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- Actress
- Writer
- Composer
A bizarre, gloriously one-of-a-kind Hollywood gypsy and self-affirmed
outcast, San Francisco-born actress Susan Tyrrell (born Susan Jillian
Creamer) was a teenager when she made her stage debut in "Time Out for
Ginger" in 1962. A product of the entertainment industry, her father
was a top agent at one time with the William Morris firm. She built up
her resumé in summer stock and regional plays usually cast in standard
ingénue roles. Her nascent career took an abrupt shift in direction,
however, when, as a member of New York's Lincoln Repertory Company, she
was cast in an array of seamy, salty-tongued, highly dysfunctional
character parts. After striking performances on and off Broadway in
such fare as "The Rimers of Eldritch" (1967), "A Cry of Players"
(1968), "The Time of Your Life" (1969) and "Camino Real" (1970)
Hollywood took keen notice of this special talent and, in the early
1970s, began to cast her in their more offbeat projects.
In only her fourth film, Susan earned an Academy Award nomination for
her powerhouse portrayal of a cynical, low-life boozer girlfriend
opposite Stacy Keach's has-been boxer in
John Huston's potent but highly
depressing Fat City (1972). Pulling out
all the stops after this, she continued to show her fearless attraction
toward the dark side throughout the late 1970s with flashy roles in
lesser quality material such as
The Killer Inside Me (1976),
Andy Warhol's
Bad (1977),
Islands in the Stream (1977),
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977),
and September 30, 1955 (1977)
as various harridans and grotesques. The 1980s proved no
different with manic behavior on full display in
Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981),
Forbidden Zone (1980),
Liar's Moon (1981),
Fast-Walking (1982),
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981),
Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and
underground director John Waters'
more mainstream film Cry-Baby (1990),
many of which have now achieved cult status.
Toned down a bit for TV, she nevertheless demonstrated in both the
one-season series
Open All Night (1981) and on
MacGruder and Loud (1985)
that she wasn't about to change. When her TV and movie career started
to simmer down, the Los Angeles-based actress opted for the avant-garde
stage with such productions as "Why Hannah's Skirt Won't Stay Down"
(1986), "Landscape of the Body" (1987), "The Geography of Luck" (1989)
and her trenchant one-woman piece "My Rotten Life: A Bitter Operetta"
(1989), which she performed over a long period of time.
Real-life tragedy struck in late April of 2000 when Susan contracted a
near-fatal illness. Both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee
as a result of multiple blood clots due to a rare blood disease --
thrombocythemia. Never say die, she valiantly tried to maintain a
positive outlook, and continued to perform on occasion while going
through rehabilitation. She also spent time writing and painting before passing away on June 16, 2012. A wild, boisterous trooper, she was the definitive underground raconteur for those who desired the more sordid side of Hollywood.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Ben Gazzara's screen career began with two critically acclaimed roles
as heavies in the late 1950s. He turned to television in the 1960s but
made a big screen comeback with roles in three
John Cassavetes films in the
1970s. The 1980s and 1990s saw Gazzara work more frequently than ever
before in character parts. If he never became the leading man his early
films and stage work promised, he had a career notable for its
longevity. He was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara on August 28, 1930, in
New York City. The son of a Sicilian immigrant laborer, he grew up on
New York's tough Lower East Side. After seeing
Laurette Taylor in "The Glass
Menagerie," Gazzara decided he wanted to become an actor. He studied
engineering (unhappily) but quit after receiving an acting scholarship
(he worked under well-known coach
Erwin Piscator).
Gazzara then joined the Actors Studio, where a group of students
improvised a play from
Calder Willingham's novel End as a
Man. The tale of a brutal southern military academy reached Broadway
slightly changed in 1953 but with Gazzara still in the principal role.
It was a star making part (he won a Theatre World award) and he then
played leads in the original productions of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
(1955) and "A Hatful of Rain" (1955) (he was nominated for a Tony).
Bigger names Paul Newman and
Don Murray played those last two
roles on the big screen but Gazzara made his movie debut in
The Strange One (1957) the film
version of "End as a Man." The film was a critical but not commercial
success. His next role was as the defendant in
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
which was a big hit.
Gazzara followed this with an Italian venture co-starring
Anna Magnani,
The Passionate Thief (1960), two
Hollywood films
The Young Doctors (1961) and
Convicts 4 (1962) and then another
Italian film
Conquered City (1962).
None of these did much for his career, and he turned to television. He
appeared in the successful series
Arrest and Trial (1963) and
Run for Your Life (1965).
In between, he made
A Rage to Live (1965), a film
version of John O'Hara's novel. He
returned to films in
The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
and with a cameo appearance in
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969).
His buddy in the cameo was
John Cassavetes, who directed
and co-starred with him in
Husbands (1970), a critical success.
Gazzara made two more well-received films with his good friend
Cassavetes:
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
and Opening Night (1977).
Gazzara's other films in the 1970s were undistinguished apart from the
sprawling
Voyage of the Damned (1976)
and a rare leading role in director
Peter Bogdanovich's
Saint Jack (1979).
Bloodline (1979) and
They All Laughed (1981) (also
directed by Bogdanovich) were only notable because of Gazzara's
off-screen relationship with co-star
Audrey Hepburn (ironically,
Gazzara had declined to make his screen debut in
War and Peace (1956) starring
Hepburn).
Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981)
was another lead for Gazzara, but it received a mixed critical
reception. Other big-screen roles in the 1980s were scarce apart from
Road House (1989), a
Patrick Swayze vehicle that Gazzara
believed out of all his films had been the most repeated on television.
He worked much on the small screen, including the groundbreaking
television movie
An Early Frost (1985),
playing the father of an AIDS victim.
The 1990s saw Gazzara working like never before, appearing in 38
films. Most were for free-to-air television or cable but he also worked
on the big screen in
The Spanish Prisoner (1997),
The Big Lebowski (1998),
Happiness (1998) and
Summer of Sam (1999). His
television work included a guest appearance as an executive assistant
attorney in a 2001 episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)- a nice touch since
the predecessor of
Law & Order (1990) and its
spin-off series.
Gazzara has often returned to the stage throughout his career-in "The
Night Circus" (1958) (where he met second wife
Janice Rule), "Strange Interlude" (1963),
"Traveller Without Luggage" (1964), Hughie/Duet (1975) (nominated for a
Tony), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1976) (again Tony nominated),
and "Shimada" (1992). He has also worked as a director on episodes his
series
Run for Your Life (1965)
and
The Name of the Game (1968)
and the television movies
A Friend in Deed (1974)
and
Troubled Waters (1975)
featuring his friend Peter Falk. The
unreleased Beyond the Ocean (1990)
(which he also wrote) was his final film as a director.
In 2003 Gazzara appeared in the independent
Dogville (2003) adding
Lars von Trier to the list of interesting
and acclaimed directors with whom he has worked. There can't be many
actors who can boast that they have acted in films by
Otto Preminger
(Anatomy of a Murder (1959)),
John Cassavetes,
Joel Coen
(The Big Lebowski (1998)),
Spike Lee
(Summer of Sam (1999)), and
Lars von Trier, among others. Ben Gazzara
died at age 81 of pancreatic cancer on February 3, 2012.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago,
Illinois. Raised on Chicago's South Side by his single mother, Jean,
a house cleaner, Duncan grew up resisting drugs and alcohol, instead
concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but
his mother wouldn't let him, afraid that he would get hurt. He then
turned to acting and dreamed of becoming a famous actor.
After graduating from high school and attending community college, he
worked digging ditches at People's Gas Company in Chicago. When he quit
his job and headed to Hollywood, he landed small roles while working as
a bodyguard. Duncan's role in the movie
Armageddon (1998) led to his
breakthrough performance in
The Green Mile (1999), when his
Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis called
director Frank Darabont, suggesting
Duncan for the part of convict John Coffey. He landed the role and won
critical acclaim as well as many other Awards and Nominations,
including an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting
Role.
After suffering a heart attack on July 13, 2012, he was taken to a Los
Angeles hospital, in which his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
tried to save his life with CPR. Unfortunately, on September 3, 2012,
Michael Clarke Duncan died at age 54 from respiratory failure.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British military, his family moved around a lot. Their mother loved the going to the movies and instilled a love of cinema in her children. At age 16, Tony made his first appearance on screen as 'the boy' in his brother's directorial debut, the short film Boy and Bicycle (1965). In 1969, Tony directed his own short film One of the Missing (1969) about a soldier in the American civil war.
Tony had a talent for art and painting. He spent a year in Leeds College of Art and Design and went on to study for a fine arts degree at the School of Art at the University of Sunderland. He won a scholarship to study for his Masters of fine arts at the Royal College of Art. Following university, he spent several years as a painter. But life as a painter proved a struggle, so he decided to forge a different career path and partnered with Ridley in advertising at Ridley Scott Associates. It was there that he began shooting commercials.
In 1971 he wrote, produced and directed Loving Memory however his vampire movie The Hunger (1983) starring Susan Sarandon, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve
wasn't a critical success but it attracted attention from Hollywood. He was asked by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Top Gun (1986) starring Tom Cruise. He would work again with Cruise on another high adrenaline film Days of Thunder (1990), which proved less successful. He followed the success of Top Gun with the sequel Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) with Eddie Murphy, which was well received.
In 1993, he directed True Romance (1993), which was written by emerging director Quentin Tarantino. Scott had a lot of control over the film and received some great reviews.
Tony has worked five times with actor Denzel Washington with Crimson Tide (1995), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Deja Vu (2006), Man on Fire (2004) and Scott's final film in the director's chair Unstoppable (2010).
Tony Scott passed away at age 68 on August 19, 2012 in California, USA.- Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the middle of three
siblings, Johnny began performing from the age of 5 at a small
performing arts school, making his debut as a Chanukah candle.
Pursuing the acting profession, he appeared with success in many TV and
film projects, handling both drama and comedy with finesse.
Johnny was what used to be called a Renaissance Man. He was not only a
superb actor, but excelled in the other arts as well. He was a prolific
writer, poet and painter.
He also was a philanthropist, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars
to worthy causes, as well as being an active member of a number of
charitable organizations.
He had seen too many of his friends succumb to the curse of drug abuse,
and so he became an outspoken advocate against drugs, using his
celebrity status to speak to large groups of educators and law
enforcement officials about the dangers of street and psychiatric drug
abuse.
He created friends everywhere he went. And he went everywhere. Europe,
Asia, South America. He slept with natives in grass huts in Southeast
Asia, and was the first white man allowed passage to a sacred lake in
Laos.
Of his many talents, one that he treasured was the mentoring of other
artists. Many successful performers, some of whom have reached the top
of their profession have ascribed their success to Johnny.
His most recent work includes Sons of Anarchy (two seasons), Felon, The
Runaways, 186 Dollars to Freedom and Lovely Molly.
In late October 2011 he suffered head injuries from a motorcycle accident. Immediately thereafter his thinking and behavior took a serious turn for the worse. He was arrested on January 3, 2012 for allegedly trespassing at a neighbor's home. He was beaten violently in the head approximately 17 times before the police arrived, causing further injuries. In jail, following additional head injuries he was diagnosed by the prison medics as suffering from internal bleeding in the brain. Despite the diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury and despite never testing positive for drugs that year he was treated for psychosis and chemical dependency. Two more arrests followed, including near drowning (another traumatic brain incident). Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury include impaired judgement, sensitivity to light, and sudden inexplicable violent behavior. Typical of the misperception on the part of law enforcement officials was the often-quoted remark by the probation official who expressed that Johnny suffered from mental health issues as well as chemical dependency. Prior to his injuries Johnny had never had a brush with the law. And the toxicology report following his death revealed absolutely no drugs whatsoever in his system.
In late May of 2012 the Santa Monica Superior Court allowed his admission to Ridgeview, a drug rehab center in Alta Dena, California. Though a drug rehab facility, the rest and quiet were a tonic for him, and he gradually, over the summer, regained himself. He wrote, in a journal entry, "Felt more whole today. . .more complete. Like parts of myself had been stolen in my sleep and scattered all over the world and they've begun to return. So I think better, my thoughts aren't being sent off on their own." He began planning for a return to acting, via the stage, and spoke of possibly bringing Shakespeare to inner city kids. In August he tragically accepted the DA's offer to serve "just a couple more days in jail," in exchange for his freedom. The "couple days" became nearly two months, during which he suffered additional abuse and a violent downturn in spirits and health. Finally released in late September, he died in sad and disturbing circumstances on September 26, 2012. - Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Andy Griffith is best known for his starring roles in two very popular
television series,
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
and Matlock (1986). Griffith earned a
degree in music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In the 1950s, he became a regular on
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
and
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956).
He was featured in the Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants" (1955) for
which he received a Tony nomination, and he later appeared in the film
version. His film debut was in the provocative and prophetic
A Face in the Crowd (1957),
in which Griffith gave a performance that has been described as
stunning.
On
The Andy Griffith Show (1960),
Griffith portrayed a folksy small-town sheriff who shared simple
heartfelt wisdom. The series was one of the most popular television
series in history. It generated some successful spin-offs, and the
original is still seen in reruns to this day. Griffith created his own
production company in 1972, which produced several movies and
television series. In 1981, he was nominated for an Emmy for his
portrayal in
Murder in Texas (1981).
In 1983, Griffith was stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome, but he
recovered after rehabilitation. In 1986, he produced and starred in the
very successful television series
Matlock (1986). The series spawned
numerous television movies as well. When he accepted the People's
Choice Award for this series, he said this was his favorite role. Andy
Griffith died at age 86 of a heart attack in his home in Dare County,
North Carolina on July 3, 2012.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in
Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Anna (Boselli), who had emigrated
from Carpi (MO), Italy, and Camillo Borgnino, who had emigrated from
Ottiglio (AL), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports,
especially boxing, but took no real interest in acting. At age 18,
after graduating from high school in New Haven, and undecided about his
future career, he joined the United States Navy, where he stayed for
ten years until leaving in 1945. After a few factory jobs, his mother
suggested that his forceful personality could make him suitable for a
career in acting, and Borgnine promptly enrolled at the Randall School
of Drama in Hartford. After completing the course, he joined
Robert Porterfield's famous Barter
Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, staying there for four years,
undertaking odd jobs and playing every type of role imaginable. His big
break came in 1949, when he made his acting debut on Broadway playing a
male nurse in "Harvey".
In 1951, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, and
made his film debut as Bill Street in
The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951).
His career took off in 1953 when he was cast in the role of Sergeant
"Fatso" Judson in
From Here to Eternity (1953).
This memorable performance led to numerous supporting roles as
"heavies" in a steady string of dramas and westerns. He played against
type in 1955 by securing the lead role of Marty Piletti, a shy and
sensitive butcher, in Marty (1955). He won
an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, despite strong
competition from Spencer Tracy,
Frank Sinatra,
James Dean and
James Cagney. Throughout the 1950s,
1960s and 1970s, Borgnine performed memorably in such films as
The Catered Affair (1956),
Ice Station Zebra (1968) and
Emperor of the North (1973).
Between 1962 and 1966, he played Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in the
popular television series
McHale's Navy (1962). In early
1984, he returned to television as Dominic Santini in the action series
Airwolf (1984) co-starring
Jan-Michael Vincent, and in 1995, he
was cast in the comedy series
The Single Guy (1995) as
doorman Manny Cordoba. He also appeared in several made-for-TV movies.
Ernest Borgnine has often stated that acting was his greatest passion. His amazing 61-year career (1951 - 2012) included appearances in well over 100 feature films and
as a regular in three television series, as well as voice-overs in
animated films such as
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996),
Small Soldiers (1998), and a
continued role in the series
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999).
Between 1973 until his death, Ernest was married to Tova Traesnaes, who
heads her own cosmetics company. They lived in Beverly Hills,
California, where Ernest assisted his wife between film projects. When
not acting, Ernest actively supported numerous charities and spoke
tirelessly at benefits throughout the country. He has been awarded
several honorary doctorates from colleges across the United States as
well as numerous Lifetime Achievement Awards. In 1996, Ernest purchased
a bus and traveled across the United States to see the country and meet
his many fans. On December 17, 1999, he presented the University of
North Alabama with a collection of scripts from his film and television
career, due to his long friendship with North Alabama alumnus and actor
George Lindsey (died May 6, 2012), who
was an artist in residence at North Alabama.
Ernest Borgnine passed away aged 95 on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of renal failure. He is
survived by his wife Tova, their children and his younger sister Evelyn
(1926-2013)- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Both a leading and a supporting actor in movies and on television, name
a role - lawyer, airline pilot, rig foreman, doctor, gunslinger,
real-life person, good guy, bad guy - and Chad Everett has probably
played it. He was born Raymon Lee Cramton on June 11, 1937 in South
Bend, Indiana. In high school, he did stage plays and wanted to become
an actor.
After he graduated from Wayne University, Chad came to Hollywood and
signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He first became known playing a
deputy in the short-lived television series,
The Dakotas (1962) but acted in a
number of supporting roles, such as
Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)
and Made in Paris (1966), and
played the title role in
Johnny Tiger (1966) and
Return of the Gunfighter (1966).
He was probably best-known for his seven-year run as "Dr. Joe Gannon"
in the television series,
Medical Center (1969), which
earned him two Golden Globe nominations. After "Medical
Center" was canceled, Chad starred in the mini-series,
Centennial (1978), and played the
title role in Hagen (1980). In the
early '80s, Chad was in television films, including
The Intruder Within (1981),
and did a number of guest appearances on
The Love Boat (1977) and
Murder, She Wrote (1984).
Chad's recent work has included roles in the remake of
Psycho (1998) and in
Mulholland Drive (2001). Today, he
is still seen on television in
Manhattan, AZ (2000). He
recently completed a new film with
Gwyneth Paltrow,
View from the Top (2003), which
is soon to be released. Chad is married to
Shelby Grant, and they have two daughters.- Patricia Paz Maria Medina was born on July 19, 1919 in Liverpool, England to a Spanish father and an English mother. She began acting as
a teenager in the late 1930s and worked her way up to leading roles in the mid-1940s, then left for Hollywood. Medina teamed up with British actor Louis Hayward and they appeared together in Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950), The Lady and the Bandit (1951), Lady in the Iron Mask (1952) and Captain Pirate (1952). Voluptuous and exotic-looking, Medina was often typecast in period melodramas such as The Black Knight (1954). Two of her more notable films were William Witney's Stranger at My Door (1956) and Orson Welles's Confidential Report (1955), a follow-up of The Third Man (1949), based on the radio series "The Lives of Harry Lime". Although prolific during the early 1950s, her film career faded away by the end of the decade, leading to stage and television roles.
Medina appeared as Margarita Cortazar in four episodes of Walt Disney's Zorro (1957), and as Diana Coulter in two episodes of Richard Boone's Have Gun - Will Travel (1957). She returned to the screen in Robert Aldrich's adaptation of the lesbian-themed drama The Killing of Sister George (1968). She and her husband, American actor Joseph Cotten, toured together in several plays and on Broadway in the murder mystery, "Calculated Risk". Her appearances on television include episodes of Bonanza (1959) titled "The Spanish Grant" and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) titled "See the Monkey Dance". She played Harriet Balfour in an episode of Perry Mason (1957) titled "The Case of the Lucky Loser", and as Lucia Belmont in an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) titled "The Foxes and Hounds Affair".
Patricia Medina retired from acting in 1978 after 40 years in the motion picture industry. She died at age 92 of natural causes on April 28, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. She was interred at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, alongside Cotten. - Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Sylvia Kristel was born on September 28, 1952 in Utrecht, Netherlands.
She first came to international attention in the early 1970s with
Emmanuelle (1974) for director
Just Jaeckin. Then two more sequels
followed in which she also starred. Included in her credits are a long
list of European films including the film
Julia (1974), in
which she played the lead. In 1979, she came to Hollywood, appearing in
The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
for producer Jennings Lang, who also
featured her in the comedy film
The Nude Bomb (1980). However, this
was all a prelude to the most successful film in Kristel's career --
Private Lessons (1981) -- in
which she played the housekeeper who initiates 15-year-old
Eric Brown to the wonders of sex. The
film grossed over $50,000,000 worldwide. The Dutch actress, who speaks
four languages (Dutch, English, Italian and French), now made her home
in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sylvia Kristel died at age 60 of cancer in
her sleep on October 18, 2012.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Paul L. Smith was born on 24 June 1936 in Everett, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Maverick (1994), Popeye (1980) and Dune (1984). He was married to Eve Smith. He died on 25 April 2012 in Ra'anana, Israel.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm on November 20, 1932 in
Gosport, Hampshire, England. When he was 14, he joined the Merchant
Navy and served for three years. During that time, he made money
boxing. He had to lie about his age and remain tough so the older guys
would not hassle him. In the late 1950s, Richard met a British actress
named Diana Dors. On April 12, 1959, while in
New York for an appearance on
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956),
they were married. Richard and Diana's first child, a son named
Mark Dawson, was born in 1960, and a
second son, Gary Dawson, was born
in 1962. Richard and Diana separated in 1964 and eventually divorced in
1967. When Richard moved to the United States, he began acting on the
well-known series,
Hogan's Heroes (1965), in
1965. Richard played the lovable British Corporal Peter Newkirk. The
show ended in 1971. Not long after that, in 1973, he became a panelist
on Match Game (1973) and
remained there until 1978.
While still on "Match Game", he hosted his own show called
Family Feud (1976). , which he is most remembered for by his
trademark of kissing all the female contestants. Those kisses made the show a
warm and friendly program, along with his quick wit, subtle jokes, and ability to
make people feel at ease with being on camera.
In 1987, Richard co-starred withArnold Schwarzenegger in the science fiction action movie
The Running Man (1987).
Richard portrayed an egotistical game show host, Damon Killian, whom many say
was a mirror image of himself at one time or another, during his real-life career.
When Richard was 61, he hosted the third incarnation of "Family Feud"
in 1994, but had only a short run. On April 6, 1981, the Johnson family
appeared on "Family Feud" and Richard was introduced to 27-year-old
Gretchen Johnson. They had a daughter,
Shannon Dawson (Shannon Nicole Dawson),
in 1990, and were married in 1991. They were still married and reside
in Beverly Hills, California. Richard narrated
TV's Funniest Game Show Moments (1984)
on Fox in early 2000. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd, 2000, he
hosted a "Family Feud" marathon, which was filmed in 1995. Some people
hear the name Richard Dawson and may not recognize the name. But say his name, followed by his famous quote "Survey says...!"
or mention "Newkirk on
Hogan's Heroes (1965)", and
they're sure to know who you mean. Richard Dawson died at age 79 of
complications from esophageal cancer on June 2, 2012.- Actor
- Soundtrack
A man of all mediums, this veteran, Manhattan-born character actor was
named after his great-grandfather, Lincolnesque Congressman William
Windom. Born in 1923, the son of Paul Windom, an architect, and the
former Isobel Wells Peckham, Bill attended Williams College and the
University of Kentucky, among others, before serving in the Army during
WWII. After the war, he studied at both Fordham and Columbia
universities in New York City before settling on an acting career.
Trained at the American Repertory Theatre (1946-1961), he made his
minor Broadway debut with the company in November of 1946 with
revolving productions of "Henry VIII", "What Every Woman Knows", "John
Gabriel Borkman" and "Androcles and the Lion". The following year, he
continued building up his Broadway resume with roles in "Yellow Jack"
and as the "White Rabbit" in a production of "Alice in Wonderland".
In the early 1950s, a new avenue opened up to Bill: television. For the
duration of the decade, he shifted between stage, which included
Broadway roles in "A Girl Can Tell" (1953), "Mademoiselle Colombe"
(1954), "Fallen Angels" (1956), "The Greatest Man Alive" (1957) and
"Viva Madison Avenue!" (1960), and TV drama, with stalwart work in such
programs as
Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
and
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951).
Major attention came Windom's way on TV moving into the following
decade. In addition to hundreds of guest appearances on the most
popular shows of the day
(Combat! (1962),
The Fugitive (1963),
All in the Family (1971),
Dallas (1978),
Highway to Heaven (1984)),
his standout work included a co-starring role opposite the luminous
Inger Stevens in the popular light comedy
series
The Farmer's Daughter (1963).
On the show, Windom portrayed widower "Glen Morley", a decent
congressman who eventually falls in love with his pert and pretty
Swedish governess "Katy Holstrum" (played by Stevens). Prior to this
success, both he and Ms. Stevens had been singularly recognized for
their sterling performances on various episodes of
The Twilight Zone (1959).
Following this success, Windom enjoyed critical notice as the
cartoonist/protagonist whose vivid imagination causes problems on the
homefront on the Thurberesque weekly series
My World and Welcome to It (1969).
Despite the show's critical merit and Windom's "Best Actor" Emmy win,
the show, years ahead of its time, lasted only one season. Decades
later, Windom would play
James Thurber on stage in one-man
shows.
The native New Yorker went on to essay a number of loungy Southerners
and down-home types with incredible ease--both heroes and villains. He
offered strong support in his film debut as
Gregory Peck's opposing counsel in the
Alabama-based
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962),
and went on to play prelate
Norman Vincent Peale's father in
One Man's Way (1964) starring
Don Murray. Windom demonstrated the
maturity to carry off the character even though he was only 5 years
older than Murray. He also delivered a variety of pungent roles in such
films as The Detective (1968) (as a
closeted gay married man),
Robert Altman's
Brewster McCloud (1970) (as a
political blowhard facing a series of murders) and
The Man (1972) (as a racist
politician).
Growing slier and stockier over the years, Windom provided TV audiences
with a colorful gallery of characters, ranging from avuncular and
ingratiating, to cantankerous and unscrupulous. He became a regular for
over a decade on the Angela Lansbury
whodunit series
Murder, She Wrote (1984),
joining the show in its second season as "Dr. Seth Hazlitt". He briefly
left "Murder" to work on another series,
Parenthood (1990), which was based
on the highly popular 1989 movie starring
Steve Martin. Here,
Ed Begley Jr. took over the Martin part
and Windom assumed Jason Robards's
patriarchal role as Begley's father. The show was off the air within a
few months, however, and Windom was invited back to the mystery series
-- a semi-regular until the show folded in 1997.
In addition, Windom reprised a
Star Trek (1966) portrayal as
"Commodore Matt Decker," appeared in scores of mini-movies, has given
voice to various book readings, presented a second one-man show (this
time that of combat reporter Ernie Pyle), and
continued to film at age 80+, his latest being
Yesterday's Dreams (2005).
The five-times-married Windom was wed (for 36 years) to writer Patricia
Veronica Tunder at the time of his death of congestive heart failure at
age 88. A chess, tennis and sailing enthusiast, he is survived by four
children: Rachel, Heather Juliet, Hope and Rebel Russell.Two step-daughters, Debora and Maggie as well as
four grandchildren. He died at his home in Woodacre, California, on
August 16, 2012.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
WWII veteran, dance instructor and diversely talented stage & screen
actor were all inclusions on the resume of this perpetually busy US
actor who didn't get in front of the cameras until around the time of
his fortieth birthday. The stockily built Charles Durning was one of
Hollywood's most dependable and sought after supporting actors.
Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, to Louise Marie
(Leonard), a laundress, and James Gerald Durning. His father was an
Irish immigrant and his mother was of Irish descent. Durning first got
his start in guest appearances in early 1960's TV shows. He scored
minor roles over the next decade until he really got noticed by film
fans as the sneering, corrupt cop "Lt. Snyder" hassling street grifter
'Robert Redford' in the multi award winning mega-hit
The Sting (1973). Durning was equally
entertaining in the Billy Wilder production
of The Front Page (1974), he
supported screen tough guy
Charles Bronson in the
suspenseful western
Breakheart Pass (1975) and
featured as "Spermwhale Whalen" in the story of unorthodox police
behavior in The Choirboys (1977).
The versatile Durning is equally adept at comedic roles and
demonstrated his skills as "Doc Hopper" in
The Muppet Movie (1979), a
feisty football coach in
North Dallas Forty (1979), a
highly strung police officer berating maverick cop
Burt Reynolds in
Sharky's Machine (1981), and a
light footed, dancing Governor (alongside Burt Reynolds once more) in
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).
Durning continued a regular on screen association with
Burt Reynolds appearing in several
more feature films together and as "Dr. Harlan Elldridge" in the highly
popular TV series
Evening Shade (1990). On par
with his multitude of feature film roles, Durning has always been in
high demand on television and has guest starred in
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996),
Monk (2002) and
Rescue Me (2004). Plus, he has
appeared in the role of "Santa Claus" in five different television
movies.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He
was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s, and is best
remembered for his 1970s TV work as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple (1970) and as the
medical examiner on Quincy M.E. (1976).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Producer
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born into a musical family on 9 August 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of gospel star Cissy Houston (née Emily Lee Drinkard) and John Russell Houston, Jr., and cousin of singing star Dionne Warwick.
She began singing in the choir at her church, The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, as a young child and by the age of 15 was singing backing vocals professionally with her mother on Chaka Khan's 1978 hit, 'I'm Every Woman'. She went on to provide backing vocals for Lou Rawls, Jermaine Jackson and her own mother and worked briefly as a model, appearing on the cover of 'Seventeen' magazine in 1981.
She began working as a featured vocalist for the New York-based funk band Material and it was the quality of her vocal work with them that attracted the attention of the major record labels, including Arista with whom she signed in 1983 and where she stayed for the rest of her career.
Her debut album, 'Whitney Houston', was released in 1985 and became the biggest-selling album by a debut artist. Several hit singles, including 'Saving All My Love For You', 'How Will I Know', 'You Give Good Love', and 'The Greatest Love of All', were released from the album, setting her up for a Beatles-beating seven consecutive US number ones. The album itself sold 3 million copies in its first year in the US and went on to sell 25 million worldwide, winning her the first of her six Grammies.
The 1987 follow-up album, 'Whitney', which included the hits 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody', built on her success but it was the 1992 film The Bodyguard (1992) that sealed her place as one of the best-selling artists of all time. While the movie itself and her performance in it were not highly praised, the soundtrack album and her cover of the Dolly Parton song 'I Will Always Love You' topped the singles and albums charts for months and sold 44 million copies around the world.
That same year she married ex-New Edition singer Bobby Brown with whom she had her only child, their daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in March 1993. It was about this time that her much documented drug use began and by 1996 she was a daily user.
Her 1998 album, 'My Love Is Your Love' was well reviewed but the drug abuse began to affect her reputation and press reports at the time said that she was becoming difficult to work with, if she turned up at all. She was dropped from a performance at The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) because she was "out of it" at rehearsals. Her weight fluctuated wildly - she was so thin at a 'Michael Jackson' tribute in 2001 that rumors circulated the next day that she had died - and her voice began to fail her. She was twice admitted to rehab and declared herself drug-free in 2010 but returned to rehab in May 2011.
Her 2009 comeback album 'I Look To You' was positively received and sold well, but promotional performances were still marred by her weakened voice. Her final acting performance was in Sparkle (2012) (a remake of the 1976 movie, Sparkle (1976)), released after her death.
She was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room on 11 February 2012.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
The son of a legendary actress
(Mary Martin) and a district
attorney, Larry Martin Hagman was born on September 21, 1931 in Fort
Worth, Texas. After his parents' divorce, he moved to Los Angeles,
California to live with his grandmother. When he was 12, his
grandmother died and he moved back to his mother's place, who had
remarried and was launching a Broadway career. After attending Bard
College in New York State, he decided to follow his mother's acting
road. His first stage tryout was with the
Margo Jones Theatre-in-the-Round in
Dallas, Texas. He then appeared in the New York City Center production
of "Taming the Shrew", followed by a year in regional theater. In his
early-to-mid twenties, Larry moved to England as a member of the cast
of his mother's stage show, "South Pacific", and was a member of the
cast for five years. After that, he enlisted in the United States Air
Force, where he produced and directed several series for members of the
service.
After completing his service in the Air Force, Larry returned to New
York City for a series of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, esp. "Once
Around the Block", "Career", "Comes a Day", "A Priest in the House",
"The Beauty Part", "The Warm Peninsula", "The Nervous Set" among many
others. He began his television career in 1961 with a number of guest
appearances on shows as "The ALCOA Hour". He was later chosen to be in
the popular daytime soap opera
The Edge of Night (1956),
in which he starred for two years. But that was his start, he later
went on to become the friendliest television star in the NBC sitcom
I Dream of Jeannie (1965),
in which he played the amiable astronaut Anthony Nelson. In the series,
his life was endangered by this gorgeous blonde bombshell genie played
by Barbara Eden. The series ran for five
years and after that, he continued his success in
The Good Life (1971) and
Here We Go Again (1973), as
well as a number of guest-starring roles on many series. He was also
with Lauren Bacall in the television
version of the hit Broadway musical
Applause (1973).
In 1977, the soap opera Dallas (1978)
came aboard and Larry's career was secured. He credits "Superchick" for
convincing him to do the show. This program of an excessively rich
Texas family, was one of the best, beloved, most-watched shows of all
time as he portrayed the role of the evil yet perverted millionaire
J.R. Ewing, the man who loved to be hated. The series ran for an
amazing 14 1/2 seasons and the "Who shot J.R.?" episode remains the
second highly-rated television show in the history of the satellite.
Since his name was familiar with Texas, it was suiting that he hosted
"Lone Star" (1985), an eight-part documentary series related to the
history of Texas, for the Public Television Stations. That aired while
celebrating the 150th anniversary of Texas as an independent republic.
In the spring of 1987, Kari-Lorimar released "Larry Hagman--Stop
Smoking for Life". Proceeds from this home video were donated to the
American Cancer Society.
In July 1995, he needed a liver transplant in order for him to regain
his life back after years of strong drinking that led to cirrhosis. He
went over to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for this where he spent seven
weeks in the hospital, and an operation took 16 hours but saved his
life. In July 1996, one year after he had a new liver, he served as the
National Spokesperson for the 1996 U.S. Transplant Games presented by
the National Kidney Foundation and, on November 2, he later received
the Award for his efforts in escalating public awareness of the concept
of organ donation. He continued to serve as an advocate of organ
donation and transplantation until his death. In November 1996, he
starred in
Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996),
a 2-hour movie in which the ratings were a huge success for CBS, as
well as in the network's drama series
Orleans (1997) when his role of Judge
Luther Charbonnet gave him some of the best reviews of his
36-year-career.
When he was feeling better than he had for so many years, he completed
his two movie projects:
The Third Twin (1997), a
four-hour miniseries based on the author's best-selling novel, that
aired on CBS, and Mike Nichols's
Primary Colors (1998), a film
based on the best-selling book by a journalist,
Joe Klein. Starring in that film were
John Travolta,
Emma Thompson,
Billy Bob Thornton,
Kathy Bates and
Adrian Lester. Larry played Governor
Picker, an antipolitics politician who stands a grave danger crisis to
the governor's bid for office. Primary Colors was his second
presidential film having also appeared in
Oliver Stone's
Nixon (1995). Following these movies, his
second Dallas reunion movie,
Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998),
aired on CBS. He also served as executive producer.
Away from films, Larry was actively involved in a series of civic and
philanthropic events. An adamant non-smoker, he served as the
chairperson of the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout",
from 1981 to 1992. Larry Hagman died at age 81 on November 23, 2012 at
Medical City Dallas Hospital in Dallas, Texas from complications of
throat cancer.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Born Don Agrati in San Diego, California, Don Grady became a
Mousekeeter, along with 23 others, when that show debuted in 1955. In
1960, he joined
My Three Sons (1960), which
debuted in 1960 and ran for 12 years. As an enthusiast of music after
"My Three Sons" ended, he continued in music as a composer and
songwriter. One of his songs was the theme for
Donahue (1967).
Don appeared in many other shows as a guest star but he will always be
known as "Robbie Douglas", the eldest son from "My Three Sons". The
show ran for 12 years and 356 episodes.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Sage Stallone was an American actor and film director from Los Angeles. His best known role was Robert Balboa, Jr. (Rocky Balboa's son) in the sports drama film "Rocky V" (1990).
Stallone was the eldest son of actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-) and his first wife Sasha Czack. His parents married in 1974, and divorced in 1985. Sage's paternal grandfather was hairdresser and beautician Frank Stallone Sr. (1919-2011). Sage's paternal grandmother was the astrologer Jackie Stallone (1921-). Through his father's side of the family, Sage had Italian, French, and Ukrainian-Jewish ancestry.
Stallone made his film debut in "Rocky V" (1990), when 14-years-old. From 1994 to 1995, Stallone studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a public art school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1996 Stallone and film editor Bob Murawski became the founders of the film preservation company Grindhouse Releasing. The company preserved, digitally restored and distributed exploitation films, B-movies, and cult films. It was also known for the restoration of Italian horror films directed by Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodato, and other horror directors.
In 2006, Stallone directed the drama film "Vic", concerning a down-on-his-luck actor who struggles to make a career comeback. For this film, Stallone won the Best New Filmmaker at the Boston Film Festival .
In 2010, Stallone played an unnamed Mafioso in the drama film "Promises Written in Water". The film did not receive distribution, and was mainly exhibited in film festivals. Stallone's last film appearance was a role in the short film "The Agent" (2010).
Stallone died in July 2012,at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles. His autopsy indicated that the cause of death was coronary artery disease, caused by atherosclerosis. He was 36-years-old at the time of death. His funeral was held at the St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Los Angeles. Stallone was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.- Born Dublin, Ireland on July 11 1929. Educated at Synge Street Catholic boys school. Started acting aged 8 in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, he has appeared in theatre, TV and film constantly since 1959. Awards include: Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production (1991) for "The Playboy of the Western World"; nominated for SAG Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (1999) for Waking Ned Devine (1998); ESB Lifetime Achievement award for work in the Irish theatre. He lived in Dublin, Ireland, where he died on 12 February 2012 at the age of 82. Children: Son, David. Daughter, Miriam.
- Actor
- Producer
Richard Hugh Lynch was born on February 12, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York
City, to Irish immigrant parents. He was one of seven children. Before starting a career as an
actor, he joined the United States Marine Corps in 1958. He served for
four years where he made Corporal, and did a tour of the Middle East
with the Sixth Fleet. He began his training with
Herbert Berghof and
Uta Hagen at H.B. Studios in New York's
Greenwich Village, and later went on to train extensively with
Lee Strasberg at Carnegie Hall. In 1970,
he became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and spent years in the
New York theater community playing in dozens of on- and off-Broadway
productions. The more notable plays were: "The Basic Training of Pavlo
Hummel", "The Lion in Winter", "The Devils", "The Lady from the Sea",
"Action", "Live Like Pigs", "Richard III", "Offi on a Tangerine", "A
View from the Bridge", "The Man with the Flower in His Mouth", and
Shelley Winters' "One Night Stands of a
Noisy Passenger".
Lynch made his film debut in the classic film
Scarecrow (1973), winner of the Grand
Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His performance in Scarecrow
launched his film career and brought him to Hollywood, where he has
worked in film and television for over twenty years. His more prominent
film work has been in:
The Seven-Ups (1973),
Open Season (1974),
The Formula (1980),
Invasion U.S.A. (1985),
Bad Dreams (1988),
Little Nikita (1988), Dostoyevsky's
Crime and Punishment (2002),
and William Peter Blatty's
The Ninth Configuration (1980).
His performance as the evil King Cromwell, in the successful fantasy
film
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982),
won him the Saturn Award for Best Actor from the Academy of Science
Fiction and Fantasy. Although best known for playing villains, he was
cast as the President of the United States in
Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy (2007).
He also starred in numerous television series and Movies of the Week,
such as
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980),
Sizzle (1981),
Vampire (1979),
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979),
Battlestar Galactica (1978),
and the
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
two-part episode "Gambit". His work in a variety of independent films
has won him a high profile internationally. He has also worked in
China, where he played in the first joint production between the Screen
Actors' Guild and the People's Republic of China, The Korean Project.
In his spare time, Richard enjoys fishing, the arts, architecture,
music and poetry. He is also fluent in several languages including
German and Italian.- Veteran little old man Italian character actor Leonardo Anthony Cimino
steadily worked in both movies and TV shows alike from the late 1950's up
until 2007. Cimino was born on November 4, 1917 in New York City. He
was the son of tailor Andrea Cimino and his wife Leonilda. Leonardo
played violin as a child and studied at Juilliard as a teenager.
Moreover, Cimino studied acting, directing, and modern dance at the
Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. A small, frail, and
wizened fellow with a gaunt face, a slight build, and a distinguished
air about him, Leonardo often portrayed shrewd Mafioso types, nice
elderly gents, and various men of the cloth which include priests,
cardinals, and even the Pope in "Monsignor." Cimino twice played Nazi
concentration camp survivors: He was outstanding as the wise Abraham
Bernstein in the excellent science fiction TV mini-series "V" and
likewise marvelous as the kindly Scary German Guy in the delightful
"The Monster Squad." Leonardo had a nice bit as the Baron's doctor in
David Lynch's "Dune." Among the TV shows Cimino did guest spots on are
"Naked City," "The Defenders," "Kojak," "Ryan's Hope," "The Equalizer,"
"The Hunger," and "Law and Order." Outside of movies and television,
Leonardo acted on stage in such plays as "The Iceman Cometh," "They
Knew What They Wanted," "A Memory of Two Mondays," "Mike Downstairs,"
"Night Life," "A Passage to India," "Handful of Fire," "The Liar," and
"Cyrano de Bergerac." Cimino died at age 94 at his home in Woodstock,
New York on March 3, 2012. - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Harry Carey, Jr., had been reliable character actor for decades, mostly
in Westerns, before he retired. He is the son of the actor
Harry Carey and the actress
Olive Carey. He was born on his parents'
1000-acre ranch near Saugus, in the northwestern part of Los Angeles
County, which is now next door to Santa Clarita, a large town that
certainly did not exist in 1947 or for decades longer. Thus, the young
Harry Carey, Jr., grew up among cattle and horses at the ranch. Because
of a large group of Navajo Indians who worked on his parents' ranch, he
learned to speak the Navajo language at the same time that he was
learning to speak English.
During World War II, Carey enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and he served in
the Pacific Theater first as a Navy medical corpsman. However, he was
transferred back to the United States (against his wishes) to serve
under his father's good friend, the director
John Ford, in making movies for the
Navy (training films)and the O.S.S. (propaganda films).
After World War II ended, Carey tried to make a career in singing, but
he was not successful at this. Hence, he moved into acting, and after a
couple of small acting parts, he was given a chance to work in a motion
picture with his father, the
John Wayne film
Red River (1948). (However, the father
and the son did not have any scenes with one another). After the death
of Harry Carey, Sr., in 1946, Mr. Ford gave the younger Carey a leading
role in the movie that Ford dedicated to the memory of Harry Carey,
Sr., in 1948, 3 Godfathers (1948).
As a full-fledged member of the noted John Ford Stock Company, Carey,
Jr., appeared in many of Mr. Ford's epic Westerns during the following
two decades. Carey also starred in a series-within-a-series on TV,
The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955),
which was shown as a part of
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955).
Very boyish looks characterized Carey's early years, but he matured
into a strong and familiar character actor over the following four
decades, and he acted in scores of films and TV programs in his long
career. Carey, Jr., is married to Marilyn Fix Carey, the daughter of
the actor Paul Fix.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Nora Ephron was educated at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She was an acclaimed essayist (Crazy Salad 1975), novelist (Heartburn 1983), and had written screenplays for several popular films, all featuring strong female characters, such as anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood (Silkwood (1983), co-written with Alice Arlen) and a mobster's feisty independent daughter Cookie Voltecki (Cookie (1989), also co-written with Arlen). Ephron's hard-headed sensibilities helped make Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... (1989) a clear-eyed view of modern romance, and she earned an Oscar nomination for her original screenplay.
Ephron made her directorial debut with the comedy This Is My Life (1992), co-scripted by her sister Delia Ephron, which starred Julie Kavner as a single mother who struggles to establish herself as a stand-up comedienne. Ephron followed up by helming and co-writing Sleepless in Seattle (1993), a romantic comedy in which lovers Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are separated for most of the film. Less about love than about love in the movies, the film drew inspiration from the beloved shipboard romance An Affair to Remember (1957), starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.
Ephron was born in New York City, the daughter of stage and screen writing team Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron, who used her infancy as the subject of their play "Three's a Family" and based their comedy Take Her, She's Mine (1963) on letters their daughter wrote them from college. Their screenplays include There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), Carousel (1956) and Desk Set (1957). Formerly married to novelist Dan Greenburg and investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, Ephron was wed to crime journalist and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, at the time of her passing, who wrote such films as Goodfellas (1990). She was of Russian Jewish descent.- Kathryn is best known for her portrayals of "Karen McCluskey" on
Desperate Housewives (2004)
on ABC and of "Mrs. Landingham", secretary to the President
(Martin Sheen), on the critically-acclaimed
NBC drama,
The West Wing (1999). She has
also recurred on
Dharma & Greg (1997), and
guest-starred on many hit television series, such as
Becker (1998),
Arli$$ (1996),
Ally McBeal (1997),
Providence (1999),
Scrubs (2001) and over twenty other
prime-time shows. Kathryn will also be seen later this year on ABC's
daytime drama,
General Hospital (1963). Her
credits are impressive for any actor, let alone one that only began the
craft at age 42.
Although only put into action well into her middle years, Kathryn's
dream began in her twenties, when her mother died of cancer in 1963.
While dying in the hospital, her mother shared that her biggest regret
was not following her dreams. Kathryn vowed, at that moment, that she
would someday pursue her own dream of acting.
At the time, she was entering into a new career as a psychiatric nurse
in a medium security wing for disturbed teenagers. Through that job,
she met and married a psychiatrist, gave birth to two boys and settled
down as a suburban housewife in Lake Forest, Illinois, a well-to-do
suburb of Chicago. But Kathryn never forgot her dream of acting,
something that she never had time to pursue in-between caring for her
children and husband. In 1980, her husband's alcoholism led Kathryn to
a divorce and a difficult situation; a single mother with two young
sons. Rather than lose hope, she took the opportunity to change her
life forever and follow her lost dream.
Kathryn took classes at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and performed at
community theaters all over Northern Illinois. By day, she supported
her family hanging wallpaper and painting the mansions of Lake Forest,
working as a sales person for a Welcome Wagon company and using her
contacts to book film and print locations in the houses she was
painting. By night, Kathryn was improving her skills and moving from
community theater to semi-professional theater. Her first break was in
1991. Disney held a cattle call for street performers for Disney World.
After standing in line for five hours, Kathryn got the part and moved
shop to Orlando, Florida. Though she was living behind an adult arcade
in the "tourist unfriendly" part of Buena Vista, Kathryn was finally
earning her living through performance and loving it. The part only
lasted for a year and, once again, Kathryn was forced to supplement her
acting income with other work -- bar-tending and catering during the
day, theater at night. Though the acting gig was over, the move to
Florida proved one thing to Kathryn...she had the talent to make it as
an actor. She did it once and she could do it again. Unfortunately, it
took her two and half years to realize it wouldn't happen in central
Florida.
In December 1995, Kathryn again packed a truck and drove to Hollywood.
Although she didn't have an agent and had no contacts, Kathryn never
hesitated following her dream. In only five months, she landed her
first part...two lines in
Family Matters (1989). In the
six years since then, she has appeared in over a dozen plays, six
movies, eleven national television commercials, two pilots, ten drama
series and over twenty sitcoms. From her many roles, Kathryn is
recognized as one of
Murphy Brown (1988)'s
secretaries,
Frasier (1993)'s agent's mother and the bingo buddy to Drew Carey's
girlfriend, on
The Drew Carey Show (1995).
But it is her portrayal of "Mrs. Landingham", the foil, friend and
secretary to Martin Sheen's "President
Bartlet" on
The West Wing (1999) that
propelled her into the spotlight she truly deserves. She followed that
up with her last huge roll as Karen McCluskey for 8 seasons on ABC's
Desperate Housewives (2004),
which won her two Emmy awards. Joosten made a guest appearance on CBS
daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful as part of the show's 6000th
episode, which featured several other real-life lung cancer survivors
discussing their experiences. She was named the national spokesperson
for the Lung Cancer Profiles campaign on behalf of Pfizer. Joosten died
of lung cancer on the morning of June 2, 2012. Her death happened 20
days after the onscreen death of her character Karen McCluskey on the
final episode of Desperate Housewives. The hit show ended its
eight-year run on ABC last month with a series finale in which
Joosten's character passed away. Her character's battle with brain
cancer was a story line in the show. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Celeste Holm was an only child, born into a
home where her mother was a painter and her father worked in insurance.
She would study acting at the University of Chicago and make her stage
debut in 1936. Her Broadway debut came when she was 19 in 'The Time of Your Life'. She appeared in
many successful plays, including "The Women", "Oklahoma!" and "Bloomer
Girl". It was in the production of "Oklahoma!" that Celeste would sing
the showstopper, "I Cain't Say No". She was signed by 20th Century Fox
in 1946 and appeared in her first film,
Three Little Girls in Blue (1946).
With her third film,
Gentleman's Agreement (1947),
she would win the Supporting Actress Oscar and a Golden Globe. Celeste
would be nominated twice more for Academy Awards in the
Come to the Stable (1949) and
All About Eve (1950). But, Celeste
was a star who loved the stage so she left Hollywood, only to return
for two MGM musicals in the 1950s. They were
The Tender Trap (1955) and
High Society (1956). In addition to
her stage career, Celeste appeared on television in her own series,
Honestly, Celeste! (1954)
and as a panelist on
Who Pays? (1959). In 1970, Celeste
returned to television series as the chaperon to the president's
daughter on Nancy (1970). For the next
two decades, she would appear on television in regular series,
miniseries and movies. Celeste Holm died at age 95 of a heart attack on
July 15, 2012.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Joan Taylor's mother, Amelia Berky, was a vaudeville singing-dancing
star in the 1920s. Her father was a prop man in Hollywood during that
same period, but, after Joan's birth, the family moved to Lake Forest,
Illinois, where her father managed a movie theater. She developed a
love of movies from watching so many at her father's theater, and she
graduated from the Chicago National Association of Dancing Masters.
Heading to Hollywood in 1946, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Victor Jory arranged an interview for her with producer Nat Holt, and she
made her film debut in the Randolph Scott western Fighting Man of the Plains (1949). She appeared in
quite a few films over the next several years, many of them westerns.
She also made many appearances on TV series, and had a recurring role
in The Rifleman (1958), but it's for two sci-fi films that she is fondly remembered
by 1950s movie audiences: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957). After her two-year stint
on "The Rifleman", however, she decided to retire from films, and did
so in 1963.- Actress
- Composer
Natina Reed was born on 28 October 1980 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and composer, known for Bring It On (2000), Honey (2003) and V.I.P. (1998). She died on 26 October 2012 in Duluth, Georgia, USA.- Actress
- Make-Up Department
- Soundtrack
Diller put out an autobiography in 2005 in her late 80s, and entitled it "Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse", which pretty much says it all when recalling the misfit life and career of the fabulous, one-of-a-kind Phyllis Diller. It may inspire all those bored, discouraged and/or directionless housewives out there to know that the one-time 37-year-old chief bottle washer and diaper disposer of five started out writing comedy routines for her fellow female laundry mates as a sort of reprieve from what she considered her everyday household doldrums. Little did she know she would wind up an entertainment legend who would share the biggest comedy stages with the likes of Bob Hope, George Burns and Jack Benny.
They said it couldn't be done back then (to be a successful lady comic, that is) but the doyenne of female stand-up did just that -- opened the doors for other odd-duck funny girls who dared to intrude on what was considered a man's profession. Initially, the comedienne whipped up an alter-ego that could have only been created with the aid of hallucinogens. Boldly facing the world as a scrawny, witchy-faced, flyaway haired, outlandishly costumed, cigarette-holding, magpie-cackling version of "Auntie Mame", Diller made a virtue
out of her weird looks and cashed in on her wifely horror tales and her own idiosyncratic tendencies. Her solid fan base has been thriving now for over five decades.
She was born Phyllis Ada Driver on July 17, 1917 in Lima, Ohio to Perry Marcus and Frances Ada (Romshe) Driver. A student at Lima's Central High School, she went on to study for three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory in Chicago, before transferring to Bluffton (Ohio) College where she served as the editor of the school's more humorous newspaper articles. She was a serious student of the piano but was never completely confident enough in her performance level to try and act on it as a possible career.
She wed Sherwood Anderson Diller at age 22 in November 1939 and had six children (one of whom died in infancy). On the sly, she was an advertising copywriter. During World War II, the family moved to Michigan where her husband had found work at the Willow Run Bomber Plant. A natural laugh-getter, she began writing household-related one-liners and the feedback from the fellow wives greatly encouraged her. When the family moved to California for job-related reasons, Diller became a secretary at a San Francisco television station. By this time, she had built up the courage to put together a nightclub act.
The local television hosts at the station (Willard Anderson and Don Sherwood) thought her act was hilarious and invited her on their show in 1955. Not long after, at age 38, Diller made her debut at San Francisco's Purple Onion nightclub. What was to be a two-week engagement was stretched out to more than a year and a half. The widespread publicity she received took her straight to the television talk and variety circuits where she was soon trading banter with Jack Paar, Jack Benny and Red Skelton, among others, on their popular television series. She was a contestant on Groucho Marx's popular quiz show You Bet Your Life (1950).
Throughout the 1960s, audiences embraced her bold and brazen quirkiness. Diller formed a tight and lasting relationship with
Bob Hope, appearing in scores of his television specials and co-starring in three of his broad 1960s comedy films (Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), Eight on the Lam (1967) and The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968). Diller joined Hope in Vietnam in 1966 with his USO troupe.
Her celebrity eventually took its toll on her marriage. She separated from and eventually divorced Sherwood in 1965, who had, by
this time, become a favorite topic and target of her act in the form of husband "Fang". That same year, she married singer, film actor and
television host Warde Donovan who appeared with her in the slapstick movie Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968). They divorced in 1975.
By this time, Diller was everywhere on the small screen. A special guest on hordes of television series and comedy specials and,
especially on such riotfests as Laugh-In (1977) and the Dean Martin celebrity series of roasts, she became a celebrity on the game show circuit as well, milking laughs on such established shows as The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) and The Gong Show (1976). She published best-selling comedy records to her credit and humorous anecdotes to pitch that made it to the bookstore shelves, such as "Phyllis Diller Tells All About Fang". However, stand-up remained her first love.
Her forays on television in her own series were, regretfully, unsuccessful. Her first television series, The Phyllis Diller Show (1966), had her pretty much pulling out all the stops as a wacky widow invariably scheming to keep up a wealthy front despite being heavily in debt. She had the reliably droll Reginald Gardiner and cranky Charles Lane as foils and even Gypsy Rose Lee, but to little avail. Revamped as "The Phyllis Diller Show", several of comedy's best second bananas (John Astin, Paul Lynde, Richard Deacon, Billy De Wolfe, Marty Ingels) were added to the mix, but the show was canceled after a single season. A second try with The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show (1968), a comedy/variety show that had the zany star backed by none other than Rip Taylor and Norm Crosby, lasted only three months.
Seldom did she manage or receive offers to take her funny face off long enough to appear for dramatic effect. Somewhat more
straightforward roles came later on episodes of Boston Legal (2004) and 7th Heaven (1996). Back in 1961, interestingly enough, she made both her stage and film debuts in the dramas of William Inge. Her theatrical debut came with a production of "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" and she appeared first on film in the highly dramatic Splendor in the Grass (1961), lightening things up a bit with a cameo appearance as larger-than-life nightclub hostess Texas Guinan. Diller later impressed with her harridan role in the film The Adding Machine (1969) opposite Milo O'Shea.
Diller enjoyed a three-month run on Broadway in "Hello, Dolly!", co-starring Richard Deacon and appeared in other shows and musicals over time: "Wonderful Town" (she met her second husband Warde Donovan in this production), "Happy Birthday", "Everybody Loves Opal" and "Nunsense". In 1993, Diller was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Her cackling vocals have enhanced animated features, too, what with Mad Monster Party? (1967) and A Bug's Life (1998). It took a heart attack in 1999 to finally slow down the comedienne and she eventually announced her retirement in 2002.
Aside from the baby who died in infancy, Diller was also predeceased by her eldest son, Peter (who died of cancer in 1998) and her daughter, Stephanie Diller (who died of a stroke in 2002). Her surviving children are Sally Diller, Suzanne Sue Diller and Perry Diller. As late as January 2007, she made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992). She was set to return on her 90th birthday in July but a back injury forced her to cancel. She died at age 95 of heart failure on August 20, 2012 in her home in Brentwood, California.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Davy Jones left home to become a
jockey. While he was an apprentice, he was encouraged to go into acting
and got a role in a production of "Peter Pan". From there, he played on
Coronation Street (1960)
and
The Pickwick Papers (1952)
before landing the role of "The Artful Dodger" in "Oliver!". This job
took him to America's Broadway, where he was discovered by
Ward Sylvester and brought to Los
Angeles. From there, he was given a role in
The Monkees (1965). With this
sitcom, he made 58 television episodes, 9 albums, a television special,
and a movie before calling it quits in the early 1970s. In the
mid-1970s, Davy rejoined fellow Monkee
Micky Dolenz and songwriters
Tommy Boyce and
Bobby Hart to make an album and do
some touring. Davy had gone on to perform in more plays, including "The
Real Live Brady Bunch" and "Oliver!" (again), and had also fulfilled
his dream of becoming a jockey. He rejoined
The Monkees for touring from 1986-89 and
1996-97. Davy Jones died at age 66 of a heart attack on February 29,
2012.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Herbert Lom was born on September 11, 1917 as Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru into an aristocratic family living in genteel poverty. His incredibly long surnames led him to select the shortest surname he could find extant ("Lom") and adopt it as his own, professionally. He made his film debut in the Czech film Woman Below the Cross (1937) and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) and in War and Peace (1956). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1947). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955), and Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). His career really took off in the 1960s and he got the title role in Hammer Films' production of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). He also played "Captain Nemo" in Mysterious Island (1961) and landed supporting parts in El Cid (1961) and an especially showy role in Spartacus (1960) as a pirate chieftain contracted to transport Spartacus' army away from Italy.
The 1960s was also the decade in which Lom secured the role for which he will always be remembered: Clouseau/Peter Sellers' long-suffering boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, in the "Pink Panther" films, in which he pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of stealing almost every scene he and Sellers were in--a real accomplishment, considering what a veteran scene-stealer Sellers was. However, Lom did not concentrate solely on feature films. He became a familiar face to British television viewers when he starred as Dr. Roger Corder in The Human Jungle (1963). He moved into horror films in the 1970s, with parts in Asylum (1972) and And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973). He played Prof. Abraham Van Helsing opposite Christopher Lee in Count Dracula (1970), matching wits against the sinister vampire himself.
Lom appeared as one of the victims in Ten Little Indians (1974), the drunken Dr. Edward Armstrong. His career continued into the 1980s, a standout role being that of Christopher Walken's sympathetic doctor in The Dead Zone (1983). He also played opposite Walter Matthau in Hopscotch (1980) and returned to the murder mystery Ten Little Indians (1989), this time playing The General. Lom has been taking it easy since then, though he returned to his familiar role of Dreyfus in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). He was always a reliable and eminently watchable actor, and unfortunately did not receive the stardom he should have.
Herbert Lom died in his sleep at age 95 on September 27, 2012, in London, England.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Russell Means was born an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian. He was the first
national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role
he became prominent during the 1973 standoff with the U.S. government
at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the U.S. Libertarian Party and
announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination. (He
lost the nomination to Congressman
Ron Paul). Since 1992, Means has
appeared in
The Last of the Mohicans (1992),
Natural Born Killers (1994)
and other movies. He has championed the rights of indigenous peoples in
other countries as well as the U.S. In a televised speech to the 2000
Libertarian Party National Convention, Means said that he prefers the
label "Indian" to the more politically-correct "Native American".
"Everyone who is born in America is a native American", he said.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Alex Karras was born on 15 July 1935 in Gary, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Blazing Saddles (1974), Victor/Victoria (1982) and Porky's (1981). He was married to Susan Clark and Ivalyn Joan Jurgensen. He died on 10 October 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Levon Helm was in the right place at the right time. He saw the birth
of rock and roll and, though he was too much of a gentleman to say it,
his role in helping to keep that rebellious child healthy was more than
just instrumental.
On May 26, 1940, Mark Lavon Helm was the second of four children born
to Nell and Diamond Helm in Elaine, Arkansas. Diamond was a cotton
farmer who entertained occasionally as a musician. The Helms loved
music and often sang together. They listened to The Grand Ole Opry and
Sonny Boy Williamson and his King Biscuit Entertainers regularly on the
radio. A favorite family pastime was attending traveling music shows in
the area. According to his 1993 autobiography, "This Wheel's On Fire",
Levon recalled seeing his first live show, Bill Monroe and his Blue
Grass Boys, at six years old. His description: "This really tattooed my
brain. I've never forgotten it." Hearing performers like Monroe and
Williamson on the radio was one thing; seeing them live made a huge
impression.
Levon's father bought him his first guitar at age nine. At ten and
11, whenever he wasn't in school or at work on the farm, the boy
could be found at KFFA's broadcasting studio in Helena, Arkansas,
watching Sonny Boy Williamson do his radio show, "King Biscuit Time".
Helm made his younger sister Linda a string bass out of a washtub when
he was 12 years old. She would play the bass while her brother
slapped his thighs and played harmonica and guitar. They would sing
songs learned at home and popular hits of the day, and billed
themselves as "Lavon and Linda." Because of their fresh-faced good
looks, obvious musical talent and Levon's natural ability to win an
audience with sheer personality and infectious rhythms, the pair
consistently won talent contests along the Arkansas 4-H Club circuit.
In 1954 Levon was 14 years old when he saw Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins do a show at Helena. Also performing was a young Elvis Presley, with Scotty Moore on guitar, and Bill Black on stand-up bass. They did
not have a drummer. The music was early jazz-fueled rockabilly, and the
audience went wild. In 1955 he saw Elvis once more, before Presley's
star exploded. This time Presley had D.J. Fontana with him on drums and
Black was playing electric bass. Helm couldn't get over the
difference and thought it was the best band he'd seen. The added
instruments gave the music solidity and depth. People jumped out of
their seats dancing to the thunderous, heart-pumping rhythms. The
melting pot that was the Mississippi Delta had boiled over and evolved.
Its magnificently rich blues was uniting with all the powerful, new,
spicy-hot sounds and textures that became rock and roll.
Natural progression led Levon to form his own rock band as a high-school junior, called The Jungle Bush Beaters. While Little Richard and
Jerry Lee Lewis were making teens everywhere crazed, Levon would
practice, play, watch and learn. After seeing Jerry Lee's drummer Jimmy
Van Eaton, he seriously began thinking of playing the drums himself.
Around this same time the 17-year-old musician was invited by
Conway Twitty to share the stage with Twitty and his Rock Housers. He
had met Twitty when "Lavon and Linda" opened for him at a previous
show. Helm was a personable, polite teen who took his music seriously,
so Twitty allowed him to sit in whenever the opportunity arose.
Ronnie Hawkins came into Levon Helm's life in 1957. A charismatic
entertainer and front-man, Hawkins was gathering musicians to tour
Canada, where the shows and money were steady. He had a sharp eye
for talent. He needed a drummer and Levon fit the bill. Fulfilling a
promise to Nell and Diamond to finish high school, Levon joined Ronnie
and his "Hawks" on the road. The young Arkansas farm boy, once a
tractor driving champion, found himself driving Hawkins' Cadillac to
gigs, happily aware that all the unknown adventures of rock and roll
would soon be his destiny.
In 1959 Ronnie got The Hawks signed to Roulette Records. They had two
hits, "Forty Days" and "Mary Lou", sold 750,000 copies and appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand (1952). Hawkins and Helm recruited four more talented Canadian musicians in the
early 1960s--Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson. Under Ronnie's tutelage they would often perform until
midnight and rehearse until four in the morning. Other bands began
emulating their style; now they were the ones to watch and learn from.
Eventually the students surpassed their teacher. Weary of Ronnie's
strict regulations and eager to expand their own musical interests,
the five decided to break from Hawkins. They called themselves "Levon
and the Hawks."
About 1965 Bob Dylan decided to change his sound. He was ready to "go
electric" and wanted Levon and The Hawks to help him fire it up. The
boys signed on to tour with Dylan, but unfortunately Dylan's die-hard
folk fans resisted. Night after night of constant booing left Levon
without the pleasure of seeing his audience enjoy themselves. He called
his drummer's stool "the best seat in the house," because he could see
his fellow musicians and his audience simultaneously. What pleased him
most, always, was that his audience had a good time. He temporarily
left the group and eventually landed back home in Arkansas. Dylan and
the rest of the band took up residence in Woodstock, NY. They rented a
large, pink house where they wrote and rehearsed new material. Danko
called for Helm to join them when Capitol Records gave them a recording
contract.
Woodstock residents called them "the band," so they kept the moniker.
The name The Band fit. The sound was no-frills rock-and-roll, but far
from simplistic. They fused every musical influence they were exposed
to over the years as individuals and as a unit. The result was
brilliant. Their development as musicians was perfected by years of
playing. Living together at "Big Pink" allowed complete collaboration
of their artistic expression. Americana and folklore themes,
heart-wrenching ballads filled with naked emotion, majestic harmonies,
hard-driving rhythms and exquisite instrumentation made critics, peers
and fans realize that this music was unlike any heard before. Their
first album, "Music from Big Pink", released in July of 1968, made them
household names, and as a result they were invited to appear on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) in autumn of '69. Following "Big Pink"'s success the next
album, called simply "The Band", is considered by some as their
masterpiece. They made seven albums total, including one live recording
in 1972, "Rock of Ages". Many of their hits--such as "The Weight", "W.S.
Walcott's Medicine Show" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"--were
spawned from stories of Levon's beloved South.
Helm was working in Los Angeles in 1974, at a Sunset Blvd. hotel, when he
spotted a beautiful young brunette taking a dip in the pool. Her name
was Sandra Dodd and when she looked up at him smiling, she didn't
recognize him at first. The charming musician offered to take the
lovely lady for sushi and never looked back. They were married on
September 7, 1981, in Woodstock.
The barn and studio Helm built in Woodstock, which became his permanent
home, was just about complete in 1975. He invited Muddy Waters to his
new studio and they recorded "Muddy Waters in Woodstock". To the delight
of everyone involved, it won a Grammy.
The Band held a farewell concert at Winterland in San Francisco on
Thanksgiving 1976. It was a bittersweet time for many, who felt the
group's demise was too soon. They called it "The Last Waltz", which
included Ronnie Hawkins,Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Bob
Dylan, Eric Clapton and an all-star guest list of peers and friends
that read like the "Who's Who" of rock and roll. The event eventually
sold as a triple album and was also filmed--The Last Waltz (1978) became the first
historical "rockumentary."
Group members went on to individual pursuits. Levon cut his debut album,
"The RCO All-Stars", in 1977. His next effort was the self-titled "Levon
Helm", followed by "American Son", released in 1980. That same year was
pivotal, as Helm turned his attention to acting. He played Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), winning great reviews for his
first film appearance. He did another self-titled album and Hollywood
again came knocking in 1983, giving him a role in The Right Stuff (1983). The
authenticity he brought to his characters earned him numerous movie
roles from 1980 until 2009. Levon gave a sensitive, convincing
portrayal of a destitute blind man in the 2005 Tommy Lee Jones vehicle, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). In 2007 he filmed
Shooter (2007) with Mark Wahlberg. His last role was in 2009. where he
portrayed Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood in In the Electric Mist (2009), again with his friend Tommy Lee Jones.
Rick Danko and Levon reunited to play music after Danko had been living
in California. Rick moved back to Woodstock and the friends did an
acoustic tour in early 1983. In San Jose the following year, they
received excellent reviews when Hudson and Manuel joined them for their
first U.S. appearance as The Band since 1976. They continued playing
together until the tragic death of their dear friend and comrade, the
42-year-old Manuel.
During the 1990s three more Band albums were recorded: "Jericho", "High on
the Hog" and "Jubilation". In 1998 Levon was diagnosed with
throat cancer and the famous voice with the rich Southern nuances was
silenced to a whisper. He still played the drums, mandolin and
harmonica, often performing with his daughter, Amy Helm, also a
vocalist and instrumentalist. A great emotional support to her father
during this time, Amy appeared with him regularly at Levon Helm
Studios. In 1999 Helm endured another tragic loss when Rick Danko
passed away 19 days before his 56th birthday. His death
marked the end of an era.
Miraculously, Levon's voice slowly returned. He felt comfortable enough
to sing again live. With imagination and vision, he conceived The
Midnight Ramble Sessions, a series of live performances at Levon Helm
Studios in Woodstock. Named for the traveling minstrel shows of his
youth, the first Midnight Ramble was held in January, 2004. It featured
one of the last performances by great blues pianist Johnnie Johnson.
Friends old and new joined Levon on his stage, including Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, John Sebastian, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Phil Lesh, Jimmy Vivino, Hubert Sumlin, Little Sammy Davis, Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters, The Muddy Waters Band, The Swell Season,
Donald Fagen, Steve Jordon, Hot Tuna, Kris Kristofferson, The Black Crowes, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Norah Jones, The Bacon Brothers,
Robbie Dupree, My Morning Jacket, Shemekia Copeland, The Wood Brothers,
Steve Earle, Jackie Greene, Sam Bush, Brewer & Shipley, Carolyn Wonderland, Ollabelle and The Alexis P. Suter Band. The monthly
Rambles at "The Barn" were wildly successful, drawing a worldwide
audience.
Releases produced by Levon Helm Studios from Helm's personal "vault,"
were Volume I and II of "The Midnight Ramble Sessions", plus a live RCO
All-Stars performance from New Year's Eve 1977, at the Palladium. The
vitality and magnetism of these recordings speak for themselves. In
September of 2007, Dirt Farmer Music and Vanguard Records released "Dirt
Farmer", Levon's first solo, studio album in 25 years. A
project particularly close to his heart, the CD contains music
reminiscent of his past, and songs handed down from his parents. "Dirt
Farmer" was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in February
2008 and landed Levon a spot in Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest
Singers of All Time. That same year he was also recognized by the
Recording Academy with a lifetime achievement award as an original
member of The Band and was given the "Artist of the Year" Award by the
Americana Music Association. In 2009 Levon released "Electric Dirt",
which marked his highest debut in Soundscan era at #36 and spent six
consecutive weeks at #1 on the Americana Radio Chart. He won a second
Grammy for "Electric Dirt" in the inaugural category of Best Americana
Album in 2010. In September 2008 Levon took "The Midnight Ramble" on the
road to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, George Receli, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton
helped The Levon Helm Band create an evening of unforgettable musical
joy. "Ramble at the Ryman - Live CD and DVD" (sold individually) won
him his third consecutive Grammy, again as Best Album in the Americana
category, in February 2012. Sadly, Levon's cancer returned shortly
after this last triumph. He passed away on April 19, 2012. His funeral
was a tearful, joyful, musical celebration of his life.
The intimacy of the shows performed at Levon's hearth offered a
hospitality and warmth found in no other venue, not to mention the
excellence of the performances themselves, hosted by a man whose gifts
were truly legendary. Though always an enthusiastic and passionate
performer, with sheer joy and gratitude, he effortlessly captivated his
audience, young and old, with a rhythmic power all his own. During a
career that spanned over five decades, Levon Helm nurtured a tradition
of professionalism with a deep respect for his craft and remained
refreshingly genuine in a world that often compromised integrity. He
was a master storyteller who wove his tales with the magic thread of
universality that ties us all. He beckoned us to come in, sit awhile
and enjoy. We see ourselves in his stories and we are home.
--Dawn LoBue Copyright © 2006 ~ 2012 All Rights Reserved.- Warren Stevens was born in Pennsylvania and joined the Navy at age 17.
His interest in acting was piqued while he was attending Annapolis, and
this resulted in 12 weeks of summer stock in Virginia. His friends,
Gregory Peck and Kenneth Tobey, later arranged interviews for Stevens at the
renowned Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Following
service as an Army Air Corps pilot in Europe during World War II, Stevens began concentrating on
his acting career, working in radio and summer stock and joining New
York's Actors Studio.. His break came via a key role in Broadway's
"Detective Story", which in turn led to offers from Hollywood studios
and a contract with 20th Century-Fox. In the half-century since his
movie debut, he has acted in dozens of features and hundreds of TV
episodes. - Actor
- Additional Crew
Ian Abercrombie began his theatrical career as a lad during the Blitz in World War II. After his footwork years during which he earned
Bronze, Silver and Gold medals in dance for the stage, he performed in London, Holland, Ireland, and Scotland. He made his American stage debut in 1955 in a production of "Stalag 17" with Jason Robards and Jules Munshin. Many plays in summer stock, regional and off-Broadway followed in a variety of theatrical offerings, from revues to Shakespeare. During a particularly low period, he worked as a magician's assistant for $10 per performance.
In 1957, he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany. He was in Special Services, where he directed the Continental premiere of "Separate Tables" and toured with Olivia de Havilland in her show. Back in the USA, Ian went to California for a backers' audition. That fizzled but he began his long and successful film and television career. For four decades, his theatrical work highlights have included; "As You Like It", "Hamlet", "Misalliance", "The Good Doctor", "The Way Of The World", "Mary Stuart", "Crucifer Of Blood", "Journey's End", "The Wrong Box", "The Cocktail Party", "Bert & Maisy", "Other Places", "Bent", "Natural Causes", "The Vortex", "Rough Crossing", and "Lettice and Lovage".
He received acclaim for the one-man show "Jean Cocteau - A Mirror Image". Another highlight was playing Alfie Doolittle in "My Fair Lady". He received awards for his work in "Sweet Prince" with Keir Dullea, "Teeth N'smiles", "A Doll's House" (with Linda Purl), and "The Arcata Promise" (opposite Anthony Hopkins).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Merry Anders practically grew up in local bijous watching films and
their accompanying stage shows with her movie-crazy mother and
grandmother. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1949 and, while
attending John Burroughs Junior High School, Anders made the
acquaintance of Rita La Roy, an old-time film actress who convinced her to
take a modeling course. Later, to help her with her modeling, she took
dramatic lessons at the Ben Bard Playhouse and was "spotted" by a 20th
Century-Fox talent scout in a Playhouse stage presentation. After
several years at Fox, Anders turned freelancer, working in TV as well
as starring in a string of modestly budgeted Western, science fiction
and horror films.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Steve Franken was born on 27 May 1932 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Westworld (1973), The Party (1968) and The Time Travelers (1964). He was married to Jean Garrett and Julia Elizabeth Carter. He died on 24 August 2012 in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
George Lindsey quickly became an icon on television in the 1960's
playing the part of 'Goober Pyle" on the The Andy Griffith Show (1960). He
replaced Jim Nabors who portrayed "Gomer Pyle" who ran the "fillin
station" on "The Andy Griffith Show." As Jim Nabors was tapped for his
own show Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), cousin "Goober" was introduced to
become the new mechanic and running the "fillin station" on "The Andy
Griffith Show." He fit in perfectly with his country wit,
impersonations of Cary Grant, "Judy, Judy, Judy," and playing the a
dim-witted bulb often to the consternation of Sheriff Andy Taylor. He
always wore his stocking type cap which always looked worn and dirty.
Lindsay played this role also in Mayberry R.F.D. (1968) and continued
playing basically the same and other characters on Hee Haw (1969) for many
years. Although he did not perform in a myriad of shows, he was always
recognizable as Goober and did not have a shortage of work. Between
"The Andy Griffith show" and "Hee Haw," this provided him with almost
25 years worth of work a busy schedule for anyone. George frequented
other country and western TV shows and movies including Gunsmoke (1955),
Cannonball Run II (1984), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), and others. But he also
found work on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), The Rifleman (1958), The Twilight Zone (1959), and many others. George provided much comedic relief to millions
of viewers for over a generation and will never be forgotten by those
who enjoyed him.- Tracy Reed was born on 21 September 1941 in Barnet, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), A Shot in the Dark (1964) and Casino Royale (1967). She was married to Christopher McCabe, Bill Simpson, Neil Hallett and Edward Fox. She died on 2 May 2012 in West Cork, Ireland.
- Breck was born Joseph Peter Breck, the son of a jazz musician also named Joseph (nicknamed "Jobie"). Over time, his father worked with such legendary greats as Fats Waller, Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Whiteman and Billie Holiday. Nicknamed "Buddy" while
young, Peter's parents were on the road for much of his early life and he was sent to live with his grandparents in Haverhill, Massachusetts, a move that provided more stability.
His parents eventually divorced and young Peter returned to Rochester to live with his mother and her new husband, Al Weber, who was a sports editor of the Rochester Times-Union. Following his schooling at John Marshall High School in Rochester, Peter served in the United States Navy. He then turned his attention back to education and studied English and drama at the University of Houston in Houston. While performing in college plays, he started to apprentice at Houston's Alley Theatre, where he appeared in such productions as "Stalag 17", among others. He had a talent for singing and performed in several clubs in and around the Houston area.
Breck extended his stage resume at Washington D.C.'s Arena Theatre. While performing there in a 1957 production of George Bernard Shaw's "The Man of Destiny", he was "discovered" by Robert Mitchum, who cast him in an unbilled role in the film Thunder Road (1958), which Mitchum himself produced, co-wrote and starred in. Mitchum invited the young tenderfoot to Los Angeles and helped set him up out there. While Breck struggled trying to establish himself in films (he played a juvenile delinquent in the movie The Beatniks (1958)), it seemed that rugged TV roles came easier to him. He found his first series lead as "Clay Culhane" in the western Black Saddle (1959), the story of a gunfighter (Breck) who switches guns for law books and tries to tame the West through reason. Co-starring Russell Johnson (later the "Professor" on Gilligan's Island (1964)), who plays a suspicious U.S. Marshal, the series was canceled after two seasons.
A Warner Brothers studio contract, however, did come out of this-and a new visibility. Tall, dark and handsome at 6'2", Breck guest-starred on all the top Warner Bros. TV shows of the day: Sugarfoot (1957), Surfside 6 (1960), Bronco (1958), Hawaiian Eye (1959),
77 Sunset Strip (1958), Cheyenne (1955) and played a recurring "Doc Holliday" in the popular series Maverick (1957). He returned to the movies as well, but this time in stronger leads or co-leads. Handed a choice co-starring assignment in Portrait of a Mobster (1961) opposite star Vic Morrow, who played the infamous "Dutch Schultz", Peter also managed to show a rare, gentler side in the outdoor family drama Lad: A Dog (1962).
He left Warners after only a few years but managed to score the leads in two low-budget cult thrillers in its wake: Shock Corridor (1963)_ and The Crawling Hand (1963), along with a very dismal lead in the musical outing Hootenanny Hoot (1963), in which he was given no songs to perform despite his singing capabilities. Again, TV came to the rescue when he won the brotherly co-lead on The Big Valley (1965). Despite a uniformly strong ensemble cast that included oldest brother Richard Long, younger brother Lee Majors and sister Linda Evans, Stanwyck was the only performer on the show who was nominated for an Emmy during its four-season run; she was nominated twice and won once.
Following this TV peak, Breck abruptly left Hollywood and focused on the theater both in the U.S. and Canada throughout the 1970s, appearing in such showcase vehicles as "The Gazebo", "A Thousand Clowns", "The Rainmaker" and "Mister Roberts". Married to former dancer Diana Bourne since 1960, the couple settled in Vancouver, Canada, with their son Christopher, where Breck checked out the film scene. He also set up a full-time acting academy school, The Breck Academy, which ran for ten years. Tragically, it was during this time that their son, Christopher, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and died (two years later).
Breck decided to lay back following this traumatic period, but still manages to perform in films and TV from time to time. As he grew older,
he joined the cast of some very offbeat "B" films: Terminal City Ricochet (1990) and and Highway 61 (1991). His more recent "B" movies included Decoy (1995), Enemy Action (1999) and Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004). He also wrote a western column and showed up occasionally at nostalgia conventions until he was diagnosed with dementia. He made his last film with a small role in the Martin Short vehicle Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004). Breck died on February 6, 2012, in Vancouver, Canada. - Actor
- Soundtrack
A golden career was reflected in his name. Robert Golden Armstrong
("Bob" to his friends) was born in Birmingham, Alabama on April 7,
1917. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
While there, he was frequently performing on stage with the Carolina
Playmakers. After graduating, R.G. headed to New York, where his acting
career really took off. In 1953, along with many of his Actors Studio
buddies, he was part of the cast of "End As a Man" -- this became the
first play to go from off-Broadway to Broadway. The following year,
R.G. got his first taste of movies, appearing in
Garden of Eden (1954). However, he
returned to New York and the live stage. He received great reviews for
his portrayal of Big Daddy in the Broadway production of "Cat On a Hot
Tin Roof" in 1955.
In 1958, R.G. took the plunge to Hollywood -- he appeared in two
movies, a television series, and did numerous guest appearances on
television series that year, usually in Westerns such as
The Rifleman (1958),
Have Gun - Will Travel (1957)
and
Zane Grey Theatre (1956),
among others. He would go on to appear in 80 movies and three
television series in his career, and guest-starred in 90 television
series, many of them Westerns, often as a tough sheriff or a rugged
land baron. R.G. was a regular cast member in the television series
T.H.E. Cat (1966), playing tough,
one-handed Captain MacAllister. During the filming of
Steel (1979) in Kentucky, watching the
mammoth Kincaid Tower being built, he made some good friends in the
cast: "You become a family on the set," he said in an interview at the
time.
Even though he had a long, versatile career, the younger generation
knows him as the demonic Lewis Vandredi (pronounced VON-drah-dee), who
just would not let the main characters have a good night's sleep on the
television series
Friday the 13th: The Series (1987).
Finally retiring after six successful decades in show business -- his
last film appearance was
Purgatory (1999) -- R.G. and
his lovely wife Mary Craven were mostly just enjoying life in
California, and still traveled and vacationed in Europe occasionally.
His upbeat, fun-loving personality made him a delight for all who came
in contact with him. R.G. Armstrong died at age 95 of natural causes in
Studio City, California on July 27, 2012.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Al Freeman, Jr. was an actor and director who was the first African
American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for acting. His most famous role
was that of Police Captain Ed Hall in the soap opera
One Life to Live (1968),
which brought him the Emmy in 1979. He was a regular on the soap from
1972 through 1987, and appeared off and on as Captain Hall from 1988
through 2000. He received three additional Emmy nominations playing the
role in 1983, '86 and '87. Freeman also was the first African American
to direct a TV soap opera, helming "One Life to Live" episodes.
Born on March 21, 1934 in San Antonio, Texas, he was raised primarily
by his father, an actor and jazz musician, after his parents divorced.
Al Freeman father and son left Texas, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. After
studying drama at Los Angeles City College, Freeman fils moved to New
York City to act in the theater, making his Broadway debut in
Ketti Frings's "The Long Dream" in 1960, a
flop that closed after five performances. He had a major success
playing the lead in
James Baldwin's play "Blues for
Mister Charlie" in 1964. In 1970, he appeared in "Look to the Lilies"
on Broadway, a musical version of the 1963 movie
Lilies of the Field (1963),
playing the part of Homer Smith, the role that brought
Sidney Poitier an Oscar. Despite a
prestigious production team that included director
Joshua Logan, composer
Jule Styne and lyricist
Sammy Cahn, the show was a flop.
Freeman made his reputation primarily in television. He debuted as a
television actor in the series
Suspicion (1957) in 1958, and his
soap opera debut came in 1967 in
The Edge of Night (1956).
He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for
My Sweet Charlie (1970)
and for
Roots: The Next Generations (1979),
in which he played Malcolm X.
In 1958, Freeman made his movie debut in an uncredited role in the
Glenn Ford WWII picture
_Torpedo Run (1958)_ and first received billing in the 1960 gang war B-movie potboiler This Rebel Breed (1960).
His most memorable role was the lead in
Amiri Baraka's
Dutchman (1966) opposite
Shirley Knight, who was named
Best Actress at the 1967 Venice Film Festival. Freeman won the
N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion
Picture for playing Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in
Spike Lee's
Malcolm X (1992).
Freeman was a professor in the drama department of Howard University.
When he died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78,
he had established himself as a legend in the African American arts
community.- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Stunningly comely and slinky brunette Lina Romay rates highly as one of
the boldest, most sensuous, and enticing actresses to have appeared
with tremendous frequency in a large volume of European horror and
exploitation features made from the early 1970s to the early 21st
century.
Romay was born Rosa Maria Almirall on June 25, 1954, in Barcelona,
Cataluna, Spain. Her cinematic pseudonym was taken from Lina Romay, a
singer/actress in mambo king Xavier Cugat's
band in the 1940s. Following graduation from high school, Romay studied
the arts, married actor/photographer
Raymond Hardy (they later
divorced), and began acting in stage productions. Lina first met
infamous and prolific maverick Spanish independent filmmaker
Jesús Franco in the early 1970s. Romay and
Franco eventually became a couple. Lina for a long time was Franco's
common law wife until they officially wed on April 23, 2008.
Lina made her film debut as a gypsy girl in
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1973).
She had small parts in a few other Franco films before playing more
substantial lead and co-starring roles (she acted in over 100 Franco
films). Despite her lack of formal training, Lina nonetheless naturally
projected an extremely brazen, earthy, and uninhibited screen presence
that was both alluring and captivating in equal measure. In fact, her
open, unabashed, and downright aggressive sexuality even led to her
willing and enthusiastic participation in explicit scenes in hardcore
porno fare. Lina's most memorable roles include the voracious Countess
Irina Karlstein in
Female Vampire (1973), brutalized
innocent Maria in the sensationally sleazy
Barbed Wire Dolls (1976), vicious
top con Juana in the similarly scuzzy
Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (1977),
especially inspired in a dual part in
Die Marquise von Sade (1976)
and bawdy prostitute Marika in the gloomy
Jack the Ripper (1976).
Moreover, Romay posed for nude pictorials in such men's magazines as
"Cinema X" and "Sex Stars System." In addition to acting, Lina also
worked on a handful of films as a writer, director, producer, and
assistant editor. In real life Lina was the total radical opposite of
her wild and outrageous screen persona: she was a very quiet,
soft-spoken, and self-effacing woman who usually dressed in frumpy
clothes. Romay died from cancer at age 57 on February 15, 2012 in
Malaga, Spain.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Born Norman Adelberg in 1924, he served in the Army during World War
II. At the end of the conflict he had the opportunity to benefit from
the GI Bill program meant to help returning soldiers to
start or resume studying. That is how, while attending Texas Christian
University, he discovered on the boards of on-campus theater that he
had a talent for acting. This was the beginning of a long, long career.
Though most of the time in small or even bit parts, Alden, worked for
such big names as Howard Hawks,
Jerry Lewis,
Walt Disney,
Woody Allen and
Tim Burton. He might have become a
major star himself after
Richard C. Sarafian chose him for
the title role of Andy (1965). The director
must have been very pleased with Alden for, as Andy Chadakis - the
retarded son of elderly Greek immigrants - he showed remarkable acting
ability . Unfortunately, the film was little seen and the gifted actor
landed no other parts of such importance and quality afterward.- Mary Tamm was born on 22 March 1950 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Doctor Who (1963), Doghouse (2009) and The Likely Lads (1976). She was married to Marcus Ringrose. She died on 26 July 2012 in Battersea, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Cliff Osmond was born on 26 February 1937 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Streets of San Francisco (1972), The Front Page (1974) and The Penitent (1988). He was married to Gretchen Lee Petty. He died on 22 December 2012 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
This warm and winning, very non-theatrical brunette was born Phyllis
St. Felix Thaxter in Portland, Maine, on November 20, 1919. The
daughter of Maine Supreme Court Justice Sidney Thaxter, her acting
talent came from her mother's side, who was a one-time Shakespearean
actress. Phyllis was educated for a time at St. Genevieve School in
Montreal and back at Portland's Deering High School.
She apprenticed in summer stock and had joined the Montreal Reperatory Theatre company by
the time she made her Broadway debut at age 17 in "What a Life!" in
1939, the "Henry Aldrich" play. She went on to play a maid and to
understudy the leading ingénue in "There Shall Be No Night" (1940),
which starred America's premiere theatrical couple,
Alfred Lunt and
Lynn Fontanne, then understudied
Dorothy McGuire in the hit
dramatic play, "Claudia", later that year. She eventually played the
title role both on Broadway and on the road, but lost out on the film
role to McGuire.
Hollywood films reached her sights a few years later with the MGM war
film,
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944),
proving quite convincing as
Van Johnson's noble wife. Similar to
Margaret Sullavan,
June Allyson,
Dorothy McGuire and
Teresa Wright, Phyllis was
depended on as a stabilizing factor in melodramas and war pictures,
often the dewy-eyed, altruistic wife, girlfriend or daughter waiting on
the home-front.
Other important films included the girl with a split
personality in Bewitched (1945), and as
a angst-ridden, teary-eyed bride-to-be in
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945).
She was dutifully wholesome as the daughter who reunites
Spencer Tracy and
Katharine Hepburn in the movie
The Sea of Grass (1947) and
evoked tears, yet again, as little
Margaret O'Brien's mother in
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948). So
natural and non-glamorous was she that she tended to blend into the
woodwork while the flashier actresses often stole the thunder and the
notices.
Audiences did not always fully appreciate Phyllis's
understated work. She finished out her MGM contract with
Act of Violence (1948),
ever-faithful to even the bad guy, this time psychotic gangster
Robert Ryan. Phyllis moved to Warner
Brothers in the 1950s and played more of the same. The ever-patient
wife to a slew of top actors including shady boat skipper
John Garfield in
The Breaking Point (1950), an
alcoholic Gig Young in
Come Fill the Cup (1951) and
law-abiding Gary Cooper in
Springfield Rifle (1952), her
nascent career at Warners was suddenly curtailed by illness.
While visiting her family in Portland, she contracted a form of infantile
paralysis. Fortunately, she recovered quickly but the ailment triggered
the termination of her contract. Film roles were few and far between
after this. Still displaying her built-in compassion and concern, her
best-known part came with the touching but relatively minor role of
farm wife "Martha Kent" in the highly popular
Superman (1978) film series with the
late Christopher Reeve as her adopted
superhero son and Glenn Ford as her
husband. She was also a steady guest star on TV with numerous dramatic
appearances including
The Twilight Zone (1959),
The F.B.I. (1965),
Cannon (1971),
Medical Center (1969),
Barnaby Jones (1973) and
several TV movies.
Married for nearly two decades to
James T. Aubrey (1918-1994), who became
president of CBS-TV before taking over MGM, they had three
children--including Schuyler, who would become the actress
Skye Aubrey. Following the couple's divorce
in 1962, Phyllis married Gilbert Lea, who owned Tower Publishing
Company in Portland. They eventually retired to Cumberland, Maine,
where she involved herself in civic/community activities and dedicated
herself to hospital volunteer work.
Phyllis died in Florida on August 14, 2012, at age 92.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Sherman Hemsley played characters known to be wise-cracking, "Weezy"
loving, boisterous fools which America and the entire
world laughed with kindheartedly. Sherman Alexander Hemsley, Air Force
veteran and actor, was born on Feb. 1, 1938 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. His father, William Hemsley, worked at a printing press
while his mother worked at various factories during the war. As a
child, Hemsley was introduced to acting during school where the
teachers would ask students to play different characters. The first
play he did as a kid in school was about fire prevention and Hemsley
played the fire. He eventually ended up dropping out of school and
joined the Air Force. During his adolescence he never considered acting
as a profession until after he served in the military. Hemsley then
moved from south Philadelphia where he had spent most of his life to
New York City. He worked graveyard shift as a post office clerk during the night and
actor during the day. He considered New York the best place to be as
it had several acting workshops and theater companies such as The Negro
Ensemble Company (NEC)founded by Robert Hooks which helped
actors/actresses obtain roles on theater, television and movies. His
former co-star, Roxie Roker, was also part
of the NEC alumni. Hemsley made his professional acting debut on the
Broadway play, Purlie, and toured with the show for a year. In 1971,
while on tour for Purlie, he received a call from
producer/creator/writer Norman Lear. Lear
wanted Hemsley to audition for a role which was going to be part of his
sitcom
All in the Family (1971).
Due to his commitment to the Purlie project, Hemsley declined the role.
Norman Lear said he would have the role open for him and Hemsley joined
the cast two years later. Hemsley and co-star,
Isabel Sanford were chosen to do a spin
off of the show All In The Family called
The Jeffersons (1975). Despite
the age difference between Hemsley and Sanford (twenty years apart),
many described their on-screen marriage as truly hilarious. Hemsley was
nominated for a Golden Globe for his outstanding performance as George
Jefferson. The Jeffersons turned out to be a success spanning eleven
seasons ending in 1985. After The Jeffersons, Hemsley steadily started
working on other projects and in 1986 joined the NBC sitcom
Amen (1986) where he played religious
deacon Ernest Frye. The show ran for five seasons until 1991. Hemsley
then made his debut as a voice actor as part of the ABC live
action-puppet series,
Dinosaurs (1991). Hemsley played
Bradley P. Richfield, Earl's cruel boss. The show ran successfully for
four seasons. In 1997, the remaining cast of The Jeffersons had a
reunion on the Rolonda (1994) talk
show, still having the same charm they did decades ago. Isabel Sanford
and Sherman Hemsley made television guest appearances together on
well-known television programs such as
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)
and were in commercials for The Gap, Old Navy and Denny's. Hemsley and
Marla Gibbs guest starred on the TBS show
House of Payne (2006) in 2011.
Sherman Hemsley will be remembered as an actor who was on shows that
addressed serious issues but also one who brought laughter into homes
every week.- Actor
- Soundtrack
James Farentino was an American actor, with many appearances in film and television. He is better known for playing fisherman and apostle Simon Peter in the miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), and revenge-seeking psychiatrist Dr. Nick Toscanni in the soap opera "Dynasty". He played the role of Toscanni from 1981 to 1982.
Farentino was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He studied drama and acting in a Catholic school. He was frequently cast in guest-star roles in television through the 1950s and 1960s. His first recurring role was that of lawyer Neil Darrell in the legal drama "The Bold Ones: The Lawyers" (1968-1972). He appeared in 19 of the series' 29 episodes.
Farentino found critical acclaim in his role as Simon Peter in "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, but the award was instead won by rival actor Howard Da Silva (1909-1986).
Farentino next found a notable recurring role in the soap opera "Dynasty" as psychiatrist Dr. Nick Toscanni. Originally introduced as an old friend of protagonist Blake Carrington (played John Forsythe), Carrington was eventually revealed as a secret enemy of Carrington who held a grudge against him. Toscanni's vengeful plots were among the main subplots of the series' second season, but he was then written out.
In the 1990s, Farentino continued working an an actor, but he gained more notoriety for his personal life. In 1991 he was arrested for cocaine possession, and in 1993 he was charged with stalking his former girlfriend Tina Sinatra. Later he had a troubled marriage with his fourth wife Stella Farentino.
In the 2000s, Farentino entered retirement from acting, due to health problems. In 2010, Farentino was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery, because he tried to physically remove a man from his house. Farentino was briefly held by the Los Angeles Police Department. He was released after posting a 20,000 dollars bond.
In January 2012, Farentino died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His death was caused from complications due to a right hip fracture. He was 73-years-old at the time of death, dying a full month before his 74th birthday.