Deaths: November 1
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- Brad was raised in Southern California. He graduated from El Toro high school in 2001. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career training extensively with his acting coaches. In addition to acting, Brad is a high level basketball player and fitness practitioner. His dedication to health and wellness has him fitness training upwards of 50 hours a week. He is believed to be one of the highest level Sauna practitioners in the world.
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The late Adrienne Shelly was born in Queens, New York, to Elaine Langbaum and Sheldon Levine. After graduating Jericho High School in Jericho, New York, she enrolled at Boston University and majored in film production. She dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan, where she made a name for herself in independent films with her work in The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). She eventually moved behind the camera, writing and directing I'll Take You There (1999) and Waitress (2007) (her final film).
On November 1, 2006, Adrienne Shelly was murdered. She was survived by her husband Andy Ostroy and their daughter Sophie.- Director
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Amir Shervan, was born Amir Hosein Ghaffar in Tehran, Iran on May 24, 1929. In the U.S. he is mostly known for directing the movies Hollywood cop and Samurai Cop but was better known in Iran for his directing, writing and acting in numerous films.
Shervan studied theater in Pasadena California in the 1940s and returned to Iran to begin his career in film. During the 1979 Iranian Revolution all movies were subject to review by the Iranian government and many of them banned due to their content while others were "purified" or altered to suit the growing anti-western and pro-Islamic sentiment. This caused a pause in his film career starting in 1980 and ending with his move to the United States where he settled in California to begin his work on Hollywood Cop. He apparently received a social security number in Alabama but it is unclear how long he was there or for what purpose.
On the set Shervan used improvisational acting and dialog often, in part due to this technique having cultural roots and later due to English being his second language. He often worked with actors/directors/writers in Iran who were never educated in film making, many of which had never graduated high school. His Iranian audience of the 1950s to 1980 was therefore accustomed to a much lower standard than the average U.S. viewer of the late 1980s. This combination of circumstances made for a large degree of accidental humor and bloopers as perceived by his new viewer base and also led to his post-mortem success as a cult-classic b-movie director. Ironically, Shervan was one of the more polished and educated filmmakers of his time in Iran and was respected as such.
He died on November 1, 2006 at age 77 soon before his rise in popularity in the U.S. as a b-movie director. He is survived by a son named Ben Shervan.- Actress
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Benita Hume was a British actress whose career began on the stage in London. She was born on October 14, 1906 in London, England. After breaking into cinema in a 1925 British silent film in 1925, she transitioned nicely into sound and made two dozen films in England before travelling to the U.S. By that time she had become a leading lady and top supporting actress. In 1933, she made her first American film with MGM - "Clear All Wires."
Over the next four years, Hume would make a dozen films with MGM and RKO. Most were dramas with a couple mysteries and musicals. Only two were comedies, and although she showed very good talent for comedy and excellent chemistry with Cary Grant in "Gambling Ship" of 1933, she didn't rise to the star status she had reached in England.
In 1938, she married Ronald Colman and except for acting with him, she left her career behind. They had a popular comedy radio program in 1949-1951, "The Halls of Ivy." It was later made into a TV sitcom of the same title and stars, in 1954-55. And she and Colman appeared in some episodes of the Jack Benny Show on radio, as his woeful neighbor couple. She and Colman were also part owners of the San Ysidro Resort in Santa Barbara. Colman died in 1958, and the next year, Hume married another English actor, George Sanders. They remained married until her death in 1967 of bone cancer, with Sanders caring for her.
Among her most memorable films are "The Gay Deception" of 1935, "Looking Forward" of 1933, and "Lord Camber's Ladies" of 1932.- Bettye Ackerman was born on 28 February 1924 in Cottageville, South Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for Ben Casey (1961), Studio One (1948) and Return to Peyton Place (1972). She was married to Sam Jaffe. She died on 1 November 2006 in Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
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Silent western actor Bob Curwood was born in Romania in 1899 as John Balas Belasco. His parents were non-professionals Maria and Russen Balas Belasco. His movie-name was changed to Bub Curwood when he was given the lead role in a series of silent western and Royal-Canadian-Mounted shorts at Universal Pictures Corporation, circa 1925. Curwood starred in 26 silent shorts but his strong accent and inability to speak English bought an end to his career when Universal started producing sound films. Some sources credit John Balas Belasco as being a relative of either Universal-president Carl Laemmle, or Mr. Laemmle's wife. Most likely true as no studio in the history of American films had more relatives of the boss on its payroll than Universal.- Actor
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Carlo Giuffrè, a name which has become inseparable from three others, Aldo Giuffrè, Naples and Eduardo De Filippo. Younger brother of Aldo Giuffrè, he has had, like him, a very long and fruitful career, in the theater, in the movies and on TV, both as good-looking manly protagonists or -and mainly as far as Carlo is concerned - hilarious comedians in the Commedia dell'Arte style. One of their rare meetings on the big screen, in Tre sotto il lenzuolo (1979), with Aldo as a cardinal and Carlo as a businessman who believes the woman in his hotel room is a present to him from the cardinal, is downright irrepressible. A native from Naples, Carlo Giuffrè never disowned his hometown, quite the contrary. He indeed played in most of Eduardo De Filippo's plays (some he also directed), and everybody knows that the great Neapolitan playwright always sets his works in the city that you must see before dying. On the screen, whether big or small, Naples is the setting of many of his films, in which he attracted girls, clowned or ruled as a Camorra godfather, from his very first filmed appearance in De Filippo's Side Street Story (1950) to Steno's TV mini-series L'ombra nera del Vesuvio (1986). As for Eduardo De Filippo, he was instrumental in Carlo's successful career, since the actor has been the performer of his favorite author for decades. Carlo Giuffrè met the maestro in 1948, while in second year of Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica and both men never parted ways until the playwright's death in 1984. One of the most characteristic faces of Italian-style comedy Carlo Giuffrè received a David de Donatello in 1984 and in 2007 he was made 'Grande Ufficiale' by the Italian President.- Chandra Kaluarachchi was born on 6 April 1943 in Narahenpita, Sri Lanka. She was an actress, known for Welikathara (1971), Romeo Juliet Kathawak (1969) and Thun Man Handiya (1970). She was married to Lakshman Wijesekara. She died on 1 November 2019 in Sri Lanka.
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Charlie O'Donnell was born on 12 August 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Cops and Robbersons (1994), Batman (1966) and L.A. Law (1986). He was married to Ellen Lerner and Mary Jane Ryan. He died on 1 November 2010 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.- Actress
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Dixie Lee was born on 4 November 1909 in Harriman, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for Redheads on Parade (1935), Love in Bloom (1935) and Night Life in Reno (1931). She was married to Bing Crosby. She died on 1 November 1952 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Fred Thompson was born on 19 August 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hunt for Red October (1990), No Way Out (1987) and Baby's Day Out (1994). He was married to Jeri Kehn Thompson and Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey. He died on 1 November 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- Héctor Pellegrini was born on 6 August 1931 in Quiroga, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Trampa para un soñador (1980), Llévame contigo (1982) and Pajarito Gómez (1965). He died on 1 November 1999 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Helen Troy was born on 23 December 1903 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Between Two Women (1937), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) and Human Cargo (1936). She was married to Alton Edward. Horton. She died on 1 November 1942 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
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James Joseph Broderick III was an American actor of English and Irish descent. Broderick was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire to James Joseph Broderick II (1895-1959) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Martindale. His father, a highly-decorated veteran of World War I, was of Irish descent and his mother had both English and Irish ancestry.
Broderick attended Manchester Central High School, in Manchester, New Hampshire. He then attended the University of New Hampshire, where he took pre-medical courses. In 1945, the 18-year-old Broderick interrupted his studies to join the United States Navy during the closing months of World War II, enlisting as a pharmacist. He was discharged in 1947 during the post-World War II demobilization of the United States armed forces.
In 1947, Broderick returned to his studies at the University of New Hampshire, as junior pre-med student. His life changed course when Broderick auditioned for a pat in a theatrical production of the University. His acting skills gained him the leading role of Captain Bluntschli,the cynical mercenary officer in the play "Arms and the Man" (1894) by George Bernard Shaw.
J. "Joe" Donald Batcheller served as Faculty advisor to the student drama club, and was impressed with Broderick. Batcheller arranged a meeting between Broderick and the experienced actor Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990), who happened to be an old friend of Batcheller. Kennedy gave Broderick a few acting tips, and advised him to attend the "Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre", a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. The faculty there included Sanford Meisner (1905-1997), the acting teacher who developed the so-called "Meisner technique" of acting.
Following his acting studies, Broderick was ready for a professional career. He was mostly a theatrical actor, but started appearing in television productions in the 1950s. He was cast in the leading role of Officer Ernie Brenner in the crime drama "Brenner" (1959-1964). The series featured a father-son duo of New York City police officers. The father was Roy Brenner (played by Edward Binns), a hardened, cynical veteran of the police force, with over 20 years of service. The son was Ernie Brenner (played by Broderick), an optimistic young man who was was only starting his career.
Another highlight of Broderick's television career was the episode "On Thursday We Leave for Home"(1963) in the anthology series "The Twilight Zone". In the episode, the residents of a failed space colony request transportation back to Earth. But the colony's leader desperately tries to keep them there, unwilling to relinquish power. Broderick played the character Al Baines, the engineering officer who unsuccessfully tries to rescue the former leader, after everyone else abandons him.
In the 1960s, Broderick started appearing in theatrical films. Highlights of his film career include the roles of the bohemian-commune leader Ray Brock in "Alice's Restaurant" (1969), the motorman (rail vehicle operator) Denny Doyle in the hijacking-themed film "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974), and the FBI agent Sheldon in the crime drama "Dog Day Afternoon".
In the late 1970s, Broderick gained a new leading in television, playing the lawyer and proverbial pater familias Doug Lawrence in the drama series "Family" (1976-1980). The series mainly focused on the family problems of the Lawrence family. Doug's wife Kate had quit a promising academic career to get married, and felt frustrated with the life of a homemaker. The elder daughter Nancy had divorced a philandering husband and was struggling as a single mother. Younger daughter Letitia (nicknamed "Buddy") had body-image issues, and considered herself abnormal. The family's only living son Willie was a high-school dropout and had no intention of getting a full-time job. The family mentioned to be still mourning another son, Timothy, who had died years earlier.
Broderick's last acting role was the television film "The Shadow Box" (1980), an adaptation of a play by Michael Cristofer. In the film, Broderick plays Joe, a man dying from an incurable disease and, trying to understand why his wife and son refuse to keep him company.
In the early 1980s, Broderick himself suffered from cancer, and his poor health prevented him from accepting more roles. He died in 1982, due to cancer. He was survived by his wife, painter Patricia Biow Broderick (1925-2003), and their three children. Broderick's son Matthew Broderick (1962 - ) followed in his father's footsteps and became an actor.- Actor
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Johannes Schaaf was born on 7 April 1933 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Trotta (1971), Tätowierung (1967) and Große Liebe (1966). He was married to Stella Kleindienst and Rosemarie Fendel. He died on 1 November 2019 in Murnau, Bavaria, Germany.- Music Department
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Katie Lee was born on 23 October 1919 in Aledo, Illinois, USA. She was a composer, known for Psychobitches (2013), DamNation (2014) and Canyonlands: Edward Abbey and the Great American Desert (2012). She was married to Edwin Carl Brandelius Jr. and Eugene Busch Jr.. She died on 1 November 2017 in Jerome, Arizona, USA.- Actor
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Ken Swofford was born on 25 July 1933 in Du Quoin, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Annie (1982), The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Black Roses (1988). He was married to Barbara Ann Biggs. He died on 1 November 2018 in Pacific Grove, California, USA.- Director
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King Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter of Hungarian descent. He was born in Galveston, Texas to lumberman Charles Shelton Vidor and his wife Kate Wallis. King's paternal grandfather Károly (Charles) Vidor had fled Hungary as a refugee following the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (1849-1849). The Kingdom of Hungary had attempted to gain independence from the Austrian Empire, but the revolutionary troops failed against the allied armies of the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under brutal martial law. Karoly fled the country and settled in Galveston, Texas by the early 1850s.
During his childhood, King Vidor was a witness of the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. The hurricane caused between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States, based on varying estimates. Most of these deaths occurred in the vicinity of Galveston. Every house in the city sustained damage, about 3600 houses were completely destroyed, and an estimated 10,000 people were left homeless, out of a population of about 38,000. King Vidor would later give a somewhat fictionalized account of his hurricane experience in a 1935 interview.
By the early 1910s, Vidor was working as a freelance newsreel cameraman and cinema projectionist. In 1913, he directed the short film "The Grand Military Parade", his directing debut. In 1915, Vidor moved to Hollywood, California and was hired as a screenwriter and short-film director by Judge Willis Brown (1881-1931), owner of the Boy City Film Company in Culver City. Brown had gained fame as a judge of the Utah Juvenile Court and a progressive expert on boys' reformation, but had been kicked out of service when it was discovered that he did not actually have a law degree. Brown had established himself as a film producer in order to produce films depicting his main concerns about American society: juvenile delinquency and racial discrimination. Vidor served as a screenwriter and director of at least 10 films with these topics, while working for Brown.
In 1919, Vidor directed his first feature film: "The Turn in the Road". It was a silent drama film, depicting a businessman who loses his faith in God and any interest in industry, when his beloved wife dies in childbirth. Vidor's first major hit was the feature "Peg o' My Heart" (1922), an adaptation of a popular Broadway theatrical play. Following this success, Vidor was signed to a long-term contract for the studio Goldwyn Pictures. The studio was under the administration of Polish-American producer Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974). In 1924, Goldwyn Pictures merged with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into a new company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Vidor remained on contract with this new company.
In the 1920s, Vidor's most famous silent feature films were the war film "The Big Parade" (1925), the Academy-Award nominated drama "The Crowd" (1928), the comedy "Show People"" (1928), and the comedy-drama "The Patsy" (1928). His first sound film was the drama "Hallelujah" (1929), about the life of sharecroppers. It was one of the first Hollywood films with a cast consisting fully of African-Americans. Vidor expressed an interest in "showing the Southern Negro as he is" and attempted to depict African-American life beyond the popular stereotypes of the era.
Vidor faced no problem in transitioning from silent film to sound film, and continued regularly working on feature films until the late 1950s. His last major film was the Biblical-romance "Solomon and Sheba" (1959), featuring love, court intrigues, and military invasions during the reign of legendary Solomon, King of Israel (estimated to the 10th century BC). Afterwards he worked on short films and documentaries, his last film being the documentary "The Metaphor" (1980). The 86-year-old Vidor chose to retire from filmmaking in 1980.
In 1982, Vidor died at his ranch in Paso Robles, California, from an unspecified heart disease. He was 88-years-old and well past his prime. His remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered in his ranch.
Vidor was nominated 5 times for the Academy Award for Best Director, without ever winning. He was nominated for the feature films "The Crowd" (1928), "Hallelujah" (1929), "The Champ" (1931), "The Citadel" (1938), and "War and Peace" (1956). He won an Academy Honorary Award in 1979. Part of his modern fame rests on an uncredited part as an assistant director. Vidor directed the scenes set in Kansas for the novel adaptation "The Wizard of Oz" (1939).- Lima Barreto was born on 13 May 1881 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a writer, known for Osso, Amor e Papagaio (1957), Grande Teatro Tupi (1951) and Policarpo Quaresma, Herói do Brasil (1997). He died on 1 November 1922 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Mamie Eisenhower was wife of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower and thereby First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Mamie married Dwight Eisenhower at age 19 in 1916. The young couple moved frequently between military quarters in many postings, from Panama to the Philippines. As First Lady, she entertained a wide range of foreign dignitaries, who reacted well to her confident style and clothing choices. - Marianne Stewart was born on 16 January 1922 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Valley of Hunted Men (1942), Ben Casey (1961) and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). She was married to Wilbur George Dirksing and Louis Calhern. She died on 1 November 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Michael went to school in New York before taking a creative writing course. The professor for this course told everyone, "There are enough bad writers out there. There needn't be anymore". Michael recalls that the professor would rip up his writing and he would be so broken-hearted. This professor eventually chased him into journalism, where Michael won two Emmys for his work as a news producer. Michael went back to New York for a few years before seeing a "Chorus Line" show and deciding to pursue his writing career. He originally came back to Los Angeles as a censor for CBS in the late seventies. He eventually started writing spec scripts for such TV series as Simon & Simon (1981) and Cagney & Lacey (1981) before landing a role as a producer on Simon & Simon (1981). He worked his way through the producer ranks and jumped from series to series before being called in by long-time friend, Maurice Hurley, who was, at the time, writing and producing episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Michael wrote a few episodes for season three (1989-90) before becoming a full-fledged Executive Producer. In 1992, Piller and Rick Berman (who was also Executive Producer) decided to create a new series based in the "Star Trek Universe". Thus, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) was created. Piller oversaw the writing, casting, budget, etc. for two season before Paramount called him in again to create a new series after Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) ended in 1994. Star Trek: Voyager (1995), created by Jeri Taylor, Pillar and Rick Berman, was born into the television universe, as the flagship for the new United Paramount Network (UPN), running until 2001. Piller left Star Trek: Voyager (1995) in 1996, after nine years of working in the Star Trek franchise. He created the ill-fated, but critically-acclaimed, western for UPN called Legend (1995), starring Richard Dean Anderson and John de Lancie. Also in 1996, Piller successfully sold his first feature film script entitled, "Oversight" (1998). It has yet to be produced. In 1997, he co-wrote Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), with Rick Berman, which was released in 1998. His most successful post-Trek outing was developing the Stephen King property, "The Dead Zone", along with his son Shawn Piller, for television. Piller died from cancer on November 2, 2005.- Japanese character actor equally adept at comic or seriously unsavory roles. Chiaki graduated from the University of Chuo with degrees in economics and commerce, but almost immediately found that his interest lay more with the theatre. In 1937, he began to study with the Shin-Tsukiji Gekidan ("The New Tsukiji Theatre Troupe"). During the Second World War, he served as director of the Bara-Za theatre company. Director Akira Kurosawa saw Chiaki in a stage production of the play "Dataii" (from which Kurosawa would later adapt for: The Quiet Duel (1949) ) and advised him to enter films. Chiaki became a favorite of the great director, who cast him in Stray Dog (1949) and nearly a dozen other films. Chiaki was notable as the good-natured Heihachi in Seven Samurai (1954) and as the comic deserter Tahei in _Kakushi toride no san akunin (1958)_. In 1975, Chiaki suffered a stroke. He recovered and in 1985 won Japan Academy Award for Best Actor in Hana ichimonme (1985). The last survivor of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai title players, Chiaki died of coronary and pulmonary failure in 1999.
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Mitch Lucker was born on 20 October 1984 in Riverside, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Predator (2018), Suicide Silence: Wake Up (2009) and Suicide Silence: Genocide (2009). He was married to Jolie Carmadella. He died on 1 November 2012 in Huntington Beach, California, USA.- Actress
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Molly McGreevy was born on 11 June 1936 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue (1974), Ryan's Hope (1975) and Nothing by Chance (1975). She was married to Earl Hindman and Thomas James McGreevy. She died on 1 November 2015 in Pittsford, New York, USA.- Actor
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Familiar and well-liked character actor of very different persona than either his father, Noah Beery, or his uncle, Wallace Beery. He attended Harvard Military Academy but managed to make a number of appearances on film and on stage with his father before adulthood. At age 19, he began playing amiable second leads and occasional leading roles, primarily in westerns, before settling into what would be the pattern for much of his career: good-natured supporting roles, usually as a pal of the hero. He kept going in such parts into his late 70s, transforming slowly into warm (or, rarely, curmudgeonly) rustic sages. In later years, he achieved great renown as the father of the James Garner character on TV's The Rockford Files (1974). He married the daughter of cowboy star Buck Jones. Their son Bucklind Beery is an actor. They also had two daughters, Muffett and Melissa. Beery died in 1994 at the age of 81.- Writer
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Humorist, playwright and screenwriter Norman Krasna went to great lengths planning for a career in law. He attended New York University, Columbia University and St. John's University law school but then abruptly changed his plans and started work as a copy boy at a New York newspaper. He had a brief stint as a drama critic for the Evening Graphic and wrote a column for the Exhibitor's Herald World and this likely awakened his interest in the film business. He was soon off to L.A. and finagled a job in the Warner Brothers publicity department. Upon seeing his first filmed play, The Front Page (1931), he decided there and then to become a playwright. Having obtained a copy of the original script, he re-typed it over and over to get the hang of style and methodology. This approach seems to have worked since Krasna soon published his first play (the comedy "Louder,Please") which opened on Broadway by November 1931.
While not a huge hit, the play led first to a screenwriting contract with Columbia, then in 1935 with MGM. At MGM, Krasna met Groucho Marx and the two became lifelong friends (in 1948, they wrote a play together, "Time for Elizabeth", which had a brief run on Broadway). Within a relatively short period of time Krasna acquired a reputation for writing intelligent, witty scripts quickly. This ability naturally endeared him to thrifty-minded producers. He also had a penchant for clever one-liners (it would have been fun to sit in on conversational banter between Krasna and Groucho). Krasna did not only confine himself to screwball comedy but also occasionally turned out good original dramatic material such as Fritz Lang's indictment of mob justice, Fury (1936). He penned Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) for Alfred Hitchcock, wrote the perennial family favourite White Christmas (1954), and the glossy romantic comedy Indiscreet (1958) based on his own 1953 play "Kind Sir". For the most part, the accolades kept coming for his sophisticated comedies - often featuring mistaken identity (The Ambassador's Daughter (1956)), irascible, or curmudgeonly characters (Charles Coburn in The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Princess O'Rourke (1943)), or men-of-the-world cured of their cynicism through love (Cary Grant in 'Indiscreet'). Krasna won an Oscar for 'Princess O'Rourke', one of four films he also directed. While most of his plots are now somewhat dated, his dialogue rarely fails to entertain.
After leaving MGM in 1938, Krasna worked for the next twelve years as a free-lance writer dividing his time between Hollywood and Broadway. In 1950, he formed an independent production company with charismatic producer Jerry Wald at RKO. The enterprise was sadly short-lived. Just four films were produced out of a total of sixty originally stipulated. Krasna then went on to produce several films for various studios, including Clash by Night (1952), which featured a young Marilyn Monroe. He also wrote Marilyn's penultimate film Let's Make Love (1960). That same year, he was honoured with the Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Screen Writer's Guild. Krasna retired in 1964 and died twenty years later in Los Angeles, aged 74.- Heavyweight Hungarian-born character actor Oscar Beregi Jr.'s best performances were on the small screen, usually as Eastern European or Russian heavies. His stock-in-trade villainy was of a cultured or psychological, rather than physical nature, urbane and intellectual, yet inevitably sinister. His father, matinee idol Oscar Beregi Sr., had appeared on the Hungarian and German stage in Shakespearean roles, as well as acting in films, since 1919. Both Beregis left Hungary in 1939, the father settling in the United States, while the son ran a restaurant in Chile. It took several years for the younger Beregi to be granted a visa to enter the U.S., and then only through the intervention of then-U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson.
When Beregi finally arrived in America, he spoke little English and worked as a salesman for several years, learning the language, before re-entering the acting profession well into middle age. On the big screen, he was largely restricted to small supporting roles. However, Beregi made the most of the meatier roles offered him in television, such as mob boss Joe Kulak (a character possibly based on real-life mobster Jake Guzik) in eight episodes of The Untouchables (1959). He was also impressively commanding as the scientific criminal mastermind Farwell in Rod Serling's The Rip Van Winkle Caper (1961) and, in the same series, as former SS concentration camp commandant Guenther Lutze, driven to insanity by the ghosts of his former victims in Deaths-Head Revisited (1961). He was also effective in Middle Eastern intrigue (The Third Man (1959)) and in parodying his evil personae in I'm Only Human (1966), Tequila Mockingbird (1969), and Young Frankenstein (1974).
In his spare time, he was a successful breeder of Komondors, a breed of large, white Hungarian sheep dog, considered a living treasure in their native country. - Actor
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Pablo Cedrón was born on 7 January 1958 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor and writer, known for Romanos (2015), The Aura (2005) and The Lost Brother (2017). He was married to Valentina Bruzzone. He died on 1 November 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Actor
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Pablo Leder was born on 22 June 1942 in Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, Mexico. He was an actor and writer, known for The Holy Mountain (1973), Pubertinaje (1971) and El Topo (1970). He died on 1 November 2019 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.- Director
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Paul Turner was born on 30 December 1945 in Cornwall, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Hedd Wyn (1992), Pork Pie (1998) and Wild Justice (1994). He was married to Sue Roderick and Sheila Ford. He died on 1 November 2019 in Cardiff, Wales, UK.- Actor
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Phil Silvers was a comedic actor of Russian-Jewish descent, nicknamed as "The King of Chutzpah." He was best known for his starring role as United States Army Master Sergeant Ernest "Ernie" Bilko in the very popular hit sitcom "The Phil Silvers Show" (1955-1959). He later had important roles in the comedy films "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963), and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1967), playing respectively the characters Otto Meyer and Marcus Lycus.
Silvers was a compulsive gambler, and suffered from chronic depression.
He was the 8th and youngest child to Russian-Jewish immigrants Saul Silver (alias Saul Silversmith) and Sarah Handler. Saul was a sheet metal worker who was employed in the building industry. He had helped build a number of New York City's major skyscrapers.
Silver started his career as an entertainer in 1922, at the age of 11.
A frequent accident at New York City's movie theaters was for their film projector to break down. Someone had to keep the audience entertained during repairs, so Silver was hired to sing to them. Part of his reward was to attend the movie theater free of charge.
By 1924, Silvers performed as a professional singer in the Gus Edwards Revue. His employer was theater company owner Gus Edwards (1878-1945). He then took to working in vaudeville and as a burlesque comic.
In the 1930s, Silvers started appearing in Vitaphone short films. In 1939, Silvers made his Broadway debut in "Yokel Boy." The show was considered mediocre by critics, but Silvers gained acclaim in the press. He made his feature film debut in "Hit Parade of 1941." Silvers worked primarily as a character actor over the following decades, appearing in films produced by 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. When the studio system declined, Silvers initially returned to the theater.
He had a hit as a songwriter when he composed the lyrics of "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" (1942) for singer Frank Sinatra (1915-1998). The song was apparently named after Frank's young daughter Nancy Sinatra (1940-).
Silvers did not become a household name until his starring role in the sitcom "The Phil Silvers Show" (1955-1959). It was a military comedy, starring Ernest "Ernie" Bilko as a United States Army Master Sergeant. The character of Bilko was depicted as a con-artist and inveterate gambler who could fast-talk people into complying with his schemes. The show lasted for 4 seasons, and 144 episodes. It found further success in syndication to this very day, and often ranks high in lists of popular sitcoms.
Silvers returned to television stardom with "The New Phil Silvers Show" (1963-1964), where he played factory foreman Harry Grafton. Like Bilko, Grafton was depicted as a con-artist who owned his own company and ran many and various schemes on the side. Not as successful as its predecessor, the series lasted for a single season and 30 episodes.
Silvers enjoyed film stardom in the 1960s, though mostly playing supporting roles. He appeared mainly in American productions, although guest-starred in the British comedy film "On Follow That Came." (1967). It was the 14th film in the popular long-running "Carry On" film series (1958-1992). The film was a parody depicting life in the French Foreign Legion, and Silvers played the Bilko-like character of Sergeant Ernie Nocker. He earned a salary of 30,000 pounds, making him the highest-paid actor of the "Carry On" film series up to that point.
Silvers appeared frequently as a guest-star in then-popular sitcoms, such as "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island." In 1972, Silvers survived a stroke, although was left with permanently slurred speech. This effectively ended his theatrical career, although did not prevent him from appearing in further film and television roles.
Silvers made his last television appearance in an 1983 episode of the crime drama "CHiPs." He then went into retirement.
He died in his sleep in 1985, while in Century City, California. His family attributed the death to unspecified natural causes. He was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Silvers is still well-remembered as a great comic actor.
In 1996, TV Guide ranked him number 31 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.
The Hanna-Barbera characters Hokey Wolf and Top Cat were loosely based on his screen persona.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Pocho la Pantera was born on 29 November 1950 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Sin código (2004), El vagoneta en el mundo del cine (2012) and Sos mi vida (2006). He was married to Viviana Basilia. He died on 1 November 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Ramon Cabrero was born on 11 November 1947 in Santander, Cantabria, Spain. He died on 1 November 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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- Soundtrack
René Lévesque was born on 24 August 1922 in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada. He was an actor, known for A Song for Quebec (1988), Les lumières de ma ville (1950) and À la croisée des chemins (1943). He was married to Corinne Côté-Lévesque and Louise L'Heureux. He died on 1 November 1987 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.- Rina Lazo was born on 23 October 1923 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She was married to Arturo García Bustos. She died on 1 November 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Roger Cardinal was born on 27 February 1940 in London, England, UK. He was married to Agnès Meyer. He died on 1 November 2019 in the UK.
- Rudy Boesch was born on 20 January 1928 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Survivor (2000), Combat Missions (2002) and JAG (1995). He was married to Marjorie Thomas. He died on 1 November 2019 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
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Moyer Bupp was born in New York City, New York. Al Jolson was the hottest item on stage and Moyer's father nicknamed him "Sonny" after one of Jolson's songs. It was the height of the Great Depression and on the chance of a better job Sonny's parents loaded the children (all five of them) into the car and headed west. His very pretty 18-year-old sister June was offered an audition and was the first of the Bupp kids to become an actor in the movies. Ann was next in 1932, Tommy in 1933 and Sonny started in 1934.
At first he did mostly "extra" work and "bit parts", but eventually got better roles in movies such as Renegade Trail (1939), with William Boyd. He finally thought he made it with a starring role as Tommy Foster in the Warner Brothers film No Place to Go (1939), but due to the war in Europe the movie was shelved and his big chance faded away. He did get to play in some good movies and one of the best, Citizen Kane (1941). He still remembers Orson Welles with great respect and feels proud to be associated in a small way with the most famous motion picture of all time.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Achieving both film and TV notice during his lengthy career, this diminutive Asian-American character was born Victor Cheung Young on October 18, 1915 in San Francisco to Chinese emigrants. When his mother died during the influenza epidemic of 1918-19, his father placed Victor and his sister in a children's shelter and returned to China, returning to the USA in the mid-1920s, having remarried. The two children were released back to his guardianship, and began learning Chinese. To contribute to the family income, young Sen Yew was employed as a houseboy at age 11 and managed to earn his way through college at the University of California at Berkeley with an interest in animal husbandry and receiving a degree in economics.
Following a move to Hollywood for some post graduate work at UCLA and USC, Victor gained an entrance into films via extra work, where he was in such roles as a peasant boy in The Good Earth (1937), and a soldier in Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938), among others. During this early period he also worked as a salesman for a chemical firm. In one of Hollywood's more interesting tales of being "discovered", the story goes that Victor (as he would become known) was on the 20th Century-Fox studio lot at the time trying to pitch one of his company's flame retardant compounds to industry techies when one of them suggested he check out casting. The original actor who had played Charlie Chan, Warner Oland, died and the series was undergoing a major casting overhaul. In the end, Sidney Toler, received cast approval, chose the fledgling actor following a screen test to play his #2 son, Jimmy Chan, for the film Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938). Victor went on to play the role for seventeen other "Charlie Chan" features. Needless, to say he quit the sales business for good.
Victor enjoyed playing Jimmy, the earnest rookie detective who, to his chagrin, was always under the watchful eye of his famous father while trying to help solve murder cases. Outside the role, however, Victor (billed variously as Sen Yung, Victor Yung, and Victor Sen Yung at different times) found the atmosphere oppressive. Usually cast in nothing-special Asian stereotypes, sometimes villainous, in war-era films, parts in such movies as The Letter (1940) starring Bette Davis, Secret Agent of Japan (1942), Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942), Moontide (1942), Across the Pacific (1942), Manila Calling (1942), China (1943) and Night Plane from Chungking (1943), did little to advance his stature in Hollywood. His career was interrupted for U.S. Air Force duty as a Captain of Intelligence during WWII. His part in the Chan pictures was taken over by actor Benson Fong.
Victor was able to pick up where he left off in Hollywood following the war and returned to his famous role as #2 son. The character's name, however, was eventually changed from "Jimmy" to "Tommy" after a third installment of Charlie Chan pictures were filmed with Roland Winters now the title sleuth after the death of Toler in 1947. While Victor's workload was fairly steady, again the roles themselves were meager and hardly inspiring. Most were in "B" level crime mysteries and war pictures and many were uncredited roles. Reduced often to playing middle-age servile roles (houseboys, laundrymen, valets, clerks, dock workers and waiters), some of his slightly more prominent roles include those in Woman on the Run (1950), Forbidden (1953), Target Hong Kong (1953), and Trader Tom of the China Seas (1954). His last film appearance was in The Man with Bogart's Face (1980).
On TV, he appeared in two familiar recurring roles. On the John Forsythe series, Bachelor Father (1957), he showed up as "Peter Fong" on the final season of the sitcom. He played the cousin to houseboy Sammee Tong's regular character. Victor is better remembered, however, for the part of Hop Sing, the earnest, volatile cook to the Cartwright clan, provided sporadic comic relief on Bonanza (1959). He also appeared in the TV pilot and in several episodes of Kung Fu (1972), as well as popping up in dramatic episodes of Hawaiian Eye (1959), The F.B.I. (1965). and Hawaii Five-O (1968). Sitcoms gave a hint of his gentle, humorous side in Here's Lucy (1968), Get Smart (1965) and Mister Ed (1961).
Married and divorced with one child, he sought work outside of acting by the mid-1970s. At one point he was giving cooking demonstrations in department stores. An accomplished chef who specialized in Cantonese-style cooking, in 1974, he published the 1974 Great Wok Cookbook and dedicated the book to his father, Sen Gam Yung.
Victor Sen Yung was working on a second cookbook when he was suddenly found dead in November of 1980 under initially "mysterious circumstances" in his modest San Fernando Valley bungalow. Following an investigation it was determined that Victor was accidentally asphyxiated in his sleep after turning on a faulty kitchen stove for heat. He was survived by his son, Brent Kee Young, and two grandchildren.- Actress
- Music Department
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Known for her astonishing 4 1/2 octave vocal range, Yma Sumac (AKA Ima or Imma Sumack) is from Ichocán, Peru, a town high in the Andes. From an early age she performed in radio and movies and made recordings throughout South America. She came to the United States in the 1940s and performed with a small group of musicians and dancers. When she signed with Capitol Records in 1950 her stage name's spelling was changed to the more exotic "Yma Sumac." An urban legend that she is really "Amy Camus," a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn, originated in 1951 with a joke among musicians repeated in one of Walter Winchell's gossip columns. She has acted in several films and stage shows, and continued to perform into the 1990s. She lives in Los Angeles and has been contemplating new releases of recordings of her most recent concerts.