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- Music Artist
- Producer
- Actor
The extraordinary, easy-listening crooning talents of Andy Williams were first unveiled when he was 8 years old and inducted into the Williams Brothers Quartet as its youngest member. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa on December 3, 1927, Andy started singing with his three older brothers (Bob Williams, Dick Williams and Don Williams) in his hometown's Presbyterian church choir. The quartet became instant local news and made its professional singing debut when Andy was in the third grade. A bonafide hit, they went on to become a staple on radio in nearby big city Des Moines. From there, the harmonizing siblings found widespread popularity on wartime radio, including Chicago and Cincinnati. Andy graduated from high school in Cincinnati. They eventually caught the attention of crooning king Bing Crosby, who included the boys on his mammoth 1944 hit single "Swinging on a Star". Bing, of course, was keen on the boys' combined talents, having his own singing quartet of sons at home. Speciality film appearances in musicals were also a rage and the boys appeared in such film fare as Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies' Man (1947). They then joined singer/personality Kay Thompson in 1947 with her eclectic nightclub act and stayed with the popular show until they disbanded in 1951. Andy was the only Williams brother who ventured out to the East Coast to seek a solo singing career.
His career received a major boost when he co-starred with Chico Marx on the short lived television show called The College Bowl (1950 - 1951). On the show he acted, sang, and danced along with others. The show lasted for 26 weeks. After College Bowl was cancelled Andy Williams was offered regular singing duties on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show (1953) show, which led to Andy's first recording contract with Cadence Records in 1956 and his first album. A "Top 10" hit came with the lovely ballad "Canadian Sunset". This, in turn, was followed by "Butterfly" (#1), "Lonely Street", "I Like Your Kind of Love", "Are You Sincere" and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", the last tune earning him five Grammy Award nominations. An ingratiating presence on television, he was handed a musical show co-hosting with June Valli and a summer replacement series of his own. In the meantime, he developed into a top nightclub favorite.
In 1962, Andy made a lucrative label change to Columbia Records, which produced the "Top 10" pop hit "Can't Get Use to Losing You" and a collaboration with Henry Mancini, which inspired Andy's signature song, "Moon River," the Oscar-winning tune from the popular Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Andy had the honor of singing the song during the Oscar ceremony. Other major chartbusters for Andy came with the movie theme songs Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Dear Heart (1964) and Love Story (1970).
An attempt to parlay his singing fame into a film career was one of Andy's few missteps in a hugely successful career. He co-starred in the light, screwy Ross Hunter comedy soufflé I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) starring Sandra Dee and enjoyably squared off with fellow singing suitor Robert Goulet. Andy and Robert also sang in the picture (including sharing the title song), which was a tepid remake of It Started with Eve (1941) starring Deanna Durbin. It was an artificial role to be sure and is only significant in that it was Andy's sole legit acting experience on film.
What truly put Andy over the top was the phenomenal success of his weekly variety show The Andy Williams Show (1962). Andy was a natural in front of the television camera and his dueting with such singing legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee kept audiences enthralled week after week. What goes around comes around for Andy would often invite his brothers to sing with him and also introduced another talented harmonizing boy group--the seven "Osmond Brothers". The series, which concluded in 1971, won three Emmy Awards for "Best Musical/Variety Series". Andy himself picked up a couple of nominations as performer.
In 1961, Andy married a stunning, whispery-voiced French chanteuse named Claudine Longet (born in Paris in 1942), who was 15 years younger. The couple had three children. She made a mild hit of the song "Love Is Blue" and enjoyed slight celebrity status. Like the Crosby family, Andy's clan became an integral part of his annual classic Christmas television specials. Despite the fact that the couple separated in 1969, Claudine continued to appear in these specials in the early 1970s.
In tandem with his famous television show, Andy opened Caesar's Palace in 1966 and went on to headline there for 20 years. Following the demise of his television success, Andy continued to tour both here and abroad. He laid low for a time to protect his children through a tragic crisis when his ex-wife Claudine (since 1975) became enmeshed in a tabloid-styled shooting in March of 1976. The 1970s also deemed the cardigan-wearing Andy as too square and clean-cut to prod younger audiences. Nevertheless, he hosted the Grammy Awards a few times and returned to a syndicated series format in 1976, which was short-lived. Andy remarried happily in 1991 to non-professional Debbie Haas.
Inspired by singer/friend Ray Stevens, Andy had built a $12 million state-of-the-art theater, which opened in 1992 and was christened the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. Andy became the first non-country star to perform there and other theme shows have since been inspired to populate the small town--now considered the live music capital of the world. At age 70+, he continued to perform in Branson, Missouri, where he and his wife reside, and in Europe. Andy Williams died at age 84 of bladder cancer in Branson, Missouri on September 25, 2012.- Alejandra Pizarnik was born on 29 April 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a writer, known for Cineficción Radio (2019). She died on 25 September 1972 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Alex Montoya was born on 19 October 1907 in El Paso, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and Soldiers of Fortune (1955). He died on 25 September 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Alicia de Larrocha was born on 23 May 1923 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was married to Juan Torra. She died on 25 September 2009 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Arne Weise was born on 28 February 1930 in Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden. He was a director and producer, known for Natural World (1983), Unga emigranter (1964) and Stockholm 12 timmar (1965). He was married to Agneta Malmberg, Kicki Christensson and Else-Marie Sundin. He died on 25 September 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden.- Arnold Palmer was born on 10 September 1929 in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Return to Campus (1975), Call Me Bwana (1963) and Arnold Palmer: Course Strategy (1989). He was married to Kathleen Gawthrop and Winifred Walzer. He died on 25 September 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Art Gilmore was born on 18 March 1912 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Highway Patrol (1955), Dragnet (1951) and Dragnet 1967 (1967). He was married to Grace Weller. He died on 25 September 2010 in Irvine, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bobby Knutt was born on 25 November 1945 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996), Jake's Progress (1995) and The Bill (1984). He was married to Donna Hartley. He died on 25 September 2017 in Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France.- Prolific mystery writer Cornell Woolrich was born in New York City, but his parents separated when he was young and he spent much of his childhood in Latin America with his father. Then he was sent back to New York to live with his rich, domineering mother, Claire. He attended Columbia University where he wrote his first novel, a Jazz Age piece published in 1926 titled "Cover Charge". Another book, "Children of the Ritz", followed in 1927. Hollywood beckoned but his time there as an (uncredited) screenwriter proved to be unhappy. A disastrous marriage to a producer's daughter failed quickly and he headed back to New York -- and Claire. He found his niche writing suspense stories for magazines such as "Argosy", "Black Mask" and "Thrilling Mystery". Sales were made to Hollywood, his reputation grew, and his bank account increased. Some called him "the Poe of the 20th century". Then his mother sank into a lengthy illness and his output fell as he devoted more and more of his time to her care. By the time she died in 1957, he was "burned out". From then until his death in 1968, he lived a lonely life marked by alcoholism and poor health (he delayed visiting a doctor when his leg started bothering him; he eventually lost it to gangrene). When he died his funeral went unattended.
He bequeathed money to Columbia to set up a creative writing course which was not named after him but after who else?-Claire. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Dolores Michaels was born on 30 January 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Wayward Bus (1957), Warlock (1959) and Fräulein (1958). She was married to Bernard Woolfe and Maurice Martine. She died on 25 September 2001 in West Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Don Adams was born in New York, to a father of Hungarian Jewish descent, and a mother of German and Irish ancestry. He had a sister, Gloria, and a brother, Dick Yarmy. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War II and contracted malaria during the fighting on Guadalcanal island. After the war he began a career as a stand-up comic. He married singer Adelaide Adams and adopted her last name as his stage surname. He had seven children altogether, (four with his first wife, two with his second, one with his third): Caroline Adams, Christine, Catherine, Cecily Adams, Stacey Adams, Sean, Beige. His television career began when he won the Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948) talent contest. His most famous role, of course, is as bumbling, incompetent, clueless yet endearing secret agent Maxwell Smart in the classic sitcom/spy spoof Get Smart (1965), although he also had a career as a television director and a Broadway and theatrical dramatic actor.- Sylvia Butterfield MBE, known professionally as Elizabeth Dawn or Liz Dawn, was an English actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. First starting on the serial in 1974, she had more of a recurring role as a factory worker until her husband Jack (played by William Tarmey) first appeared in 1979, and later a more concrete role in 1983. For her role as Vera, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 British Soap Awards. She was made an MBE in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Dawn started her show business career as a nightclub singer. By the late 1960s she had ventured into acting, often taking small parts in television programmes as well as advertisements. During the 1970s she appeared in a variety of programmes including All Creatures Great and Small and Colin Welland's play Leeds United, as well as an early appearance in Crown Court as a non-speaking background artist.
In January 1990, Dawn was featured on This is Your Life. She published her autobiography, Vera Duckworth - My Story, in 1993.
In 2000, Dawn was chosen as the Lady Mayoress of Leeds and was awarded an MBE in October of that year for her services to charity, having helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for hospitals in the Manchester and Leeds areas.
On 12 October 2010, Dawn appeared in a wheelchair at the naming ceremony of the new Cunard cruise ship, MS Queen Elizabeth in Southampton.
She appeared at the 2011 British Soap Awards giving the Lifetime Achievement Award to her former co-star Bill Tarmey.
On 12 June 2014, Dawn was the subject of one of five celebrity specials of The Jeremy Kyle Show. She appeared on the show, talking about her career and health.
On 11 November 2015, it was announced that Dawn was to briefly come out of retirement and make a guest appearance in Emmerdale over Christmas 2015, in the role of Mrs Winterbottom. - Writer
- Actor
- Director
Born George Emlyn Williams in Pen-y-Ffordd, Mostyn, Flintshire in northeast Wales on November 1905, he lived in a rural village in which Welsh was spoken until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to an English-speaking town, Connah's Quay. It changed the course of his life, as it was there that the teacher, Sarah Grace Cooke, recognizing his literary talent, encouraged him and helped him win a scholarship to Oxford, where he attended the college of Christ Church. She is immortalized in the character of "Miss Moffat" in his play, "The Corn is Green".
Education enabled him to escape the life at hard labor that was the lot of his people. He attended Christ Church, Oxford and also studied in Geneva, Switzerland. He joined a repertory theater and made his acting debut in "And So To Bed" in London in November, 1927. He eventually became an accomplished stage and screen actor, but it was as a playwright that he had his greatest success, eventually writing a score of plays.
He had his first theatrical success as a writer with "A Murder Has Been Arranged". The success of his 1935 play "Night Must Fall", which opened at London's Duchess Theatre, led to its being transferred to New York the following year. Williams had made his Broadway debut in 1927, as a 21-year-old in "And So To Bed", a comedy based on the diaries of Samuel Pepys (the title comes from how Pepys ended his diary entries; Pepys was the subject of a 1983 TV movie Pepys and So to Bed (1983)), and had appeared again on Broadway in Edgar Wallace's "Criminal at Large" in 1932. Opening on September 23, 1936 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, the play ran for 64 performances. It was made into a movie twice, in 1937 with Robert Montgomery in the lead role of the young psychopath, and later, in 1964, with Albert Finney taking over the role.
Walking around for two years with the head of a woman in a hat box, Williams recalled in 1965, likely was the reason that Sir Alexander Korda hired him for the part of "Caligula" in the 1937 version of Robert Graves's I, Claudius (1937), famous as "The Epic That Never Was", in which Charles Laughton was cast as the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. The production was canceled after leading lady Merle Oberon got into a car accident.
"The Corn Is Green" was a Broadway triumph for the great Ethel Barrymore in 1940, and the 1945 film adaptation starred Bette Davis, as well as John Dall and Joan Lorring in Oscar-nominated performances. Katharine Hepburn later played the part of "Miss Moffat" in the 1979 TV movie directed by George Cukor, for which she won an Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special.
Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic", "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor, himself, in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for "A Boy Growing Up" (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman Dylan Thomas. The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in Woman of Dolwyn (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest", and Emyln Williams' son, Brook Williams, became one of Burton's life-long friends). Williams was the godfather to his Burton's daughter, Kate Burton, who is also an actress. In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) (1934) and Jamaica Inn (1939).
Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief". His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie King Ralph (1991). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.
When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.- Francis De Sales was born on 23 March 1912 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Two Faces West (1960), Mr. & Mrs. North (1952) and The Outer Limits (1963). He was married to Doris Frances Mylott and Eileen Elizabeth Carroll. He died on 25 September 1988 in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Frank Fay was born on 17 November 1891 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for God's Gift to Women (1931), Nothing Sacred (1937) and The Matrimonial Bed (1930). He was married to Barbara Stanwyck, Frances White, Betty Kean and Gladys Buchanan. He died on 25 September 1961 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
George Plimpton was born on 18 March 1927 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Good Will Hunting (1997), Nixon (1995) and Just Cause (1995). He was married to Sara Whitehead Dudley and Freddy Medora Espy. He died on 26 September 2003 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Gérard Palaprat was born on 12 June 1950 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Trans-Europ-Express (1966), Vidocq (1967) and Le grand voyage (1969). He was married to Guylaine. He died on 25 September 2017 in Beauvoir-sur-Niort, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Helen Broderick was a deliciously funny character comedienne with vaudeville and stage experience, a close friend of Jeanne Eagels. The story goes that, at the age of 14, she ran away from home because her mother (who featured in operatic comedy) was totally obsessed by the theatre. Ironically, all the people she met turned out to be performers, and Helen (who needed to make a living, after all) ended up where she hadn't wanted to be -- on the stage.
Helen started out as a chorus girl in the first Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. Her talent for comedy was discovered quite by accident. In 1911, she was understudy to the actress Ina Claire in the Broadway play 'Jumping Jupiter'. One night, Claire was unable to perform and Helen Broderick stood in as the romantic lead. She soon had the audience in stitches, trampling about the stage like an elephant, rolling her big saucer eyes and attempting to croon 'Cuddle Near Me All Day Long' in her rather unique voice. The romance was no more and instead turned into a popular farce with Helen now permanently installed in the lead role. For a while, Helen partnered her husband Lester Crawford in vaudeville. In the 1920's, she enjoyed success on Broadway, most notably in 'Fifty Million Frenchmen' (a role she took to Hollywood in 1931). Her best parts in the movies were as the perennial friend or chaperone of the heroine (the type of role subsequently associated with Eve Arden), delivering acidic wisecracks in her inimitable dead-pan manner. On several occasions, Helen co-starred with Victor Moore, one of her previous acting partners on Broadway. However, these efforts were decidedly bottom-of-the-bill. She reserved her amusing best enlivening some of RKO's prestige musicals, especially Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Another good part came her way in The Rage of Paris (1938) (with Danielle Darrieux). Helen retired from films in 1946 and died thirteen years later at Beverly Hills Doctor's Hospital at the age of 68.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jan Tríska was born on 4 November 1936 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Ronin (1998), Apt Pupil (1998) and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). He was married to Karla Chadimová. He died on 25 September 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Jean Shepard was born on 21 November 1933 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, USA. She was married to Benny Howard Birchfield, Archie Leon Summers and Harold Hawkshaw Hawkins. She died on 25 September 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- Producer
- Director
- Production Manager
Jerry Thorpe was born on 29 August 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Kung Fu (1972), The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove (1979) and The Venetian Affair (1966). He was married to Dee Turnell. He died on 25 September 2018 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
John Bonham is still regularly voted in polls as the greatest and most influential rock drummer of all time, an opinion which has also been expressed by the likes of Roger Taylor of Queen, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
He started playing drums at the age of five using a makeshift kit and later progressed to real drums. His influences included great American jazz drummers such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. He played in a series of bands and formed an association with Robert Plant through Band of Joy, who combined blues, psychedelics and extended musical workouts. According to Plant: "Bonzo was totally and absolutely devoted to getting it right. Everything that he listened to he could go beyond, not only could he recreate it but he could take it somewhere new. He knew that he was a powerhouse among drummers... we seemed to have a great affinity for each other."
Although Bonham and Plant went their separate ways after Band of Joy, they reunited in The Yardbirds, which already featured Jimmy Page. John Paul Jones joined and this led to the formation of Led Zeppelin, who released their first album in 1969. They went on to become the biggest rock band of the 1970s, achieving extraordinary success in the United States in particular.
Bonham died aged 32 in 1980. He had a reputation as a heavy drinker and had consumed too much vodka in the 24 hours before his death, which caused vomiting and asphyxiation. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. Led Zeppelin announced they were finished as a band. According to Page, the band could not have continued without him, he was so integral to their sound. They didn't play again as Led Zeppelin until Live Aid (1985), which included Plant's solo drummer Phil Collins and The Power Station's Tony Thompson replacing him in a performance which has been disowned by the band. Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, has become a successful drummer himself and a member of Led Zeppelin for subsequent reunion performances.- José Ignacio Rucci was born on 15 March 1924 in Alcorta, Santa Fe, Argentina. He died on 25 September 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Karyn is best known for her starring role as Maggie in the hit independent film, Better Than Chocolate (1999). She was also in Superstar (1999), Sailor Moon (1995) , The Life Before This (1999) , and many other film, TV, and theatrical productions. She created, produced, and starred in her one woman feminist show Bad Girls and was honored to be included in The Newfoundland Herald's selection of Newfoundland icons. She finds joy in creating, writing, singing, and answering questions with interpretive dance. Now she is fearlessly venturing into stand up comedy.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Kashif, artist/producer CEO, Founder and Creative Director Music Business 411
From his teenage years as a member of the '70s seminal funk band B.T. Express, through his award-winning albums as a solo artist and his hit-making productions with such major artists as Whitney Houston, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Kenny G., Evelyn "Champagne" King, Melba Moore, Me'lisa Morgan, and Dionne Warwick, Kashif has always been an innovator, a multi-talented individual, whose cutting edge approach has placed him in the upper echelons of contemporary R&B, Pop, and Jazz music.
During the early 1980s, while signed as a solo artist with Arista Records, Kashif began using new software and hardware developed by New England Digital for the Synclavier to create unique blends of synthesized and live music. With hit records like "I Just Got To Have You (Lover Turn Me On)", "Stone Love", "Help Yourself To My Love" and the Grammy-nominated instrumental "The Mood", Kashif began creating a solid reputation among record buyers for his distinctive musical sound.
His second album, "Send Me Your Love" resulted in two Grammy nominations ("Edgartown Groove", featuring Al Jarreau, and "Call Me Tonight"), while his 1985 release "Condition of the Heart" also yielded another Grammy nomination with "The Movie Song." He produced George Benson and Kenny G., and teamed up with then-newcomer Whitney Houston. The result was Whitney's first across-the-board smash "You Give Good Love", which he also co-wrote, and "Thinking About You", a single track from Whitney's astounding 17-million selling debut-album.
Kashif also worked with Whitney Houston on her second, 15-million selling album. He produced and was the legendary Dionne Warwick's duet partner on the hit "Reservations For Two". He also enjoyed a major hit of his own with "Love Changes", a duet with Mel'isa Morgan taken from his best-selling album of the same name, following it with "Kashif", another well-received LP. Kashif has also amassed gold and platinum albums for his work with Evelyn King, George Benson and Kenny G.
In the 90s, with an invitation from the famed UCLA Extension program, Kashif created a course called "Contemporary Record Production With Kashif". He wrote and released the now highly acclaimed book Everything You'd Better Know About The Record Industry. The Urban Music Directory, A&R Source Guide, and Music Publisher's Source Guide. Each of these books is designed to assist people that have an interest in the music industry.
With a career that spans over four decades, with over 70 million records sold and the most recommended book on the music business, Kashif continues to be one of music industry's most sought after songwriters, producers, and authors.- Kent Lipham was born to Jimmy and Nancy Lipham in 1961. He has a younger brother named Jamie. Around the age of sixteen, fearing he was becoming agoraphobic his mother insisted Kent join a club. Not being very smart, athletic, or crafty the drama club seemed perfect for him. The roar of the grease paint and the smell of the crowd thrilled Kent. Finally he went to his mother and said "I'm going to be an actor and it's all your fault!" After graduating from Talladega High School in 1980, Mom and Pop shipped Kent off to University where he studied Communication Arts (mostly theatre). His favorite subjects were puppetry and ballet, with modern jazz a close third. He received his B.F.A. from the University of Montevallo in 1984. He then packed his orange Malibu Classic and headed for Hollywood. He appeared in four films in the 80s and early 90s. Encouraged by fans visiting his message boards on IMDB he has recently decided to return to the business which had never really left his system to begin with.
- Although Lani O'Grady retired from acting in the '80s to become a talent agent like her mother, she had long secured her place in the TV Land pantheon as Mary, the brainiac wannabe doctor in Eight Is Enough (1977)'s expansive Bradford brood. The dramedy, starring Dick Van Patten as a newspaper columnist and superdad, ran on ABC from 1977-1981. In addition to her four-year stint on the show and two late-'80s reunion specials, O'Grady racked up appearances on such other '70s tube staples as The Love Boat (1977), as well as TV movies like The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982), before leaving Hollywood.
She had been dogged by health and pill problems dating back to her Mary Bradford days. In a series of interviews in the 1990s, she admitted to having suffered panic attacks for the previous 20 years. Scores of doctors misdiagnosed her; to cope with the frequent anxiety episodes--sometimes she'd shake so badly she couldn't leave her dressing room to shoot a scene--she was fed a veritable pharmacy: Xanax, Valium and Librium. She became hooked on the pills and, eventually, alcohol, too. She went into rehab at least five times. By the mid-'90s she declared herself clean, thanks to an alternative-medicine regimen, and even went to work for her doctor as a recovery counselor. However, in 1998 she checked herself into the mental health ward of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for detox. She had become hooked on a prescription drug called Ativan. While in Cedars she claimed she was sexually battered by a medical technician and sued the hospital. The suit was pending at the time of her death.
O'Grady came from a show-biz family. Her brother, Don Grady, was an original Mouseketeer and member of another notable TV family--he played Robbie on My Three Sons (1960). Her mother, Mary Grady, was an agent who represented several child actors. Born Lanita Rose Agrati on October 2, 1954, she changed her name once she landed her "Eight Is Enough" gig. Her first professional role came at the age of 13, when she made a brief appearance in the TV western The High Chaparral (1967). She died on September 25, 2001, at her home in Valencia, CA, just a week shy of her 47th birthday. - Laura Waterbury was born on 12 March 1947 in Bedford, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Better Off Dead (1985), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Innerspace (1987). She died on 25 September 2013 in North Hollywood, California, USA.
- Director
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- Producer
Lewis Milestone, a clothing manufacturer's son, was born in Bessarabia (now Moldova), raised in Odessa (Ukraine) and educated in Belgium and Berlin (where he studied engineering). He was fluent in both German and Russian and an avid reader. Milestone had an affinity for the theatre from an early age, starting as a prop man and background artist before traveling to the US in 1914 with $6.00 in his pocket. After a succession of odd jobs (including as a dishwasher and a photographer's assistant) he joined the Army Signal Corps in 1917 to make educational short films for U.S. troops. Following World War I, having acquired American citizenship, he went on to Hollywood to meet the director William A. Seiter at Ince Studios. Seiter started him off as an assistant cutter. Milestone quickly worked his way up the ranks to become editor, assistant director and screenwriter on many of Seiter's projects in the early 1920s, experiences that would greatly influence his directing style in years to come.
Milestone directed his first film, Seven Sinners (1925), for Howard Hughes and two years later won his first of two Academy Awards for the comedy Two Arabian Knights (1927). He received his second Oscar for what most regard as his finest achievement, the anti-war movie All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The film, universally praised by reviewers for its eloquence and integrity, also won the Best Picture Academy Award that year. A noted Milestone innovation was the use of cameras mounted on wooden tracks, giving his films a more realistic and fluid, rather than static, look. Other trademarks associated with his pictures were taut editing, snappy dialogue and clever visual touches, good examples being the screwball comedy The Front Page (1931), the melodrama Rain (1932)--based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham--and an adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1939). When asked in 1979 about the secret behind his success, he simply declared "Arrogance, chutzpah--in the old Hollywood at least that's the thing that gave everybody pause" (New York Times, September 27, 1980). Milestone had a history of being "difficult", having clashed with Howard Hughes, Warner Brothers and a host of studio executives over various contractual and artistic issues. Nonetheless, he remained constantly employed and worked for most of the major studios at one time or another, though never on long-term contracts. While he was not required to testify before HUAC, Milestone was blacklisted for a year in 1949 because of left-wing affiliations dating back to the 1930's. His output became less consistent during the 1950s and his career finished on a low with the remake of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and its incongruously cast, equally headstrong star Marlon Brando.
Milestone must be credited with a quirky sense of humor: when the producer of "All Quiet on the Western Front", Carl Laemmle Jr., demanded a "happy ending" for the picture, Milestone telephoned, "I've got your happy ending. We'll let the Germans win the war".
Having suffered a stroke, Lewis Milestone spent the last ten years of his life confined to a wheelchair. He died September 25, 1980, at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles.- Libi Staiger was born on 10 January 1928 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Hanky Panky (1982), Guiding Light (1952) and Kate & Allie (1984). She was married to Jerome Eskow. She died on 25 September 2019 in Austin, Texas, USA.
- Linda Porter was born on 31 January 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) and Twins (1988). She died on 25 September 2019 in the USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Astor was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke on May 3, 1906 in Quincy, Illinois to Helen Marie Vasconcellos, an American of Portuguese and Irish ancestry from Illinois, and Otto Ludwig Langhanke, a German immigrant. Mary's parents were very ambitious for her and wanted something better for her than what they had, and knew that if they played their cards right, they could make her famous. Recognizing her beauty, they pushed her into various beauty contests. Luck was with Mary and her parents because one contest came to the attention of Hollywood moguls who signed her when she was 14.
Mary's first movie was a bit part in The Scarecrow (1920). It wasn't much, but it was a start. Throughout 1921-1923 she continued her career with bit or minor roles in a number of motion pictures. In 1924, she landed a plum assignment with a role as Lady Margery Alvaney opposite the great John Barrymore in the film Beau Brummel (1924). This launched her career to stardom, as did a lively affair with Barrymore. However, the affair ended before she could star with him again in the classic Don Juan (1926). By now, Mary was the new cinematic darling, with each film packing the theaters.
By the end of the 1920s, the sound revolution had taken a stronghold on the industry, and Mary was one of those lucky actresses who made the successful transition to "talkies" because of her voice and strong screen presence. Mary's career soared to greater heights. Films such as Red Dust (1932), Convention City (1933), Man of Iron (1935), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) kept her star at the top. In 1938, she turned out five feature films that kept her busy and in the spotlight. After that, she churned out films at a lesser rate. In 1941 she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Sandra Kovac in The Great Lie (1941). That same year she appeared in the celebrated film The Maltese Falcon (1941), but her star soon began to fall.
Because of her three divorces, her first husband Kenneth Hawks' death in a plane crash, alcoholism, a suicide attempt, and a persistent heart condition, Mary started to get smaller film roles. She appeared in only five productions throughout the 1950s. Her final fling with the silver screen was as Jewell Mayhew in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964).Although it was her final film, she had appeared in a phenomenal 123 motion pictures in her entire career.
Mary lived out her remaining years confined to the Motion Picture Country Home, where she died of a heart attack on September 25, 1987. She was 81.- Writer
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Paul Badura-Skoda was born on 6 October 1927 in Wien, Austria. He was a writer, known for Essence (2018), Harmoniques (1998) and Dalli Dalli (1971). He was married to Eva Halfar. He died on 25 September 2019 in Vienna, Austria.- Rodrigo Obregón was born on October 28, 1951, in Paris, France, as Rodrigo Obregón Osorio. He moved back to Colombia with his family at a very young age. In his early teens, he was given a choice by his choreographer mother between pursuing dancing or academics and he chose dancing. At fifteen years old, he embarked on a dancing tour around the world, accompanied by his mother. He visited many countries, including the Soviet Union, the UK, India and France. In Paris, he decided to run away and hitchhike throughout Europe. Eventually, the Interpol caught up to him a couple of months later and he went back to Columbia. Later, he was given permission to travel alone to the United States. There, he joined a theatre group in New York, and started taking acting lessons.
Years later, he moved to Los Angeles where he met director Andy Sidaris, who cast him in Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987). Sidaris liked working with Rodrigo so much that he cast him in almost all his subsequent films, and considered him a "good luck charm". Rodrigo passed away suddenly on September 25, 2019 in Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia. Rodrigo directed his mothers National Ballet of Columbia after her death in 2011. His father was world famous Columbian artist Alejandro Jesús Obregón. - Shoki Mokgapa was born on 17 August 1984 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. She was an actress, known for Dredd (2012), Sink (2015) and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). She died on 25 September 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Tim Quill was born on 18 October 1962 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Hamburger Hill (1987), Argo (2012) and Hiding Out (1987). He was married to Lisa Jo Casanova Quill. He died on 25 September 2017 in Monmouth, New Jersey, USA.- Anthony Booth was born on 9 October 1931 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Corruption (1968), Till Death Us Do Part (1965) and The Hi-Jackers (1963). He was married to Stephanie Buckley, Nancy Jaeger, Patricia Phoenix and Gale Booth. He died on 25 September 2017 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England, UK.Tony Booth
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Venu madhav was born in Kodad in Andhrapradesh(Now Telangana) State. He was popular as mimicry artist and campaigned for Telugu Desam Party chief NTR during 1994 elections. He debuted in movies with 1996 movie Sampradayam. He rose to fame with his next films Master, Tholiprema. He also hosted various programs on TV channels.- Actor
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Walter Pidgeon, a handsome, tall and dark-haired man, began his career studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He then did theater, mainly stage musicals. He went to Hollywood in the early 1920s, where he made silent films, including Mannequin (1926) and Sumuru (1927). When talkies arrived, Pidgeon made some musicals, but he never received top billing or recognition in these. In 1937 MGM put him under contract, but only in supporting roles and "the other man" roles, such as in Saratoga (1937) opposite Jean Harlow and Clark Gable and in The Girl of the Golden West (1938) opposite Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Although these two films were big successes, Pidgeon was overlooked for his contributions to them. MGM lent him out to Fox, where he finally had top billing, in How Green Was My Valley (1941). When he returned to MGM the studio tried to give him bigger roles, and he was cast opposite his frequent co-star Greer Garson. However, Garson seemed to come up on top in Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), although Pidgeon did receive an Academy Award nomination for his role in the latter film.
Pidgeon remained with MGM through the mid-'50s, making films like Dream Wife (1953) and Hit the Deck (1955) with Jane Powell and old pal Gene Raymond. In 1956 Pidgeon left the movies to do some work in the theater, but he returned to film in 1961.
Pidgeon retired from acting in 1977. He suffered from several strokes that eventually led to his death in 1984.