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Brant Daugherty was born on 20 August 1985 in Mason, Ohio, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Fifty Shades Freed (2018), Pretty Little Liars (2010) and Dear White People (2017). He has been married to Kimberly Daugherty since 15 June 2019. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Andrew Russell Garfield was born in Los Angeles, California, to a British mother, Lynn, and American father, Richard Garfield. When he was three, he moved to Surrey, U.K., with his parents and older brother. He is of English and Polish Jewish heritage. Andrew was raised in a middle class family, and attended a private school, the City of London Freemen's School. He began acting in youth theatre productions while he was still at school. At age 19, he went to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
His first professional roles were on the stage and in 2005 he made his TV debut in the Channel 4 teen series Sugar Rush (2005) in the UK. More TV work followed (reaching a wider UK audience in a two-part story in the third season of Doctor Who (2005)), as well as a number of movie appearances. Garfield played Eduardo in The Social Network (2010) and Tommy in Never Let Me Go (2010), two films that brought him to full international attention. That same year, he was cast as the title character in the reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He reprised the role in the sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), before passing off the torch to Tom Holland.
Resuming his work in drama films, Garfield starred in Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes (2014), with Michael Shannon, Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge (2016), about real-life Seventh Day Adventist war hero Desmond Doss, and Martin Scorsese's Silence (2016), opposite Adam Driver, playing Jesuit priests. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role as Doss.
In 2017, he starred in Andy Serkis-directed drama Breathe (2017), where Garfield plays Robin Cavendish, an adventurous man paralyzed by polio. In 2018, he headlines David Robert Mitchell's noir thriller Under the Silver Lake (2018).- Actress
- Producer
- Executive
Amy Lou Adams was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy, to American parents, Kathryn (Hicken) and Richard Kent Adams, a U.S. serviceman who was stationed at Caserma Ederle in Italy at the time. She was raised in a Mormon family of seven children in Castle Rock, Colorado, and has English, as well as smaller amounts of Danish, Swiss-German, and Norwegian, ancestry.
Adams sang in the school choir at Douglas County High School and was an apprentice dancer at a local dance company, with the ambition of becoming a ballerina. However, she worked as a greeter at The Gap and as a Hooters hostess to support herself before finding work as a dancer at Boulder's Dinner Theatre and Country Dinner Playhouse in such productions as "Brigadoon" and "A Chorus Line". It was there that she was spotted by a Minneapolis dinner-theater director who asked her to move to Chanhassen, Minnesota for more regional dinner theatre work.
Nursing a pulled muscle that kept her from dancing, she was free to audition for a part in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), which was filming nearby in Minnesota. During the filming, Kirstie Alley encouraged her to move to Los Angeles, where she soon won a part in the Fox television version of the film, Cruel Intentions (1999), in the part played in the film by Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Kathryn Merteuil". Although three episodes were filmed, the troubled series never aired. Instead, parts of the episodes were cobbled together and released as the direct-to-video Cruel Intentions 2 (2000). After more failed television spots, she landed a major role in Catch Me If You Can (2002), playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. But this did not provide the break-through she might have hoped for, with no work being offered for about a year. She eventually returned to television, and joined the short-lived series, Dr. Vegas (2004).
Her role in the low-budget independent film Junebug (2005) (which was shot in 21 days) got her real attention, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as other awards. The following year, her ability to look like a wide-eyed Disney animated heroine helped her to be chosen from about 300 actresses auditioning for the role of "Giselle" in the animated/live-action feature film, Enchanted (2007), which would prove to be her major break-through role. Her vivacious yet innocent portrayal allowed her to use her singing and dancing talents. Her performance garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Adams next appeared in the major production, Charlie Wilson's War (2007), and went on to act in the independent film, Sunshine Cleaning (2008), which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Her role as "Sister James" in Doubt (2008) brought her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award, and a British Academy Film award. She appeared as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and as a post-9/11 hot line counselor, aspiring writer, amateur cook and blogger in Julie & Julia (2009). In the early 2010s, she starred with Jason Segel in The Muppets (2011), with Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012), and alongside Clint Eastwood and Justin Timberlake in Trouble with the Curve (2012). She played reporter Lois Lane in Man of Steel (2013) and con artist Sydney Prosser in American Hustle (2013), before portraying real-life artist Margaret Keane in Tim Burton's biopic Big Eyes (2014).
In 2016, she reprised her role as Lane in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and headlined Denis Villeneuve's science fiction drama Arrival (2016) and Tom Ford's dark thriller Nocturnal Animals (2016). In 2018, she received another Oscar nomination, her sixth, for starring as Lynne Cheney in the biographical drama Vice (2018), opposite Christian Bale as Dick Cheney.- Actor
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Michael Urie is a native Texan who was active in Speech and Drama all through high school at Plano Senior High School. He trained in theater studies at Collin County Community College in Plano before going to The Juilliard School where he was recipient of the John Houseman prize for excellence in classical theater and the Laura Pels award for a career in the theater.- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Sara Ramirez was born in Mazatlán, Mexico, on August 31, 1975, and moved to the United States at 7 after their parents' divorce. Sara is a graduate of The Juillard School (1997). Ramirez made their Broadway debut in the Paul Simon musical The Capeman (1998) before winning a Tony Award for their portrayal of the Lady of the Lake in the 2005 production of Spamalot.
Ramirez appeared as Dr. Callie Torres in 239 episodes of the ABC hit Grey's Anatomy, and has gained acclaim for their role as Che Diaz in the Sex and the City reboot, "And Just Like That..."
In addition to their acting career, Sara is a singer/songwriter and activist in support of LGBT rights. They are a member of the True Colors United board of directors and the San Diego, New York, and San Francisco LGBT Centers. In 2015, they were awarded the Ally for Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.- Actor
- Producer
Ryan Kelley is an American actor probably best known for his starring role on the popular MTV television series "Teen Wolf". For 4 seasons as "Deputy Sheriff Jordan Parrish" Ryan used his badge and his supernatural abilities as a Hellhound to protect the town of Beacon Hills from evil on this international hit show. His popularity has helped him amass a following of over 1.5 million followers on social media and his appearances at conventions around the globe are sell outs. Most recently he starred in "Realms" a terrifying horror thriller set in Thailand that was shot entirely on location with some of that country's biggest stars. Other career highlights include "Prayers for Bobby" where Kelley portrayed the heartbreaking title character of "Bobby", a young gay man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality under the disapproving eye of his very conservative Christian mother played by Academy Award Nominee Sigourney Weaver. Based on the true story and best selling novel "Prayers for Bobby" received numerous nominations for Emmy's, Golden Globes, and won the GLADD Media Award for Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series. Through his experience on this film Ryan has become a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights and causes. Coming from a family of 15 children, 6 biological and 9 adopted, foster care and adoption rights are another cause Ryan champions and lends his support to. Other credits include starring in the critically acclaimed feature film "Mean Creek" where Ryan played "Clyde" one of a group of friends who find themselves at odds when a prank causes the accidental drowning of one of their classmates. This riveting drama earned Kelley an Independent Spirit Special Award of Achievement from Film Independent at their annual awards celebration. Younger fans may remember Ryan best as the the live actor version of the very popular animated character "Ben Tennyson" in the live action film "Ben 10: Alien Swarm". As a professional actor since the age of 5, Ryan has amassed an enviable string of credits over the years. From over 50 commercials as a child actor to numerous television guest spots on some of T.V's most popular shows including "Boston Legal", "Ghost Whisperer", "Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles" and a harrowing dramatic turn on "Law & Order: SVU" as a young heroin addict. A fan favorite guest arc on "Smallville" is also a role he is well remembered for. As a young star of several films he played the son of Jullianne Moore and Grandson of Peter Falk in the feature "Roommates", the son of Aidan Quinn and Bonnie Hunt in Project Greenlight's film "Stolen Summer", explored the fantasy dream world of "The Dust Factory" alongside Hayden Panettiere and Armin Mueller-Stahl and searched for Butch Cassidy's hidden gold in the 1950's set "Outlaw Trail". Ryan Kelley's career has shown no signs of slowing down 25 years in and now as a handsome adult leading man he remains more popular than ever and continues to add new exciting roles to his ever growing resume.- Actor
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Jonathan Cake was born on 31 August 1967 in Worthing, Sussex, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for First Knight (1995), Chuck (2007) and Krews (2010). He has been married to Julianne Nicholson since 5 September 2004. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Andrew Rannells was born on 23 August 1978 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for A Simple Favor (2018), The Prom (2020) and The Intern (2015).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Acting Career - Hailing from the Windy City, Kel Mitchell began his acting career at the young age of 12 with the ETA Creative Arts Foundation. Young Kel wowed audiences with his on-stage performances in Chicago theatrical productions such as "Kasimu & the Coconut Palm" and "Dirt." But it was his outstanding performance in "Eden" at the historic Victory Gardens Theater, which caught the attention of a prominent talent agent. At the age of 14, Kel got the opportunity of a lifetime. He flew to Florida to be on a TV show on the then new network for kids, Nickelodeon. Kel beat out thousands of other kids and was cast in what soon became a groundbreaking TV show. Mitchell was an original member on Nickelodeon's "All That" from 1994-1999. He and co-star Kenan Thompson also starred in the spin-off series "Kenan & Kel" from 1996-2000, as well as a 1997 major motion picture, titled "Good Burger", which is the movie version of one of his sketches from "All That". The duo also appeared together in episodes of "Sister Sister" and "The Steve Harvey Show" Kel Mitchell starred in the 1999 comedy "Mystery Men" with Ben Stiller and William H. Macy and in 2000, "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" with Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander and Rene Russo. Mitchell was also the voice of a mild-mannered and playful dog named T-Bone in the children's cartoon series "Clifford the Big Red Dog", alongside the late John Ritter from 2000 to 2003. In 2004, he also made an appearance in the Kanye West music video "All Falls Down" as a luggage collecting hotel valet. In 2005, Mitchell portrayed Manny Sellers in the sitcom "One on One" with Kyla Pratt, and in 2007 Kel starred in BET's new series "Take the Cake" Some of his other credits include in 2007 "Honeydripper" directed by John Sayles, with Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, and Charles S. Dutton and in 2008, Mitchell appeared in two Detroit-based stage productions, "Affairs" and "Laundromat", the latter written by Carlos Faison and also starred comedian Buddy Lewis and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons of R&B group SWV. In 2009 Kel became the voice of Ant on "The Ant and the Ardvark" new cartoon series from MGM studios "Pink Panther and Pals" for Cartoon Network. He has also filmed his writing and producing movie debut called "Dance Fu" in which he also stars as the lead role. It was directed by Cedric the Entertainer and also starring Tommy Davidson, Rodney Perry, Katerina Graham, and Affion Crockett. Kel voices Dutch in the animated series "Motorcity" on Disney XD and Jay-Jay in the animated series WildGrinders on Nicktoons. Mitchell most recently made is directorial debut with a short film that he also wrote called, "She Is Not My Sister" & starred as "D-Rock" on the CW's new web series called, "Stupid Hype" alongside of "Heart of Dixie's" Wilson Bethel.
Music Career - In 1996 he was a featured rapper on IMX's Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit "Watch Me Do My Thing" as his "Good Burger" character, Ed. In 1997 he wrote and performed "Were All Dudes" feat Less then Jake, the title song for the "Good Burger" movie. In 1999 his rap group with his two childhood friends wrote and performed "Who Are Those Mystery Men" on the "Mystery Men" movie soundtrack. In 2000 He was a featured rapper on Youngstown's "Pedal to the Steel" for the Disney television movie "Alley Cat Strike". In 2006 he and Dru Hill's Jazz wrote and performed "Up the game" for the movie "Like Mike 2: Streetball", and in 2008 he wrote and performed "Pray Together" for the gospel film "Don't Touch If You Aint Prayed 2" He has also done several parodies of hit songs, Kel has parodied celebrities such as Prince, 50 Cent and Michael Jackson just to name a few on a DVD called "Kel Videos Live" and in 2009 Mitchell directed Pop Artist Colby O'Donis's music video "Let You Go". He has voiced and wrote music for the animated cartoon called "Freaknik: the Musical" executive produced by T-Pain on Adult Swim.
Philanthropist - Kel motivates kids by giving speeches at many junior high and high school's, he has a genuine interest in the youth and mentoring them to be future leaders. He is a spokesperson for and works with organizations like Nccsa: National Center for Child Safety and Awareness, The Boys & Girls Club, The National College Association from the producers of The Black College Expo, LA's Best After School Enrichment Program, Young Visionaries, Black Carson Chambers of Commerce and many more. Kel also host's a web-series called "Ask Pastor Zeigler" with his Pastor from Spirit Food Christian Center Church teaching youth how to use the words of the Bible and how to put there Godly faith to work. Mitchell also puts on a live dance competition each month for the inner city youth called "The Back House Party" he executive produces the show along with his wife, designer and Christian rap artist Asia Lee. They put on the show at "The Dream Center Gallery" located in Compton, California.
Mitchell was honored with a Cable Ace Award in 1997 for Best Actor in a comedy series for his work in the Nickelodeon series "Kenan and Kel" and also honored with a Kids Choice Award in 1999 for Best Actor in a comedy series for both Nickelodeon series "All That" and "Kenan and Kel". Mitchell later earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for his voice work as the lovable "T-Bone" in the award winning PBS series and book series "Clifford the Big Red Dog" in 2001 and again in 2002. Most recently, Mitchell provides voice work for his character as skateboarding germaphobe, "Jay-Jay" on the Rob Dyrdek creation & Nicktoons cartoon series, "Wild Grinders" and as cool teen mechanic "Dutch" on the Disney XD cartoon series "Motorcity".
Having a genuine understanding of today's youth and roots in kid's television, Mitchell speaks to youth across the country encouraging them to follow their dreams, to walk by faith and not by sight and live a Godly lifestyle. Kel is involved in putting on and hosting uplifting concerts in inner cities teaming up with major Gospel and Christian music artist. Mitchell is also the spokesperson for "The Black College Expo" providing numerous scholarships for students through out the year. Mitchell and his wife Asia Lee-Mitchell were recently honored with an award from the "Carson Black Chambers of Commerce" for their work in the city of Compton, California, providing a safe program for kids to show off their creative talents in a dance variety live show created by the couple called, "The Back House Party". Hopeful in reducing Bullying in school's, Mitchell has written and directed a faith-based film that both teachers and youth pastors use to teach their students about how to eliminate bullying by using the principles of forgiveness and unconditional love.
Mitchell is also a music video director. He directed the high-octane video called, "Battery". He directed this video for Clear sight music's Christian Pop artist "V.Rose" featuring Billboard top charting Christian hip-hop artist "Flame". Mitchell's recent acting in television includes, TV One's "Love That Girl" CW's "Stupid Hype", Disney's "Good Luck Charlie", "First Family" and BET's "The Game".- Actress
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Marlee Beth Matlin was born on August 24, 1965 in Morton Grove, Illinois, to Libby (Hammer) and Donald Matlin, an automobile dealer. She has two older brothers. Her family is of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent.
Marlee lost much of her hearing at the age of eighteen months. That did not stop her from acting in a children's theater company at age seven; she was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz". Her deafness never held her back. As an adult, she said it so eloquently: "I have always resisted putting limitations on myself, both professionally and personally." Marlee studied criminal justice at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, and maintained her passion for acting after graduating. While performing on stage through Chicago and the Midwest, Marlee attracted notice for her performance in a production of the Tony Award-winning play "Children of a Lesser God" and was cast in the movie version Children of a Lesser God (1986). Although this was her movie debut, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. While shooting her next movie Walker (1987), in Nicaragua, large-hearted Marlee took time to visit both hearing and hearing-impaired children. She continued this tradition of visiting local children through her travels to Germany, England, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Canada, etc.
Her interest in the criminal justice field played a role in her on screen career; she portrayed an assistant D.A. on the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991), while off screen she married police officer Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993. The couple has four children: Sarah (born 1996), Brandon (born 2000), Tyler (born 2002), and Isabelle (born 2003). In 1994, Marlee was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance as Laurie Bey on the television series Picket Fences (1992). Marlee is also a spokeswoman for the National Captioning Institute. In 1995, she testified at a congressional hearing and helped get a law passed that requires all television sets 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with built-in chips to provide closed captioning on their screens; this was a godsend for deaf viewers.
Marlee serves as the national spokeswoman for the largest provider of television closed captioning, and has spoken on behalf of CC in countries such as Australia, England, France and Italy. She also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, including Very Special Arts, the Starlight Foundation, and other charities that primarily benefit children. As someone who loves children so much, it is only fitting that she has four of her own. Professionally, Marlee has even tried producing, being the executive producer for Where the Truth Lies (1999).- Actor
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Chad Michael Murray has showcased his brooding good looks and acting talent on television sets and silver screens for two decades. The 6-foot tall star, who resides in Wilmington, North Carolina, is known to audiences of One Tree Hill (2003), where he played the character of Lucas Scott. The model-turned-actor has also serenaded Jamie Lee Curtis with Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" in Freaky Friday (2003), became Hilary Duff's "Prince Charming" in A Cinderella Story (2004), and even watched Paris Hilton die a violent on-screen death in House of Wax (2005).
Chad Michael Murray was born in Buffalo, New York. At a young age, his mother left his family and he, along with his brother and his father Rex Murray, an air traffic controller, had to take care of his younger siblings. Chad once said in an interview that he could call his father anytime of the day as his father is "his rock".
The One Tree Hill (2003) star started his life as a paper boy, delivering newspapers around the neighborhood before working as a janitor at Donut World. Chad also worked as a receptionist at a limousine company.
After being admitted to the hospital for a broken nose, he was inspired by his nurse to try to get into acting. While at a convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, he met a man named Eddie Winkler, who offered Chad a place to stay in Los Angeles to kick-start his career. Not long afterward, Chad was hired for a Tommy Hilfiger campaign which helped pay his bills while he focused on acting. He started out on Dawson's Creek (1998) with his One Tree Hill (2003) co-stars, Hilarie Burton Morgan and Lee Norris. Two years later, he scored the role of "Tristian DuGrey" on Gilmore Girls (2000) before playing "Lucas Scott" in the popular teen drama One Tree Hill (2003), where he met his lasting friends James Lafferty and Tyler Hilton. Chad also starred in the B-horror flick House of Wax (2005).
He starred in Lionsgate's The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013) and the socially important Indie film, To Write Love on Her Arms (2012) (Kat Dennings, Rupert Friend). Going round the festival circuit, Chad played "Thatcher", an HIV-positive character, in the short film The Carrier (2012) (Rita Wilson, Anna Paquin). Murray also released "Everlast", his first graphic novel. "Everlast" is a passion project of his that tells the story of the tragic hero, "Derek Everlast", as he follows his journey to save the world before the "End of Days".
Chad played football growing up and his love for the sport led him to organize a charity game to benefit underprivileged communities. A fan of philosophy, Chad's favorite book is "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. He enjoys listening to music from Incubus, Frank Sinatra, James Brown and watching shows such as The Simpsons (1989) and Fear Factor (2001). As for movies, Chad has credited Gladiator (2000), Fight Club (1999), Varsity Blues (1999) & Any Given Sunday (1999) as his favorites.
Chad married his One Tree Hill (2003) co-star, Sophia Bush, on the 16th of April, 2005, at the age of 23. After less than a year of marriage, the couple signed for an annulment. Chad was also engaged to actress Kenzie Dalton for a number of years.
In 2015, Chad married actress and model Sarah Roemer, the two welcomed a son in 2015, a daughter in 2017, and another daughter in 2023.- Actor
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The Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin was born in August 1976.
Alex started out his film career in 2004, when he starred in Oyster Farmer (2004) as Jack Flange. The following year, he returned to the big screen as Michael Carter in Feed (2005), a movie that he also co-produced and helped write. Also released that year was a movie titled Man-Thing (2005), in which Alex played Deputy Eric Fraser.
However, his most recent role in a feature film was that of "Marcus Bohem" in The Invisible (2007). Alex acted in the Australian miniseries Mary Bryant (2005) as the title role's husband. He made his way to American serialized television in The Shield (2002) as Detective Kevin Hiatt, the newest member of the strike team. Alex can be seen as Marshall in the movie August Rush (2007), and also in Whiteout (2009). In 2005, he was nominated for the Australian Film Institute's Best Lead Actor in Television for his role in Mary Bryant (2005). In 2006, he was nominated for the Logie Awards' Silver Logie in the same category and role.- Actress
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Michelle Yeoh was born in Ipoh, Malaysia. She's the daughter of Janet Yeoh & Kian Teik Yeoh. She's of Hokkien descent, speaking English and Malay before Chinese. A ballet dancer since 4, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy as a teen. After a brief dance career, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant title in and the Miss Moomba beauty pageant title in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1980s. Her first on camera work was a 1984 commercial with martial arts star Jackie Chan. In 1985, she began making action movies with D&B Films of Hong Kong. She was first billed as Michelle Khan, then Michelle Yeoh. Never a trained martial artist, she relied on her dance discipline and on-set trainers to prepare for martial arts action scenes.
She uses many dance moves in her films and does most of her own stunts. In 1988, she married wealthy D&B Films executive Dickson Poon & retired from acting. Even though they divorced in 1992, she's close to Poon's second wife and a godmother to his daughter. When she returned to acting, she became very popular w/ Chinese audiences. She later became known to Western audiences through role in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). She turned down a role in a sequel to The Matrix (1999).
She has her own production company, Mythical Films. She trained with the Shen Yang Acrobatic team for her role in The Touch (2002), an English-language film she both starred in and produced. She hopes to use her company to discover and nurture new film-making talent. She also aspires to act in roles that combine both action and deeper spiritual themes.- Actress
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Vera Farmiga is an American actress who has received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Up in the Air (2009) and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in Bates Motel (2013) and When They See Us (2019).
She was born Vera Ann Farmiga, the second of seven children, on August 6, 1973, in Clifton, New Jersey, USA, to Ukrainian parents. She did not speak English until the age of six, and was raised in the Ukrainian Catholic home of her mother, Luba (Spas), a schoolteacher, and her father, Michael Farmiga, a computer systems analyst. Her younger sister is actress Taissa Farmiga, who is 21 years her junior. Young Vera was a shy, nearsighted girl, who played piano and folk danced with a Ukrainian touring company in her teens.
In 1991, she graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Farmiga initially dreamed of becoming an optometrist, but she later changed her mind and studied acting at Syracuse University's School of Performing Arts, graduating in 1995. The following year, she began her professional acting career, making her Broadway debut as an understudy in the play "Taking Sides". Her stage credits included performances in "The Tempest", "Good", "The Seagull", and in a well-reviewed off-Broadway production of "Second-Hand Smoke" (1997). That same year, she made her television debut as the female lead, opposite a then-unknown Heath Ledger, in Fox's adventure series Roar (1997).
In 1998, Farmiga made her big screen debut in the drama Return to Paradise (1998), then played the daughters of Christopher Walken in The Opportunists (1999) and Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (2000). She starred as a working-class mother struggling to keep her life and marriage together while hiding her drug addiction in Down to the Bone (2004), for which she was awarded Best Actress from the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Farmiga's acting talent shone in a range of characters, from her role as a senator's daughter in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the wife of a mobster in Running Scared (2006), a humorous prostitute in Breaking and Entering (2006), and a police psychiatrist in The Departed (2006).
In 2010, Farmiga received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Up in the Air (2009). In 2011, she made her directorial debut with the drama Higher Ground (2011), in which she also appeared in the leading role. Although the film had a limited release, Farmiga's direction and performance received attention at several festivals. In 2013, she began starring in the drama thriller series Bates Motel (2013), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in the first season. In 2019, she received a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination, this time in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category, for her role in the drama miniseries When They See Us (2019).
Farmiga was formerly married to actor Sebastian Roché, whom she met during production of Roar (1997). The two eloped to the Bahamas after the series ended in 1997. They separated and subsequently divorced in 2004. On September 13, 2008, she married musician Renn Hawkey, with whom she has two children, son Fynn McDonnell (b. 2009) and daughter Gytta Lubov Hawkey (b. 2010). Farmiga lives with her family in Hudson Valley, New York. Her other activities, outside her acting profession, include reading, playing piano, boxing, jujitsu, and spending time with her pet angora goats.- Actress
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Soleil Moon Frye began acting at the age of two, after seeing her father, veteran actor Virgil Frye, and brother, Meeno Peluce, on TV. Her father got her an agent, Herb Tannen & Associates in Hollywood, and her career soon took off. Her mother, Sondra Peluce, became her manager. At age eight, she became known worldwide as the title character in the Punky Brewster (1984) TV series on NBC. Since that show ended, she has appeared in numerous movies, directed a film and written a screenplay for a movie about experiences a group of teenagers encounter in a café.- Actress
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The second of four children, Australian actress Melissa George was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1976. The daughter of Pamela, a nurse, and Glenn George, a construction worker, Melissa initially expressed interest in various forms of dance rather than acting. During her childhood, George studied tap, ballet, and jazz, later transitioning into professional rollerskating - similar to figure skating on ice.
By age 16, George had won several awards at various National Rollerskating Championships in Australia, and subsequently began modeling after dropping out of high school. George met a casting agent while doing modeling work, and was given a role on the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away (1988); George moved to Sydney and worked on the show for three years until deciding to pursue other projects.
In 1996, George left Australia and moved to Los Angeles in search of bigger roles. She garnered various supporting parts in films such as Dark City (1998) and Steven Soderbergh's crime thriller The Limey (1999), before landing a key part in David Lynch's acclaimed neo noir mystery film, Mulholland Drive (2001). While in Bali in 1998, George met future husband, Chilean filmmaker Claudio Dabed; the two were married in late 2000.
The early 2000s would have George playing bit parts in several American television shows, including Friends (1994) and Monk (2002), ultimately landing a recurring role on the hit Alias (2001) alongside Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan. Through the later part of the decade, George had roles in various horror and thriller films, beginning with the 2005 version of The Amityville Horror (2005), as well as the commercially-successful thriller Derailed (2005) alongside Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston and Vincent Cassel.
George finished the decade with several more horror films, including Turistas (2006) and 30 Days of Night (2007), as well as independent horror titles such as The Killing Gene (2007), The Betrayed (2008) and Triangle (2009). George was also active in television work, landing a role on the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2005). Her greatest critical success would come with a role on In Treatment (2008), playing the love interest of Gabriel Byrne, which would garner her a Golden Globe nomination in 2009.
Though a veteran of television in both Australia and the United States, George has achieved considerable success in her film career, which has hardly spanned over a decade.- Actress
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Merrin Dungey was born on 6 August 1971 in Sacramento, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Alias (2001), The King of Queens (1998) and Big Little Lies (2017). She has been married to Kevin Ryder since 31 December 2023. She was previously married to Matthew Drake.- Actress
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Blake Ellender Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987 in Los Angeles, California to Elaine Lively & Ernie Lively. Her brother is actor Eric Lively, and her half-siblings are actors Lori Lively, Robyn Lively and Jason Lively. She followed her parents' and siblings' steps. Her first role was Trixie, the Tooth Fairy in the musical movie Sandman (1998), directed by her father. Her big break came along a few years later, though. Blake was up to finish high school when she got the co-starring role of Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005).
Blake was so perfect for the role of Bridget that, with no big references or even auditioning, she landed the role. According to her, all she did was walk in and leave a photo of herself. It was clear that she was the Bridget needed. After the film, Blake went back to high school for her senior year to have the life of a regular teenager -- or a very busy regular teenager. She was class president, a cheerleader, and performed with the choir.- Actress
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Born in New York City and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Catherine Mary Hicks was a cheerleader at Gerard Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1969. Hicks attended Saint Mary's College-Notre Dame University and studied English literature. Moving east from South Bend, Indiana, she began her acting career at Cornell University, where she won a two-year scholarship to the Actor's Conservatory, where she received training in all aspects of the theatre. Leaving Cornell, she went to New York and, within a week, had landed a part on the ABC daytime drama, "Ryan's Hope" (1975). She became a notable actress of the 1980s, in film and television. After appearing on the soap opera, Ryan's Hope (1975) from 1976-78, she won a coveted role, starring with Jack Lemmon, in the Broadway stage production of "Tribute" for eight months. Catherine left Broadway to Hollywood, where, after several television guest appearances, she graduated to a leading role in the television movie Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980), playing Marilyn Monroe, which brought her international attention and an Emmy nomination. She appeared in several high profile films through the early 1980s, in leading and supporting roles whilst also appearing on television. Films included: Death Valley (1982), Garbo Talks (1984), The Razor's Edge (1984) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). She played "Dr. Gillian Taylor", opposite lead actor William Shatner, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), a cult sequel to the popular Star Trek films. In the late 1980s, she played the lead role of "Karen Barclay" in Child's Play (1988), a film that remains highly regarded in the horror genre. It was on the set of this film that Catherine met her future husband, Kevin Yagher, with whom she had a daughter in 1992. Despite her obvious talent, big movie roles never seemed to find their way to her in the early 1990s. In spite of this, she worked consistently, appearing in Liebestraum (1991), Dillinger and Capone (1995), the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Redwood Curtain (1995), and a small role in the semi-high profile movie, Turbulence (1997). In 1996, she landed the lead role in the Warner Bros. television series, 7th Heaven (1996), playing "Annie Jackson-Camden". From that point on, her career revolved around the television series and her family, occasionally appearing in films. Her last to-date film was the television movie, For All Time (2000), opposite Mark Harmon. 7th Heaven (1996) was canceled in 2007, after a successful eleven-year run, but it is likely that this attractive and talented actress will remain in films and television for a long time to come.- Actor
- Producer
Karl Davies was born on 6 August 1982 in Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Happy Valley (2014), Chernobyl (2019) and Game of Thrones (2011).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Jason Priestley was born on 28 August 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Call Me Fitz (2010) and Cas & Dylan (2013). He has been married to Naomi Lowde-Priestley since 14 May 2005. They have two children. He was previously married to Ashlee Petersen.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Peter William Krause was born on August 12, 1965, in Alexandria, Minnesota. Both his parents were teachers, and he has a sister and brother. He was raised in Roseville, Minnesota. He graduated in 1987 from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in English literature. In 1990, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.
Krause's first role was in a horror movie Blood Harvest (1987). On Carol & Company (1990), he appeared opposite Carol Burnett and Richard Kind. It was an anthology comedy series, with actors playing different characters each week. After it ended in 1991, he guest starred on The Limo (1992) as Tim, a white supremacist, and on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) in a recurring role. In 1995, he appeared in starring and recurring roles on two short-lived shows, The Great Defender (1995) and If Not for You (1995). He also guest starred on Ellen (1994), University Hospital (1995), Caroline in the City (1995), Brotherly Love (1995), The Drew Carey Show (1995) and Party of Five (1994). He also got a major recurring role as Cybill's son-in-law, Kevin Blanders on Cybill (1995). Around the same time, he also appeared in a romantic comedy Lovelife (1997) opposite Saffron Burrows, Bruce Davison and Carla Gugino, and in A Friend in Dick (1997).
In 1998, he appeared in three movies, including The Truman Show (1998). He also got a starring role on ABC's comedy Sports Night (1998), created by Aaron Sorkin. He played sports anchor Casey McCall, opposite Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman and Joshua Malina, until the show's cancellation in 2000. After "Sports Night", he got a another starring role, on HBO's Six Feet Under (2001), created by Alan Ball. He received three Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes nominations for his role as funeral director Nate Fisher, the son of Ruth (Frances Conroy) and the brother of David (Michael C. Hall) and Claire (Lauren Ambrose). During a break from "Six Feet Under" in 2004, he also appeared in We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004) opposite Laura Dern and Mark Ruffalo and played a part on Broadway. After "Six Feet Under" ended in 2005, he appeared in the miniseries The Lost Room (2006) opposite Julianna Margulies and Elle Fanning as the lead Joe Miller and played the lead and produced the thriller Civic Duty (2006). In 2007, he got yet another lead on Dirty Sexy Money (2007) as the lawyer of one of New York City's wealthiest families, opposite Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin and Natalie Zea. Krause was also a producer on the show, but unfortunately, it ended in 2009, after two seasons.
After "Dirty Sexy Money" ended, Krause did not stay idle long, when he received the lead on Parenthood (2010) as Adam Braverman, opposite Lauren Graham, Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia. "Parenthood" ended in 2015 after six seasons. In 2016, he was cast in ABC's crime drama, The Catch (2016), produced by Shonda Rhimes. The series lasted for two seasons and he played a con artist, who is being chased by a private investigator (Mireille Enos'), whom he defrauded. In 2017, he was cast in a leading role on FOX's 9-1-1 (2018), created by Ryan Murphy. He plays an LAFD fire captain Bobby Nash, opposite Angela Bassett. He also serves as an executive producer of the series.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Adam Russo was born on 8 August 1967 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor and director.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jon Prescott was born on 10 August 1981 in Mountain View, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Holiday (2006), Howl (2010) and Parts Per Billion (2014).- Actress
- Soundtrack
For the past four decades, Faith Prince has dazzled audiences on both stage and screen in a variety of memorable comedic and dramatic roles. She quickly rose to Broadway fame after winning a Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls directed by Jerry Zaks, and has remained one of the most prolific leading ladies working in the American musical theater. For her Broadway debut in Jerome Robbins Broadway, Ms. Prince was nominated for her first Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, and has since starred in over a dozen Broadway shows: Nick & Nora (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Guys and Dolls, What's Wrong With This Picture, The King and I, Little Me, James Joyce's The Dead, Bells Are Ringing (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics nominations), Noises Off, Disney's The Little Mermaid, A Catered Affair (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics nominations), Annie, and Disaster. Also in New York, she originated the role of Trina in William Finn and James Lapine's Falsettoland and can be heard on the cast recording. Equally present on screen, Ms. Prince made her television debut guest starring opposite Pierce Brosnan on the hit series "Remington Steele" followed by playing Angela Virago in the 1985 film The Last Dragon. She has appeared in numerous films including: Dave with Kevin Kline, My Father the Hero with Gerard Depardieu, Picture Perfect with Jennifer Aniston, Our Very Own, It Had to Be You, Material Girls, and Disney's TinkerBell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Faith is perhaps more widely recognized for the many colorful characters she has created on television including recently: Nellie Cantrell on the 2022 Fox series "Monarch" and Judith Robertson in "Emily in Paris", as well as Kristy Swenson in "Scream Queens", Elaine Bingum in "Drop Dead Diva", Claudia in "Spin City", Kelly Knippers in "Huff", "Modern Family", "CSI", "Ugly Betty", "Grey's Anatomy", "Monk", "House", "Now and Again" and television movies including most recently "Dear Christmas" for Lifetime. Audiences can now stream her many live appearances, including performances from The Tony Awards, "My Favorite Broadway" at Carnegie Hall, and An Evening At The Pops: A Tribute to Jerry Herman" (PBS). In addition to the original cast recordings, she has two solo albums "A Leap of Faith" (DRG, 2000) and "Total Faith" (Broadway Records, 2013).Faith can frequently be seen in concert and her symphony appearances include Boston Pops, Utah Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Cincinnati Pops, and Philly Pops, and Sydney Opera House and the Adelaide Music Festival with Anthony Warlow. Born in Georgia and raised in Virginia, Faith received a BFA in musical theater from University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before moving to New York and making her professional debut in Scrambled Feet. a revue at The Village Gate Theater. She then succeeded Ellen Greene as Audrey in the original New York and Los Angeles productions of Little Shop of Horrors. In 2009, Ms. Prince was honored by her alma mater with an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts.- Embeth Davidtz was born on August 11, 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana. She is known for her role as Miss Honey in the film Matilda (1996).
Her parents, Jean and John Davidtz, were South Africans, with Dutch, English, and French ancestry. The family moved to Trenton, New Jersey, before returning to her parents' native country, where her father was a university professor. Davidtz studied at Rhodes University. Her acting started with the National Theatre Company's "Romeo & Juliet" for which she received good reviews.
She got a small role in South African-filmed American horror, Mutator (1989). She moved to Los Angeles in 1992, and landed a role in her first American film, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (1992). Also, she appeared Television film Till Death Us Do Part (1992). After Director Steven Spielberg cast her in Schindler's List (1993) as Helen Hirsch.
In Matilda (1996), based on Roald Dahl's children's book, she played the role of Miss Honey. She is most often recognized for her role in this film. She also starred in the Bicentennial Man (1999), which was released in 1999. She got a supporting role in the film Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), as Natasha. Also in 2001, her role included horror thrillers Thir13en Ghosts (2001).
In 2009, she played Felicia Koons on Californication season 3. Davidtz played in Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboots, as Peter Parker's mother, Mary Parker. She married Jason Sloane on June, 2002. - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Cristin Milioti was born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She has Jewish, Italian, Belgian, Czech, and Irish ancestry, and calls her family "Olive Garden Italian." In middle school, she found her love of acting at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in New York. She attended Cherry Hill High School East, graduating in 2003. She took acting classes at New York University, but dropped out during her freshman year. However, she is listed in the university's advertising.- Actress
- Producer
Rachel Bilson was born in Los Angeles, to Janice (Stango), a sex therapist, and Danny Bilson. Her father is Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother is of Italian descent. She began acting while still at Notre Dame High School. She graduated high school in 1999 and went to Grossmont College but dropped out after a year and was encouraged to pursue a career in acting by her father, himself a writer, director and producer.
She worked in commercials and landed a few one-off roles in high profile TV shows before landing the part of Summer Roberts in the hit TV series The O.C. (2003), establishing herself as a household name.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Carla Gugino was born in Sarasota, Florida, to Carl Gugino, an orthodontist. She is of Italian (father) and English-Irish (mother) ancestry. Gugino moved with her mother to Paradise, California, when Carla was just five years old. During her childhood, they moved many times within the state. But she remained a straight-A student throughout high school and graduated as valedictorian. A major modeling agency discovered Carla in San Diego and sent her to New York to begin a new career when she was 15. New York was more than she could handle at that young age, so she returned to LA in the summer, modeling and enrolling in an acting class at the suggestion of her aunt, Carol Merrill, known from Let's Make a Deal (1963). During her free time, Carla enjoys yoga, traveling and spending time with her friends in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Timothy Hutton was born in Malibu, California, one of three children born to Maryline (Poole), a teacher, and actor Jim Hutton (Dana James Hutton). He burst onto the acting scene in the late 1970s. After only a few significant roles in TV movies, he bagged the part of Conrad in the Robert Redford-directed Ordinary People (1980).
His performance as a troubled teenager trying to deal with the death of his older brother, won him the 1980 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the youngest actor to date to win that award. With over 70 film, TV, and stage appearances (including an impressive 15 features films between 2006-08), Hutton headlines the television series Leverage (2008) as insurance investigator Nate Ford. He starred in the acclaimed Roman Polanski film The Ghost Writer (2010). Hutton made his Broadway debut in 1989 in "Love Letters".- Actress
- Writer
- Make-Up Department
Kate Siegel (born August 9, 1982) is an American actress and screenwriter. She is known for her collaborations with her husband Mike Flanagan, appearing in the acclaimed horror films Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), which she also co-wrote, Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), and Gerald's Game (2017). Siegel also starred as Theodora Crain in the Netflix supernatural horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018).
Siegel made her acting debut in the film The Curse of The Black Dahlia, which was released on January 23, 2007. That same year she went on to star in Hacia La Oscuridad which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2007. She also appeared in Steam alongside Ruby Dee and Chelsea Handler. In 2008, Siegel appeared in the short film Knocked Down, which was directed by Ted Collins. In 2009, she made her television debut in Ghost Whisperer as Cheryl. In 2010, she appeared in Numb3rs as Rachel Hollander. She then appeared in an episode of Castle. That same year she appeared in the drama-thriller Wedding Day.
In 2013, Siegel appeared in Man Camp. That same year she appeared in Oculus, a horror film written and directed by Mike Flanagan. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2013, and was released in April 2014. She also appeared in an episode of Mob City. In 2014, she appeared in Demon Legacy.
In November 2015, it was revealed that she and Mike Flanagan would be adapting the young adult novel 13 Days to Midnight into a film.
In 2016, Siegel made her screenwriting debut opposite her husband Mike Flanagan in Hush, the film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2016, and was released on Netflix on April 8, 2016. In July 2016, she starred in a commercial for Stelara psoriasis medication. That same year, Siegel appeared in Ouija: Origin of Evil, also directed by Flanagan, which was released on October 21, 2016.
In 2017, Siegel starred alongside Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Gerald's Game. The film was released on September 29, 2017, by Netflix.
In 2018, Siegel had a starring role as Theodora Crain in the Netflix supernatural horror series The Haunting of Hill House, based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name.
Siegel is married to director Mike Flanagan since 2016. They have one son, Cody Paul Flanagan (born November 26, 2016).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
George Stults was born on 16 August 1975 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for 7th Heaven (1996), Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion (2008) and What Lies Above (2004).- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dancia is a 2001 graduate of Southridge High School in Kennewick, WA. She is the daughter of Donna and John Stewart. While in high school she was a cheerleader and studied acting once a month in Seattle, WA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Donn Swaby is an American actor, born on August 20th, 1973 and raised in Queens, New York by Donald Sr. and Nesline Swaby, both immigrants from the island of Jamaica.
Donn attended Boston University's School of Theatre Arts. Whileat B.U., Donn began his professional career at the encouragement of his acting professor, Prof. Jon Lipsky, who suggested he audition for the role of Thami Mbikwana in the New Rep's production of Athol Fugard's My Children! My Africa! When Donn landed the role, he continued his studies, attending classes in the mornings and rehearsing in the afternoon/evenings.
While at B.U., Donn performed in several professional productions, namely, the Boston premier of George C. Wolfe's play, The Colored Museum at the Boston Center for the Arts (1993) and Stop and Frisk (Karibu Theatre Co.)Both plays were directed by Prof. James Spruill, another of Donn's acting mentors.
It was also in Boston where Donn was hired as a stand-in and photo double for Ruben Santiago-Hudson in the film, Blown Away, also starring Jeff Bridges, Forest Whittaker and Tommy Lee Jones. It would be his first time on a major film set and his first of two times he will have worked with Hudson, whom he later co-stars with in A Raisin in the Sun at the Williamstown Theatre Festival of 1999.
Donn was awarded a Dean's Scholarship for the last two years of the program and attained a BFA in Acting in 1995. He graduated with a 3.6 GPA.
Upon returning to New York, Donn was offered professional representation. He began performing in Off-Broadway, regional theater, radio, television and film. He landed his first speaking role in the film G.I. Jane, starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen and directed by Ridley Scott.
After co-starring with Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Viola Davis, Kimberly Elise and the late Gloria Foster in A Raisin in the Sun (directed by Jack Hoffsiss) at Willimastown, Donn landed the role of Chad Harris on NBC's soap opera, Passions, making Donn a national star. Having played Chad for three years before leaving the show, it is one of the roles he is most known for. Although Passions went off the air in 2009/2010, it continues to be watched, discussed and celebrated by fans around the world.
Donn is also known for playing the role of the flamboyant hairdresser, Delicious, in both feature films, Nora's Hair Salon and Nora's Hair Salon II, starring opposite Jenifer Lewis, Tatiana Ali, Stacy Dash, Li'l Kim and Bobby Brown.
Donn has guest starred on many sitcoms and dramas, including Judging Amy, Crossing Jordan, Half and Half, The Parkers, Surface, Monk, and Gigantic.
Donn founded the Foundation Theatre Company in 1999. He produced and directed Fool for Love by Sam Shepard in 2000. In 2001, he produced and starred in Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by William Hanley, which earned his cast a Best Ensemble Nomination for the N.A.A.C.P. Theatre Awards, Los Angeles Chapter. He would later win Best Ensemble for the same award in 2007 along with the other cast members of Black Angels Over Tuskegee, a play by written by Layon Gray.
Having played the guitar since he was fourteen, Donn has continued to play, write and record solo and with other artists and many bands over the years.
As a writer, Donn has written for Huffington Post and served as Staff Writer for eight years for an alternative women's magazine, Melt Magazine for Women, covering restaurant and music reviews, features and his own What's Cool, L.A. page. He has written several stage plays and screenplays, one of which was produced as a feature film (Buds for Life,2008.) Donn self-published a rhyming picture book titled, You're Everything Everywhere All the Time.
Donn continues to act,write,and play/record music. His hobbies are hiking, live music, reading both fiction and non-fiction, volunteering as a reader to children via the Screen Actors Guild Book Pals Program, where he has also participated in the pencil-pal program, and helped students write their own biographies and monologues.- Actress
- Writer
American actress, voice-over artist and host, Dana Sparks has an extensive television and film career. In her early teens, she booked her first commercial audition in her home city of San Francisco and used that momentum move to Los Angeles. Dana went on her first network audition, for the CBS series Cover Up (1984), and was given a contract role. Soon after, her neighbor, producer/director Blake Edwards, "discovered" her on the beach in Malibu and cast her as "Fanny" in her first feature film That's Life! (1986).
A regular on Falcon Crest (1981) she spent three seasons as the "sexy vixen" "Vicki Gioberti." Other credits Dana is best know for include Melrose Place (1992), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Thirtysomething (1987) and L.A. Law (1986). She was "Lt. Cmdr. Carolyn Imes" on the hit series JAG (1995).
A magazine cover-girl and favorite of ad agency's, Dana was the face of many international campaigns.
By far the youngest of 3 siblings, Dana grew up riding her pony across the hills of Orinda, California to visit her friends. This freedom created an adventurous, sporty, animal lover. A swimmer, boogie-boarder, horseback rider and golfer, Dana would always prefer be outside enjoying Venice Beach, California where she lives.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Evangeline Lilly, born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in 1979, was discovered on the streets of Kelowna, British Columbia, by the famous Ford modeling agency. Although she initially decided to pass on a modeling career, she went ahead and signed with Ford anyway, to help pay for her University of British Columbia tuition and expenses.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Daniel Dae Kim has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on "Hawaii Five-0," Kim was best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on the hit TV series "Lost," for which he shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, and was individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor. In 2009, he was recognized with the prestigious KoreAm Achievement Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment, and has twice been named one of "People" Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive."
Most recently, he received a Broadway Beacon Award for his role as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center's Tony Award-winning production of "The King and I," as well as the Theater Legacy Award from New York's Pan Asian Repertory Theater. Outside of his artistic endeavors, he actively pursues interests in the community at large, having most recently served as Cultural Envoy and Member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the United States at the World Expo in Korea.
Born in Busan, South Korea, and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Kim discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he began his career on stage, performing in classics such as "Romeo and Juliet," "Ivanov," and "A Doll's House." Despite early success, he deepened his knowledge of the craft by enrolling at New York University's Graduate Acting Program, where he earned his Master's Degree.
After receiving his MFA, Kim's film career began in earnest with roles in "The Jackal," "For Love of the Game," "The Hulk," "Spider-Man 2" and "The Cave," as well as the Academy Award-winning "Crash." Most recently, he created the role of Jack Kang in "The Divergent Series films, "Insurgent" and "Allegiant." Kim is set to star as Ben Daimio in the highly anticipated feature: "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen".
Kim has also lent his voice talents to animated series and films, such as the award-winning Studio Ghibli film, "The Tale of Princess Kaguya," as well as the PBS nature documentary series, "Big Pacific". He's also voiced characters for several video games, including Johnny Gat in the bestselling series, "Saints Row."
On camera, he has guest-starred on numerous TV shows, including "CSI," on the network, "ER" and two seasons on "24" as CTU Agent Tom Baker. In 2008, he starred in the Emmy Award-nominated miniseries "The Andromeda Strain."
In addition to his onscreen career, Kim spearheads his production company 3AD, established in 2014 by Daniel Dae Kim to produce premier content for TV, film and digital media - in development partnership with ITV Studios America. Committed to storytelling that features characters and cultures traditionally underrepresented in today's media, 3AD produced projects include this season's acclaimed new series The Good Doctor (ABC),where he serves as Executive Producer. Daniel Dae Kim can be found on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook @danieldaekim and is repped by UTA and KlevanLongarzo LLP and EPR. 3ADmedia.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Maureen Denise McCormick was born on August 5, 1956 to Richard and Irene McCormick. The youngest of four children, she has three brothers Michael, Dennis and Kevin. Her acting career began at age six when she won the Baby Miss San Fernando Valley contest, which opened up the glamorous world of acting to the future teenie-bopper. At age seven, her first role was in a play, and within a year, was a popular choice for TV commercials and sitcoms. In addition to ads for Barbie and Kool Aid, Maureen was seen on Bewitched (1964), My Three Sons (1960) and Camp Runamuck (1965). She also did voice-over recordings for a dozen Mattel talking dolls. For five years, Maureen was one of America's top teen role-models, admired by millions. When the Brady Kids became a singing group on the side, producers noticed her special talent for singing and encouraged the recording of a number of solo tracks, some of which turned up later on the LP "Chris Knight and Maureen McCormick". Years later, she would attempt to revive her singing career, with the 1995 Country CD "When You Get A Little Lonely". Maureen has appeared in many feature films, many TV guest spots and completed three films in the last three years, Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure (1999) and The Million Dollar Kid (2000) and Dogtown (1997). She currently pursues her career and keeps her friends and family first priority. Maureen is married to Michael Cummings and together they have a daughter, Natalie.- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Director
Adam Killian was born on 12 August 1975 in West Hollywood, California, USA. He is an actor and cinematographer.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Julie Brown is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and director. After moving away from her hometown of Van Nuys (aka "The Valley"), Julie began her career as a comedian in the clubs of San Francisco. After returning to Los Angeles, she immediately started working as an actress and writer.
After guest-starring in sitcoms, like "Laverne & Shirley," "The Jeffersons," "Newhart," and "Quantum Leap," Julie added singing to her act, producing her own EP with the hit songs "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gone" and "Earth Girls Are Easy"- which through a stroke of show business luck became a movie she co-wrote and starred in (along with Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, and Jim Carrey). She also starred in and wrote the comedy show "Just Say Julie" for MTV and created a satire Madonna mockumentary for Showtime called "Medusa: Dare to be Truthful," which won her the Writers Guild award for Best Comedy Special. During this same time, Julie also co-created the FOX sketch comedy series, "The Edge," starring herself and Jennifer Aniston.
Julie was then cast as Ms. Stoeger in the movie "Clueless" and went on to write, direct, and star on the series version of "Clueless," which ran for three seasons. Julie also starred in and created "Strip Mall" for Comedy Central for two seasons. In addition, Julie co-wrote the Disney Channel original movie mega-hit "Camp Rock," which launched the careers of Demi Lovato and The Jonas Brothers. Julie was later a writer on the Kevin Hart series "The Big House." Julie also wrote multiple episodes of "Melissa and Joey," where she recurred as a guest star. Julie also had a recurring role on ABC's "The Middle" and was a guest judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Julie has voiced many fan-favorite animated characters for TV and film, including "Animaniacs," "Batman," "Pinky and the Brain," and "A Goofy Movie."
Currently, Julie is working on a sequel to "Medusa," as well as "Earth Girls are Easy: The Musical," and her first Young Adult novel.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Boise City, Oklahoma, Vera Miles attended school in Pratt, Kansas and Wichita, Kansas. The patrician beauty of Miss Miles won her the title of "Miss Kansas" in 1948, leading soon to small roles in Hollywood films and television series. Fame came to the forthright, spirited Miles when she attracted the attention of two master directors, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. Ford cast her in the classic western The Searchers (1956) and Hitchcock, who put her under personal contract and hailed her as his "new Grace Kelly", paired her with the great Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man (1956). Hitchcock cast Miles in the potentially star-making role of Judy Barton in Vertigo (1958), but Miles withdrew from the film when she became pregnant. Hitchcock gave Miles a supporting role in another masterpiece Psycho (1960), as did Ford when he cast her opposite John Wayne and James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), She also starred in such films as Beau James (1957) opposite Bob Hope, The FBI Story (1959) opposite Stewart, Back Street (1961) opposite Susan Hayward and John Gavin and Sergeant Ryker (1968) opposite Lee Marvin, as well as showing her consistently remarkable and versatile talent on dozens of popular television movies and series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Outer Limits (1963), The Fugitive (1963), My Three Sons (1960), Bonanza (1959), Columbo (1971) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). In 1983, she reprised her role as "Lila Crane" in the film sequel Psycho II (1983), starring Anthony Perkins. Although, too often, the stunningly beautiful Miles' gifts were underutilized, before her retirement in 1995, hers was a most intriguing and enduring Hollywood career.- Actor
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Peter Weck was born on 12 August 1930 in Vienna, Austria. He is an actor and director, known for Ich heirate eine Familie... (1983), Hilfe, ich liebe Zwillinge (1969) and Sissi (1955). He was previously married to Ingrid Muttone.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Barbara Eden, born Barbara Jean Morehead in Tucson, Arizona, became one of America's most endearing and enduring actresses. A graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco, California, Eden would go on to study at San Francisco's City College as well as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theatre. While her aspirations as a singer motivated her during her early years for a career in music, it was her starring role in the NBC TV comedy series, I Dream of Jeannie (1965) where Barbara Eden immediately gained international acclaim.
Although most remembered for her role as "Jeannie", Barbara Eden has starred in more than 20 theatrical feature films and made-for-television films for at least four different movie studios: 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Studios, and Universal Studios, most notably in the film Flaming Star (1960), when she acted as Elvis Presley's leading lady. Other films in which Barbara Eden had a leading role were Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) and The Brass Bottle (1964). The Brass Bottle comedy movie led to Sidney Sheldon's creation of I Dream of Jeannie (1965) comical TV series.
In television, Eden made her first featured appearance on Country Club Dance (1957), as the series was nearing cancellation (there were just two more episodes). Eden immediately landed a starring role in the television version of How to Marry a Millionaire (1957), where she portrayed the same character role originated by Marilyn Monroe. Another memorable appearance came on The Manicurist (1962), featuring her in the character role, special guest-star, as well as her occupation being titled.
In 1965, Barbara Eden was cast the leading role in Sidney Sheldon's NBC sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie (1965). It televised weekly, for five successful and humorous seasons with 139 episodes. After "Jeannie," Barbara Eden went on to star in many other comical and family productions including Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978) and Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984) among other numerous highly rated made-for-television movies well into the 1990s. She has also acted in multiple western series and thrillers.
Outside of her film and television works, Barbara Eden headlined major hotel resorts and casinos including Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. She also was the star attraction at the MGM Grand, Harrah's, Caesar's Palace and on concert stages and legitimate theaters across the country.
Utilizing her singing ability, Eden released an album titled "Miss Barbara Eden" in 1967, for record company, Dot Records. She has also been a musical guest star in a wide range of variety television shows. Eden's appearances included 21 Bob Hope special shows, along with The Carol Burnett Show (1967), The Jonathan Winters Show (1967), The Sonny and Cher Show (1976), The Jerry Lewis Show (1963), This Is Tom Jones (1969), Tony Orlando and Dawn (1974), and Donny and Marie (1975).
During the Persian Gulf War, she traveled with Bob Hope to the middle-east to perform for the combat troops and then continued on with Hope in a whirlwind eight-day, around-the-world USO tour entertaining servicemen during the Christmas season.
To celebrate the 2002 Yuletide season, she responded to an invitation from President George Bush; Barbara journeyed to Washington D.C. and sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" at the annual White House "Lighting of the National Christmas Tree" event where she also hosted the show and pageant with President and Mrs. Bush for an audience of 6,000 cheering fans on the Ellipse near the White House.
A multi-talent, Eden starred in the national touring musicals The Sound of Music (1965) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1998). In the latter production, she played Lorelei Lee, the character created on Broadway by Carol Channing and performed by Marilyn Monroe in the 20th Century Fox film version. Eden also toured vastly in various stage productions like Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Annie Get Your Gun (1967), Wild Pacific (2009) and Nite Club Confidential (1996). In the play "Love Letters," Eden reunited with her I Dream of Jeannie (1965) co-star, Larry Hagman. The duo toured metropolitan and major cities, across the United States. Eden starred in Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple: Female Version", and "Social Security" (1985). She has also been seen in TV series like, All Star Blitz (1985), Entertainment Tonight (1981) and Larry King Live (1985).
In 2011, Crown Archetype, a division of Random House, published Barbara's memoir, "Jeannie Out of the Bottle," which debuted at number 14 on the New York Times Best Seller List and on Australia's Best Seller List, published there by Harper-Collins, Inc. The autobiography chronicle's Eden's colorful life and remarkable Hollywood career that spans more than 50 years.
One of Hollywood's busiest actresses, Barbara filmed a starring role in Always and Forever (2009), a movie filmed by and for the Hallmark Channel. The move was televised numerous times during the year it was filmed and released. On the road, she hosted productions of Ballets with a Twist (1996), the new groundbreaking show that stars rotating celebrity emcees and dancers from Dancing with the Stars (2010). Barbara Eden has appeared recently in a recurring role on Lifetime's Army Wives (2007) series, guest-starred on ABC's George Lopez (2002), and enacted a recurring role on Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). During her long career, Barbara has starred in 25 feature films, five network TV series and 19 top-rated network made-for-television movies.
Barbara has been featured in TV commercials for Old Navy, AT&T, and she introduced the Lexus SUV, which was later named Car of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine.
People Magazine named Barbara "One of America's 200 Greatest Pop Icons of the 20th Century." She has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7003 Hollywood Boulevard near the front of the world famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre. She was named one of TV Guide's Most Popular Comedy Stars and has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Broadcasters Hall of Fame, The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and the TV Land Television Network.
When there is time in her crowded schedule, Eden works actively on behalf of numerous charities including The Trail of Painted Ponies Breast Cancer Research, American Cancer Society, the Wellness Community, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the March of Dimes, the American Heart Association, Save the Children and Childhelp USA.
Barbara Eden resides with her architect/real estate developer husband Jon Eicholtz in the Benedict Canyon area of Beverly Hills.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julia Chalene Newmeyer was born on August 16, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, the eldest of three children. Her father, Don, was a one-time professional football player (LA Buccaneers, 1926), her mother, Helene Jesmer, was a star of the Follies of 1920 and later became a fashion designer under the professional name of Chalene. From an early age, Julie studied piano, dance, and classical ballet. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, and spent a year touring Europe with her mother and brother. She became prima ballerina for the Los Angeles Opera. She attended UCLA studying classical piano, philosophy, and French.
Newmar went to New York and tried out for Broadway musicals; in 1955, she made her Broadway debut as the ballerina in "Silk Stockings". She won acclaim for her role as Stupefyin' Jones in "Li'l Abner". Though audiences and critics alike were stupefied by her good looks, that was not the compliment Newmar wanted.
Newmar wanted to be known for her comedy, as she told the New York Times: "Tell me I'm funny, and it's the greatest compliment in the world." She had beauty, brains and a fantastic sense of humor. Promoting her various Broadway and off-Broadway show appearances, she often posed as a pin-up girl. Making the transition to television, Newmar appeared in Rod Serling's science-fiction series The Twilight Zone (1959), playing Miss Devlin (devil). As physical perfection, Julie was perfect to play Rhoda the Robot in My Living Doll (1964); the sitcom had an enthusiastic cult following. In 1966, urged on by her friends, she tried out for and was cast as Catwoman (a character she had never heard of) in the wildly popular television series Batman (1966) On account of a movie commitment, Newmar was unavailable to play Catwoman in the third season. (Her role was taken over by Eartha Kitt.)
Newmar was very busy in the 1960s and 1970s, making guest appearances in many television series and several television movies. She toured the country in stage productions of "Damn Yankees" and "Dames at Sea", among others. Becoming an entrepreneur, in 1977, Newmar turned up in People magazine wearing her new invention, Nudemar pantyhose. In the 1980s, she appeared in nine films while she was busy raising her son and working in the real-estate business. Newmar went back to UCLA to take a few real-estate courses. In 1991, she toured in a stage production of "The Women". Still very active, and very beautiful, she occasionally has appeared at fan conventions.- Actor
- Producer
Sonny Shroyer was born in Valdosta, Georgia, a small city on the Georgia-Florida border. Shroyer, whose given name is Otis Burt Shroyer Jr., grew up steeped in the traditions of the deep South. He worked in the tobacco warehouses pushing tobacco buggies and helped his father in their fruit stand-ice cream parlor business. His prowess in high school football landed him a football scholarship at Florida State University (he later ended up playing football in the movie The Longest Yard (1974) with another FSU football player, Burt Reynolds). However, his football career was cut short by an injury, and Shroyer finished his education at the University of Georgia, where he earned his degree in business.
In 1961 he posed in football gear for a photographer who was shooting pictures for the back cover of the program for the Georgia-Georgia Tech football game. That picture launched his professional career. After many more print ads and commercials, Sonny landed his first movie roles in Sixteen (1972) with Mercedes McCambridge and Payday (1973) with Rip Torn. His movie career blossomed with many more films, including Gator (1976), The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977), The Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance (1978), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way (1978) and a TV miniseries, Freedom Road (1979). While working on "Freedom Road," Shroyer, who had gained quite a reputation for playing a "bad guy", was cast in the role of "Enos," the big-grinned, bumbling, dipstick deputy of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) television series. His popularity on the show prompted Warner Brothers and CBS to spin him off into his own series, Enos (1980). "Enos" ran 17 episodes and was nominated for two "Peoples Choice" awards, and for Shroyer as "Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Program."
Shroyer remains active in a variety of television network appearances and feature films. Appearances of note have been in the Emmy-winning NBC hit television series I'll Fly Away (1991), where he played bigoted, abusive father Bobby Slocum, and as a possessed ex-deputy sheriff in the television series American Gothic (1995). He has played a smooth-talking ladies man in a Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998) episode and a murderer-rapist in Today's F.B.I. (1981). Additionally, his credits include television appearances as a disturbed parent on In the Heat of the Night (1988). He also played University of Alabama head coach Bear Bryant Paramount's smash hit Forrest Gump (1994) with Tom Hanks.
Sonny makes numerous benefit appearances, helping out with projects such as the Los Angeles Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy, The Cystic Fibrosis Telethon, and the American Cancer Society. He also assisted the "Get High On Life, Not Drugs," sponsored by the Boston Police Department, and recently made a film called "Methamphetamine: Terrorist Attack in South Georgia" produced by friend Bob Brabham. He recently completed a movie called A Tale About Bootlegging (2005), an independent comedy for the whole family. He plays a small town sheriff in the mountains of North Carolina.
When free from public appearances and film or television commitments, he returns to his hometown of Valdosta, where he lives with his wife, Paula.- This sweet, wholesome, porcelain-skinned beauty was your typical bouffant blonde of the early-to-mid 1960s. She was picture perfect, whether romping along the coast of Malibu Beach in a bikini or peering over a white picket fence as the girl-next-door. Pat Priest was born Patricia Ann Priest on August 15, 1936 in Bountiful, Utah. Her mother, Ivy Baker Priest, was a renowned government official and served as United States Treasurer under the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration from 1953-1961. She also was California's Treasurer while Ronald Reagan was Governor from 1966-1974. Living a glamorous débutante's life in Washington, D.C. during her mother's 1950s term, she won attention as a beauty contest winner in the area.
Stagestruck, she moved to Los Angeles and pursued commercials, modeling and community theater work. She happened to be in the San Francisco Bay area, in 1964, when she got the call from Hollywood as a possible replacement for lookalike actress Beverley Owen, the original Marilyn Munster, who was suddenly leaving the series The Munsters (1964) for marriage. Most viewers never caught on that there was a cast change. The decorative sitcom role did wonders for Pat as the prettiest resident of 1313 Mockingbird Lane, making her a minor household name. On the down side, she was given very little to do but to serve as a pretty and innocent foil for the weird and funny characters around her.
Her one-joke premise revolved around her feeling abnormal amid her ghoulish relatives. The series ran another two seasons with Pat, then she went on to what would become a less-than-enviable post-Munsters career. Other than a few guest roles in such series as Bewitched (1964), Perry Mason (1957), The Virginian (1962) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), the pickings grew scarce. Deemed too old to play Marilyn after the series was canceled (she was 29), she was replaced by redheaded Debbie Watson for the feature film, Munster, Go Home! (1966), which included the rest of her series cast.
She did dally around with Elvis Presley in Easy Come, Easy Go (1967), one of his lesser vehicles, and also appeared in the sub-par cult horror film, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971), which co-starred Bruce Dern and Casey Kasem, but film roles were almost non-existent after that. Pat finally retired from acting in the 1980s but still attends many of the nostalgic conventions and Munsters revivals around the country. At last report, she was restoring and selling homes in Idaho, where she had lived for over 20 years. Married twice, she has two sons: Pierce and Lance Jensen. - Producer
- Actor
- Director
Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Redford, Charles Robert Redford, Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness. However, as a high school student, he had displayed a certain aptitude as a caricaturist and this contributed to his decision to seriously study art. Redford then enjoyed a year-long sojourn travelling around Europe, hitchhiking, living in youth hostels and generally living the painter's life. Eventually, he came to realise that his work was unoriginal and not very good. He therefore returned to New York to pursue studies in theatrical design at the Pratt Institute of Art. He subsequently enrolled in acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
By the end of 1960, he was on Broadway in a series of plays including Barefoot in the Park, which launched him to fame. TV and stage experience coupled with all-American good looks led to movies and a breakthrough role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), when the actor was 33. The Way We Were (1973) and The Sting (1973), both in 1973, made Redford No. 1 at the box office for the next three years. Redford used his clout to advance environmental causes and his riches to acquire Utah property, which he transformed into a ranch and the Sundance ski resort. In 1980, he established the Sundance Institute for aspiring filmmakers. Its annual film festival has become one of the world's most influential. Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), won him the Academy Award for Best Director in 1981. He waited eight years before getting behind the camera again, this time for the screen version of John Nichols' acclaimed novel of the Southwest, The Milagro Beanfield War (1988). He scored with critics and fans in 1992 with the Brad Pitt film A River Runs Through It (1992), and again, in 1994, with Quiz Show (1994), which earned him yet another Best Director nomination.
Redford married Lola Van Wagenen on August 9, 1958; they divorced in 1985 after having four children, one of which died of sudden infant death syndrome. Daughter Shauna Redford, born November 15, 1960, is a painter who married Eric Schlosser on October 5, 1985, in Provo, Utah; her first child, born in January 1991, made Redford a grandfather. Son James Redford, a screenwriter, was born May 5, 1962. Daughter Amy Redford, an actress, was born October 22, 1970. Redford has a half-brother named William, who worked in medical research.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Always a country music fan, Tommy Sands' mother gave him a guitar for Christmas when he was seven. He taught himself to play and, at age eight, got a job at radio station KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, performing twice a week. Later, he and his mother moved to Houston where, in 1951, he cut his first record for Freedom Records. By 1952, Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, signed Sands with RCA Records, where he recorded seven forgettable songs between 1953 and 1955. In January of 1957, he landed the lead in The Singin' Idol (1957), an episode of Kraft Theatre (1947). A song he sang in that production, "Teenage Crush", shot to #3 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts, and Sands' career as a teen idol was off and running. He sang the Oscar-nominated song, "Friendly Persuasion", at the 1957 Academy Award ceremonies and, the next year, played the lead in a thinly-disguised biography of his career, Sing Boy Sing (1958). Several years later, he appeared with his former father-in-law, Frank Sinatra (he had married Sinatra's daughter Nancy Sinatra), in None But the Brave (1965). Sands later moved to Hawaii, where he had a nightclub and a clothing business. He sang in a rock festival in England in 1990.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Elliott Gould is an American actor known for his roles in M*A*S*H (1970), his Oscar-nominated performance in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), and more recently, his portrayal of old-time con artist Reuben Tishkoff in Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). Gould was born Elliott Goldstein on August 29, 1938 in Brooklyn, NY, to Lucille (Raver), who sold artificial flowers, and Bernard Goldstein, a textiles buyer in the garment industry. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Romania, Belarus, and Russia).
Gould's portrayal of Trapper John in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970) marked the beginning of perhaps the most prolific period of his career, highlighted by such roles as Philip Marlowe in Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Robert Caulfield in Capricorn One (1977).
On television Gould has the distinction of having hosted Saturday Night Live (1975) six times and helmed E/R (1984), a situation comedy set in Chicago about a divorced physician working in an emergency room, which aired for one season. He also co-starred in the series Nothing Is Easy (1986) about a couple raising an adopted Chinese boy.
Gould appeared regularly on television and in film throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, including cameos in The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). His most prominent recent television role was a recurring part on Friends (1994), on which he played Monica and Ross Geller's father Jack. More recently he voiced the character of Mr. Stoppable on the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible (2002). In film Gould received critical acclaim for his portrayal of an older mobster in Warren Beatty's Bugsy (1991), and make a noteworthy appearance in American History X (1998). His next major TV role will be in Showtime's drama Ray Donovan (2013) starring Liev Schreiber.
Gould has been married three times, twice to Jennifer Bogart, and once to Barbra Streisand. He has three children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lucille Soong was born in Beijing, China and moved to Hong Kong when she was 22. Discovered by the famous English director Lewis Gilbert, Lucille was cast to play a bride in the feature Ferry To Hong Kong with Orson Welles. After moving to London during the Swinging 60's, she was chased down by an agent who offered her a role in the historical feature 55 days at Peking with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. During this time, she became the first Chinese fashion model in the English Models Directory. She guest starred in the long running British TV series Coronation Street, landed the leading lady in American movie One More Time with Sammy Davis Jr., directed by Jerry Lewis. After making the move to Hollywood Lucille had notable feature roles in Joy Luck Club and Freaky Friday. Her television roles have included a recurring role on Desperate Housewives, According To Jim, Dharma & Greg, Huff and Bones before landing the role of "Grandma Huang" in Fresh Off The Boat.- Award-winning actress Elizabeth Ashley can always be counted on to give her all. Grand in style, exotic in looks, divinely outgoing in personality and an engaging interpreter of Tennessee Williams' florid Southern-belles on stage, she was born Elizabeth Ann Cole on August 30, 1939, in Ocala, Florida. The daughter of Arthur Kingman and Lucille (Ayer) Cole, the family moved to Louisiana where Elizabeth graduated from Louisiana State University Laboratory School (University High) in Baton Rouge in 1957.
The liberal-minded Elizabeth immediately embarked upon an acting career following her education and relocated to New York. Briefly using her real name, her big breakthrough year occurred in 1959 when she made her off-Broadway debut with "Dirty Hands", played "Esmeralda" in the Neighborhood Playhouse production of "Camino Real" and took on Broadway with Dore Schary's "The Highest Tree". Now using the marquee name of Elizabeth Ashley, the 1960s proved to be even better, taking her to trophy-winning heights. After understudying the lead roles in Broadway's "Roman Candle" and "Mary, Mary", she won the role of Mollie in the delightful comedy "Take Her, She's Mine" and won both the "supporting actress" Tony and Theatre World Awards for it. Neil Simon was quite taken by the new star and created especially for her the role of Corie Bratter in 1963's "Barefoot in the Park" opposite Robert Redford. She received another Tony nomination, this time for Best Actress. In addition to these theatrical pinnacles, Elizabeth also found happiness in her private life when she met and married (in 1962) actor James Farentino, who was also on his way up. This happiness, however, was short-lived...the marriage lasted only three years. The attention she earned from Broadway led directly to film offers and she made a highly emotive debut in Harold Robbins glossy soaper The Carpetbaggers (1964), headlining handsome George Peppard. The critics trashed the movie but Elizabeth sailed ahead...temporarily.
Following intense roles in the superb all-star film epic Ship of Fools (1965) and the psychological crime drama The Third Day (1965), which again starred Peppard, the still-married Elizabeth divorced her husband and wed Peppard in 1966, taking a hiatus to focus on domestic life. The couple went on to have son Christian Peppard (born 1968), who would later become a writer.
The Peppard-Ashley marriage was a volatile one, however, and the twosome ultimately divorced in 1972. Wasting no time, Elizabeth returned to the stage and also went out for TV roles. Abandoning a film career that had just gotten out of the starting gate proved detrimental and she never did recapture the momentum she once had. Broadway, however, was a different story. The dusky-toned actress pulled out all the stops as Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1974) co-starring Keir Dullea and as Sabina in Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth" the following year, and she was back on top. Other heralded work on the live stage would include "Caesar and Cleopatra" opposite Rex Harrison, "Vanities" and, notably, "Agnes of God", for which she received the Albert Einstein Award for "excellence in the performing arts".
Following "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" for which she won a third Tony nomination, Elizabeth struck up a close friendship with author Williams. Over time, she would play and come to define three of his (and the theater's) finest female roles: Mrs. Venable in "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1995), Alexandra Del Lago in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1998), and Amanda Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie" (2001). In addition, she also appeared in Williams' "Eight by Tenn" (a series of his one-act plays), "Out Cry", "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" and "The Red Devil Battery Sign". In 2005, 31 years after playing Maggie, she was again a success in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", this time as Big Mama.
Elizabeth went on to sink her teeth into a number of other famous plays as well, all peppered with her inimitable trademark flourish: Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", Isadora Duncan in "When She Danced", Maria Callas in "Master Class" and the scheming Regina in "The Little Foxes", to name a few. On '90s TV, she found daytime soaps to her liking with eye-catching parts on Another World (1964) and All My Children (1970). She also appeared in the ensemble cast of Burt Reynolds' series Evening Shade (1990). Occasional serious film supports in Rancho Deluxe (1975) and Coma (1978) were often intertwined with campier, over-the-top ones such as her psychotic lesbian in Windows (1980).
Overcoming a series of tragic, personal setbacks - a third divorce, a boating accident, a NY apartment fire, and a rape incident - the still-lovely Elizabeth continues to demonstrate her mettle and maintain a busy acting schedule on stage ("Enchanted April", "Ann & Debbie"); film (Happiness (1998), Labor Pains (2000), The Cake Eaters (2007), Ocean's Eight (2018)); and TV ("Caroline in the City," "Law & Order," "Treme," "Russian Doll").
Elsewhere, her memoir "Actress: Postcards from the Road" (1978) became a best seller. She was also a founding member of the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute while serving on the first National Council of the Arts during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and has also served on the President's Committee for the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Awards. - Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Noted these days for his dashing, sporting, jet-setting playboy image and perpetually bronzed skin tones in commercials, film spoofs and reality shows, George Hamilton was, at the onset, a serious contender for dramatic film stardom. Born George Stevens Hamilton in Memphis, TN, on August 12, 1939, the son of gregarious Southern belle beauty Anne Lucille (Stevens) Potter Hamilton Hunt Spaulding, and her husband (of four), George William "Spike" Hamilton, a touring bandleader. Moving extensively as a youth due to his father's work (Arkansas, Massachusetts, New York, California), young George got a taste of acting in plays while attending Palm Beach High School. With his exceedingly handsome looks and attractive personality, he took a bold chance and moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.
MGM (towards the end of the contract system) saw in George a budding talent with photogenic appeal. It wasted no time putting him in films following some guest appearances on TV. His first film, a lead in Crime & Punishment, USA (1959), was an offbeat, updated adaptation of the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel. While the film was not overwhelmingly successful, George's heartthrob appeal was obvious. He was awarded a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer" as well as being nominated for "Best Foreign Actor" by the British film Academy (BAFTA). This in turn led to an enviable series of film showcases, including the memorable Southern drama Home from the Hill (1960), which starred Robert Mitchum and Eleanor Parker and featured another handsome, up-and-coming George (George Peppard); Angel Baby (1961), in which he played an impressionable lad who meets up with evangelist Mercedes McCambridge; and Light in the Piazza (1962) (another BAFTA nomination), in which he portrays an Italian playboy who falls madly for American tourist Yvette Mimieux to the ever-growing concern of her mother Olivia de Havilland. Along with the good, however, came the bad and the inane, which included the dreary sudsers All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and By Love Possessed (1961) and the youthful spring-break romps Where the Boys Are (1960), which had Connie Francis warbling the title tune while slick-as-car-seat-leather George pursued coed Dolores Hart, and Looking for Love (1964), which was more of the same.
Not yet undone by this mixed message of serious actor and glossy pin-up, George went on to show some real acting muscle in the offbeat casting of a number of biopics -- as Moss Hart in Act One (1963), an overly fictionalized and sanitized account of the late playwright (the real Moss should have looked so good!), as ill-fated country star Hank Williams in Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), and as the famed daredevil Evel Knievel (1971).
The rest of the '60s and '70s, however, rested on his fun-loving, idle-rich charm that bore a close resemblance to his off-camera image in the society pages. As the 1960s began to unfold, he started making headlines more as a handsome escort to the rich, the powerful and the beautiful than as an acclaimed actor -- none more so than his 1966 squiring of President Lyndon B. Johnson's daughter Lynda Bird Johnson. He was also once engaged to actress Susan Kohner, a former co-star. Below-average films such as Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967), A Time for Killing (1967) and The Power (1968) effectively ended his initially strong ascent to film stardom.
From the 1970s on George tended to be tux-prone on standard film and TV comedy and drama, whether as a martini-swirling opportunist, villain or lover. A wonderful comeback for him came in the form of the disco-era Dracula spoof Love at First Bite (1979), which he executive-produced. Nominated for a Golden Globe as the campy neck-biter displaced and having to fend off the harsh realities of New York living, he continued on the parody road successfully with Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981) in the very best Mel Brooks tradition.
This renewed popularity led to a one-year stint on Dynasty (1981) during the 1985-1986 season and a string of fun, self-mocking commercials, particularly his Ritz Cracker and (Toasted!) Wheat Thins appearances that often spoofed his overly tanned appearance. In recent times he has broken through the "reality show" ranks by hosting The Family (2003), which starred numerous members of a traditional Italianate family vying for a $1,000,000 prize, and participating in the second season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (2005), where his charm and usual impeccable tailoring scored higher than his limberness. On the tube he can still pull off a good time, whether playing flamboyant publisher William Randolph Hearst in Rough Riders (1997), playing the best-looking Santa Claus ever in Very Cool Christmas (2004), hosting beauty pageants or making breezy gag appearances. In 1989 he started a line of skin-care products and a chain of tanning salons.
Into the millennium, he has had featured roles in the "opera singer trio reunion" comedy Off Key (2001) also starring Joe Mantegna and Danny Aiello; the offbeat underground film Reflections of Evil (2002); the comedy romps The L.A. Riot Spectacular (2005) and Melvin Smarty (2012); the political drama The Congressman (2016); the family dramedy Silver Skies (2016); and the romantic comedy Swiped (2018). On TV, he enhanced several programs including "Nash Bridges," "Pushing Daisies," "Hot in Cleveland" and "Grace and Frankie." He also had a recurring role on the series American Housewife (2016). Beginning in the summer of 2016, Hamilton appeared in TV commercials as the "Extra Crispy" sun-tanned version of KFC's Colonel Harland Sanders. He later played the Colonel on an episode of "General Hospital."
George managed one brief marriage to actress/TV personality Alana Stewart from 1972 to 1975 (she later married and divorced rock singer Rod Stewart), the pair have a son, actor Ashley Hamilton, born in 1974. Another son, George Thomas Hamilton, born in 2000, came from his involvement with Kimberly Blackford.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Bright, vivacious leading lady Marlyn Mason was born on August 7, 1940, in San Fernando, California, and began performing at the age of 5. Encouraged and inspired by her parents, she was given singing and piano lessons while young and appeared on the local "Doye O'Dell Show" at age 9. As a young teenager, she was cast in several stage shows with the Players' Ring Theatre troupe in Hollywood, including musical versions of "Tom Sawyer" and "Heidi," as well as the legit plays as "Pick Up Girl" and "The Crucible".
In 1956, the 16-year-old Marlyn moved into TV work with multiple episodes of "Matinee Theatre". Throughout the 1960s, she would establish herself firmly into in the medium with guest parts on all the popular shows at the time. Blessed with an inviting, effervescent smile, she added spark and sparkle to such lightweight sitcoms as "My Three Sons," "Father Knows Best," "Gomer Pyle," "Hey Landlord" and "Occasional Wife," while showing off her dramatic mettle on "Burke's Law," "Ben Casey" (a seven part story), "Dr. Kildare," "Laredo," "Bonanza," "Run for Your Life," "The Invaders" and "Perry Mason" (the original series' final episode). Seldom pigeon-holed, Marlyn offered a palatable range of "good girl" and "bad girl" interpretations during this productive time -- from the sensual and alluring to the offbeat and freewheeling. One of her more notable "bad girl" roles came in the form of a faithless wife who schemes to murder her lover's wife and set up David Janssen's Richard Kimble character in the process.
Marlyn's early singing lessons paid off later when she was signed to co-star with Robert Goulet, Sally Ann Howes and Peter Falk in a special TV-musical version of Brigadoon (1966), following that with the role of Carrie in Carousel (1967) again with Goulet. This, in turn, led to her casting in the George Abbott Broadway musical production of "How Now, Dow Jones," which starred Tony Roberts and Brenda Vaccaro. Though it was only moderately received when it opened in December of 1967 (it lasted 220 performances), Marlyn herself walked away with enthusiastic reviews.
Although the actress made her film debut at the beginning of the 1960s with an uncredited role in Because They're Young (1960) starring Dick Clark and Victoria Shaw, Marlyn would not perk up the large screen again until the very end of the decade when she nabbed her best known cinematic part as Elvis Presley's girl in one of his final films. While shooting The Trouble with Girls (1969), she was given the opportunity to share a duet with the legend on the novelty song "Sign of the Zodiac".
The early 1970s brought Marlyn a regular role in the short-lived (one season) but critically acclaimed series _"Longstreet" (1972), as a love interest to James Franciscus. It also presented her with a highly revealing change-of-pace movie role in Making It (1971) as a cougar-type housewife who seduces one of her teacher/husband's students (Kristoffer Tabori), and the second female lead in the Barbara Parkins mystery Christina (1974). An abundance of guest star parts continued pouring in with roles on "Love, American Style," "The Odd Couple," "Vegas" and "Wonder Woman" and others. TV mini-movies became quite the rage as well and Marlyn graced a number of them -- A Storm in Summer (1970), Harpy (1971), Escape (1971), the Emmy Award-winning That Certain Summer (1972), Outrage (1973), Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975), Last of the Good Guys (1978), and The New Adventures of Heidi (1978).
Since the 1980s, Marlyn has continued her career with appearances in film and TV, albeit at a slimmer pace. She earned her first grandmother role on the TV movie Fifteen and Pregnant (1998), and, most recently, has been seen in a few short films in which she worked in front and behind the camera: Model Rules (2008) (also writer/producer), Big (2009) and The Bag (2010) (also writer/producer).
A brief marriage (1960-1962) to composer/conductor musical director J. Raymond Henderson (1929-1988) preceded a 6 year marriage (1972-1978) to Hollywood make-up artist Lee Harman.- A flashy, aggressive, cold and calculating villainess and eternally hopeless meddler on a number of daytime soap operas, Louise Sorel has given her opulent, show-stopping characters major doses of humor and grit that have allowed her to become one of daytime's more popular figures for over six decades.
Of Jewish heritage, Louise, whose roots are in theatre, was born on August 6, 1940 in Los Angeles to entertainment professionals. Studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, she made her Broadway debut playing a teenager in the 1961 comedy "Take Her, She's Mine" starring Art Carney and also had subsequent roles in "Lorenzo" (1963) and "Man and Boy" (1963). Her initial interest obviously was sparked by her actress/concert pianist mother Jeanne Sorel, and father Albert J. Cohen, who produced films in the 1940s and 1950s. Louise went on to co-star on Broadway with Rita Moreno in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" in 1964 and appeared with George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst as Princess Alais in the 1967 Bucks County Playhouse production of "The Lion in Winter."
Given a bit part (billed as Jacqueline Sorel) in the exploitation teen film Eighteen and Anxious (1957), Louise, in 1964, married comic actor Herb Edelman, best known for his recurring role of Bea Arthur's ex husband Stan in The Golden Girls (1985). Around this time, she began setting her sights on TV drama, appearing on various dramatic shows including "Dr. Kildare," "The Defenders," "The Trials of O'Brien," "Route 66," "The Rat Patrol," "The Virginian," "Run for Your Life," "Star Trek," "The Big Valley," "The Fugitive," "Night Gallery," "The Bold Ones," "Banacek," "Hawaii Five-0," "Owen Marshall," "Kojak," "Hart to Hart," "The Incredible Hulk," "Ironside" and several episodes of "Medical Center," as well as a recurring part on the short-lived nighttime soap opera The Survivors (1969) starring Lana Turner and George Hamilton. In a change of pace, Louise turned to comedy as Don Rickles' wife on his poorly-received series The Don Rickles Show (1972).
Though she divorced Edelman in 1972, Louise nevertheless co-starred with him again in the failed sitcom Ladies' Man (1980). She met second husband actor Ken Howard in 1972 while appearing with him in a Philadelphia stage production of "Volpone." They married a year later but divorced a couple of years later in 1975.
Appearing in support in the films Plaza Suite (1971), Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Where the Boys Are (1984), and Crimes of Passion (1984), Louise moved quite steadily ahead not only with a regular role in the short-lived comedy series Ladies' Man (1980), but with co-star/featured roles in the TV movies The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974), The Mark of Zorro (1974), When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978), Mazes and Monsters (1982), Sunset Limousine (1983) and A Masterpiece of Murder (1986).
Various daytime soap operas reinvigorated Louise's career tenfold in the late 1980s. She began her road to sudsy infamy in 1984 as the eccentric archvillainess Augusta Lockridge for the entire run of Santa Barbara (1984). From there she was given recurring roles as Judith Sanders on One Life to Live (1968) and as Donatella Stewart Port Charles (1997). In 1992, Louise joined the cast of Days of Our Lives (1965) as the manipulative Vivian Alamain. By the time she left in 2000, she had won five Soap Opera Digest Awards.
More recently, Louise has had devilish fun in the quirky soap Passions (1999) and in a recurring role on the political drama Beacon Hill (2014). - Actor
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Ben Jones was born on 30 August 1941 in Tarboro, North Carolina, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), Primary Colors (1998) and CBS Summer Playhouse (1987). He has been married to Alma Viator since 10 October 1992. They have two children.- Actress
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Ellen Geer, the daughter of actors Will Geer and Herta Ware, has worked continuously for 40 years in television and motion pictures since making her debut in Richard Lester's "Petulia (1968)" (1968) in support of Julie Christie and George C. Scott. Probably best remembered for her turn as the committed actress who is lined up as the third (and last) date for "Harold" by his mother in the cult classic Harold and Maude (1971) (1971) (and who confounds "Harold" by recognizing his "suicide" by hari-kari as an act and eagerly joins in, playing "Juliet" to his "Romeo"), Geer has played character and supporting parts in scores of movies and television shows.
Upon the death of her father in 1978, Ellen took over as artistic director of Theatrical Botanicum, an outdoor amphitheater in Topanga Canyon, California, where she has both acted and directed in 50 productions, including "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Medea" and "The Madwoman of Chaillot". Under Geer's direction over the past 28 years, the "Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum" has developed from essentially a workshop to a respected theatrical company with an Equity contract. In the year 2000, the Theatricum Botanicum put on a dramatization of "Harold and Maude" in which Ellen played the free-spirited "Maude", the senior citizen who befriends, comforts and ultimately romances the 20-year-old "Harold", who is obsessed with death and suicide. The Theatricum Botanicum has also put on works written by Ellen Geer.
Ellen Geer is a visiting associate professor of acting at the University of California, Los Angeles' School of Theater, Film, and Television, working both with undergraduate and Master of Fine Arts student, concentrating on acting in Shakespeare and other classics. She is a major force in the Los Angeles area in providing theater education to public school children through several Theatricum Botanicum-sponsored programs. Despite this commitment to theatrical education, she continues with her own busy acting career, appearing in films and on TV while acting at major regional theaters, including the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, the American Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco and the Globe Shakespeare Festival of San Diego.- Actress
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Dana Ivey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She decided at age six that she wanted to act, and throughout school she pursued it. She majored in theatre at Rollins College in Florida. She received a grant to study drama in England at the London Academy of Music and Art. She has received critical acclaim on the stage, winning many honors, such as a Tony Nomination, an Outer Critics award, a Drama Desk Award. She has appeared on such television shows as Law & Order (1990) and Frasier (1993). She currently lives in New York City.- Actor
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Also played the character Ho-Jon on the television series M*A*S*H. He played the cabin boy to Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers). He appeared in 7 episodes in the first and second seasons (1972-73). He left in Season two when money was raised for him to come to the states to attend college.- Director
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Comedian David Steinberg, born in 1942, grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. He left home to attend the University of Chicago. The family moved to Chicago when he was a teen. It was there that he saw a performance by the Second City Chicago Troupe and it changed the course of his life. With another student at the university, he started a comedy act called Kadish and Steinberg. After members of Second City saw them, he was invited to join the company and was with them for four years. In the late 60's he moved on to Broadway with leading roles in "Little Murders" and "Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights", the latter directed by Sidney Poitier. From there he moved to stand up comedy opening at the Bitter End in 1969. He received a rave review from the New York times, calling him a cross between Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen. After his first appearance on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), he became one of Johnny Carson's most popular guests and guest hosts, with 140 appearances, second only to Bob Hope. He wrote and performed for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967) where his irreverent "sermons" were often censored and cited as the reason for the show's cancellation.
Steinberg's sometimes racy, usually anti-establishment stance of the late 60s/early 70s made him a favorite among the young and disillusioned. Steinberg released four solo comedy albums and CBS gave him his own summer comedy variety series with The David Steinberg Show (1972). In 1976, Steinberg returned to Canada to create and star in another series, also called _'The David Steinberg Show'. Gary Shandling credits this show as being one of the influences for _The Larry Sanders Show(1992)_. It featured John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Martin Short and Dave Thomas who went on to form the legendary SCTV troupe.
In 1982 Steinberg made his directorial debut with the feature Paternity (1981) and, the following year, his TV directorial debut with an episode of Newhart (1982). In the 90s, he became the executive producer of the popular CBS-TV Designing Women (1986) and continued to direct. Other TV credits as director include episodes of The Golden Girls (1985), Seinfeld (1989) , Mad About You (1992), Weeds (2005), and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000). He won two Emmy Awards for his writing on Oscar telecasts in the early 90s. Steinberg has also directed over 300 television commercials, winning two Clio Awards and the prestigious Silver Lion Award at the Cannes International Film Festival.
As a film director, he directed Paternity (1981) with Burt Reynolds, Going Berserk (1983) with John Candy and The Wrong Guy (1997) with David Foley. In 2007, Simon and Schuster published his memoir about his life in comedy called "The Book of David".- Actor
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Peter Bartlett was born on 28 August 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for The Princess and the Frog (2009), The Producers (2005) and Meet the Parents (2000).- Actress
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Susan Ker Weld was born on August 27, 1943 (Friday), in New York City. When her father, Lathrop Motley Weld, died three years later at the age of 49, the cute little girl, whose name by then had somehow been transmogrified into "Tuesday", took over the role of the family breadwinner. She became a successful child model, posing for advertisements and mail-order catalogs. Her work and the burden of responsibility estranged her from her mother Aileen, her two elder siblings, and catapulted the preteen girl into adulthood. At nine years of age, she suffered a nervous breakdown; at ten, she started heavy drinking; one year later, she began to have love affairs, all of which led to a suicide attempt at age twelve. In 1956 she debuted in the low-budget exploitation movie Rock Rock Rock! (1956) and decided to become an actress. After numerous TV appearances in New York she went to Hollywood in 1958 and was cast for Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), something of a breakthrough for her. Over the next few years Tuesday became Hollywood's queen of teen, playing mainly precocious sex kittens. Her wild private life added to the entertainment of her fans. Critics acknowledged her talent, directors approved of her professionalism, and in the mid-1970s she even managed to grow out of her child/woman image and find more demanding roles - she had been "sweet little 16" for about 16 years. However, Tuesday Weld didn't achieve first-magnitude stardom. Maybe she was just unlucky with her selection of jobs (she turned down Lolita (1962), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), True Grit (1969), Cactus Flower (1969), among others); maybe her independence-loving mind made her instinctively shrink back from the restraints of super stardom. In any case, she kept on performing well in films that had either not much flair or not much success. From the early '80s on she focused more and more on made-for-TV movies, which was ironic in that the best (Once Upon a Time in America (1984)) and the most successful (Falling Down (1993)) films that came her way happened as her big-screen career was already petering out.- Actor
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Offbeat funnyman Martin Mull was born on August 18, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Betty, an actress and director, and Harold Mull, a carpenter. He was raised in Ohio. The blond-maned, blue-eyed comedian with the sad, droopy mustache first came in contact with the arts by honing in on his innate talents as a painter. In order to pay his art school tuition, he started organizing bands. At around the same time, he discovered that stand-up comedy was another way to allow his creative juices to flow.
Martin's early recognition as a humorist led to a recording contract, and, over the years, he would be Grammy-nominated several times for a number of eccentric comedy albums. His gimmick and allure came in the form of a dry, humorless delivery and a bland, highly conservative-looking demeanor, which masked a sly, witty and ultra-hip philosophy.
Gaining popularity in the 1970s, he finally broke into TV with the cult soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) in which he played Garth Gimble, a volatile wife abuser whose comeuppance occurred in the form of an aluminum Christmas tree (impaled) in his home closet. Martin was so popular on the show that he was resurrected in the spin-off series Fernwood Tonight (1977) as twin brother Barth Gimble, who was a co-host of the town's television program along with Fred Willard's Jerry Hubbard character.
After this peak, Martin became a sought-after guest on the talk show circuit, not to mention variety specials and TV movies. He tried his hand at producing and starring in his own sitcom Domestic Life (1984) but the series failed. He also added his special brand of merriment to films over the years, some of them being decent, such as FM (1978), Serial (1980), Mr. Mom (1983) and Clue (1985) in the role of the tweedy-looking Colonel Mustard, while most have been either formula schtick or just plain drivel, as in Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Rented Lips (1987), which he produced and wrote, Cutting Class (1989), Far Out Man (1990) with Cheech & Chong, and Mr. Write (1994).
Martin's extensive TV credits include starring roles in the comedy series His & Hers (1990) co-starring Stephanie Faracy as a fellow doctor; and The Jackie Thomas Show (1992) starring Tom Arnold; and recurring comedy roles including a restaurant boss in the hit "domestic goddess" series Roseanne (1988); a principal in Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996); a high school teacher in The Ellen Show (2001); plus 'Til Death (2006), Life in Pieces (2015), I'm Sorry (2017), Arrested Development (2003), The Cool Kids (2018) and The Ranch (2016). Martin has also lent his voice to the animated comedies Family Dog (1993), Teamo Supremo (2002), Danny Phantom (2003) and American Dad! (2005). Millennium film credits include featured roles in The Year That Trembled (2002), Come Away Home (2005), Relative Strangers (2006), Killers (2010), And They're Off (2011) and A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018).
Martin's first passion has always been art and the distinguished multi-media artist's work has been showcased in galleries throughout the world. He also authored the book "Painting, Drawing and World," which is a compilation of ten years of his work. Mull is married to a composer and musician, Wendy, and they have a daughter, Maggie Mull.- Richard Fancy (August 2, 1943 - Evanston, Illinois, USA) is an actor. He is especially known from recurring roles like Bernie on the daily ABC soap opera General Hospital and doctor Moss on the weekly NBC comedy series Nurses. He has been married to Joanna Fass since December 31, 1965. They have two children.
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Tall, thin, wiry Sam Elliott is the classic picture of the American cowboy. Elliott began his acting career on the stage and his film debut was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Although his future wife, Katharine Ross co-starred in the film, the two did not meet until they filmed The Legacy (1978) together. Over the years there would be few opportunities to act in feature westerns, but it would be television that gave him that opportunity, in The Sacketts (1979), The Shadow Riders (1982) and The Yellow Rose (1983), among others. He would also work in non-westerns, usually as a tough guy, as in Lifeguard (1976) and Road House (1989). In 1985 he played Cher's love interest Gar in the drama Mask (1985), and he was in some cop movies such as Fatal Beauty (1987) and Shakedown (1988). In the 1990s, Elliott was back on the western trail, playing everyone from Brig. Gen. John Buford in the film Gettysburg (1993) to Wild Bill Hickok in the made-for-TV movie Buffalo Girls (1995). In 1991 he wrote the screenplay and co-starred with his wife in the made-for-TV western Conagher (1991), and two years later he played Wyatt Earp's brother Virgil in Tombstone (1993), with Kurt Russell as Wyatt. In 1995 the starred as John Pierce the tense thriller The Final Cut (1995), as a former head of a Bomb Squad who must to stop a dangerous bomber. In 1998 he was the narrator of the hilarious comedy The Big Lebowski (1998), playing him as The Stranger, and returned to the Western in the drama The Hi-Lo Country (1998), closing the 20th century with another western, the TV movie You Know My Name (1999).
Sam Elliott started the 21st century with the Stephen Frears' TV movie Fail Safe (2000) playing Congressman Raskob, and The Contender (2000) as Kermit Newman, at the side of Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman, and in We Were Soldiers (2002) as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley, together Mel Gibson. In 2003 he played Gen. Thunderbolt Ross in the Ang Lee's pre-MCU Hulk (2003), repeating in another Marvel superhero movie as Caretaker in Ghost Rider (2007). After participating in the fantasy movie The Golden Compass (2007) and made a stellar cameo in Up in the Air (2009), Elliott played Clay Wheeler in the box office flop comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009), starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, and in 2012 he was a supporting character as Mac Macleod in Robert Redford's The Company You Keep (2012). After the playing Coach Moore in the sport drama Draft Day (2014) In 2015 Elliott was hyperactive, appearing in seven different productions including cinema and TV: Digging for Fire (2015), I'll See You in My Dreams (2015), Sam Elliott, the sixth season of Justified (2010) as Avery Markham, and The Good Dinosaur (2015) voicing Butch. Two years later was absolute star in the drama The Hero (2017) as Lee Hayden, and in the sci-fi movie The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018) as Calvin Barr, to shine again as supporting character playing Bradley Cooper's brother Bobby in the multi-nominated Cooper's directorial debut A Star Is Born (2018), sharing scenes with Lady Gaga, coming back again to the western in the TV series 1883 (2021) as Shea Brennan.- Actress
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Brooke Bundy was born on 8 August 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and Mission: Impossible (1966). She was previously married to Peter Helm.- Actress
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The very lovely, vivacious and smart-looking Joanna Cassidy was born in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Haddonfield, a borough located in Camden County. She grew up in a creative environment as the daughter and granddaughter of artists. At an early age she engaged in painting and sculpture and went on to major in art at Syracuse University in New York. During her time there she married Kennard C. Kobrin in 1964, a doctor in residency, and found work as a fashion model to help work his way to a degree. The couple eventually moved to San Francisco, where her husband set up a psychiatric practice; Joanna continued modeling and gave birth to a son and daughter. Following their divorce ten years later, she decided to move to Los Angeles in a bid for an acting career.
In between modeling chores and occasional commercial gigs, the reddish-haired beauty found minor, decorative work as an actress in such action fare as Steve McQueen's thriller Bullitt (1968), the Jason Robards drama Fools (1970), The Laughing Policeman (1973) starring Walter Matthau and The Outfit (1973) with Robert Duvall. Her first co-starring role came opposite George C. Scott in the offbeat comedy caper The Bank Shot (1974).
Television became an important medium for her in the late 1970s, with guest parts on all the popular shows of the time, both comedic and dramatic, including Dallas (1978). Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Taxi (1978), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Charlie's Angels (1976), Lou Grant (1977) and a recurring role on Falcon Crest (1981). A regular on the sketch/variety show Shields and Yarnell (1977), which showcased the popular mime couple, Joanna languished in three failed series attempts--The Roller Girls (1978), 240-Robert (1979) and The Family Tree (1983)--before hitting the jackpot with the sitcom Buffalo Bill (1983) opposite Dabney Coleman, in which she finally had the opportunity to demonstrate her flair for offbeat comedy. The show became that's season's critical darling, with Coleman playing a vain, sexist, obnoxious talk show host (a variation of his popular 9 to 5 (1980) film character) and Joanna received a Golden Globe for her resourceful portrayal of Jo Jo White, the director of his show and romantic foil for Coleman, who stood toe-to-toe with his antics.
The 1980s also brought about positive, critical reception for Joanna on film as well, especially in a number of showy portrayals, notably her snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982), her radio journalist involved with Nick Nolte and Ed Harris in the political drama Under Fire (1983) and her co-starring role in a wacky triangle with Bob Hoskins and a hyperkinetic hare in the highly ambitious part toon/part fantasy film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Back on the TV front she was seen in recurring roles on L.A. Law (1986), Diagnosis Murder (1993), The District (2000) and Boston Legal (2004).
Since then Joanna has juggled a number of quality film and TV assignments, a definitive highlight being her Emmy-nominated recurring role as a quirky, capricious mother/psychiatrist in the cult cable series Six Feet Under (2001). More recently she has taken part in more controversial film work that contain stronger social themes such as Anthrax (2001), a Canadian political thriller whose storyline feeds on the fear of terrorism; The Virgin of Juarez (2006), which chronicled the murders of hundreds of Mexican women; and the gay-themed pictures Kiss the Bride (2007) and Anderson's Cross (2010).
Off-camera Joanna is devoted to her art (painting, sculpting) and is a dedicated animal activist as well as golfer and antique collector. She presently resides in the Los Angeles area with her dogs.- Actress
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A bodacious, bedimpled, pert-nosed, well-endowed knockout, Loni Anderson earned an assured television sex symbol pedestal during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As sexy but smart Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), the ravishing star later became a soap-styled fixture in mini-movies. All eyes were peeled on this worthy pin-up who helped to bring back the glossy platinum-blonde allure of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren.
Loni strove for much more than a sex pedestal as she tried to parlay her newly found fame into a viable dramatic career. She met with a measured degree of success as she recreated the lives of such artificial sex sirens as Mansfield and Thelma Todd on television, but got bogged down in television-movie retellings of famous movie classics (Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Leave Her to Heaven (1945)) that could not help but pale in comparison. This attempt at seriousness was further hampered by messy tabloid headlines in her private life.
Loni Kaye Anderson was born with very dark (jet black) hair on August 5, 1945 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of a chemist. An art student at the University of Minnesota, she entered (and won) beauty contests on the sly (including a Miss Minnesota runner-up placing in 1964). Married and divorced from Bruce Hasselberg before she reached age 21, Loni took on a teaching position to support herself and baby daughter (Deidre) while completing college.
Developing an interest in acting, she went the route many aspiring thespians do -- apprenticing in local commercials and theater shows. Still dark-haired, she played in several early 1970s productions such as "Born Yesterday" (as Billie Dawn), "Send Me No Flowers", "Can-Can" and "The Star-Spangled Girl". She even played Tzeitel in "Fiddler on the Roof" and appeared in a production of "The Threepenny Opera".
Remarried in 1973 to actor, Ross Bickell, the couple decided to move away from Minnesota to Los Angeles in 1975 and actively pursue film and television work. Pounding the proverbial pavement, she eventually went blonde and this, plus her gorgeous looks, helped her to secure minor but sexy roles on such series as S.W.A.T. (1975), Police Woman (1974), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Bob Newhart Show (1972) and Three's Company (1976). By the time she nabbed the role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), she had grown quite admirably as an actress.
Loni and Howard Hesseman became the breakaway stars of the sitcom and Loni skyrocketed to sexy status, earning two Emmy nominations in the process. On the other hand, her instant fame led to the breakup of her second marriage to Bickell in 1981. Loni found hit-and-miss success outside the parameters of her comedy series. She was front-and-center in a number of television-movies, notably playing tragic Hollywood sex sirens Jayne Mansfield in The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980), opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger as her muscle-bound husband Mickey Hargitay, and Thelma Todd, in White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd (1991), whose untimely death in 1935 is still questioned.
Loni also appeared lusciously alongside Bob Hope, brightening up several of his classic television specials. On the minus side, she fizzled in her teaming up with equally sexy Wonder Woman (1975) star Lynda Carter in the tepid, short-lived series Partners in Crime (1984) and then played a former Las Vegas showgirl who inherits a bundle in the sitcom misfire Easy Street (1986). She also was given a chance to work in feature films such as Stroker Ace (1983). While her performance in that movie was panned, it did have her meeting and co-starring opposite mega star Burt Reynolds.
Appearing in routine, mini-movie soap operas (via her own production company), if anything, kept Loni in the public eye as a serious-minded actress, but it was an uphill battle to rise above her manufactured image as a fantasy bombshell. Not helping things was her high-profile marriage to Reynolds in 1988, which began blissfully enough (and produced adopted son Quinton), then dissolved quickly into a nasty divorce in 1993 that damaged the reputations of both stars.
In later years, Loni showed incredible perseverance. As always, the stalwart beauty continued to play up the glam but has since downplayed the dramatics. She seems more focused these days on having innocuous fun, playing a number of hearty vixens in sitcoms and series guest spots. Over time, she has enjoyed such lightweight sitcoms as her regular role in Nurses (1991), and as a guest in such sitcoms as The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991) (in which she recreated her role as Jennifer Marlowe), Empty Nest (1988), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) and Clueless (1996). Her last movie was the SNT-based comedy movie A Night at the Roxbury (1998).
Millennium television credits include the sitcom The Mullets (2003) and as Tori Spelling's materialistic mother in So Notorious (2006), which did not get the seal of approval from Tori's real-life mother. Loni has more recently starred in the resurrected comedy series My Sister Is So Gay (2016). In 2008, she married a fourth time to musician Bob Flick. Loni's autobiography, "My Life in High Heels", was published in 1997.- Gretchen Corbett was born on 13 August 1945 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She is an actress, known for The Rockford Files (1974), Pig (2021) and Otherworld (1985).
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Steve Martin was born on August 14, 1945 in Waco, Texas, USA as Stephen Glenn Martin to Mary Lee (née Stewart; 1913-2002) and Glenn Vernon Martin (1914-1997), a real estate salesman and aspiring actor. He was raised in Inglewood and Garden Grove in California. In 1960, he got a job at the Magic shop of Disney's Fantasyland, and while there he learned magic, juggling, and creating balloon animals. At Santa Ana College, he took classes in drama and English poetry. He also took part in comedies and other productions at the Bird Cage Theatre, and joined a comedy troupe at Knott's Berry Farm. He attended California State University as a philosophy major, but in 1967 transferred to UCLA as a theatre major.
His writing career began on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967), winning him an Emmy Award. Between 1967 and 1973, he also wrote for many other shows, including The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969) and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971). He also appeared on talk shows and comedy shows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1972, he first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), doing stand-up several times each year, and even guest hosting a few years later. In 1976, he served for the first time as guest-host on Saturday Night Live (1975). By 2016, he has guest-hosted 15 times, which is one less than Alec Baldwin's record, and also appeared 12 other times on SNL.
In 1977, he released his first comedy album, a platinum selling "Let's Get Small". He followed it with "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (1978), which sold more than a million copies. Both albums went on to win Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. This is when he performed in arenas in front of tens of thousands of people, and begun his movie career, which was always his goal. His first major role was in the short film, The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), which he also wrote. His star value was established in The Jerk (1979), which was co-written by Martin, and directed by Carl Reiner. The film earned more than $100 million on a $4 million budget. He also starred in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), The Man with Two Brains (1983), and All of Me (1984), all directed by Reiner. To avoid being typecast as a comedian, he wanted do more dramatic roles, starring in Pennies from Heaven (1981), a film remake of Dennis Potter's 1978 series. Unfortunately, it was a financial failure.
He also starred in John Landis's Three Amigos! (1986), co-written by himself, opposite Martin Short and Chevy Chase. That year, he also appeared in the musical horror comedy, Little Shop of Horrors (1986) opposite Rick Moranis. Next year, he starred in Roxanne (1987), co-written by himself, and in John Hughes' Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), opposite John Candy. His other films include Parenthood (1989) and My Blue Heaven (1990), both opposite Moranis. In 1991, he wrote and starred in L.A. Story (1991), about a weatherman who searches meaning in his life and love in Los Angeles. It also starred his then-wife, Victoria Tennant. Same year, Father of the Bride (1991) was so successful that a 1995 sequel followed.
During the 1990s, he continued to play more dramatic roles, in Grand Canyon (1991), playing a traumatized movie producer, in Leap of Faith (1992), playing a fake faith healer, in A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), playing a betrayed man adopting a baby, and in David Mamet's thriller The Spanish Prisoner (1997). Other, more comedic roles include in HouseSitter (1992) and The Out-of-Towners (1999), opposite Goldie Hawn, in Nora Ephron's Mixed Nuts (1994), and in Bowfinger (1999), written by himself and co-starring Eddie Murphy. After Bowfinger, he starred in Bringing Down the House (2003) and Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), both earning more than $130 million. He wrote and starred in Shopgirl (2005), and appeared in the sequel of Cheaper by the Dozen. After them, he appeared in The Pink Panther (2006) and The Pink Panther 2 (2009), which he both co-wrote, as Inspector Clouseau.
He continues to do movies, more recently appearing in The Big Year (2011), Home (2015), and Love the Coopers (2015). Besides aforementioned, he has been an avid art collector since 1968, written plays, written for The New Yorker, written a well-received memoir (Born Standing Up), written a novel (An Object of Beauty; 2010), hosted the Academy Awards three times, released a Grammy award winning music album (The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo; 2009), and another album (Love Has Come For You; 2013) with Edie Brickell. Since 2007, he has been married to Anne Stringfield, with whom he has a daughter.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Bob Balaban was born on 16 August 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Gosford Park (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He has been married to Lynn Grossman since 1 April 1977. They have two children.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
As a testament to her passion and talent, former 1950s pig-tailed moppet star Patty McCormack has remained a consistent presence on film and TV for over five decades. While the lovely and talented blonde suffered her share of hard knocks and obvious stereotypes in adjusting to an adult career, she did not fade away into oblivion or self destruct as other vulnerable child stars before her did.
Born Patricia Ellen Russo in Brooklyn, New York, to Frank Russo, a firefighter, and the former Elizabeth McCormack, a roller skating pro, the young girl found herself modeling at age 4. Two years later, she had progressed to films with bits in Two Gals and a Guy (1951) and Here Comes the Groom (1951). Soon thereafter she made her Broadway debut (at age 6) in the short-lived play "Touchstone" starring Ossie Davis.
While simultaneously appearing in the live television series Mama (1949) [aka "I Remember Mama"], the by-now 8-year-old returned to Broadway a second time and created the role that would make her a cult sensation -- "Rhoda Penmark", the tiny, braided little demon with murderous intentions in "The Bad Seed". Starring Nancy Kelly as her put-upon, overly-trusting mother, the show became a certifiable hit. The two actors were invited to recreate their famous roles in the film version, The Bad Seed (1956), and achieved equally fine results. No child before her had ever been given such a deliberately evil, twisted role and Patty chewed up the scenery with courteous malevolence. Though the film today may come off as extremely stagy and overly mannered to some, its fascination cannot be denied. Audiences took readily to Patty and her wicked ways and the young actress earned both Oscar and Golden Globe "Best Supporting Actress" nominations.
The film would be a hard act to follow or forget. So strongly identified with the role, Patty found it difficult for audiences to see her any other way. She tried finding some variance as a pioneer girl in All Mine to Give (1957), a testy child star in Kathy O' (1958) and a tomboy in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960) but the memory of "Rhoda Penmark" would not be so easily wiped away. She suffered typical teen angst in the film The Explosive Generation (1961) with William Shatner and had to make do as a young adult in such low-level movies as The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968), Maryjane (1968) and The Young Animals (1968).
By the 1970s Patty, who had spent so much time as a child doing live television, found herself again relying on the medium for steadier work. Billed now as a more grown-up "Patricia McCormack", she also appeared in a variety of legit stage productions and, on occasion, found roles in independent films. Appearing in more than 250 episodes of some of the most successful programs around, audiences may remember her giving sensible, wifely support to Jeffrey Tambor on The Ropers (1979), the short-lived spin-off of the Three's Company (1976) sitcom, or from her recurring role as "Evelyn Michaelson" on Dallas (1978). More recently on film and TV, she played "Adrianna"'s mother, "Liz LaCerva", on HBO's hit The Sopranos (1999) and appeared in guest form on NYPD Blue (1993), Cold Case (2003), Grey's Anatomy (2005), Entourage (2004) and What About Brian (2006). She also played former "First Lady" "Pat Nixon" in the film Frost/Nixon (2008).
In 1995, Patty's devoted fans reveled when she felt comfortable enough to embrace again her "Bad Seed" behavior by starring in the low-budget horror feature Mommy (1995) and its sequel Mommy's Day (1997) [aka "Mommy 2"]. She came full circle as a most pernicious homemaker who created violent, Rhoda-worthy ends for those unlucky enough to cross her path.
Patti's millennium films, a variety of comedy, drama and, of course, horror films, would include The Medicine Show (2001), Choosing Matthias (2001), Shallow Ground (2004), Frost/Nixon (2008) (as First Lady Pat Nixon), Soda Springs (2012), Buttwhistle (2014), Chicanery (2017) and a lead in the lowbudget mystery House of Deadly Secrets (2018). As for TV, in addition to guest parts on such shows as "The D.A.," "N.Y.P.D. Blue," "Grey's Anatomy," "Entourage," "Criminal Minds," "Shark," "Private Practice," "Citizen Jane," "Desperate Housewives," "Prime Suspect," "Hawaii Five-0, she had recurring roles on The Sopranos (1999), Have You Met Miss Jones? (2012), Hart of Dixie (2011) and the daytime series General Hospital (1963) as Dr. Monica Quartermaine. She also played the small role of a doctor in a remake of her cult film The Bad Seed (2018).
A mother herself with two children, Robert and Danielle, Patty was once married to Bob Catania, a restaurateur. She was also an eight-year companion to screenwriter and playwright Ernest Thompson of On Golden Pond (1981) fame.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of WWE, Inc. (WWE), is a third-generation promoter who has made WWE into the global phenomenon it is today.
As a pioneer in the television syndication business, a recognized television personality throughout the world, a visionary promoter and a fearless marketer, he continues to make his presence known as a leader within the broadcast and entertainment industries. In 1972, McMahon joined his father's company, Capitol Wrestling Corporation, on a full-time basis. By 1979, the company had syndicated programming to 30 television stations. In 1982, he purchased the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father and decided to take what had been a regional operation and turn it into a national venture.
McMahon soon became an innovator in the cable television industry by leveraging the new technologies of pay-per-view and closed-circuit television for the first WrestleMania in 1985. Now, not only had he built a brand that people would watch in syndication, he had built the WWE into a brand that people would pay to watch. In April 2000, more than 1 million fans purchased WrestleMania X-6, at the time making it the most-watched non-boxing event in pay-per-view history. In February 2014, WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 direct-to-consumer network, launched live in the U.S.
In 2016, WrestleMania 32 set a new attendance record of 101,763, as fans from all 50 states and 35 countries converged on AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The previous WWE attendance record was at WrestleMania 3 in 1987, where 93,173 fans filled the Pontiac Silverdome.
Today, WWE produces seven hours of live weekly programming 52 weeks a year with no off season. Programs such as "Monday Night Raw" and "WWE NXT" on USA Network and "Friday Night SmackDown" on FOX are ratings successes that can be seen in more than 900 million homes in 180 countries and heard in 28 languages. In addition, WWE hosts more than 550 live events a year within the United States and abroad, making WWE the largest traveling show in the world.
Under McMahon's leadership, WWE has developed into one of the most popular and sophisticated forms of global entertainment today. WWE is an integrated media and entertainment company that features a portfolio of specialized businesses that creates and delivers original content to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. In addition to its headquarters in Stamford, CT, WWE has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo. WWE trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WWE.
In 2017, McMahon established and personally funded a separate entity from WWE, Alpha Entertainment.
For his accomplishments in entertainment, television, and pay-per-view, McMahon, one of the longest running personalities on television, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. He also has received a Promax/BDA Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the 2008 Cablefax Hall of Fame. He has been included in Variety's annual Variety500 listing since 2017, which honors the most influential business leaders shaping the media industry. In 2019, McMahon was named as one of the Most Influential People in Sports Business by Sports Business Journal.
In recognition of WWE's work to support children over the past 30 years, McMahon, in 2005, was appointed to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America's National Advisory Council. He is a tireless supporter of the U.S. military, bringing WWE Superstars to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 to entertain the troops. WWE was the recipient of the USO of Metropolitan Washington's first ever Legacy of Hope award for the company's extensive support of our troops and the USO's Operation Care Package program. In 2006, WWE and McMahon received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award for its support of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the company received the GI Film Festival's Corporate Patriot Award.- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Ronee Blakley came to prominence as the fictional country superstar Barbara Jean (a role that was originally offered to Susan Anspach), in Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). Her performance in the film won her a National Board of Review for Best Supporting Actress, and garnered Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations.- Erika Slezak was born on 5 August 1946 in Hollywood, California, USA. She is an actress, known for One Life to Live (1968), One Life to Live (2013) and Next Stop, Christmas (2021). She has been married to Brian Davies since 4 August 1978. They have two children. She was previously married to R. Daniel Mooney.
- Actor
- Producer
James Reynolds was born on 10 August 1946 in Oskaloosa, Kansas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Dying to Learn (2022) and Generations (1989). He has been married to Lissa Layng since 21 December 1986. They have two children. He was previously married to Laura Toffenetti.- Actor
- Soundtrack
An actor on television since the early 1990s, Michael Harney frequently essayed tough men with deeply complicated interior lives in such acclaimed series as NYPD Blue (1993) for ABC, Deadwood (2004) for HBO, and Weeds (2005) for Showtime. His ability to tap into the emotional and spiritual elements of his characters was the result of substantial training and work on the New York theater scene, as well as his early career path as a social worker and prison reform advocate. After years of anonymity on the Off-Broadway circuit, Harney earned his big break as a morally compromised police officer on "Blue," which led to steady work as a guest performer on countless series. In 2005, he played a hateful townsperson on "Deadwood," which further increased his profile; he successful transitioned from recurring turns on various series, including an alcoholic detective on "Weeds," to his first turn as a series regular on Orange Is the New Black (2013).
Michael J. Harney born in the Bronx, New York went on to intensive study with legendary acting teachers William Esper and Phil Gushee, both of whom studied and taught with Sanford Meisner for many years at The Neighborhood Playhouse School Of The Theater. After studying acting for 7 years he went on to run The Michael Harney Acting Studio in New York City for 8 years. During his time in New York City Michael acted in and/or directed over 80 plays and one acts and starred in On The Waterfront on Broadway playing the role of Charlie Malloy.
He landed the recurring role of Detective Mike Roberts on NYPD Blue while still living in New York City, a role that recurred for six seasons. In addition he has appeared in over 60 television and film projects here in Los Angeles since his arrival in 1995.
His credits in film include Erin Brockovich (2000), Turbulence (1997), Warden of Red Rock (2001), Sonic Impact (1999), Shade (2003), and Captivity (2007) directed by Roland Joffé. He has also appeared in Ocean's Thirteen (2007) directed by Steven Soderbergh.
In television Michael played for two seasons on Deadwood playing Steve Fields for HBO. Deadwood marks his second association with legendary producer David Milch, the first being NYPD Blue where he recurred for six seasons as Detective Mike Roberts. He also recently recurred this past season on Fox's hour long drama Vanished (2006). He has played recurring roles on many hit shows over the years and has over 60 guest star credits including turns on Law And Order, Bull, Cold Case, The Practice, Boston Public, ER, Crossing Jordon, The Fugitive, Touched By An Angel, JAG and The Division among others. Television movies include Dead By Sunset on NBC and Gone In The Night for CBS.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Entrancing, gorgeous Lesley Ann Warren started gearing towards a life in show business right off the bat as a young ballerina who trained at the School of American Ballet at the age of 14. Little did she know that Hollywood stardom would arrive on her doorstep in the form of a "Cinderella" story.
The New York-born actress (August 16, 1946) is the daughter of a night club singer, Margot Warren (née Verblow), and real estate agent, William Warren. Her mother had earlier given up her own entertainment career for marriage and family. Growing up, Lesley attended the Professional Children's School at the age of 6 and High School of Music & Art as a young teenager. At age 17, she studied under Lee Strasberg at his Actors Studio, the youngest student to ever be accepted at the time.
Looking for on-camera work, the teenager appeared unbilled as Shelley Winters's young daughter in the melodrama The Chapman Report (1962) and was given a bit in the daytime TV show "The Doctors." The slender, young hopeful gathered early musical stage experience in such shows as "Bye Bye Birdie" (as swooning teen Kim McAfee), then made an auspicious Broadway debut in "110 in the Shade", the 1963 musical version of "The Rainmaker," and won Broadway's "Most Promising Newcomer" Award. She subsequently received the Theatre World Award for her lead work as a "cat burglar" opposite Elliott Gould in the very short-lived (8 performances) musical "Drat! The Cat!" in 1965.
The attention Lesley received from this brief stage venture, however, led to her capturing the beguiling title role in the Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II TV musical production of Cinderella (1965) with Stuart Damon as her Prince and a glittering, all-star cast in support. The Walt Disney people immediate signed the exquisite "Cinderella" to a fresh-faced ingénue contract. Co-starring in the moderately-received musical showcases The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), Lesley became convinced that she needed to quickly nip the saccharine stereotype in the bud if she was to grow and sustain as an adult actress.
Rebelling against her studio-imposed image, Lesley left Disney determined to pursue roles with more depth, drama and character. Changing her name temporarily to "Lesley Warren" to reinforce her more mature goal, she was hired in 1970 to replace Barbara Bain in the long-running espionage series Mission: Impossible (1966) when Bain left over contractual issues. Audiences were quite cool in their reception to the "new and improved" Lesley and didn't buy her as a femme-fatale replacement for the cool and aloof Ms. Bain.
After only one season, Lesley realized her mission to grow was impossible (in spite of an encouraging Golden Globe nomination) and left the show, seeking greener pastures in the TV mini-movie market. She displayed a wide range of vulnerable neurotics as well as sexier ladies that began to alter her pristine image. Such 1970s material included the plane crash adventure Seven in Darkness (1969) as one of several blind survivors; the love drama Love Hate Love (1971) co-starring Ryan O'Neal; a failed pilot in the title role of Cat Ballou (1971); a mild western as one of The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1972); the exotic "silent star" biopic The Legend of Valentino (1975); the rags-to-riches story Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue (1977), for which she won a Golden Globe award; the epic WWII story Pearl (1978); and the social melodramas Betrayal (1978) and Portrait of a Stripper (1979). Lesley also impressed with her starring roles in the Civil War miniseries Beulah Land (1980) and as a Polish-Jewish immigrant in Evergreen (1985). On stage, she ambitiously attempted to recreate Scarlett O'Hara opposite Pernell Roberts's Rhett Butler in a 1973 Broadway-bound musical version of "Gone with the Wind: The Musical." The show quickly died on the West Coast before ever reaching New York.
In the early 1980s, Lesley's movie career resurrected itself with a priceless performance as kingpin James Garner's whiny-voiced, peroxide-blonde spitfire Norma Cassidy in the slapstick musical Victor/Victoria (1982). Earning both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, this delightful, scene-stealing turn was followed by a couple of other quality offbeat films that were directed by Alan Rudolph -- Choose Me (1984) and Songwriter (1984). Warren went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination supporting Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson in the former, and a People's Choice Award for the latter. She continued to attempt to spread her wings as a worldly "cougar" type opposite young blond and boyish Christopher Atkins in the critically-panned drama A Night in Heaven (1983). She also played Miss Scarlet in the movie version of the board game Clue (1985).
Award-worthy TV roles for Lesley with a Golden Globe performance as a successful madam in the miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue (1977). She also received Emmy and Golden Globe noms as the conflicted wife of a naval officer turned Russian double agent (Powers Boothe) in Family of Spies (1990), as well as for her Cable Ace nom for her work as a barmaid who aspires to be a country-western singer in Baja Oklahoma (1988). In 1997, she returned to Broadway with the musical revue "Dream" co-starring Margaret Whiting, which focused on classic "Golden Age" standards.
Entering her sixth decade of acting, Lesley remains highly active well into the millennium with often high-maintenance roles in such films as the Losing Grace (2001), Secretary (2002), My Tiny Universe (2004), When Do We Eat? (2005), The Shore (2006), Stiffs (2010), I Am Michael (2015), The Sphere and the Labyrinth (2015) and 3 Days with Dad (2019). Among her later TV credits are "Touched by an Angel," "The Practice," "Less Than Perfect," "American Princess," and a recurring role as an overly dependent mom named Jinx in the mystery crime series In Plain Sight (2008). Her dim, riotous Norma Cassady role had TV often pitching her as a scatter-brained comedienne, as in her recurring TV guest parts on Will & Grace (1998) and Desperate Housewives (2004).
Lesley has a son, actor/producer Christopher Peters, from her 1967-'73 marriage to makeup artist/hair stylist-cum-film producer Jon Peters. Since 2000, she has been married to advertising exec and sometime actor Ron Taft, a former vice-president at Columbia.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Betsy Franco is a screenwriter, actor, and producer, known for The Broken Tower (2011), Joan's Day Out (2013) and Metamorphosis: Junior Year (2017). She is an award-winning author of over eighty published titles. Betsy wrote the screenplay for her novel Naked, which has been optioned by Todd Traina/Red Rover Films. She was also the screenwriting mentor for the film Metamorphosis: Junior Year, which was based on her YA novel and her script from the sold-out play of the same story. Her accolades include ALA Best Book for Young Adults, New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, IRA Young Adults Choice, Booklist Top Ten Poetry Books for Young Adults, NCTE Notable Poetry Book. She has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.- From Rosiclare, IL to Summer Stock, to studying in New York and a little Off-Broadway, I made the move to L.A. where I did a lot of theatre and have been Guest-Starring on TV shows for many years. I'm probably best known for playing Winona Ryder's mom in "Heathers", recurring for 8 years as "Grams" on "Charmed" and a horror film I don't wish to discuss. I'm at that stage in my career where people say, "Haven't we met before?" or "There's What's-Her-Name".
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
McRaney holds the distinction of being the last guest star to meet "Matt Dillon" in a gunfight on Gunsmoke (1955) - in the episode, Hard Labor (1975), first broadcast on February 24, 1975 (he lost). In fact, in the early portion of Gerald McRaney's career he almost always played the villain; but, since his first series, Simon & Simon (1981), hit it big, he's played mostly good guys. The character of passionate but irresponsible "Rick Simon" gave McRaney the opportunity to play a dramatic role with a comedic edge. A second hit series, Major Dad (1989), showcased his talent for comedy. McRaney met and fell in love with fellow southerner Delta Burke when she guest-starred on Simon & Simon (1981). He later appeared on her series, Designing Women (1986), as her ex-husband, although it is an unwritten rule that actors with current series don't do guest roles; they were married not long after.- Debra Mooney was born on 28 August 1947 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA. She is an actress, known for Domestic Disturbance (2001), Everwood (2002) and Anastasia (1997).
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Anne Archer was nominated for an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe and the British (BAFTA) Academy Award for her role as Michael Douglas' sympathetic, tortured wife, "Beth Gallagher", in Adrian Lyne's 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction (1987). Archer is also well-known for her poignant Golden Globe-winning performance in the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993) and for playing CIA agent Jack Ryan's beleaguered wife, "Cathy", in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), both based on Tom Clancy bestsellers.
Archer was born into a show business family in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actors Marjorie Lord (née Marjorie F. Wollenberg), who appeared on TV's The Danny Thomas Show (1953), and John Archer (born Ralph Bowman), who starred in White Heat (1949). Her ancestry includes German, English, Czech, and Scots-Irish.
Archer studied theatre arts at Claremont College before debuting on the motion picture screen opposite Jon Voight in The All-American Boy (1973). She won critical acclaim for her leading role in Lifeguard (1976) as Sam Elliott's old flame.
Throughout her motion picture career, Archer has starred opposite some of Hollywood's most dynamic and respected leading men, not only Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford, but also Gene Hackman in Narrow Margin (1990), Tom Berenger in director Alan Rudolph's romantic comedy Love at Large (1990), Donald Sutherland in Eminent Domain (1990) and Sylvester Stallone in Paradise Alley (1978). In 2000, she appeared in The Art of War (2000) with Wesley Snipes and Rules of Engagement (2000) (her first project with Tommy Lee Jones), which was one of the box office hits in Spring of that year.
With husband Terry Jastrow (an Emmy-winning sports producer), she co-produced and starred in the feature Waltz Across Texas (1982), a modern romance set in the Texas oil fields. In 1998, Archer worked with husband Jastrow again as co-producer and co-host, with Isabella Rossellini, on ABC's World Fashion Premiere from Paris (1998), a history-making two-hour special. Again the following year, she served as a producer on the telecast. With complete backstage access, the shows spotlighted the haute couture shows of the most famous designers in the world.
Archer has essayed dramatic roles as complex and disparate characters in cable productions of equally distinct genres. She starred with Michael Murphy in the contemporary romantic drama Indiscretion of an American Wife (1998) for Lifetime and opposite William Petersen in Present Tense, Past Perfect (1995), based on a bittersweet story by Richard Dreyfuss, who also directed the Showtime drama. Previously, for the same network, she portrayed Dennis Hopper's sexy former wife in the contemporary, gritty Nails (1992) and for HBO, again, starred with Jon Voight in the period piece The Last of His Tribe (1992).
Her television performances have also included Neil Simon's Jake's Women (1996) opposite Alan Alda and CBS's Jane's House (1994) opposite James Woods. Recently, she received acclaim for a three episode arc on Fox-TV's series Boston Public (2000), created by David E. Kelley.
She had a starring role opposite Courteney Cox in the independent feature November (2004) and appeared in Revolution Studios' comedy Man of the House (2005), portraying Prof. Molly McCarthy, opposite Tommy Lee Jones. She also had a role on Showtime's provocative series The L Word (2004) with Jennifer Beals, Mia Kirshner and Pam Grier.
Her stage work includes the world premiere of "The Poison Tree" at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in Massachusetts and the starring role in the London West End production of "The Graduate", for which she received rave reviews. Archer's New York stage debut was as "Maude Mix" in the celebrated Off-Broadway production of John Ford Noonan's "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking".- Actress
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Part of the original motley crew of cast players in underground shock master John Waters' bare-bones 8mm, 16mm and 35mm cult perversions during the late 60s and early 70s, Mink Stole would remain a thoroughly offbeat, outrageous presence in counterculture films for five decades.
She was born with the All-American name of Nancy Stoll on August 25, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland. Waters took her under his wing in 1966 wherein she started "acting out" a number of his deviant creations for gross-out effect alongside other outré members that included break-out star transvestite actor Divine, plus Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Cookie Mueller and the must-be-seen-to-be-believed Edith Massey.
Calling themselves the Dreamland Players, Stole would become known as both the hysterical foil and vengeful nemesis of "leading lady" Divine, playing her annoying repulsive characters as pure evil incarnate. Her role in the infamous Pink Flamingos (1972) as Connie Marble, the carrot-domed villain complete with outlandish cats-eye glasses and seedy fur coat, set the tone for her subsequent gallery of grotesques, including the tantrum-throwing girl-child Taffy Davenport in Female Trouble (1974), murderous housewife-on-the-lam Peggy Gravel in Desperate Living (1977), and corn-rowed hussy Sandra Sullivan in Polyester (1981), which was the first Waters film to star a legit actor -- Tab Hunter.
Mink's movie time in Waters' campfests would grow less and less as his movies/parodies grew more and more mainstream, but she remained an altruistic player for Waters nevertheless, appearing in nearly every one of his films. From 1994 on, she did bits in his wide releases of Hairspray (1988), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Pecker (1998), Cecil B. Demented (2000), A Dirty Shame (2004), Stuck! (2009) and Hush Up Sweet Charlotte (2015).
Moving ahead, Mink Stole appeared in numerous tongue-in-cheek cameos for other off-the-cuff directing talents as well, continuing her reign as a prime film outlaw. She appeared role in Another Gay Movie (2006) playing a character named Sloppi Seconds. Need we say more? Other films with tacky, tawdry titles that begged for straight-to-video release include Liquid Dreams (1991), The Crazysitter (1994), A Dirty Shame (2004), Sunny & Share Love You (2007) and Becoming Blond (2012). She also made appearances in the raunchy "Eating Out" series of comedy films: Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (2006), Eating Out: All You Can Eat (2009), Eating Out: Drama Camp (2011) and Eating Out: The Open Weekend (2011).
Over the years, Mink has made the rounds on the experimental stage. She played Van Helsing in a production of "Dracula" and the title papal role in "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," not to mention bizarre, contemporary treatments of the Bard's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "A Winter's Tale." She recently attracted some attention in the play "Sleeping with Straight Men" which was seen on both coasts from 2002-2004.
On the sly she has written an advice column, of all things, called "Think Mink" for a Baltimore newspaper.- Actor
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Humanitarian and actor Richard Gere was born on August 31, 1949, in Philadelphia, the second of five children of Doris Anna (Tiffany), a homemaker, and Homer George Gere, an insurance salesman, both Mayflower descendants. Richard started early as a musician, playing a number of instruments in high school and writing music for high school productions. He graduated from North Syracuse Central High School in 1967, and won a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he majored in philosophy. He left college after two years to pursue acting, landing a lead role in the London production of the rock musical "Grease" in 1973. The following year he would be in other plays, such as "Taming of the Shrew." Onscreen, he had a few roles, and gained recognition in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Offscreen, he spent 1978 meeting Tibetans when he traveled to Nepal, where he spoke to many monks and lamas. Returning to the US, on Broadway he portrayed a concentration-camp prisoner in "Bent," for which he received the 1980 Theatre World Award. Back in Hollywood, he played the title role in American Gigolo (1980), establishing himself as a major star; this status was reaffirmed by An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). In the early 1980s, Richard went to Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador (amidst ongoing wars and political violence); he traveled with a doctor and visited refugee camps. It is said that Richard was romantically linked with Tuesday Weld, Priscilla Presley, Barbra Streisand and Kim Basinger. In 1990 Richard teamed up with Julia Roberts to star in the blockbuster Pretty Woman (1990); his cool reserve was the perfect complement to Julia's bubbling enthusiasm. The film captured the nation's heart, and won the People's Choice award for Best Movie. Fans clamored for years for a sequel, or at least another pairing of Julia and Richard. They got that with Runaway Bride (1999), which was a runaway success (Richard got $12 million, Julia made $17 million, the box office was $152 million, which shows what happens when you give the public what it wants!). Offscreen, Richard and Cindy Crawford got married December 12, 1991 (they were divorced in 1995). Afterwards, Richard started dating actress Carey Lowell. They had a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, on February 6, 2000. Richard was picked by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1991, and as their Sexiest Man Alive in 1999. He is an accomplished pianist and music writer. Above all, Richard is a humanitarian. He's a founding member of "Tibet House," a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture. He has been an active supporter of "Survival International" for several years, a worldwide organization supporting tribal peoples, affirming their right to decide their own future and helping them protect their lives, lands and human rights (these tribes are global, including the natives of the Amazon, the Maasai of East Africa, the Wichi of Argentina, and others). In 1994 Richard went to London to open Harrods' sale, donating his £50,000 appearance fee to Survival. He has been prominent in their charity advertising campaigns.- Actress
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Carole White was born in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Laverne & Shirley (1976), Peridot (2022) and Royal Pains (2009).- Actress
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Shelley Lee Long was born at 7:15 am on Tuesday, August 23, 1949 in Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, the only child of Ivadine (Williams), a schoolteacher, and Leland Long, a teacher who had previously worked in the rubber industry. Shelley attended school at Kekionga Junior High for grades 6-9 and at South Side High School for grades 10-12. She enrolled at Northwestern University in 1967 as an undergraduate studying drama. Her first job was at the university as a meal plan checker. She left Northwestern to pursue a dual career in acting and modeling. She also had a brief marriage to her first husband that ended in divorce. In Chicago, she became a member of the celebrated Second City troupe, in addition to writing, producing and co-hosting a popular Chicago magazine program called "Sorting It Out" in 1975. The show ran for three years on a local NBC station and won three Emmy Awards for Best Entertainment Show.
She met her second husband, Bruce Tyson (a securities broker), on a blind date in 1979. They were married in October, 1981. In 1982, she played the character Diane Chambers in the new NBC comedy series, Cheers (1982). She played the part for five years, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, winning Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and a Quality TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986. She gave birth to a daughter, Juliana, on March 27, 1985. On her summer hiatus from "Cheers", Long made feature films, receiving a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress for Irreconcilable Differences (1984). In 1987, she starred in the hit comedy Outrageous Fortune (1987) with Bette Midler. Soon after, she left "Cheers" after five years to embark on a film career. However, her films Hello Again (1987) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989) were not hits, and she returned to television appearing in the final episode of Cheers in 1993. That same year, she appeared in her own television series "Good Advice" (1993) which was canceled. She returned to feature films playing Carol Brady in the The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). The film became a hit and spawned a sequel, A Very Brady Sequel (1996), which wasn't a hit. She returned to television playing the title role in "Kelly Kelly" (1998), which was canceled after a few episodes. She also played Diane Chambers a few times on "Frasier", the spinoff of Cheers. Her personal life took a huge blow when her husband divorced her in 2004 after more than 20 years of marriage. She recovered and continued on with her career, appearing in guest-starring roles on television, including a recurring role on Modern Family (2009). She supported her daughter Juliana Long Tyson's decision to follow in her footsteps as an actress. She also encouraged Juliana to get married, which she did in 2015, to management consultant Ryan Kissick. Shelley herself never remarried after her two divorces but continues to work in television.- Actress
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Equally at home on stage and on screen, award-winning actress Loretta Devine has created some of the most memorable roles in theatre, film and television.
Devine first captured national attention in the role of Lorrell, one of the three original "Dreamgirls" in Michael Bennett's classic award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. She followed that performance with a fiery portrayal of Lillian in Bob Fosse's critically acclaimed stage production "Big Deal." Subsequent work in George C. Wolfe's "Colored Museum" and "Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill," cemented Devine's status as one of the most talented and versatile stage actresses.
Film roles soon followed including a poignant turn as a single mother opposite Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett and Gregory Hines in Waiting to Exhale (1995) which earned Devine her first NAACP Image Award for 'Best Supporting Actress.' Devine also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Penny Marshall's The Preacher's Wife (1996). Devine received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for her work in "Women Thou Art Loosed." Devine was featured in the Academy Award-winning film "Crash" and the hit movie of "Dreamgirls." Some of her additional film credits include appearances in the successful "Urban Legend" franchise, "I Am Sam" opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Penn, "Kingdom Come," "What Women Want," "Punks," "Hoodlums," "Down in the Delta" and "Stanley and Iris."
Devine's more recent film credits include co-starring roles in "This Christmas" and "First Sunday" both of which opened Number 1 at the box office. Devine voiced the character of "Delta" in Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." She appeared with Chris Rock in Sony Screen Gems remake of "Death at a Funeral" and "Lottery Ticket" for Alcon/Warner Brothers. Devine portrayed "The Woman in Green" in Tyler Perry's adaptation of Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls." In 2011, Devine starred in two leading roles in the film "Jumping the Broom" with Paula Patton, Laz Alonso and Angela Bassett and in the Tyler Perry directed film "Madea's Big Happy Family," both films earned top spots at the box office, respectively. Devine followed up her box office hits with a strong lineup of independent films including Robert Townsend's "In The Hive" which earned Devine a NAACP Image Award nomination for "Best Actress in a Motion Picture", "You're Not You" alongside Hilary Swank, James Franco's "The Sound and the Fury" and the Kristen Wiig dramedy, "Welcome to Me."
On television, Devine became a critical darling in her Emmy award-winning role as "Adele" on ABC's hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." Devine's credits include numerous series roles on shows such as "The Cosby Show" spin-off "A Different World," Eddie Murphy's stop-motion animated series "The PJs," David E Kelly's "Boston Public," ABC's "Eli Stone" and alongside Jennifer Love-Hewitt on Lifetime's "The Client List." She most recently starred on NBC's critically acclaimed sitcom "The Carmichael Show" and co-starred in the 3rd season of BET's "Being Mary Jane" as the titular character's main antagonist, "Cece." Devine continues to voice "Hallie the Hippo" on Disney Channel's Peabody Award-Winning animated series, "Doc McStuffins," and will next star in the Netflix family series, "FAMILY REUNION" which will feature an all-black cast and crew.
With a career spanning three decades, Devine has earned much praise and accolades for her work on both the big and small screen. For her work as "Adele" on "Grey's Anatomy," Devine earned both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, a Gracie Allen Award for "Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured Role," a nomination for "Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series" from the Critics' Choice Television Awards and a NAACP Image Award and a NAACP Image Award nomination. In total, Devine has won nine NAACP Image Awards and has received a record twenty-four nominations. Devine has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the Pan African Film Festival and the NAACP Theatre Awards and the Thespian Award from the LA Femme International Film Festival.
Devine graduated from the University of Houston and later received a Master of Fine Arts from Brandeis University. She also received a Doctorate of Humane Letters as well as a Distinguished Alumni Award from The University of Houston.
She currently resides in Los Angeles.- Actor
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Jim Beaver is an American character actor, best known for his leading roles on the TV series Deadwood (2004) and Supernatural (2005). Born in Laramie, Wyoming a minister's son, he was raised in and around Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Following high school and a year of college, he joined the Marines and served as a radioman with the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. He attended Oklahoma Christian College (now Oklahoma Christian University), Edmond, OK, where he first became interested in acting as a career. After one year, he transferred to Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma), Edmond, OK, and while a student made his professional debut in a production of "Rain" at the Oklahoma Theatre Center in 1972. He obtained a degree in theatre and returned to the Dallas area where he worked for five seasons with the Dallas Shakespeare Festival. He had written several plays in college and afterward (as well as a biography of actor John Garfield), and in 1979 he was commissioned for the first of three plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville. He also began to make appearances in bit roles in films and television shows shot in the Dallas area, including Semi-Tough (1977) and Dallas (1978). Moving to New York in 1979, he worked in stock and in dinner theatre tours, and also maintained a side career as a critic, columnist, and feature writer for Films in Review, the magazine of the National Board of Review. An assignment for an article on TV Superman George Reeves led him to Los Angeles. During his research there, his play "Verdigris" was produced to solid reviews at Theatre West in Hollywood, and he was signed as a writer by Sam Adams, partner in the prestigious Triad Artists agency. He began a successful period as a television writer, penning episodes for shows such as Vietnam War Story (1987), Tour of Duty (1987), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), and was nominated for a CableAce Award for an episode of the latter. He had continued to act on stage and in small film and TV roles, and in 1988 he landed a substantial supporting role as Bruce Willis's best friend, an alcoholic Vietnam veteran, in Norman Jewison's production In Country (1989). He gave up television writing and concentrated on acting. Slowly his roles grew larger (and more varied). He was Mark Harmon's chain-smoking detective partner Earl Gaddis on Reasonable Doubts (1991) and Edward Asner's dim-witted mechanic assistant Leland on Thunder Alley (1994). He was frequently cast in Westerns (Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Bad Girls (1994), among many others) or as detectives, sheriffs, or police officers (Sister Act (1992), Sliver (1993), Joy Ride (2001)). After two seasons on 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) as French Stewart's sullen bar-owner boss Happy Doug, Beaver landed his most prominent and critically acclaimed role, that of Ellsworth, the gruff but decent and beloved prospector in the landmark Western series Deadwood (2004). Nominated along with other cast members for a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award, he found his career in high gear following that series. From it he moved to the popular father-figure role of demon hunter Bobby Singer on Supernatural (2005), a part that brought him a worldwide fan base and a secondary career making personal appearances. He was married to and had a daughter with Cecily Adams, the actress-casting director daughter of Get Smart (1965)'s Don Adams. Following her death from lung cancer in 2004, he wrote a best-selling memoir, "Life's That Way." He has continued to write plays and, between acting jobs, to work on the George Reeves project, now planned as a book. He served as biographical consultant on Reeves for the semi-biopic Hollywoodland (2006).- Actress
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Jane Carr came to America with the Royal Shakespeare Company's Nicholas Nickleby in 1986. She had an early success with the TV series "Dear John" and has worked extensively on TV ever since, most recently in "Better Things" and "Legends of Tomorrow". Carr appeared in many plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre of Great Britain. In the US she has trod the boards in Lettice and Lovage, Noises Off, She Stoops to Folly, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Blithe Spirit, Sylvia, What the Butler Saw, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Habeas Corpus, The Cider House Rules, Stuff Happens, and Pride and Prejudice. On Broadway she has appeared as Mrs Brill in Mary Poppins and Miss Shingle in the Tony award-winning musical " A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder". Carr has also participated in many radio productions with LA Theatre works and has lent her voice to many cartoons.- Tess Harper attended Southwest Missouri State University, now known as Missouri State University, in Springfield, MO. During the late 1960s, she did "street" acting in the theme parks, Dogpatch, USA, in Jasper, AR, and Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. She was discovered while doing theater work in Dallas, TX. After being turned down at an audition for a Chuck Norris movie, Harper was recruited to come do a reading for "Tender Mercies" with Robert Duvall, for which she was selected to play the supporting role, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress.
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Charles Fleischer was born on 27 August 1950 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Zodiac (2007), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). He has been married to Sheryl Stressman since 1977. They have two children.- Actor
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From a talented acting generation of four brothers, Timothy Bottoms was the closest to achieving out-and-out super-stardom in the 1970s. The eldest of four siblings, he was followed in birth by Joseph Bottoms, Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms.
All four boys were born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, with Timothy James birth date being August 30, 1951. As the children of James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and high school art teacher, and his wife Betty, artistic expression was certainly encouraged in this family and Timothy expressed an avid interest, even during his preschool years, of wanting to perform. He was a local member of the Youth Theater Productions at school and in 1967 toured Europe along with the Santa Barbara Madrigal Society, which sealed his aspirations.
Following high school, Timothy was spotted by Universal in a stage production of "Romeo and Juliet" and chosen (with no prior film experience) for a lead part in director Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun (1971). As Joe, a young American soldier who is shelled and left armless and legless on the last day of World War I, Timothy received excellent reviews and earned a Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising Newcomer." His next starring role propelled him into the top leagues. Cast as aimless Texas-boy "Sonny," the sensitive, mournful-eyed, youthful focus of Peter Bogdanovich's downbeat Oscar winner The Last Picture Show (1971), the film went on to make full-fledged stars not only of Timothy, but of Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd. Younger brother Sam, who frequently visited the set, wound up touchingly cast as simple, naive, ill-fated character.
The early 1970s was a time of great personal accomplishments for Timothy in film. Engagingly maladroit and looking slightly uncomfortable in his own skin, he proved that his first reviews were no flukes. He appeared to great advantage in the touching drama Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973) opposite British acting doyenne Maggie Smith and as the tousle-haired college protagonist in the coming-of-age box-office hit The Paper Chase (1973). In an effort to break free of his sensitive prototype, he delved into stranger, darker characters with The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974) and Rollercoaster (1977). These efforts were less successful, however, and he quickly began to discover his film career slipping away at the early age of 26.
Outgrowing his awkward adorableness, he shifted to the smaller screen in order to secure challenging roles, such as the biblical lead in The Story of David (1976); his ex-convict in A Small Town in Texas (1976); his bank teller in Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976); his fatally-stricken track runner in A Shining Season (1979), and the Raymond Massey role (in which he aged 30 years) in the ambitious mini-series East of Eden (1981), with brother Sam recreating the James Dean part.
Timothy's success certainly encouraged his younger siblings. By this time Joseph, Sam and Ben were were all experiencing significant lifts in their own respective careers. As a group, the four brothers hooked up together for the TV movie Island Sons (1987), in which they all played brothers and used their real first names. The movie was promoted as a pilot for an upcoming weekly series, but it failed to make the grade. While Timothy continued to work steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the quality of material he was given grew more standard. Roles in such films as Invaders from Mars (1986), The Drifter (1988) and the foreign-made Istanbul (1989) did little to reignite his earlier success. A sequel to his famous "The Last Picture Show", entitled Texasville (1990), could have had heads turning but the movie decided instead to focus instead on Jeff Bridges (who at this juncture was a big name star) while Timothy's character was given short shrift with what was essentially a cameo.
Into the millennium Timothy had a slight taste of his former glory while showing a keen talent for parody with his uncanny impersonation of president George W. Bush. Who would have thought? Bottoms' dead-on spoof on That's My Bush! (2001), courtesy of the creators of "South Park", led to a brief Bush cameo in the family film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) and the much more serious TV-movie DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003). Interestingly, Timothy needed little in the way of prosthetics. He simply parted his hair differently, added a bit of a drawl and imitated his walk!
The still boyish-looking actor with that same trickle of sadness and discomfort has worked continuously for the past thirty years and appeared in over 65 films. Of late he has shined in small independent features such as with his dysfunctional father in writer/director Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003), which chronicled a Columbine High School-like massacre, and his closer-to-home portrayal as a middle-aged actor in search of his early fame in Paradise, Texas (2006).
Other millennium films include Shanghai Kiss (2007), Along the Way (2007), the remake of Jack London's Call of the Wild (2009), Pound of Flesh (2010), Realm of the Mole Men (2012) and the quirky romantic comedy 1 Nighter (2012) opposite the producer/writer/director of the film Jill Jaress. In addition, he has been frequently viewed in such comedic and dramatic TV movies as Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't (2005), Vampire Bats (2005), I Married Who? (2012), Sweet Surrender (2014) and How Not to Propose (2015), and made guest appearances on the popular series "The Governor's Wife," "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" and "The Bridge."
Timothy's marriage to folk singer Alicia Cory from 1975 to 1978, produced son Bartholomew. He has three other children (Benton, William, Bridget) with current wife (since 1984) Marcia Morehart. Bottoms divides his time between his acting work and his other great love of training wild horses at his two ranches near Big Sur, California. On the sly he has worked as a surveyor's assistant.
While brothers Joseph and Ben are lesser seen these days and finding satisfying lives outside the Hollywood realm, Sam pursued his own career until his death from brain cancer in 2008 at age 53. Their eldest brother continues to display his talents with more recent prime roles in such films as the dramedy Welcome to the Men's Group (2016), horror opus The Shed (2019) and the adventure thriller Tar (2020).- Actor
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Wesley Eure was born on 17 August 1951 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Land of the Lost (1974), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Dragon Tales (1999).- Actor
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Jeff Altman was born on 13 August 1951 in Syracuse, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bee Movie (2007), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) and Easy Money (1983). He is married to Bonnie Goldstein. He was previously married to Leslie Ackerman.- Director
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Chip Fields was born on 5 August 1951 in the USA. She is a director and actress, known for The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), Menace II Society (1993) and Blue Collar (1978). She has been married to Erv Hurd since 20 August 1994. She was previously married to John Randolph.- Actress
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Secondary to studying performing arts as American University in Washington, D.C., Aaron made her debut in motion pictures with a small part in Robert Altman's Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Since, she has built her acting career as a character actress, and continues to work with some of cinema's most significant directors; particularly, Woody Allen and Mike Nichols.- Brian Patrick Clarke was born on 1 August 1952 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor, known for Sydney White (2007), Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) and Killer Island (2018). He has been married to Kathy Johnson since 27 May 1995. They have two children.
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In 1960, a young 7-year-old named Patrick Lilley went on an Amos Carr photo shoot with his little sister. She was the subject but it was "Butch's" head shot that would wind up in the Hollywood Blvd. window! Utilizing his nickname and real first name, his agent Mary Grady and his mom Patti created the stage name, Butch Patrick, which he still uses 50 plus years later. Butch started out, quick, with landing his first three auditions. First was a very cool B movie, starring Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt, called The Two Little Bears (1961). Also starring Soupy Sales and a 15-year-old Brenda Lee! A series came next in the form of GH. That's right, General Hospital (1963)'s first year had Butch mixing with John Beradino. To round out the group, a Kellogg's award-winning Corn Flakes commercial. Butch continually worked in the early 60s on the most popular TV programs of the time: Mister Ed (1961), My Favorite Martian (1963), The Untouchables (1959), The Detectives (1959), Ben Casey (1961), Rawhide (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), Bonanza (1959) and many, many more. A second series came his way with the reboot of the classic The Real McCoys (1957). Working with Oscar winner Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna was a huge treat for Butch. All this time, he was working in over 20 commercials and a dozen movies. Starring the likes of Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Jo Van Fleet, Sal Mineo, Don Murray, Edward G. Robinson, to name a few. Now, we enter to 1964. The Beatles are all the rage and Butch gets a call to fly from Illinois and go to CBS Studio Center for a screen test. Very hush hush as they have a part in mind for him. It will become a life-changing day for sure!! His screen test is with the famous movie star Yvonne De Carlo and his character is "Edward Wolfgang Munster". From that day on, Butch would always be known, worldwide, as the iconic TV character, "Eddie Munster". The third series for Butch was the charm for sure. The Munsters (1964) are still one of the most popular series in history. Merchandised still and a huge family favorite, 50 years later! His character's hairline is the most recognizable, ever, and the Munster address is the most famous on TV, bar none. "1313 Mockingbird Lane" still is a favorite trivia question for the masses, worldwide. After a two-year stint, Butch set off to Disney for a few "World of Colors". The Young Loner (1968), with Edward Andrews and Kim Hunter, was a gem. Way Down Cellar another two part special was shot the same summer. A few features followed and then he became a semi-regular on My Three Sons (1960), doing 10 episodes. In between, Butch was busy with Adam 12's, the pilot episode of Marcus Welby M.D. Ironside, more westerns and movies too. In the summer of 1969, Butch left the country to film in Brazil for three months. A feature based on an award-winning novel, The Sandpit Generals (1971). Then, in 1971, Sid Krofft took Butch to lunch and convinced him to star in their new show for Sid and Marty's World Lidsville. He worked with Charles Nelson Reilly and Billie Hayes of Puf n Stuff fame. What a trip that summer turned out to be. Afterwards, Metromedia Records signed Butch to a contract and American Bandstand and the Dating Game were the new high-profile shows Butch was seen on. Not to mention the teen heartthrob tears from 1971 to 1973. After Butch turned 19, he decided this career really wasn't he yearned for and left Hollywood to drive fast cars and catch up on his surfing. In 1983, with MTV on the air, Butch formed a band, "Eddie and the Monsters", on Rocshire records and aired a video on the upstart cable powerhouse. They were actually the first unsigned act ever to be seen. This led to the show the basement tapes that led to the discovery of many new unsigned bands with videos. So there you have his older accomplishments. Today, Butch receives scripts and works the indie movie circuit, giving back to the industry that served him well. He's a cancer survivor and works with people with addiction issues, as well. He had his own issues with his life and, after 40 years of alcohol and drug abuse, he's been clean and sober nearly 10 years. He married Leila Murray in 2016.- Actor
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Don is probably best known for his co-starring role as Ralph in the long running television series "Happy Days." During this time, he worked with such emerging talents as Ron Howard and Garry Marshall. Recently, Don was seen in a recurring role on the hit TV show - "Glee," as well as starring roles in the indie film - "The Yankles," and "Chez Upshaw," starring Kevin Pollack and Illeana Douglas. He just finished starring in "Campin Buddies," along with a role in the independent film - "Remember Isobel," and the short film - "Duality" Most's other feature film credits include "ED TV," directed by Ron Howard; "Crazy Mama," directed by Jonathan Demme, and "The Great Buck Howard," starring John Malkovich. In television, his other guest starring roles include "Men Of A Certain Age," "Century City," 'Star Trek: Voyager,' 'Yes, Dear,' 'The Crow,' 'Sabrina,' 'Sliders,' 'Dark Skies,' and 'The Family Guy.'
Following in the footsteps of some of his peers, Don has now directed three feature films. "His first, "The Last Best Sunday," had its World Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was a feature film winner at the Telluride IndieFest. "Moola," starring William Mapother, Shailene Woodley, Treat Williams, Daniel Baldwin, and Curtis Armstrong, premiered at The Newport Beach Film Festival, where it earned Most The Outstanding Achievement In Directing Award. Don also directed "Harley's Hill," his first family film, which was recently seen on Showtime, Starz and Encore. In another area, Don has recently gone back to his first love - singing. Don has always loved the standards/swing/big band style of music, and has just mounted his show - "Donny Most Sings And Swings." He recently performed it at "Catalina's Jazz Club" in Hollywood, CA...and "Vitello's Jazz Club," in Studio City, Los Angeles to great acclaim.- In addition to portraying Fay Walker on Days of Our Lives (1965) for several years, Valerie has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including Lifetime's Hunt for the Labyrinth Killer (2013), NCIS (2003), The Mentalist (2008), Without a Trace (2002), Cold Case (2003), Nip/Tuck (2003), "CSI", Hallmark's "Mystery Woman", HBO's award-winning "Indictment: The McMartin Trial," Oliver Stone's acclaimed "Salvador," "The Falcon and the Snowman," "Internal Affairs," "Beverly Hills Cop II," "Dear God," "Chicago Hope," "Tracey Takes On," "Fired Up," "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia," "Dangerous Women" (series regular Patricia/Faith) and a recurring role on "Beverly Hills, 90210" as Christine Petit. Valerie has been a celebrity host on several reality shows. With a strong theater background and numerous stage appearances, Valerie is a recipient of the Dramalogue Award for Best Actress.
Valerie also hosts/produces the website AngelsAmongUs.TV and spends a great deal of time meeting everyday "angels" in housing projects, homeless shelters, community clinics, juvenile halls, inner city schools, recovery centers and doing relief work throughout the world. As a Vista volunteer in the housing projects of San Antonio, Texas, she worked with at-risk youth through leadership counseling groups. She has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the barrios of Cartagena, Colombia. She has counseled young people of diverse backgrounds in various parts of the U.S. and worked abroad as a relief worker through Operation USA in Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, and the Philippines. Locally, she coordinated an OP USA Clinic program, providing assistance to numerous clinics throughout Los Angeles serving low-income and homeless families. As a liaison with the Hollywood entertainment community, she helped to organize a OP USA concert at the Hollywood Bowl, featuring Plácido Domingo, Frank Sinatra, and Julie Andrews, to raise funds for the thousands rendered homeless by the Mexico earthquakes. After the tsunami, Valerie assisted Op USA with disaster relief efforts and psycho-social training on child trauma in Sri Lanka. She has been a Spokesperson on children's issues for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and a consultant for Council in Schools. Through these programs and more, Valerie continually comes to know countless unsung everyday "angels among us."
Over the years, Valerie has also worked in production and post-production with several producers and directors, including Robert Altman, Brian Grazer, and Lou Adler. Expanding her efforts to uplift the human spirit into the development of film and television projects, Valerie has created "WildSpirit Productions, Inc."
Her late mother, Leslie Ames, a "Revlon girl" and a Ford supermodel in the late 40s, always encouraged her to live her dreams. Valerie holds a M.A. degree in Counseling, speaks Spanish fluently, and is pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in the Expressive Arts. She also enjoys meditating, yoga, expressive arts and "anything to do with nature".