea. His unit was 19th Infantry Regiment and he was chosen 3 times as the outstanding soldier on Guard Mount, a decision based upon appearance, knowledge of military subjects and bearing.
When he returned home in 1955 he decided to give up his career in show business as he did not see any future in it. However his dad, along with his long time pal Chuck Courtney, convinced him to attend Richard Boone's acting class. This was a pivotal move for Robert as the class impressed him so much he changed his mind, decided to stay in show business and take a shot at becoming an actor. After studying with Boone for a year, Boone was impressed enough with Robert's potential that he recommended him to Sanford Meisner who accepted Robert into the New York Neighbourhood Playhouse School Of Theatre. Meisner was a highly respected acting teacher who taught future stars like Gregory Peck, Jon Voight, Robert Duvall, Edmund O'Brien and Grace Kelly. Robert was in good company.
In 1956 came his first speaking part in a movie where he played a union soldier and said to Gary Cooper "Bet you a dollar you can't do that again." The film was "Friendly Persuasion," and not only was it Robert's first talking part in a movie, it was also the first time he worked with his Laramie co-star John Smith. Originally director William Wyler had wanted another actor to play the part Robert was given, however he was unimpressed with the fact the other actor had false sideburns. Robert's sideburns were real and when Wyler saw Robert he called him over and asked him if he could act - Robert said "You Bet." Wyler then said "Say this line - "I bet I can knock down more than you can." Robert repeated the line and Wyler without hesitation said "Give this kid the part."
This was a turning point for Robert and the beginning of a great career.
Following Friendly Persuasion Robert had a number of small speaking parts and then in 1956 came his big break in Teenage Thunder.
To get the part he and his good friend Chuck Courtney staged a fight to convince the Director, Paul Helmick, that he was the man for the part. Originally Helmick had wanted Edd Byrnes but after seeing Chuck and Robert perform Helmick gave the role of bad guy Maurie Weston to Robert. The very same year Robert did another film for the same company that produced Teenage Thunder and again worked with the same production team. This film was the cult science fiction movie "The Brain From Planet Arous" with John Agar. After over 50 years this film is still available on DVD.
This was followed by a part in a science fiction series where he played a bad guy and was killed in the 3rd episode. The name of this series was Outpost In Space.
He spent the next couple of years doing featured and guest star roles in a variety of TV programs mainly westerns.
In February 1959 Robert appeared again with John Smith, this time in a western series called Cimarron City and now Robert's career had progressed to the point where he was getting guest star billing. It was this appearance that led to his being offered the role of Jess Harper in "Laramie."
The story goes as follows;
While filming Cimarron City Robert was summoned to the Vice President of Talent, Patrick Kelly's office. He went there actually thinking he was going to be fired. However Kelly told him that he liked the work he had done in a number of shows over the previous year and wanted him to do a TV series. This was a very exciting prospect for Robert, however excitement soon turned to disappointment when Kelly offered him the second lead in a detective series starring Ray Milland called "Markham" Robert refused the role on the grounds he wanted to do a good western. Kelly was naturally dumbfounded that his offer was being refused but he accepted Robert's decision and Robert left his office. Then a couple of weeks later Robert was summoned again to Patrick Kelly's office. This time he offered Robert a part in a new 30 minute western called Laramie. Robert was delighted and read the script and loved it, but again things were about to turn awkward. Kelly offered Robert the role of Slim Sherman - Robert wanted the part of Jess Harper!!! So again Kelly found himself being refused. He explained to Robert that the role of Jess had already been given to John Smith who was already under contract with Revue. Yet again Robert stuck to his guns and again the two men parted without agreement. Robert left Patrick Kelly's office thinking that was the end of his career - you don't turn down those opportunities once let alone twice! However there was a twist - The very same day Robert's agent called him to say that he was required to test for the part of Jess Harper. The next day he was given the role that he wanted so much, a role that was truly made for him, a role that would make him an international star and transform his life.
John Smith was given the role of Slim Sherman and hindsight shows that these were the right roles for each of them. Robert Fuller WAS Jess Harper and John Smith WAS Slim Sherman. Had that role change not happened then Laramie would not have worked anywhere near as well as it did. Over the next 4 years Robert immortalized the character of Jess Harper and gained millions of fans worldwide. Robert said of this role that it was the best part he ever had.
In December 1962, while Laramie was still at its peak Robert married Patty Lyon.
Laramie ran from 1959-1963 and from there Robert went straight into "Wagon Train" as chief scout Cooper Smith. Coop was a less volatile character than Jess Harper and Robert played him very differently. The move into Wagon Train gave Robert the opportunity to work with some of the best stars in the business, people like John McIntire, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine and Rhonda Fleming.
When "Wagon Train" finished in 1965, Robert moved onto the big screen, and in 1966 got his first starring role in a movie. This was the western "Incident At Phantom Hill" where he was re-united with his close friend Dan Duryea, a man for whom Robert had the greatest respect, and who had made a couple of guest spots in Laramie. It was an all action western where Robert's character Matt Martin had many of the characteristics of Jess Harper. Also in 1966 Robert was given second billing to Yul Brynner in the sequel to "The Magnificent Seven," a film aptly titled "Return Of The Seven." He was so busy in 66 that for the filming of Return Of The Seven they had to shoot around him while he was in Munich for the premiere of "Incident At Phantom Hill."
The character of Vin he portrayed in "Seven" was the part previously occupied by Steve McQueen who had now gone on to become a superstar. McQueen was not offered the role in the sequel because it is likely that if he had been in the film then Yul Brynner would not. The stories of Brynner's less than cordial relationship with McQueen are now legendary. With Robert it was very different and he and Yul got along very well, and in fact remained close friends until Brynner died in 1985.
Robert remained busy doing movies in Germany, Israel and the States over the next few years, then in 1970 he made one of his best ever movies "The Hard Ride." This was a stunning film about a Vietnam vet, Phil Duncan who brought his dead buddy's body home and sets out to find his buddy's old biker friends to get them to attend the funeral. This was Robert Fuller at his best and while there were good performances he carried the film. Today you can still buy the soundtrack and the DVD.
Jack Webb saw Robert's performance in "The Hard Ride" and decided he wanted him to star in a new TV medical drama series called Emergency. Robert was grateful for the offer but did not want to play a doctor and he told Webb so. But Webb was determined and finally persuaded Robert to take the part. True, it was a departure from the action roles his fans were so used to, but Emergency was a major television success which ran for 7 years and resulted in another generation of fans - the show continues to be very popular still. Over 30 years after it ended there was an Emergency re-union which was attended by most of the stars plus fans from all over the world. Robert's old friend John Smith appeared in a couple of episodes playing a Fire Captain.
Since then Robert has been very busy in a wide variety of roles, sometimes to the delight of his fans, he returns to the western genre.
Robert's marriage to Patty Lyon ended in 1984 after 22 years. They had 3 children Robert, Christine and Patrick. Robert later married the lovely Jennifer Savidge who played Nurse Lucy in "St Elsewhere" and appeared regularly in the hit TV series JAG.
Robert's last performance was playing 2 roles in the final episode of Walker Texas Ranger. He played Ranger Wade Harper, who was a descendant of Jess Harper, and an old west Town Sheriff. Robert retired after that show and it is fitting that his final part was in a western role.
In July 2004 Robert and Jennifer re-located from Los Angeles to Texas where they now live on a beautiful ranch. He still enjoys his lifelong passions of fishing and shooting and he now has more time to enjoy them.
Despite being retired he attends a number of western festivals each year where he spends a lot of time with his fans who have stayed loyal for over 60 years. Indeed at the National Festival Of the West in Phoenix Robert hosted many private parties with his fans where he would sit for hours talking to them and enjoying telling stories of his time in show business. It is testament to the talent and personality of Robert Fuller that fans still travel from the four corners of the earth just to spend a couple of days with him at the Festivals he attends. He has always loved his fans and that remains true today. He still has an international fan club - The Robert Fuller Fandom.
Robert Fuller has had a long and very successful career which is proven by the awards he has received. Look at this!
1961 - Best Actor Award in Japan
1961 - Japanese Golden Order Of Merit - awarded to him by the Empress of Japan. Robert was the first American to receive this award
1970 - Best Actor in Germany. Robert actually won 5 Ottos which are German awards that are the equivalent of the Emmy.
1970 - Buffalo Bill Award for outstanding western entertainment.
1975 - Star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
1989 - Golden Boot Award
2002 - Honoree Kanab Western Legends Roundup
2004 - Cowboy Spirit Award - National Festival Of The West, Phoenix
October 2007 - Silver Spur Award
April 2008 - Inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma, Hall Of Great Western Performers- Actress
- Soundtrack
An acting career was always in the cards for Debra Paget (nee Debralee
Griffin) and her siblings, coming from a show biz family and being the
offspring of a "stage mother" anxious to get her kids into the movies.
Paget's sister Teala Loring got her movie
breaks in the 1940s, Lisa Gaye was a
film and TV star in the 50s and 60s, and even brother
Frank Griffin (acting as 'Ruell
Shayne') landed some film jobs. Paget got a 20th Century-Fox contract
at age 14 and her first role in the film noir
Cry of the City (1948), her first
of nearly 20 movies at the studio, mostly Westerns, swashbucklers and
period musicals. Every inch (all five-foot-two of her) the Hollywood
star, Paget retired from the screen after marrying a Chinese
millionaire in 1962.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The refined and debonair English actor Jeremy Brett will forever be best remembered for his long-running and critically acclaimed portrayal of Sherlock Holmes for Britain's Granada Television. From a privileged background, Brett was educated at England's most prestigious independent school, Eton College. After training as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Brett made his professional stage debut in repertory in 1954. He became a noteworthy classical actor who was to make regular appearances on stage, including many with the National Theatre.
Brett was as cultured off screen as on. His interests included classical music, archery and horseback riding. His greatest popularity and acclaim would come with his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on television from the 1980s through to the 1990s. Where so many have tried and failed to capture the essence of the character, either being derided or forgotten, Brett's widely praised take on it has been described by many as superlative and even definitive. Brett suffered from poor health towards the end of his life but he was still playing the role of Holmes shortly before his death in 1995 at the age of 61.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Genial character comedian Bernie Kopell is undoubtedly best known as Dr. Adam Bricker, doling out sage advice on TV's The Love Boat (1977) for its entire run of ten seasons and 250 episodes. He once described the experience as "a paid vacation. We got to be in 98 countries". While this may have been his longest engagement on a series, his most memorable comic creation remains the iconic Siegfried in Get Smart (1965).
Bernie was born in Brooklyn, of Ukrainian and Jewish ancestry, as Bernard Morton Kopell to Abraham Bernard Kopell (1905-1965) and his wife Pauline (née Taran, 1911-2011). After finishing high school, he studied at New York University, graduating in 1955 with a bachelor of fine arts.
A year later, Bernie was drafted into the U.S. Navy, happily accepting the opportunity to serve as librarian at the Naval Operations Base, the Naval Air Station at Norfolk, Virginia, and (between 1956-57), aboard the World War II battleship U.S.S. Iowa. He later quipped "I got to read more books than I'd gotten to read at NYU, so it was just a glorious thing for me."
Back in New York after demobilization, Bernie was invited to Los Angeles by fellow NYU alumnus James Drury (of The Virginian (1962) fame). His first agent turned him down for being 'not handsome enough to be a leading man, not ugly enough to be a heavy.' For a while, he earned a crust as a taxi driver and vacuum cleaner salesman. A chance audition for casting director Marilyn Howard (then Marilyn Bodgen) then led to a small part in an early CBS daytime soap, The Brighter Day (1954), as a Cuban bad guy named Pablo. Bernie's aptitude for dialects impressed TV execs to the extent that he found himself typecast as Mexicans or Puerto Ricans in episodes of The Danny Thomas Show (1953), The Jack Benny Program (1950), My Favorite Martian (1963) and The Flying Nun (1967). Ultimately, his innate ability to bring levity to any scene earned him numerous guest starring turns on sitcoms like McHale's Navy (1962), The Lucy Show (1962), Petticoat Junction (1963), The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Run Buddy Run (1966) and Green Acres (1965).
At the age of 33, Bernie got his first big break, cast as KAOS chief Siegfried in Get Smart by executive producer Leonard Stern. This character, replete with leather jacket, neat moustache and Heidelberg duelling scar, was essentially the primary nemesis of Control agents 86 and 99. Bernie, by his own admission, adopted Siegfried's German accent from an Austrian psychiatrist he was visiting at the time. The character became so popular with fans that the actor would often be asked to sign autographs with the catchphrase "we don't shush at KAOS, Shtarker". A classic line from the episode 'Rub-a-Dub-Dub... Three Spies in a Sub' has Siegfried explaining to Don Adams "As you go through the world of espionage Shmart, you will find that there are the good guys and the bad guys. I happen to be one of the bad guys."
In between Get Smart and Love Boat, Bernie alternated dramatic roles with comic ones, appearing in a wide variety of shows, ranging from Night Gallery (1969) (as a TV executive), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) (Dr. Gravanites) and the live-action CBS children's sitcom The Ghost Busters (1975) (as Dr. Frankenstein) to the Mel Brooks spoof of Robin Hood, When Things Were Rotten (1975) (a recurring role as Alan-a-Dale). He appeared in nine episodes of Bewitched (1964), variously as the ancient Postlethwaite, aka Mr. Apothecary, the hippie warlock Alonzo, psychiatrists Chomsky and Rhinehouse and the Siegfried clone Baron von Fuchs). Bernie also had a co-starring role in a short-lived 1973 sitcom, Needles and Pins (1973), as a salesman for a ladies' clothing manufacturer in New York. His more recent appearances have included an ill-fated men's room attendant in Monk (2002), a coroner in Charmed (1998), a hayseed in My Name Is Earl (2005), a Holocaust survivor in Hawaii Five-0 (2010) and a senior citizen in the medical sitcom B Positive (2020).
For the stage, Bernie has appeared in Los Angeles productions of Death of a Salesman, and, as a Russian peddler, in The 49th Cousin. He had a leading role as Lenny Ganz in the Neil Simon farce Rumors at the Whitefire Theatre, Sherman Oaks (1996-97). As late as 2022, he headlined off-Broadway, alongside Hal Linden, as biblical characters Lou and Bud in Ed. Weinberger's comedy play, Two Jews Talking. Seemingly impervious to age, Bernie continues make regular appearances in films and on TV, albeit in smaller supporting roles. He is an avid tennis player and has hosted pro-celebrity tennis and golf tournaments with proceeds benefiting the Alzheimer's Association.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Danny Aiello was an American actor of Italian descent, and enjoyed a lengthy career in film. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as Salvatore "Sal" Frangione in the comedy-drama film "Do the Right Thing" (1989).
Aiello was born in Manhattan, New York City on June 20, 1933. His parents were laborer Daniel Louis Aiello and seamstress Frances Pietrocova. Frances eventually lost her eyesight, and became legally blind.. In response, Daniel abandoned his wife and six children. Danny resented his father's actions and would later refuse relations with him for decades. The two reconciled in 1993, when Danny was 60-years-old.
In 1940, Aiello moved to South Bronx. He was educated at James Monroe High School, located in the Soundview section of the Bronx. In 1949, Aiello dropped out of school and joined the United States Army. He was only 16-years-old, and lied about his age in order to enlist. Aiello served in the army for 3 years, and he was discharged in 1952. He returned to New York City, where he supported himself through various jobs.
In 1955, Aiello married Sandy Cohen. They had four children, including actor Danny Aiello III (1957-2010). In the 1960s, Aiello worked for Greyhound Lines, an intercity bus common carrier. He served as president of New York Local 1202 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, a labor organization representing the company's workers.
In 1967, Greyhound Lines changed its bus driver schedules, and Aiello led the workers to protest in a wildcat strike. The strike lasted for a single day. It lacked the authorization by the parent labor union, and Aiello was suspended for his actions.
Aiello eventually pursued an acting career, and started appearing in films during the early 1970s. His earliest credited role was playing baseball player Horse in the sports drama "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973), at the age of 40. He worked alongside up-and-coming actor Robert De Niro (1943-), who gained acclaim for his performance in the film.
Aiello had a minor role as small-time gangster Tony Rosato in the crime film "The Godfather Part II" (1974). His one scene had him performing a hit on high-ranking gangster Francesco "Frank" Pentangeli (played by Michael V. Gazzo), who had betrayed the Corleone family. Aiello ad-libbed the line "Michael Corleone says hello!"
Aiello eventually had a co-lead role in the neo-noir "Defiance" (1980), as one of of several people who join forces against a powerful gang. Also in 1980, he played Dominic Ginetti in "A Family Of Strangers", an ABC Afterschool Special. For his role, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming, the first of several awards in his acting career.
He gained further acclaim for his role as the cop Morgan in the crime drama "Fort Apache, The Bronx" (1981). He played a corrupt police chief in the crime drama "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984), and the character was named after him as "Vincent Aiello". In this role, Aiello performer along Robert De Niro again, as De Niro was the film's lead actor.
Aiello performed in two films directed by Woody Allen (1935-). The first was the fantasy comedy "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985), where Aiello played the abusive husband Monk. The second was the comedy-drama "Radio Days" (1987).
Aiello gained a supporting role in the detective television series "Lady Blue" (1985-1986). He played police lieutenant Terry McNichols, a leading member of the Violent Crimes Division of the Chicago Police Department, and the boss of protagonist Katy Mahoney (played by Jamie Rose). McNichols was portrayed as a boss appreciative of Mahoney's unorthodox methods of investigation, but concerned by her overly violent behavior.
The series initially received high-ratings, but was considered as too violent for television. It attracted protests by watchdog organization, such
as the National Coalition on Television Violence. When ratings fell, the series was canceled. The series lasted for a single season, and 14 episodes. Aiello would not gain a recurring television role again until the late 1990s.
Aiello played the protagonist's father in the video clip "Papa Don't Preach" (1986), based on a hit song by Madonna (1958-). He then recorded his own answer song, called , "Papa Wants the Best for You".
In 1987, Aiello played the protagonist's fiance Johnny Cammareri in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck. It was a then-rare sympathetic role for him. His role was critically well-received.
Aiello gained his most acclaimed role when cast as pizzeria owner Salvatore "Sal" Fragione in the comedy-drama film "Do the Right Thing" (1989), concerning racial tensions in Brooklyn,. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but the award was won by rival actor Denzel Washington (1954-). He was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, but this award was also won by Denzel Washington., The film critics' associations of Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles each named Aiello the best supporting actor of the year.
Aiello following roles included appearances in the horror film "Jacob's Ladder" (1990) and the comedy-drama "29th Street" (1991). He played nightclub owner and assassin Jack Ruby (1911-1967) in the biographical film "Ruby" (1992). He played film director Harry Stone in the film "The Pickle", a satire of big-budget Hollywood films. He appeared dressed in drag in "Prêt-à-Porter", a satire of the fashion industry.
He next had the lead roe of Joe Lieberman in the award-winning short film "Lieberman in Love" (1995), and politician Frank Anselmo in the thriller "City Hall" (1996),
Aiello had a notable television role as crime lord Don Domenico Clericuzio in the mini-series "The Last Don" (1997), an adaptation of a 1996 crime novel by Mario Puzo. The series depicts Domenico as an aging mafia leader, who oversees plans for his succession. Aiello returned to the role in the sequel miniseries "The Last Don II", where Domenico dies and is succeeded by a much younger relative.
Aiello remained active as an actor through the 2000s and 2010s, although this period had few highlights for his career. He died in December 2019 at hospital, following a short illness. He was 86-years-old. His funeral was held at the Riverside Memorial Chapel on the Upper West Side. Director Spike Lee (1957-) delivered an eulogy at the funeral, remarking on his love for Aiello despite their political differences.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
American actor who began as a child in Our Gang comedies and reappeared
as a powerful adult performer of leading and character roles. Born in
New Jersey, the young Mickey Gubitosi won a role in MGM's Our Gang
series at the age of 5. As one of the more prominent children in the
Gang, he gained attention for his cute good looks and his lovable, if
somewhat melancholy, personality.
In 1940 he took on the stage name Bobby Blake (though he continued to
use the name Mickey Gubitosi in the Our Gang series for another three
years) and began playing child roles in a wide range of films. He
gained a good deal of fame as the Indian sidekick Little Beaver in the
Red Ryder series of Westerns. Though roles were sporadic as he grew to
manhood, he was never long off the screen (except for a period of
military service, 1954-56). But despite some fine work in films like
Pork Chop Hill (1959) and
Town Without Pity (1961), his
career did not take off until his stunning portrayal of killer Perry
Smith in In Cold Blood (1967). A
number of telling performances in films of the next decade, stardom in
a popular television series
(Baretta (1975), and several ruefully
comic appearances as a guest on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
made him a popular figure even as his personal difficulties increased.
Consumed with anger over his treatment by his family and the studio as
a child, he denigrated his early work, suffered bouts of difficulty
with drugs, and became known as a difficult, perfectionist person to
work with. He quit his successful TV series
Hell Town (1985) when his personal
demons became overwhelming. After a self-imposed exile of nearly eight
years, during which he struggled to right his life, he successfully
returned to films and television work, appearing renewed and more
confident in himself and his work.
In 2001, though, the murder of his wife, Bonnie Bakley, thrust Blake
into the limelight in a different way. Admittedly having married Bakley
through the coercion of her pregnancy, a routine Bakley had apparently
tried with various other celebrities, Blake made no denial of his
distaste for the woman, but was by all accounts thrilled with the
daughter born to them. Blake was arrested for his wife's murder, but
the presumption of innocence trumped when jurors didn't believe what they thought was flimsy
evidence, and Blake was acquitted in a trial that made worldwide
headlines. Reportedly broke from legal costs, Blake indicated
hopefulness that he might be allowed to return to acting work.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara Feldon was born on 12 March 1933 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress, known for Get Smart (1965), Fitzwilly (1967) and Smile (1975). She was previously married to Lucien Verdoux-Feldon.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tough around the edges and with a handsome durability, Alabama-bred
Wayne Rogers was born in Birmingham on April 7, 1933. He graduated from Princeton with a history degree in 1954
and joined the Navy before giving acting a thought. During his military
service, however, he became associated with theater by happenstance and
decided to give it a try after his discharge.
Studying with renowned acting teacher
Sanford Meisner and dancer
Martha Graham at the Neighborhood
Playhouse, Rogers toiled for years in off-Broadway and regional plays ("Bus
Stop", "No Time for Sergeants") and had a short stint on the daytime
soap
The Edge of Night (1956)
before making a minor dent in films, including small roles in
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959),
The Glory Guys (1965) and
Cool Hand Luke (1967). Rogers finally hit co-star status opposite Robert Bray in
the short-lived TV western series
Stagecoach West (1960) and
co-produced and wrote the script for the cult sci-fi cheapie
The Astro-Zombies (1968)
in-between.
It wasn't until 1972, when the 39-year-old actor nabbed the
role of "Trapper John," a Korean War surgeon, in the classic comedy
series M*A*S*H (1972), that he found elusive stardom. Alongside
Alan Alda's "Hawkeye Pierce", the TV show was
a huge hit and the two enjoyed equal success at the beginning. Slowly,
however, Wayne's character started getting the short end of the stick
as the wry, sardonic, highly appealing Alda became a resounding
audience favorite. Frustrated at turning second-banana to Alda, he quit
the series (his character was discharged) after three seasons amid a
contractual dispute. Mike Farrell replaced him in the cohort role of "B.J. Hunnicut" and the show enjoyed several more award-winning seasons
TV movies came Wayne's
way throughout the late '70s and a couple more comedy series, including
House Calls (1979), in which
Wayne received a Golden Globe nomination, but nothing would equal the
success he found during the
M*A*S*H (1972) years. Sporadic
filming in
Once in Paris... (1978),
The Hot Touch (1981),
The Gig (1985) and
The Killing Time (1987) also
failed to raise his standard, nor did his starring work in the TV movies He's Fired, She's Hired (1984), The Lady from Yesterday (1985), One Terrific Guy (1986), American Harvest (1987), Drop-Out Mother (1988), Miracle Landing (1990).
Broaching the millennium, Rogers was lesser seen, but found some featured roles in such films as Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Love Lies Bleeding (1999), Frozen with Fear (2001) and Three Days of Rain (2002). He would be last glimpsed in the Hollywood-themed comedy Nobody Knows Anything! (2003) in which he also served as producer. Wayne found renewed respect as a businessman and investor in later years, managing the affairs of such stars as Peter Falk and James Caan, among others. He died on New Year's Eve of 2015 of complications from pneumonia. He was 82.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the most natural beauties of the 1960s with a gentle voice and
personality to match, blonde Hope Lange was born in Redding Ridge,
Connecticut, and performed on stage from the age of nine. She studied
both drama and dance under Martha Graham,
did some modeling and then worked in stock companies and on television,
dancing on Jackie Gleason shows.
She acted in just a handful of motion pictures, garnering an Academy
Award nomination for one, and later won two Emmys for her best-loved
role on television.
Hope was one of four children of an actress mother, upon whose
shoulders fell the responsibility of supporting the family after the
premature death of her father, the composer/arranger John Lange, at age 61 in
1942. Along with her siblings, she worked as a waitress in the
family's Greenwich Village restaurant,
'Minette's of Washington
Square'. By chance, she made the acquaintance of Eleanor Roosevelt,
who owned an apartment in the village, and ended up walking the former
First Lady's prized Scotch terrier, Fala. This got her photo into a
newspaper, which, in turn, led to an advertising job with pictures on
the June 1949 cover of 'Radio-Electronics', sporting the futuristic red 'Man
from Mars' pith helmet with built-in radio. Still just fifteen years
old, Hope spent the next two years at college in Oregon and New York,
then found her first job in television and was subsequently signed by
20th Century-Fox.
After successful screen tests, Lange made her motion picture
debut in Bus Stop (1956) (Barbara Eden
was one of her competitors for the part) opposite
Marilyn Monroe and husband-to-be
Don Murray. Even the great Marilyn
was said to have felt a little threatened by another blonde who was not
only beautiful but five years younger and could act as well. After
playing the wife of the titular character in
The True Story of Jesse James (1957),
a picture which she later referred to as a 'turkey', Lange was cast
as the fragile Selena Cross in the melodramatic but good-looking soap
opera Peyton Place (1957). This
movie was regarded as risqué and controversial at the time, dealing
with previously taboo subjects such as rape and incest. For her part of
the abused girl, raped by her alcoholic stepfather, whom she finally
kills in self-defense, Lange received an Academy Award nomination.
The glossy production values of
The Best of Everything (1959),
a film about ambitious New York career women working in a magazine
publishing house, overshadowed most of the character development.
However, Lange (who was billed above the established star
Joan Crawford) was dealt with most
favorably by the critics. According to
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times:
"Simply because she has the most to do, and does it gracefully, Miss
Lange comes off best' (October 9,1959). The following decade was to be
a period of mixed fortunes for Hope Lange.
In 1961, Lange began a long-standing relationship with fellow actor
Glenn Ford and left husband
Don Murray. Ford, in his dual role of
star and associate producer, put pressure on director
Frank Capra to cast Lange as the female
lead in his next motion picture, the whimsical
Damon Runyon-inspired comedy
Pocketful of Miracles (1961),
even though Shirley Jones had
already been assigned to the role. Capra reluctantly gave
way, though Hope Lange was likely miscast as the wisecracking showgirl.
Lange again co-starred with Ford in the glossy romantic melodrama
Love Is a Ball (1963), wherein acting took a back seat to sumptuous costumes and the French Riviera. On
the negative side of the ledger, Lange had unsuccessfully auditioned
for the part of Maria in
West Side Story (1961), which
ultimately went to Natalie Wood.
Instead, she was cast as Elvis Presley's
psychiatrist in
Wild in the Country (1961),
which was generally panned by critics, except for Variety singling out
her performance above the rest as
'intelligent'
and 'sensitive'. Lange was also slated to appear as love interest to George Peppard
in
How the West Was Won (1962),
but her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
Turning increasingly towards television, Hope Lange achieved her most
lasting fame as the popular star of the amiable sitcom
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968) as a widow who (with two kids and a housekeeper) takes up residence in
a quaint cottage also inhabited by the cantankerous ghost of a sea
captain (Edward Mulhare). The show ran
for three seasons and Lange won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding
Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy
Series (1969 and 1970). In her only other recurring TV role, she played
Dick Van Dyke's wife in
The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971),
but with less rewarding results. She received good notices for
portraying Charles Bronson's
dying wife, the victim of the original
Death Wish (1974) and its raison
d'etre. She then acted primarily on television, with few exceptions, including Blue Velvet (1986) and
Clear and Present Danger (1994) as a U.S. senator. In 1977, she replaced Tony Award-winning
Ellen Burstyn in the starring role of
Doris in 'Same Time, Next Year' on Broadway.
In the early '90s, Lange underwent surgery for a brain tumour. While
the operation was successful, her health remained precarious and she
limited her screen appearances, retiring altogether in 1998. She died
of an intestinal infection in December 2003, aged 70.- Pretty, auburn-haired actress Aneta Louise Corsaut was born in Hutchinson, Kansas on November 3, 1933. She majored in drama at Northwestern University and studied acting with Lee Strasberg, considered by some to be the father of method acting in America. Aneta dropped out in her junior year to pursue a career in acting.
Aneta guest-starred in two TV shows during 1955: live program Producers' Showcase (1954) and the Robert Montgomery-hosted drama Robert Montgomery Presents (1950). She didn't make her feature film debut until 1958, when she starred in the cult science fiction favorite The Blob (1958) opposite Steve McQueen.
Aneta's best-known role came about in 1963, when she first appeared on The Andy Griffith Show (1960) as independent and self-sufficient schoolteacher Helen Crump. Aneta stayed on the show until its end in 1968, and reprised her role in the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), the made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry (1986), and the reunion special Andy Griffith Show Reunion (1993).
Besides her role as the heroine in 'The Blob', Anita Corsaut regrettably didn't appear in many feature films. She had a role in video nasty The Toolbox Murders (1978), as well as uncredited appearances in Good Neighbor Sam (1964), A Rage to Live (1965), and Blazing Saddles (1974). She did, however, appear in many TV shows, including The Blue Knight (1975), Adam-12 (1968), House Calls (1979), Matlock (1986) (starring none other than Andy Griffith!), and General Hospital (1963), as well as guest appearances on a dozen others.
Ms. Corsaut battled cancer in her later years, and sadly died of the disease on November 6, 1995 at the age of 62. She will be remembered as Helen Crump. - Actor
- Soundtrack
The stocky-framed, lookalike son of singing legend
Bing Crosby who had that same bemused,
forlorn look, fair hair and jug ears, Gary was the eldest of four sons
born to the crooner and his first wife singer/actress
Dixie Lee. The boys' childhood was an
intensely troubled one with all four trying to follow in their father's
incredibly large footsteps as singers and actors. As youngsters, they
briefly appeared with Bing as themselves in
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
and Duffy's Tavern (1945). Gary
proved to be the most successful of the four, albeit a minor one. As a
teen, he sang duet on two songs with his famous dad, "Sam's Song" and
"Play a Simple Melody," which became the first double-sided gold record
in history. He and his brothers also formed their own harmonic singing
group "The Crosby Boys" in subsequent years but their success was
fleeting. Somewhere in the middle of all this Gary managed to attend
Stanford University, but eventually dropped out.
Gary concentrated a solo acting career in the late 50s and appeared
pleasantly, if unobtrusively, in such breezy, lightweight fare as
Mardi Gras (1958),
Holiday for Lovers (1959),
A Private's Affair (1959),
Battle at Bloody Beach (1961)
(perhaps his best role),
Operation Bikini (1963), and
Girl Happy (1965) with
Elvis Presley. Making little leeway, he
turned to TV series work.
The Bill Dana Show (1963)
and Adam-12 (1968) as Officer Ed
Wells kept him occasionally busy in the 60s and early 70s, also
guesting on such shows as
The Twilight Zone (1959)
and Matlock (1986). Getting only so
far as a modestly-talented Crosby son, Gary's erratic career was
hampered in large part by a long-standing alcohol problem that began in
his teens. In 1983, Gary published a "Daddy Dearest" autobiography
entitled "Going My Own Way," an exacting account of the severe physical
and emotional abuse he and his brothers experienced at the hands of his
overly stern and distant father, who had died back in 1977. Mother
Dixie, an alcoholic and recluse, died long before of ovarian cancer in
1952. All four boys went on to have lifelong problems with the bottle,
with Gary hitting bottom several times. The tell-all book estranged
Gary from the rest of his immediate family and did nothing to
rejuvenate his stalled career. Two of his brothers,
Dennis Crosby and
Lindsay Crosby, later committed suicide.
Gary was divorced from his third wife and was about to marry a fourth
when he learned he had lung cancer. He died on August 24, 1995, two
months after the diagnosis.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
This versatile, eclectic, rather wanderlust country crossover star known for his classic ballads ("Always On My Mind"), autobiographical road songs ("On the Road Again") and catchy rhythms ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") started out life as Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, 1933, in Depression-era Abbot, Texas. He is the son of Myrle Marie (Greenhaw) and Ira Doyle Nelson, a mechanic. After his parents got divorced, in which his mother moved to Oregon and his father remarried, he and sister Bobbie Lee were raised by their gospel-singing paternal grandparents, who introduced them to music. Working in the cotton fields, Willie was handed his first guitar at age six and within a short time was writing woeful country songs and playing in polka bands.
During his teenage years he played at high school dances and honky-tonks. He also worked for a local radio station and by graduation time he had become a DJ with his own radio show. Briefly serving a stint with the Air Force (discharged because of a bad back, which would plague him throughout his life), he sold his first song called "No Place For Me" while getting by with menial jobs as a janitor and door-to-door Bible salesman. Married in 1952 to a full-blooded Cherokee, he and first wife Martha had two children.
Willie initially came to be known in Nashville for selling his songs to well-established country artists such as Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls") and Ray Price ("Night Life"). In 1962 he recorded a successful duet with singer Shirley Collie, whom he would later take as his second wife, but his career didn't progress despite joining the Grand 'Ol Opry. In the early 1970s, after extensive touring with his band (which included sister Bobbie on the piano) and experiencing a number of career downswings, he started performing and recording his own songs instead of selling them to others. Two of his albums, "Shotgun Willie" and "Phases and Stages", helped him gain some stature. In 1975 it all came together with the album "Red-Headed Stranger", which would become the top-selling country music album in history and propel him into the country music stratosphere. His offbeat phrasing, distinctive nasal tones and leathery, bewhiskered hippie-styled looks set a new standard for "outlaw" country music.
Around 1978 Willie showed himself to be a loose and natural presence in front of the camera, thus launching a film career. He had roles in several movies, his first opposite Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in The Electric Horseman (1979). His took to leading roles as a country music star in Honeysuckle Rose (1980), which would include a number of his songs on the soundtrack. He played opposite James Caan and Tuesday Weld in Thief (1981) and a legendary outlaw in the western Barbarosa (1982). In the movie Red Headed Stranger (1986), which was adapted from his hit 1975 album, he played a preacher, and he teamed up with pal Kris Kristofferson as a pair of country singers in Songwriter (1984).
Willie and pal Kristofferson went on to form The Highwaymen with the late Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and he successfully recorded and toured with the group for a number of years. They also teamed up to remake the classic western Stagecoach (1939) as a TV movie (Stagecoach (1986)). As a unique song stylist, the bearded, braided-haired, bandanna-wearing non-conformist took a number of non-country standards and made them his own, including Elvis Presley's "You Were Always on My Mind" and Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind."
Broaching the millennium, Willie continued to be active with film credits that would include roles in the westerns Dust to Dust (1994) and The Journeyman (2001), in addition to roles in such non-westerns as the sci-fi drama Starlight (1996); the comedy capers Gone Fishin' (1997), The Big Bounce (2004) and The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) (an updated screen version of the popular TV show); the action thriller Fighting with Anger (2007); the comedy Surfer, Dude (2008); the family dramedy Angels Sing (2013); the music fantasy Paradox (2018) which starred Neil Young and his sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson; the dramatic fantasy Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2018); and Willie and Me (2023), a comedy chronicling the misadventures of a young German girl coming to America to see her idol Willie.
Willie happily married fourth wife Ann-Marie in 1991 and has survived more hard times in recent years, including a $16.7-million debt to the IRS and the suicide of one of his sons, Billy. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, Nelson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
The son of the renowned French sculptor Paul Belmondo, he studied at
Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique (CNSAD); after the
minor stage performances he made his screen debut in À pied, à cheval et en voiture (1957) but the
episodes with his participation were cut before release. However, the
breakthrough role in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) made him one of the key figures
in the French New Wave. Since mid-60s he completely switched to
commercial mainstream pictures and became a big comedy and action star
in France. Following the example of Alain Delon he founded his own
production company Cerito named after his grandmother's maiden name. In
1989 he was awarded Cesar for his performance in Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988) . Recently he
returned to stage performing in the Théâtre Marigny, Paris, notably as Edmund Kean or Cyrano de Bergerac. He still
appears in the movies but not so often as before preferring mostly
dramatic roles. The president of France distinguished him with order of
Legion of Honour. Belmondo had three children with his first spouse Elodie Constant: Patricia Belmondo ( who died in a fire in 1993), Florence Belmondo and Paul Belmondo. In 2003, he had another daughter, Stella Belmondo, with his second spouse Natty Belmondo. None of his children
became actors though you could have seen his son Paul in an episodic
role (the same as his father, at an earlier age) in Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988).- Actress Patricia Blair was born on January 15, 1933, in Fort Worth, Texas, but grew up in
Dallas. She first entered the world of entertainment as a young teenage
model, eventually represented by the Conover Agency. She apprenticed in
summer stock before Warner Bros. discovered her for films after
catching some alluring cheesecake shots of her.
The highly photogenic lady did the starlet route starting out with the stage moniker of
"Patricia Blake." She appeared as a second female lead in such standard
filming as Jump Into Hell (1955),
Crime Against Joe (1956),
The Black Sleep (1956), which
reunited horror icons Bela Lugosi,
Lon Chaney Jr.,
Basil Rathbone and
John Carradine and the suspenser
City of Fear (1959) opposite
Vince Edwards, but not much came
out of this promise. True to form, she later did a TV pilot entitled
"Tramp Ship" opposite Neville Brand but it
did not sell.
Better things started happening in the early 1960s. She
came in for a season in a semi-regular role on
The Rifleman (1958) replacing
actress Joan Taylor as a spunky love
interest for Chuck Connors. In
1964, she was just about to relocate to New York when screenwriter
Gordon Chase submitted her name for the female lead in the series
Daniel Boone (1964) as "Rebecca
Boone", the wife of Fess Parker's
legendary outdoorsman. She won the part and stayed with the show for
six profitable seasons.
Patricia also made numerous late 50s and 60s TV
appearances with such guest credits on
The Bob Cummings Show (1955),
The Virginian (1962),
Perry Mason (1957) and
Bonanza (1959), among others. Little
heard of following the demise of the
Daniel Boone (1964) TV series in
1970, she appeared in a few minor films and TV spots before dropping
completely out of sight. She was last seen on film in a small role in The Electric Horseman (1979) and an isolated part on a 1988 episode of "Me and My Girl."
In later years, Patricia produced trade shows in New York and New Jersey. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she died in New Jersey on September 9, 2013, at age 80. - Actress
- Soundtrack
A very pleasing and thoroughly enjoyable vision on 1950s film and 1960s
TV, Patricia Crowley effortlessly lit up her surroundings with a warm,
inviting personality and fresh-faced attractiveness that she still
carries today. At her peak she courted top TV stardom in the mid-'60s
as the beleaguered wife and mom on the successful series
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965)
and easily made the original Doris Day
film role her own. Both she and TV husband
Mark Miller made a handsome couple
and the series deserved more than its two-season run. Perhaps audience
taste, which was changing rapidly with the counterculture era taking
over, triggered its somewhat quick demise.
Born September 17, 1933 (some sources incorrectly list 1929), in
Olyphant, Pennsylvania, to Vincent, a coal mining foreman, and Helen
(Swartz) Crowley, it was her older sister
Ann Crowley (born October 17, 1929) who
triggered Pat's interest in performing when, during Ann's appearance in
a Chicago musical production, the ten-year-old Pat was given a walk-on
part. Ann Crowley would go on to have a promising musical career
appearing in such late 40s/early 50s N.Y. shows as "Carousel",
"Oklahoma!" and "Paint Your Wagon". By age 11, Patricia had become a
photographer's model and subsequently attended New York's High School
of Performing Arts. She won her first major TV part scarcely out of
high school and seemed destined to become an important teen star as the
bobbysoxer lead in the Saturday morning TV series
A Date with Judy (1951),
which was adapted from the highly popular radio series of the 1940s.
When the series moved to prime time, however, another actress replaced
her.
Like her sister, Patricia was also musically inclined and appeared in a
few tuneful stage shows such as "Tovarich" and "Kiss Me Kate" (as
Bianca). Billed as "Pat Crowley", she made an auspicious Broadway debut
with the relatively short-lived comedy play "Southern Exposure" in
1950, earning the 1951 Theatre World Award for "promising personality".
She followed this with another short run (one day) in the comedy "Four
Twelves Are 48".
After a number of early 1950s TV assignments, Pat was brought out to
Hollywood to co-star with
Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis in one of the pair's
typical slapstick outings
Money from Home (1953). In it,
she played a feisty lady veterinarian. She then moved engagingly into
the show business comedy
Forever Female (1953) co-starring
William Holden and
Ginger Rogers. As the young aspirant who
is vying with the long-in-the-tooth Rogers for a prime Broadway ingénue
role, Pat made the most of her role and earned a Golden Globe award for
"best promising female newcomer". From there, she played the second
female lead in the musical
Red Garters (1954) but crooning
headliners Rosemary Clooney and
Guy Mitchell got most of the songs.
Pat did have a dance number, however, opposite Mitchell with the tune
"Meet a Happy Guy".
While much of her work came from dramatic TV showcases, Pat continued
in movie roles co-starring as the girlfriend of
Tony Curtis in the boxing yarn
The Square Jungle (1955),
appearing as the female ingénue in the sudsy drama
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
opposite veterans Barbara Stanwyck,
Fred MacMurray and
Joan Bennett, and reuniting with
Martin & Lewis in their very last film
Hollywood or Bust (1956) before
the pair's professional breakup.
When her film career started to lose steam in the late 50s (she did
appear to good effect, however, with
Jeffrey Hunter in the crime drama
Key Witness (1960) as a couple
terrorized by gang leader Dennis Hopper),
Pat found steadier work on TV and guested on many of the popular shows
of the day both drama Bonanza (1959),
Cheyenne (1955),
The Twilight Zone (1959),
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964))
and the occasional comedy
(The Tab Hunter Show (1960)).
It was in the sitcom vein that Pat achieved her biggest success when
she was cast as "Joan Nash", the nontraditional, harried wife/columnist
of an English professor whose four precocious sons and huge sheep dog
added greatly to the mayhem in
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965).
Based on the best-selling Jean Kerr
book, it was a role that suited Pat (now billed Patricia) to a tee and
made her a household name at the time.
Since then, Patricia has continued to maintain a strong visibility
especially on TV, although she was not given the star-making
opportunities like this again. Crowley is best known to a later
generation of viewers for her regular roles on daytime's
Generations (1989) (1989-1990),
Port Charles (1997) (1997-2003)
and
The Bold and the Beautiful (1987)
(2005). A guest on such sitcoms as
Frasier (1993),
Roseanne (1988) and
Friends (1994), recurring roles on
Joe Forrester (1975) (perfectly
paired with Lloyd Bridges),
Dynasty (1981) and
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)
also showed Pat to good advantage. More recently, she has graced
episodes of "The Closer" and "Cold Case" and a featured role in the film Mont Reve (2012).
In 1958 Patricia married
Ed Hookstratten, a successful attorney
for top entertainment and sports icons. They had a son, Jon, and a
daughter, Ann, named after her sister. After their two-decade marriage
ended, she went on to marry producer
Andy Friendly in 1986. While many
understandably agree that Patricia Crowley's talents deserved perhaps a
better serving in Hollywood, particularly on film, she has nevertheless
proved herself a lovely, lively and still ingratiating presence.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Dancing and the military were a large part of Ken Berry's life. When he
was 13 he attended a carnival at his grade school; the dancers
impressed him so much that he decided that's what he wanted to do with
his life. His parents were supportive, and his dad even booked Ken into
variety type shows. At 16 Ken got to join the
Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program. Ken
toured towns all across the nation, and through the Air Force the
troupe entertained in Germany, Ireland, England, UK and several other
countries. Later, while serving in the army, Ken won a spot in
Arlene Francis'
Talent Patrol (1953) show. Ken
also got into the All-Army talent contest and appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
(aka "The Ed Sullivan Show"). When Ken's army hitch was up in 1955, he
took the advice of his sergeant in Atlanta,
Leonard Nimoy, to move to California. In
1957 Ken enrolled in a school, Falcon Studios, on the GI Bill to study
acting. He got a job at the Cabaret Theater for $11 a week (that is not
a typo). From 1958 to 1964 he was with the "Billy Barnes Revue."
Lucille Ball came to see the revue, and
offered Ken a job at Desilu Studios for $50 a week. It was also through
the Barnes Revue that Ken met dancer
Jackie Joseph; they were married on May
29, 1960. Ken made the transition to TV, and the couple adopted a son,
John Kenneth, in 1964, and a daughter, Jennifer Kate, in 1965. A
successful screen test led to his breakout role in the classic sitcom
F Troop (1965). Ken was the bashful,
bumbling but good-hearted captain who was always resisting Wrangler
Jane's advances (but why?). Though the show was only on for two
seasons, it seems like a lot longer because of reruns. After "F Troop",
toward the very end of the next TV season, Ken landed the role of a
lifetime--taking over for
Andy Griffith in the retooled
Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). The
show was a hit with Ken in the lead and was still popular when it was
canceled in the spring of 1971, when CBS axed all rural-oriented
programming, a devastating blow personally and professionally to Ken.
After "Mayberry"'s end, he appeared in an unsold
The Brady Bunch (1969)
spin-off pilot.
When work in TV got slow, Ken went on the road again, doing summer and
winter stock. He kept hoping for a new series, and he got his wish with
Mama's Family (1983). Since he
played a married man in this series, he did not resist the advances of
on-screen wife Dorothy Lyman (in fact, he
seemed to be making up for lost time). The series aired for two
seasons, then was canceled. Ken went back to doing theater productions.
However, when "Mama's Family" was sold into syndication, more new
episodes were going to be needed. From 1986 to 1990 it was a top-rated
sitcom. Ken was about ready to retire - almost. He continued to get
occasional TV roles, and tried theater again for a while (in 1993 he
starred with Carol Burnett in the stage
production of "From the Top"). Early in 1999 Ken ventured back into
television with a guest spot. He enjoyed it. Old soldiers and
entertainers never die - they just go into syndication.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Funny man Tim Conway was born on December 15th, 1933 in Willoughby, Ohio, to Sophia (Murgoiu) and Daniel Conway, a pony groomer. He was a fraternity man at Bowling Green State University, served in the army, and started his career working for a radio station.
Conway got into comedy when he started writing and performing comedy skits between morning movies on CBS. Later, Rose Marie "discovered" him and he became a regular performer on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956). However, Conway would not earn true fame until starring as "Ensign Charles Parker" on McHale's Navy (1962). Conway sought further success in several shows that were failures, including the embarrassingly short-lived, Turn-on (1969), with only one episode. The producers did not even want it back on after the commercial break! Even his own show, The Tim Conway Show (1970) flopped, with only 12 episodes. Conway starred in the Disney film, The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), and also the films, The Prize Fighter (1979) and The Private Eyes (1980).
Conway became a comical performer on The Carol Burnett Show (1967), with characters such as "The Old Man" and "Mr. Tudball". Even though it is widely thought he was always a regular performer throughout the whole show, he only became a regular performer in 1975. He was a hysterical addition to the team and memorably made co-star Harvey Korman laugh on-screen live many times.
Conway continued comedic roles such as "Dorf", and also had many more television appearances and films.- Actor
- Additional Crew
On the cast list of
The Magnificent Seven (1960),
you will find several names that doubtless you know well:
Charles Bronson,
Steve McQueen, and
Yul Brynner. But there is one name that you
will have difficulty pronouncing, let alone identifying as an actor you
have seen before. That man is
Horst Buchholz, and he was one of the few
German actors to have a considerable success in both Hollywood and in
Europe. One would hardly guess that he was sought out to act in one of
the most famous films of all time, only to have to turn it down.
Horst Buchholz was born in Berlin, Germany, in the year 1933. His
father was a German shoemaker, while his mother was born to Danish
parents. Buccholz was put in a foster home in Czechoslovakia when World
War II broke out in Europe, but he returned to Berlin the moment he had
the chance. Realizing his talent in acting, Buchholz dropped out of
school to perfect his acting skills. After moving from East Berlin to
West Berlin, he became well-known for his work in theatre and on the
radio. In 1952 he turned to film, and after a series of small roles, he
found a larger one in the
Julien Duvivier film
Marianne of My Youth (1955).
He was praised for his role in the romantic/drama
film Sky Without Stars (1955)
by Helmut Käutner, but it was the
lead role in the comedic
Confessions of Felix Krull (1957)
that made him an established German actor.
He followed this breakthrough role with the romantic film
Two Worlds (1958) and the
thriller Wet Asphalt (1958),
where the handsome young actor plays a former criminal who associates
himself with a journalist. Now a familiar face in his country, Buchholz
pursued making foreign films. His first non-German film was the British
film Tiger Bay (1959). The film is
about a girl who witnesses a seaman named Korchinsky (Buchholz) murder
his girlfriend. The film won praise in both Germany and Britain, but it
was Buchholz' next foreign film that secured his name in the history of
classic films. This film was the epic western
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
directed by John Sturges. Buchholz played
Chico, the inexperienced Mexican youth that wants to be a gunman and
abandon his past. Buchholz starred alongside such legends as
Charles Bronson and
Yul Brynner. both of whom had strong
European roots. The film was a hit, first in Europe, then was
re-distributed in the States to a much higher profit. The film gained
massive popularity, and even now is treasured as a classic.
Buchholz could now find good and steady work nationally and
internationally, which is something few actors could do at the time. He
worked on the romantic film Fanny (1961),
which is based on a trilogy of plays written by legendary writer
Marcel Pagnol. Buchholz plays the role of
Marius, a passionate but unsure youth who must choose between the girl
he loves, and the life at sea he has always wanted. The film was a fine
success, nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best
Actor for Charles Boyer (who plays
Buchholz' onscreen father).
It was at this point in his film career where he was sought as the
first choice to play the role of Sherif Ali in
David Lean's legendary film
Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
However, Buchholz had to turn it down, as he had already signed up for
another film, which turned out to be the Oscar-nominated comedy
One, Two, Three (1961) (directed
by Billy Wilder). The film was once again a
fine success to add to Buchholz' career, but ultimately gained nowhere
near as much of a status as
David Lean's film. Buchholz also made
the Italian film The Empty Canvas (1963) in which
he plays an untalented artist who begins a love affair with a young
model. Throughout his in the early 60s, Buchholz had made a name for
himself, acting in one Oscar-nominated film after another and showing
off his talent as an actor. However, the success he had reached was not
to last.
Buchholz continued with film, including the James Bond spoof
That Man in Istanbul (1965) and the crime film
Johnny Banco (1967). He starred in
the B-movie failure that was
The Young Rebel (1967). Buchholz rebounded
with the fiery film The Saviour (1971)
in which he plays a man who claims to be organizing resistance against
the Nazis. He also played Johann Strauss in the Golden Globe-nominated
musical The Great Waltz (1972).
which was sadly another failure.
The rest of the 1970s and the early 1980s were spent mostly on
television and movies released for television, whether it be foreign
(Dead of Night (1977), Return to Fantasy Island (1978)) or German
(Derrick). Buchholz found mild success again when he returned to the
big screen with the WW II espionage film
Code Name: Emerald (1985) in
which he plays alongside such stars as
Ed Harris and
Max von Sydow. After this film,
Buchholz returned to European movies, such as
And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988)
in which a group of gypsies flee Nazi persecutors. After taking a
supporting role in the fantasy film
Faraway, So Close! (1993),
Buchholz acted in one of his most well known films: the Oscar-winning
Italian film
Life Is Beautiful (1997) which was
directed by and starred Roberto Benigni.
Buchholz played the role of a doctor who befriends Benigni's character
and frequently duels with him in riddles. This choice of role proved to
be an echo of Buchholz' taste in choosing his projects in earlier
years; the film won best foreign film that year, and was also nominated
for Best Picture. Thanks to his gift for languages, Buchholz was able
to dub himself in the foreign releases of the film.
Buchholz continued making films and television appearances until 2002,
by which time he was sixty-eight years old. He died the next year, in
Berlin, of pneumonia. Berlin had been the city of his heart, and was
buried there in honour of that fact. Horst Buchholz had been a renowned
German actor, and had gained credibility in the United States and other
countries. He was a varied performer, acting all kinds of roles in his
life, but was always a proud German to the last.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sylva Koscina was born on 22 August 1933 in Zagreb, Croatia, Yugoslavia [now Zagreb, Croatia]. She was an actress, known for Hercules (1958), Hornets' Nest (1970) and Judex (1963). She was married to Raimondo Castelli. She died on 26 December 1994 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Bert Convy was born on 23 July 1933 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The Cannonball Run (1981), Hero at Large (1980) and Weekend Warriors (1986). He was married to Catherine Hall and Anne Anderson. He died on 15 July 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Tony Jay was a British actor and narrator. He is known for his deep and distinctive British voice. He was well-known for voicing Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Megabyte from ReBoot, Monsieur D'Arque from Beauty and the Beast, Shere Khan from The Jungle Book 2, Magneto in X-Men Legends and the Elder God in the Legacy of Kain. He was considered to portray Obi-Wan in Star Wars before he was turned down by George Lucas.- Born Alexander Viespi, Jr. in Floral Park, New York in 1933, handsome, often mustachioed Alex Cord was stricken with polio at the age of 12. Confined to a hospital and iron lung for a long time, he overcame the illness after being sent to a Wyoming ranch for therapy. He soon regained his dream and determination of becoming a jockey or professional horseman.
A high school dropout at the age of sixteen, he grew up to be too tall to be a jockey so he joined the rodeo circuit and earned a living riding bulls and bareback horses. During another extended hospital stay, this time suffering major injuries after being thrown by a bull at a rodeo in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he reevaluated his life's direction and decided to finish his high school education by way of night school. A voracious reader during his long convalescence, he later studied and received his degree in literature at New York University.
Prodded by an interest in acting, Alex received dramatic training at the Actors Studio and began his professional career in summer stock (The Compass Players in St. Louis, Missouri) and at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut where he played "Laertes" in a production of "Hamlet". A British producer saw his promise and invited him to London where he co-starred in four plays ("Play With a Tiger", "The Rose Tattoo", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Umbrella"). He was nominated for the "Best Actor Award" by the London Critics' Circle for the first-mentioned play.
He sought a Hollywood "in" and found one via his equestrian skills in the early 1960s. Steady work came to him on such established western TV series as Laramie (1959) and Branded (1965) and that extended itself into acting roles on crime action series (Route 66 (1960) and Naked City (1958)). Gaining a foothold in feature films within a relatively short time, he starred or co-starred in more than 30 feature films, including Synanon (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Stiletto (1969) and The Brotherhood (1968).
After his film career declined in the late 1970s he turned to action adventure overseas with the "spaghetti western" A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1967) [A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die] and the British war drama The Last Grenade (1970) with Stanley Baker and Richard Attenborough. Around that time as well, he played the murderer opposite Sam Jaffe's old man in Edgar Allan Poe's dramatic short, The Tell-Tale Heart (1971). It was TV, however, that provided more career stability. Cord has more than 300 credits, including roles in Hotel (1983), Fantasy Island (1977), Simon & Simon (1981), Jake and the Fatman (1987), Mission: Impossible (1966), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). He situated himself in a number of series, notably Airwolf (1984), in which he co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine as the mysterious white-suited, eye-patched, cane-using "Michael Archangel".
Later commercial interest was drawn from his title role in Grayeagle (1977), a remake of the John Wayne film, The Searchers (1956), in which he played the Indian kidnapper of Ben Johnson's daughter. Lana Wood, sister of star Natalie Wood (who appeared in the original), also co-starred in this film. Alex can still be seen from time to time in low-budget films and the occasional television appearance, but other interests took up his time. His last film role was in the dismissible thriller Fire from Below (2009) in support of Kevin Sorbo.
Alex's love for horses extended itself into work for numerous charities and benefits. He was a regular competitor in the Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeos that raised money for children's charities, and he is one of the founders of the Chukkers for Charity Celebrity Polo Team which has raised more than $3 million for worthy causes. He chairs "Ahead with Horses", an organization that provides therapeutic riding programs for the physically and emotionally challenged. Alex also turned to writing, thus far publishing several novels including A Feather in the Rain (2005), Days of the Harbinger (2013), The Man Who Would Be God (2014 and High Moon (2016). He has also sold three screenplays.
The actor's three marriages all ended in divorce. His second wife was British-born actress Joanna Pettet and third, Susannah, was a horse trainer. He had three children -- Toni Aluisa, Wayne and Damien Zachary. His son by Pettet, Damien, died tragically in 1995 of a heroin overdose at the age of 26. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in Cleveland, Morris came to Hollywood in the early 1960s. His
acting experience at that time consisted of a few minor roles on the
Seattle stage. He found work appearing on Television series such as
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) and The Twilight Zone (1959) before being cast in Mission: Impossible (1966). Morris played quiet,
efficient electronics expert Barney Collier from 1966-1973. After the
show ended, Morris continued to appear in other Television series and a
couple of Television movies. In 1979, he went to Las Vegas to film the
television series Vega$ (1978) in which he played Lt. David Nelson. He liked
the city so much he decided to stay. This series lasted 2 years. In
1981, Morris survived a serious road accident and did not reappear on
television for years. In 1989, he appeared in a short-lived remake of
Mission: Impossible (1988). In 1990, he was diagnosed with cancer.- An American lead actor and supporting actor, rugged and commanding
Glenn Corbett's background didn't seem like it would lead to Hollywood
stardom. The son of a garage mechanic, Corbett served a hitch in the
navy and later met Judy, the woman who would become his wife, while she
was working at a college. With her encouragement, Corbett began to get
parts in campus theatricals, and it was while he was in one of these
that he came to the attention of the powers-that-be at Columbia
Pictures, which signed him to a contract.
His film debut was in
The Crimson Kimono (1959).
That was followed by supporting roles in
The Mountain Road (1960) and
Man on a String (1960). He
eventually got the lead role in
William Castle's suspense
thriller Homicidal (1961) and
appeared in the TV series
Route 66 (1960). His work in
"Route 66" got him attention and he was cast in a new series,
The Road West (1966), but that
was short-lived.
Corbett was also busy making major theatrical films in the 1970s. He
snagged substantial supporting parts in two of
John Wayne's westerns, playing good
guy Pat Garrett in Chisum (1970) and one
of the gang who kidnaps Wayne's son in
Big Jake (1971), but he took the lead
role in Nashville Girl (1976) and
Universal's war epic Midway (1976).
Throughout the '80s Corbett stayed busy with a regular part in the cast
of the long-running television series
Dallas (1978) up until his death in
1993 from lung cancer. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
A pert, vivacious and absolutely stunning brunette, the former Kathryn Grant (nee Olive Kathryn Grandstaff) is now known publicly as Kathryn Crosby. She was born in Houston, Texas in 1933 and appeared on stage from age 3. A graduate of the University of Texas and a student nurse at one point, she found her way into films via the beauty pageant circuit. She soon rose through the standard starlet ranks from unbilled parts to chipper "sis" types and decorative love interests alongside filmdom's top male stars.
She appeared opposite Richard Kiley in The Phenix City Story (1955), Tony Curtis in Mister Cory (1957), Jack Lemmon in
Operation Mad Ball (1957), James Stewart in Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Victor Mature in The Big Circus (1959), among others. Her best known role, however, was as the princess-in-distress in the special effects-laden epic fantasy The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), which has since reached semi-cult status. For the most part, she felt unchallenged as an actress and retired rather uneventfully after marrying Bing Crosby in 1957. They had three children, including actress Mary Crosby of Dallas (1978) fame. Seemingly content with family life, she, along with her children, dutifully appeared opposite her husband singing and lightly joking in his many popular Christmas-special presentations and even hosted a couple of syndicated TV series, but that was about it.
After Bing's death in 1977, however, she slowly involved herself in acting again, appearing every now and then on stage in such productions as "Same Time, Next Year", "Charley's Aunt" and a Broadway revival of the musical "State Fair" in 1996. In addition to publishing two sets of memoirs ("Bing and Other Things" and "My Life with Bing"), she annually hosts the Crosby Gold Tournament in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.- Actress
- Soundtrack
This elegant, lovely blonde singer/actress initially had designs on becoming an opera
singer. Born in Montana on May 20, 1933, and christened Constance Mary
Towers, she appeared on radio as a child singer. Her family moved to
New York where she subsequently studied at the Julliard School of Music
and the American Academy of the Dramatic Arts (AADA). A chance casting
in a summer production of "Carousel" led her away from her operatic
aspirations and into the musical theater arena.
Before she settled into
this, however, Constance gained early exposure on the chic nightclub circuit
and fostered an attempt at stardom via films. She co-starred with
Frankie Laine playing a school
teacher in the modest movie musical
Bring Your Smile Along (1955),
and appeared in exceptionally strong ingénue roles in the movie dramas
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
starring John Wayne and
Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
opposite Jeffrey Hunter. Director
Samuel Fuller cast her against type in
some of his highly offbeat dramas in the early 1960s. She played a
stripper girlfriend in
Shock Corridor (1963) and in
The Naked Kiss (1964) gave a
no-holds-barred performance as a former prostitute trying to clean up
her act. While TV guest appearances were frequent on such shows as "The Bob Cummings Show," "The Outer Limits," "Zane Grey Theatre," and multiple appearances on "Perry Mason," films were few and far between.
By this time she was starting to settle in as a pristine musical
leading lady. After a 1960 performance as missionary Sarah in "Guys and
Dolls," Constance made her Broadway debut in the title role of "Anya"
(1965), in which she played the title role of the Russian princess
Anastasia. Heralded performances in "Carousel" (1966) and "The Sound of
Music" (1967), in which she won the Outer Critic's Circle Award as
Maria, not to mention a Broadway revival of "The King and I" opposite
Yul Brynner truly put her on the musical
map. Her run with Brynner lasted nearly 800 performances. She had
earlier played the school teacher Anna off-Broadway opposite
Michael Kermoyan in 1972. Other
sterling stage appearances included "Kiss Me Kate," "42nd Street,"
"Oklahoma!," "Camelot" and "Mame." She also starred in the musical
"Ari," an adaptation of the Leon Uris novel
"Exodus."
TV proved a sturdy medium as well. In her early days, she made singing
appearances on Ed Sullivan's
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
and, in dramatic roles, was a frequent glamorous suspect on
Perry Mason (1957). As she
matured, her sharp, glacial, strikingly handsome features also worked
very well for her in unsympathetic aristocratic roles on daytime.
Winning regular spots on
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1967),
The Young and the Restless (1973)
and Sunset Beach (1997), she did
her most consistent work on
Capitol (1982), in which she played
Clarissa McCandless for five seasons. For nearly three decades she courted favor
with audiences stealing scenes on a regular basis on
General Hospital (1963), in
which she plays the inherently wicked Helena Cassadine, a
role originated by the legendary
Elizabeth Taylor. Recent films
have included
The Next Karate Kid (1994),
The Relic (1997) and
A Perfect Murder (1998) starring
Michael Douglas and
Gwyneth Paltrow, in which she played
Paltrow's mother.
Constance also enjoyed a resurgence on prime-time TV
with a sprinkling of guest parts on
L.A. Law (1986),
Designing Women (1986),
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990),
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993),
"Caroline in the City,"
Frasier (1993),
Baywatch (1989), and
Providence (1999). She received an
Emmy nomination for her role in the single episode drama special on
CBS Daytime 90 (1974) entitled
"Once in Her Life." Millennium on-camera appearances have included the films The Awakening of Spring (2008) and The Storyteller (2018) and TV work on such shows as "Providence," "Criminal Minds," "The 4400" and "Cold Case."
Constance was married since 1974 to one-time actor and former
Mexican ambassador John Gavin. It was
the second marriage for both, and lasted for 44 years until his death in 2018. The handsome couple have two children:
Cristina and Maria Gavin. Constance also has two children, Michael and
Maureen McGrath, from her prior marriage to Panamanian businessman
Eugene McGrath. As a result of husband Gavin's civic work, she
became actively involved in a multitude of charities. "Project Connie"
not only offered aid to those in need of medical and rehabilitation
assistance after the Mexican earthquake of 1985, it has served as an
adoption placement agency to hundreds of children from Mexico to El
Salvador. She has also involved herself with the Children's Bureau of
California, the National Health Foundation, and the Red Cross and the
Blue Ribbon of Los Angeles.- A Native American actor of the Creek Nation, Sampson's "big break" came
from his memorable role in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
opposite Jack Nicholson. He was also
starred opposite Clint Eastwood in the
western
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976).
He had supporting roles in Orca (1977),
The White Buffalo (1977) and
Fish Hawk (1979). In 1986, he
co-starred in
Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
as a Native American shaman. He died of complications from kidney
failure and malnutrition during heart and lung replacement surgery in
1987 and was buried on the reservation where he grew up. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was born on April 5, 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a railroad worker and his mother, Frances (Preseren), was a seamstress. His family was originally from Novo Mesto, Slovenia. While in high school, young Frank worked as an usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre and began doing impressions of some of his screen idols: Al Jolson, James Cagney, Cary Grant and Edward G. Robinson. At age 17, he won a local talent contest. The prize was a one-week engagement at Jackie Heller's Carousel nightclub, where Alan King was headlining. It was young Frank's first paid job as an entertainer and launched his show business career. Frank attended local Catholic schools and, later, Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama. He acted in plays and performed in nightclubs in Pittsburgh in his spare time.
In 1953, at age 19, he was drafted into the United States Army and was posted in Germany. Frank served for two years, 1953-1955, as an entertainer attached to Special Services. In the Army, Frank met Maurice A. Bergman, who would introduce Frank to a Hollywood agent when his hitch with Uncle Sam was up. Frank quickly landed a role in The Proud and Profane (1956) and other roles in television dramas followed.
In 1957, while visiting his family in Pittsburgh, his agent phoned him to rush back to Hollywood for an audition for Run Silent Run Deep (1958). For some odd reason, instead of catching a plane, Frank decided to drive his car to Los Angeles. Driving 39 consecutive hours, he fell asleep at the wheel, crashed, suffered a fractured skull and woke up in the hospital four days later. To add insult to injury, a Los Angeles newspaper reported he was killed, and the plum movie role of Officer Ruby went to Don Rickles.
Frank appeared in a number of lovable B-movies for American-International Pictures: Hot Rod Girl (1956) and Dragstrip Girl (1957), and everybody's favorite, Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957). Frank finally got a substantial role in the A-movie, Bells Are Ringing (1960), with Dean Martin and Judy Holliday. He did a thinly-disguised Marlon Brando impression. he also appeared in Hollywood nightclubs, including the Purple Onion. He did Las Vegas engagements, opening for Bobby Darin at The Flamingo. On television, Frank appeared on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956) and had a dozen guest shots on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948).
In 1966, he gave his breakout performance, performing what has become his best-known role: The Riddler on Batman (1966), for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also played The Riddler in the movie, Batman: The Movie (1966), based on the television series. "I could feel the impact overnight", he recalled later. Because of his nationwide recognition, he was given headliner status in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, Sahara and Aladdin Hotels. He received more good reviews for his performance in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (1969).
In 1970, Frank made his Broadway debut as the star of "Jimmy", for which he got rave reviews. He also starred in many touring company productions, such as "Promises, Promises", "Peter Pan", "Prisoner of Second Street" and "Guys and Dolls". In the 1980s, Frank served as Honorary Chairman, Entertainment Division, for the American Heart Association. Perhaps recalling his early AIP films, Frank worked with the legendary Roger Corman, appearing as Clockwise on the television series Black Scorpion (2001) and on Corman's The Phantom Eye (1999). He had appeared in over 70 movies and made over 40 guest appearances in television series.
Gorshin died at age 72 in Burbank, California on May 17, 2005. He had suffered from lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia.- Music Department
- Producer
- Composer
Considered to be one of the greatest minds in music and television
history, Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. was born on March 14, 1933 in
Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Sarah Frances (Wells), a bank
executive, and Quincy Delight Jones, Sr., a carpenter.
Jones found his love for music while he was enrolled in grade school at
Seattle's Garfield High School, this is also where he had met Ray
Charles whom he later worked and became friends with. In 1951, Quincy
Jones had won a scholarship to the Berklee College Of Music in
Boston, Massachusetts. Jones however dropped out when he got the
opportunity to tour with Lionel Hampton's band as a trumpeter and
conductor. Jones also worked for the European production of Harold
Arlen's blues opera, Free and Easy in 1959. After Jones had worked on
several projects overseas he returned to New York where he composed and
arranged, and recorded for artists such as Duke Ellington, Ray Charles,
Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, LeVern Baker, and Big
Maybell. Jones was working with these artists while holding an
executive position at Mercury Records, being one of the very few
African Americans at the time to have such a position.
In 1963, Quincy Jones won his first Grammy award for his Count Basie
arrangement of "I Can't Stop Loving You". In 1964, by the request of
director Sidney Lumet, Jones composed the music for his movie, The
Pawnbroker. This would be the first of many Jones composed for film
scores. By the mid-1960's Quincy Jones became the conductor and
arranger for Frank Sinatra's orchestra. Jones also conducted and
arranged one of Sinatra's most memorable songs, Fly Me To The Moon.
Jones appeared on a lot of film credits for his music such as The
Slender Thread, Walk, Don't Run, In Cold Blood, In The Heat Of The Night, A
Dandy In Aspic, Mackenna's Gold, and The Italian Job. In 1972 Quincy
Jones was the theme song composer for the hit-sitcom, Sanford And Son.
Quincy Jones in 1978 worked on music for the Wiz, this is where he met
icon, Michael Jackson. Jackson at the time was looking for a producer,
Jones recommended some producers but in the end asked Jackson if he
could do it, Jackson said yes. In 1982 as a result of this partnership,
Jones had formed a tapestry with Jackson which was unbreakable it was
called, Thriller. The Thriller album sold more than 100 million records
world-wide. Jones continued working with Jackson with his Bad album in
1987. However after Jones recommended Jackson seek other producers to
update his music. Jones referred Jackson to producer, Teddy Riley. This
ended a partnership between two-greats, Jackson and Jones would never
collaborate again.
In 1981 Jones had an album called, The Dude. In 1985 Jones scored the
film adaptation of The Color Purple. Jones also was a philanthropist,
in 1985 gathering multiple stars to participate in the song We Are The
World to help raise money to help the victims of the Ethopian disaster.
In 1990 Jones composed a theme song for the new sitcom which was
centered around Will Smith, The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. Jones was also
the executive producer of the show.
Quincy Jones will forever be remembered as someone who helped sculpt
music in every form, he refined music and through the music he helped
sculpt brought messages of peace, justice, love, funk, and hope.- Linda Porter was born on 31 January 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) and Twins (1988). She died on 25 September 2019 in the USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Location Management
Herb Edelman was born on 5 November 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Odd Couple (1968), The Golden Girls (1985) and The Way We Were (1973). He was married to Louise Sorel. He died on 21 July 1996 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Incisive, classically-trained English stage and screen actress, latterly often seen on TV as imperious titled ladies or dowagers. She was born Caroline Georgiana Blakiston in Chelsea, London, the daughter of archivist Hugh Noel Blakiston (1905-1984) and non-fiction author Rachel Georgiana Russell (1903-1995). A RADA graduate of 1957, Blakiston began her theatrical career that very same year at the Bristol Old Vic in the play Girls of Summer, written by N. Richard Nash. She appeared on diverse stages throughout England until joining the ensemble of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon between 1993 and 1997. From July 2001 to August 2003, Blakiston enjoyed a lengthy run as Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane.
On screen from 1962, Blakiston has appeared mainly on television, a notable exception being her role as Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). During the 60s, she was often featured in guest spots for ITC productions like The Saint (1962), The Baron (1966), The Avengers (1961) and Department S (1969). Equally frequent were her forays into period drama. Those have included a much-lauded performance as Marjorie Ferrar in the 1967 BBC adaptation of The Forsyte Saga (1967), as well portrayals of Agrippina in The Caesars (1968), Lady Paulton in Raffles (1975), Frances Villiers, the Countess of Jersey, a mistress of the Prince Regent (1979) and governess Anna Brigmore in The Mallens (1979). More recently, she has been memorable as the acerbic, tough-as-nails Aunt Agatha in seasons 1-4 of Poldark (2015).
Blakiston also had a leading role in the cast of Rides (1992), a BBC drama series about an all-female crew of taxi drivers, produced by the Ealing-based production company Warner Sisters. In the compelling drama series Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984) she portrayed a British spy chief, known only as the 'Coordinator'. On the comedic side of life, Blakiston has co-starred opposite Timothy West as the alcoholic, aristocratic Lady Patience Hardacre in Granada's socio-economic satire Brass (1983) and as Alice Bannister in the marital sitcom The Last Song (1981). She also popped up in an episode of As Time Goes By (1992) as Margaret, the ex-wife of Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer).
Blakiston was at one time married to Scottish actor Russell Hunter with whom she had appeared on the stage in A Midsummer Night's Dream.