Deaths: December 8
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Caroll Spinney was born on 26 December 1933 in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Sesame Street (1969), The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981). He was married to Debra Spinney and Janice Spinney. He died on 8 December 2019 in Woodstock, Connecticut, USA.- Ambar La Fox was born in 1935 in Argentina. She was an actress, known for Buenas noches, Buenos Aires (1964), Orden de matar (1965) and Las mujeres los prefieren tontos (1964). She was married to Maurín, Alejandro and Lavecchia, Bubby. She died on 8 December 1993 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- The daughter of a copper expert (William Stanley Eckert) and an actress and museum curator (May Davenport), character actress Anne Seymour was born on September 11, 1909 in New York City. She was the seventh generation of a theatrical family that could be tracked back to Ireland in 1740. Her great-uncle was the popular character actor Harry Davenport and her two older brothers were writer James Seymour (42nd Street (1933)) and actor John Seymour (The Sporting Club (1971)).
Anne trained for the stage at the American Laboratory Theatre School with Richard Boleslawski and Maria Ouspenskaya, and began her career performing with The Jitney Players. She, as did her brothers, eventually changed her stage moniker from Eckert to her mother's maiden name of Seymour. After touring throughout New England, Anne made her New York debut in Mr. Moneypenny in 1928. Other Broadway shows followed including At the Bottom (1930) and A School for Scandal (1931). The following year, she entered the world of radio drama. Her distinctively warm style and vocal timbre were perfect for playing some of radio's noblest, self-sacrificing heroines. She portrayed "Mary Marlin" for 11 popular seasons; it turned out to be her most identifiable role.
In the late 1940s Anne switched to film and made an auspicious debut as Lucy Stark in the Oscar-winning picture All the King's Men (1949). Although movie appearances would remain sporadic and relatively minor, Anne was a solid, capable player during the golden age of television and could be seen dressing up many glossy dramas, including Studio One (1948) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950). Her rather hawkish, matronly features, which seemed in stark contrast to her smooth, modulated tones, nevertheless had her primarily playing benevolent roles as concerned relatives and professionals somewhat in the background.
In 1958, Anne earned strong marks for her portrayal of Sara Delano Roosevelt alongside Tony-winning Ralph Bellamy's FDR in "Sunrise at Campobello" on Broadway. She lost the 1960 movie role to Ann Shoemaker. Anne was actively involved on the SAG and AFTRA boards throughout a good portion of her career. Unmarried, she died in 1988 of natural causes after completing a small part in the popular film Field of Dreams (1989). - Music Department
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Antonio Carlos Jobim was born on 25 January 1927 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a composer and actor, known for V for Vendetta (2005), Deep Rising (1998) and Out of Sight (1998). He was married to Ana Lontra Jobim and Thereza Hermanny. He died on 8 December 1994 in New York City, New York, USA.- Carlotta Monti was born on 25 January 1907 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) and Kiss of Araby (1933). She died on 8 December 1993 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- A pleasant, attractive leading lady, Cathy Downs was an "outdoors type" who worked as a model before she became a Fox contract player in 1944. In the late 1940s she was being groomed for major success -- e.g., she played the title role in John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946) -- but most of her subsequent movie roles were in low-budget westerns, action and horror pictures. She was married to Joe Kirkwood Jr., an actor and producer who played Joe Palooka in a series of low-budget 1940-'50s films. They acted together in a short-lived TV series The Joe Palooka Story (1954). She is well-regarded in science-fiction fan circles as a memorable heroine of 1950s sci-fi flicks.
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- Music Department
Dimebag Darrell was born on 20 August 1966 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Triple Frontier (2019), The Big Short (2015) and Lethal Weapon (2016). He died on 8 December 2004 in Columbus, Ohio, USA.- Born March 17, 1943 in Houston, Texas, USA, Don left home to go to college at UCLA-Fine Arts to become an actor. Producer Collier Young spotted him and cast him in the TV series,Ironside (1967) as Mark Sanger. He enjoys music and also likes to go deep sea fishing and horse back riding. Don did not do much after Ironside apart from a few guest appearances and a few movies.
- Donald Burton was born on 10 February 1934 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Hudson Hawk (1991), The Message (1976) and The Man from Moscow (1985). He was married to Carroll Baker. He died on 8 December 2007 in Palm Springs, California, USA.
- Music Department
Doug Tompkins was born on 20 March 1943 in Conneaut, Ohio, USA. He is known for Im Fluss des Lebens (2012), Mountain of Storms (2018) and 180° South (2010). He was married to Kristine L. McDivitt Wear and Susie Tompkins Buell. He died on 8 December 2015 in Coihaique, Patagonia, Chile.- Fay Baker was born on 31 January 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Notorious (1946), The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) and Deadline - U.S.A. (1952). She was married to Arthur Weiss. She died on 8 December 1987 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA.
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George J. Lewis was born on 10 December 1903 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Zorro's Black Whip (1944), Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949) and Malice in the Palace (1949). He was married to Mary Louise Lohman. He died on 8 December 1995 in Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
His obituary in the The Monroe News-Star:
Georges Metaxa, d. 8 Dec. 1950, Monroe, Louisiana. Georges Metaxa Hollywood star dies suddenly in Monroe. The body of Georges Metaxa, 51, prominent actor and comedy singer of Hollywood who died suddenly in a local hotel over the weekend, was sent by Hixson Brothers Funeral home on Sunday to Dallas, Tex., where it will be cremated today. Metaxa and his wife had been on a seven-month trip to Europe and were now en route in their auto to their home in Beverly Hills. His health had been impaired to such an extent that he had been forced to refuse to take the leading role in "South Pacific," which is to be shown early in January in London. . . . His present wife, his third, was married to him in 1946. His second wife was the former Bernice MacFadden, daughter of publisher Bernarr MacFadden.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the finest, if relatively short-lived, character actresses of Hollywood, during the 1930s and 1940, Gladys George was born into an acting family who were literally on the road at the time of her birth.
Her parents were actually English and touring with a Shakespearean theater company in Patten, Maine, when she was born (although usually noted as 1900, other sources put it as late as 1904). Her parents stayed in America, and by the time she was 3, they formed a vaudeville family act; The Three Clares (Gladys's middle name).
Beginning then, George would focus herself on developing an acting career.
As George gained experience, she developed an interest in the stage and while still in her teens, she first trod the Broadway boards in 1918 in the original play "The Betrothal", the star being Isadora Duncan. Her experience in stock meshed with her natural talent and a face to frame the emotion of great pathos as well as hard cased and worldly wise. She was in good hands when she worked for the famous Broadway star Pauline Frederick, who made a fortune on ' The Great White Way', and via her touring stock company.
Frederick's career took on new dimension when she turned to film as well (1915), and George was probably influenced to follow her.
George began working in silent films - first as the young female romantic lead in Red Hot Dollars (1919) and would steadily move in lead and good costarring roles through 1921.
Around this time, George was severely burned in an accident which caused a delay in her early film career. She returned to stock and married for the first time.
By 1934, she had a new husband - the millionaire manufacturer, Edward H Fowler who was able to further her career. After only a month into her next show (Queer People)'s run, George abruptly left the company, when Paramount offered her a screen test. After the test, MGM signed her for a contract. Her first film was not surprisingly an adapted play, Straight Is the Way (1934). In this, her first sound picture, George played the mouthy bad girl to good effect, displaying her acting ability.
In her personal life, she had a socialite's talent for partying, and alcohol, and romance on the edge. She had only been married to Fowler about a year when he found her with her leading man from her then-Broadway hit comedy, Personal Appearance (ironically, she played a carousing, man-hungry star, and the press loved the coincidence).
Her next film was not until 1936 and as a loan-out to Paramount, but it was pay-dirt for George, as the mother-against-the-world, in Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936),George made her role the film's focus, and she was so good at that she received a Best Actress nomination for that year. It and perhaps her personal life had much to do with her biggest role the next year, Madame X (1937), as the long suffering soap opera-like Jacqueline Floriot.
Though some mark it as the beginning of a downturn to character roles, George pulled out all the stops, and played the role of Madame du Barry, in Marie Antoinette (1938) (starring, Norma Shearer with real gumption
Sadly, over the next year, physical changes caused by her carousing lifestyle were becoming more apparent (as the speakeasy owner, Panama Smith in The Roaring Twenties (1939) with its famous ending of the fatally wounded James Cagney staggering up the church steps after having rubbed out old rival Humphrey Bogart. He staggers back down diagonally and falls professionally face up with George quickly kneeling next to him. 'He used to be a big shot', she says as the police arrive).
In the 1940s, George spent a year-or-so on Broadway,and was cast in several soap opera B-films, where she alternated between sympathetic, or tough-as-nails characters. She was usually right on, but the roles were throwaways, compared to what she was capable of doing.
Her most well-remembered role of this period was as the widow of murdered detective, Miles Archer, in the legendary The Maltese Falcon (1941) (with Humphrey Bogart, once again). One is hard-put to even recognize her in black lace, mourning profiles and the few lines she has.
The same year she had a good comedic lead role, displaying her range - from hard headed to soft hearted with the Dead End Kids in Hit the Road (1941).
But a standout role of the decade was so small, and yet it was subtlety nuanced for showing how she excelled at displaying pathos of the human condition, in the great classic of post-World War II homecoming, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). As Hortense Derry, she was the second wife of aging failure Pat Derry (played by Roman Bohnen). That they lived near poverty's starkly shown in their 'home'; a hovel under an overpass. George, frowzy with little makeup and clutching her old threadbare robe, eagerly patronizing and quick to speak, with a slight edge in her voice.
Except for showing some of the old fire in her supporting role in Flamingo Road (1949), George only appeared in a few more roles; including a couple of brief TV appearances in the early 1950s.
Sadly, Gladys George was worn out; her hard living lifestyle, having caused her serious afflictions, including cirrhosis of the liver, advancing throat cancer, and cumulative heart disease. Though she's listed as having passed away due to a stroke, there was suspicion that she had taken an overdose of sleeping pills to put an end to her story.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Gloria Charles was born on 3 March 1955 in the USA. She was an actress, known for Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982), Brewster's Millions (1985) and National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985). She died on 8 December 2016 in Marina Del Ray, California, USA(undisclosed).- Soundtrack
She initially grew up in Pinsk. However, due to the anti-Jewish riots in Russia, the family emigrated to the USA in 1906, where they set up a small business in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). At the age of 14, Mabovitch ran away from home to live with her older sister in Denver. There in 1915 she came into contact with a socialist wing of the Zionist movement, which called the "Poale Zion" movement in the USA and advocated the establishment of an equal Jewish society in Palestine. In 1917 she married Morris Meyerson, whose name was Hebraized to "Meir" in 1956. In 1921 the couple emigrated to Palestine, where they joined Kibbutz Merhavia. In 1922 they moved to Jerusalem, where their first child, Menachem, was born a year later.
In 1928, Meir was appointed secretary of the Workers' Council of Histradut, the Jewish Workers' Union of Palestine. From 1932 to 1934 she worked as a representative of the women's organization in the USA. During this time she separated from her husband, who died in 1951. After her return, Meir was accepted into the Histadrut's executive committee in 1934 and made head of the political department. During the Second World War she was a member of the War Economic Advisory Board set up by the British Mandate Government for Palestine. In the last years of the British mandate after the war, Meir was the most important representative of the Jewish cause in Palestine. In 1947/48 she was actively involved in the preparations for the founding of the State of Israel. She was one of the 25 signatories of the Declaration of Independence of May 14, 1948, which is considered Israel's founding act.
As the first Israeli ambassador to the Soviet Union, Meir was sent to Moscow in 1948, where she soon began to initiate the emigration of numerous Jews to Israel and the West. In 1949, Meir returned to Israel, where she worked as a member of the Labor Party (Mapai) in the Knesset until 1974 and also in numerous government functions. As Minister of Labor from 1949 to 1955, she made outstanding progress in building a social system and creating jobs for the masses of immigrants. In the decade 1955 to 1965, Meir made a recognized name for herself at the international level as Israel's Foreign Minister. In this role, she primarily built a comprehensive development program for African states with which Israel had worked closely for a long time.
In 1965, Meir was promoted to general secretary of the Labor Party, as which she subsequently contributed to the unification of the three Labor parties to form the Israel Labor Party. On March 7, 1969, Meir was appointed Prime Minister of Israel, succeeding the late Eshkol. As head of government, the politician advocated negotiations and a peace solution with the Arab world. At the same time, however, it rejected talks with the PLO under Yasser Arafat because it viewed it as a terrorist organization. Meir was the first Jewish head of government to meet with Pope Paul VI at the beginning of 1973. together. In the fall it had to overcome a serious foreign policy crisis with the Yom Kippur War. In the general election of December 1973 the Labor Party was confirmed in government.
However, in 1974, Meir resigned from her position as head of government in connection with a parliamentary investigation into the military events during the Yom Kippur War. As a result, Meir continued to appear in public and in the press as an advocate for the Israeli cause.
Golda Meir died on December 8, 1978 in Jerusalem (Israel).- Script and Continuity Department
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Harry Harvey Jr. was born on 9 October 1929 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Forbidden Planet (1956), Mannix (1967) and Convoy (1978). He died on 8 December 1978 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Herbert Pundik was born on 23 September 1927 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is known for Shadows: When the Past Rules the Present (2017), Man har et standpunkt... (2001) and Deadline (1999). He was married to Ruth Ginsburg. He died on 8 December 2019 in Israel.
- Howard Gottfried was born on 13 November 1923 in New York, USA. He was a producer, known for Network (1976), Altered States (1980) and Body Double (1984). He was married to Mary Lynn. He died on 8 December 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Howard E. Rollins Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1950. He was the youngest of four children born to Howard E. Rollins Sr. (steelworker) and Ruth R. Rollins (domestic worker). Rollins graduated from Towson State College, where he studied theater. His first break into acting came when a friend convinced him to try out for a role in "Of Mice and Men" at a local Baltimore theater. He surprised himself with his acting talent.
He left for New York City in 1974 to further his acting career. Rollins earned an Oscar nomination for the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime (1981) and an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor on the NBC daytime drama Another World (1964). He is also known for his brilliant portrayal of Virgil Tibbs on the long running hit TV series In the Heat of the Night (1988), based on the 1967 movie of the same name. In 1995, he made his final feature film appearance in Drunks (1995).
Rollins was diagnosed with lymphoma in late 1996. Six weeks later, he died of complications from the disease at the age of 46. - John Glenn was an Officer of United States Marines with the rank of Major before chosen to become part of the Mercury 7 program.
He was awarded five Distinguished Flying Crosses. Made record setting Coast to Coast flights in the late 1950s.
He named his spacecraft (capsule) Friendship 7 and it is on display at the Smithsonian Institute Air and Space museum, directly underneath Chuck Yeager's "Glamerous Glennis" Bell X-1. - Music Artist
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John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, which he attended) who, with the addition of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, later became The Beatles.
After some years of performing in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany, "Beatlemania" erupted in England and Europe in 1963 after the release of their singles "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me". That same year, John's first wife Cynthia Lennon welcomed their only son Julian Lennon, named after John's mother. The next year the Beatles flew to America to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka The Ed Sullivan Show), and Beatlemania spread worldwide. Queen Elizabeth II granted all four Beatles M.B.E. medals in 1965, for import revenues from their record sales; John returned his four years later, as part of an antiwar statement. John and the Beatles continued to tour and perform live until 1966, when protests over his calling the Beatles phenomenon "more popular than Jesus" and the frustrations of touring made the band decide to quit the road. They devoted themselves to studio work, recording and releasing albums such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour" and the "White Album". Instead of appearing live, the band began making their own "pop clips" (an early term for music videos), which were featured on television programs of the time.
In the late 1960s John began performing and making albums with his second wife Yoko Ono, as the Beatles began to break up. Their first two albums, "Two Virgins" and "Life With The Lions", were experimental and flops by Beatles standards, while their "Wedding Album" was almost a vanity work, but their live album "Live Peace In Toronto" became a Top Ten hit, at the end of the 1960s.
In the early 1970s John and Yoko continued to record together, making television appearances and performing at charity concerts. After the release of John's biggest hit, "Imagine", they moved to the US, where John was nearly deported because of his political views (a late-'60s conviction for possession of hashish in the U.K. was the excuse given by the government), but after a four-year legal battle he won the right to stay. In the midst of this, John and Yoko separated for over a year; John lived in Los Angeles with personal assistant May Pang, while Yoko dated guitarist David Spinozza. When John made a guest appearance at Elton John's Thanksgiving 1974 concert, Yoko was in the audience, and surprised John backstage. They reconciled in early 1975, and Yoko soon became pregnant. After the birth of their son Sean Lennon, John settled into the roles of "househusband" and full-time daddy, while Yoko became his business manager; both appeared happy in their new life together.
After a five-year break from music and the public eye, they made a comeback with their album "Double Fantasy", but within weeks of their re-emergence, Lennon was murdered on the evening of December 8, 1980 by Mark David Chapman, a one-time Beatles fan angry and jealous over John's ongoing career, who fatally shot Lennon four times in the back outside his apartment building, The Dakota, as Lennon was returning from a recording session. Within minutes after being shot, John Lennon was dead at age 40. His violent death was a sudden and tragic end to the life of a talented singer and musician who wanted to make a difference in the world.- Composer
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José Libertella was born on 9 July 1933 in Calvera, Basilicata, Italy. He was a composer, known for Abrazos, tango en Buenos Aires (2003), Si sos brujo: una historia de tango (2005) and Café de los maestros (2008). He died on 8 December 2004 in Paris, France.- Joseph has dark brown hair and brown eyes. He plays the clarinet, and he played with the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y.C for two years. He does charity work for handicapped people, and the people from Ocilla, Georgia appreciated his work so much that they had one-mile street named after him. His hobbies are reading, tennis, and gardening.
- Josy Eisenberg was born on 12 December 1933 in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. He was a writer, known for The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973), L'invité du dimanche (1968) and Lignes de mire (1994). He died on 8 December 2017 in Normandy, France.
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Juice WRLD was born on 2 December 1998 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Eminem Feat. Juice WRLD: Godzilla (2020) and Juice Wrld: Lucid Dreams (2018). He died on 8 December 2019 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.- Actor
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The actor and Broadway director Luther Adler was born into a Yiddish theatrical dynasty. One of the six children born to Jacob P. and Sara Adler, he made his debut in the world in New York City, originally billed as Lutha J. Adler. His full siblings Charles, Jay, Julia, and Stella (the famous acting teacher) as well as his half-siblings Celia and Abram Adler all appeared on Broadway, and his father Jacob, the biggest star of the Yiddish-language theater, was considered one of the great American actors.
The Yiddish theater was an important cultural venue in the days when the millions of Jewish immigrants in the greater metropolitan New York area spoke Yiddish as their first (and sometimes only) language. People who trained and appeared in the Yiddish theater were instrumental in the development of the modern American theater and film, and some, including Sidney Lumet, are still active in the 21st century. It was in this cultural milieu that Luther and his siblings got their grounding in acting and the theater.
Jacob Adler owned and operated his own stage in New York's Lower East Side, and Luther began appearing in the family productions at the age of five with the Adler production of "Schmendrick." He made his official debut as an actor at the age of 13 at his father's theater and his Broadway debut at the the age of 18. Billed as Lutha Adler, he appeared in the Provincetown Players' production of Theodore Drieser's "The Hand of the Potter" in December 1921 at the Provincetown Playhouse,
Adler's first Broadway hit was "Humoresque" in 1923, and he appeared regularly in top productions throughout the '20s, including "Street Scene" (1929) and "Red Dust" (1929). Along with his sister 'Stella Adler", Luther Adler was one of the original members of the Group Theatre acting company, which was formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman (his future brother-in-law), Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg. Others who would make their bones in the company were Elia Kazan, Julius "John" Garfield, Howard Da Silva, Franchot Tone, John Randolph, Will Geer, Clifford Odets and Lee J. Cobb.
The Group Theatre was dedicated to bringing realism to the American stage and was instrumental in introducing the Stanislavsky technique into American acting. Most members were leftists if not communists, and the collective wanted to produce plays dealing with social issues. For the Groupe Theatre, Adler appeared in "Night Over Taos" (1932), "Success Story" (1933), "Alien Corn" (1933) and two seminal works of the American stage written by Odets: "Awake and Sing!" (1935) and "Golden Boy" (1937). He played opposite leading ladies Katharine Cornell in "Alien Corn" (1933), his sister Stella in "Gold Eagle Guy "(1934), "Awake and Sing!" and "Paradise Lost" (both 1935), and Frances Farmer in "Golden Boy" (1937).
His appearance as the urban ethnic boxer Joe Bonaparte in Odets' "Golden Boy" arguably was his greatest role, but when the film was made in 1939, he was passed over for the improbably cast Wlliam Holden, a white-bread WASP. Although Adler appeared in many motion pictures, his reputation would remain primarily that of a stage actor.
Adler became a director on Broadway in 1942, though his first staging, "They Should Have Stayed in Bed", was a flop, lasting but 11 performances. He next directed Ben Hecht's pro-Israel propaganda play "A Flag is Born" in 1946, starring the great Paul Muni, a graduate of the Yiddish theater, and newcomer Marlon Brando, an Irish-American born-Protestant who had been trained by his sister Stella. The play, which raised money for Jewsh refugees from the Holocaust seeking sanctuary in Palestine, was a hit, running for 120 performances. He also directed "Angel Street" (1955) and "A View from the Bridge" (1960). He last appeared on Broadway as a replacement in the long running "Fiddler on the Roof."
Adler made his movie debut in Lancer Spy (1937), but he never became a star in that medium. His best roles like "Golden Boy" and "Humoresque" were taken by other actors, including Group Theatre alumnus John Garfield. He had memorable supporting turns in the noir classic D.O.A. (1949), in Joseph Losey's remake of M (1951), in Paul Muni's last film The Last Angry Man (1959), in the Holocaust drama The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), and as Paul Newman's mobster uncle in Absence of Malice (1981). He also worked frequently on television.
From 1938 until 1947, Adler was married to the actress Sylvia Sidney. They had one child, a son, Jacob. Luther Adler died in Kutztown, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1984. He was 81 years old.- Actress
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She became a notable vocalist of the Big Band Era and known around the circuit as the "Liltin' Miss Martha Tilton." Born on November 14, 1915, this trim, Texas-born blonde was the fortunate product of a musical family, with her parents actively playing the piano and singing at home while she grew up. The family moved to Los Angeles when Martha was but seven months old. With a naturally gifted voice, she began as an unpaid teen singer on local radio but it wasn't long before she attracted an agent and started getting paid bookings at such venues as the Coconut Grove with Al Lippan's band.
Martha eventually joined singer Jo Stafford and others to form a swing chorus for Benny Goodman on his radio show. She became Goodman's lead vocalist after his former girl singer parted ways, and hit the big time with the song "And the Angels Sing." She stayed with Goodman for over three years recording, performing one-nighters and singing on the airwaves. In 1942, Martha became one of the first artists to record for Capitol Records, staying with the company until 1949. During the war years she also appeared in a handful of movies and was prominently featured in Swing Hostess (1944) and Crime, Inc. (1945). Other movies coming her way usually featured her as a specialty singer as opposed to incorporating her into the plot. Songs from some of those movies included lovely renditions of "Let's Capture That Moment," "What a Fool I Was," "I'm Guilty" and "Say It With Love."
In later years she earned her own radio programs ("Liltin' Martha Tilton Time") and proceeded solidly into the 1950s, often finding TV singing work to supplement her income. Some of her bigger recording hits included "How Are Things in Glocca Mora," "Time After Time," "I Should Care," "A Stranger in Town," and "I'll Walk Alone." Martha married an aerospace executive in 1953, yet continued her career and appeared as a guest vocalist in the Goodman biopic The Benny Goodman Story (1956) starring Steve Allen reprising her solid hit "And the Angels Sing." Within a few years she retired permanently to raise three children.- Director
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Martin Ritt, one of the best and most sensitive American filmmakers of all time, was a director, actor and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City. His films reflect, like almost none other, a profound and intimate humane vision of his characters.
He originally attended and played football for Elon College in North Carolina. The stark contrasts of the Depression-era South compared to his New York City upbringing instilled in him a passion for expressing the struggles of inequality, which is clearly present in the films he directed. After leaving St. John's University, he found work with a theater group, and began acting in plays. His first performance was as Crown in "Porgy and Bess". After his performance drew favorable reviews, Ritt concluded that he could "only be happy in the theater." He then went to work with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration's New Deal agency the Works Progress Administration as a playwright for the Federal Theater Project, a government-funded theater support program. With work hard to find and the Depression in full effect, many WPA theater performers, directors and writers became heavily influenced by the radical left and Communism, and Ritt was no exception (years later he would state that he had never been a member of the Communist Party, although he considered himself a leftist and found common ground with some Marxist principles)
Ritt moved on from the WPA to the Theater of Arts, then to the Group Theatre of New York City. It was at the Group Theatre that he met Elia Kazan, then a director. Kazan cast Ritt as an understudy in his play "Golden Boy". Ritt's social consciousness and political views continued to mature during his time with the Group, and would influence the social and political viewpoint that he would later express in his films (he would continue his association with Kazan for well over a decade, later assisting, and sometimes filling in for, his erstwhile mentor at The Actors Studio, eventually becoming one of the Studio's few non-performing life members). During World War II Ritt served with the U.S. Army Air Forces and appeared as an actor in the Air Force's Broadway play "Wiinged Victory" (also in the film version, Winged Victory (1944)). During the Broadway run of the play, Ritt directed a production of Sidney Kingsley's play "Yellow Jack", using actors from "Winged Victory" and rehearsing between midnight and 3 a.m. after "Winged Victory" performances. The play had a brief Broadway run and was performed again in Los Angeles when the "Winged Victory" troupe moved there to make the film version.
After working as a playwright with the Works Progress Administration, acting on stage and directing hundreds of plays, Ritt became a successful television director. In 1952 he was acting, directing and producing teleplays and television programs when he was caught up in what became known as the "Red Scare", which was an attempt by ultra-conservatives in Congress to "root out" what they saw as Commuist influence in films and on Broadway, championed by Wisconsin Repubican Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Although not directly named by the committee conducting the investigation--The House Committee on Un-American Activities, aka HUAC--Ritt was mentioned in a right-wing newsletter called "Counterattack", published by American Business Consultants, a group formed by three former FBI agents. "Counterattack" alleged that Ritt had helped Communist Party-affiliated locals of the New York-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union stage their annual show. He was finally blacklisted by the television industry when a Syracuse grocer charged him with donating money to Communist China in 1951. Unable to work in the television industry, Ritt returned to the theater for several years.
By 1956 the "Red Scare" had begun to fade away, and Ritt turned to film directing. His first film as a director was Edge of the City (1957), an important film for Ritt and an opportunity to give voice to his experiences. Based on the story of a union dock worker who faced intimidation by a corrupt boss, the film is a virtual laundry list of themes influencing Ritt over the years: corruption, racism, intimidation of the individual by the group, defense of the individual against government oppression and, most notable, the redeeming quality of mercy and the value of shielding others from evil, including sacrificing one's own reputation, career and even life if necessary. Ritt went on to direct 25 more films, including such classics as The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Hud (1963), The Great White Hope (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and Murphy's Romance (1985).- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
He is known for many styles of music - pure honky-tonk, rockabilly, gospel, straight-ahead pop, blues and Hawaiian. But fans remember Marty Robbins best for his cowboy songs. Songs like "Big Iron", "Running Gun", "The Hanging Tree" and of course "El Paso" established Robbins as the master of the style of country music.
He and twin sister Mamie were born near Glendale, Ariz. As a child, Robbins (born Martin David Robinson) was fascinated with El Paso, Texas since childhood - both the name and the city itself. Marty's parents divorced when he was 12 and his mother moved the family to Phoenix. Robbins joined the Navy in 1943, where he learned to play guitar and began singing and songwriting during the three-year stint. After his discharge, he returned to Phoenix and held down a series of jobs. Eventually, he began singing in nightclubs, filling in one night as guitarist for a friend's band. Quite often, he performed under the pseudonym Jack Robinson (because his mother objected to his performing in nightclubs and he didn't want her to find out).
By 1950, he was performing regularly on Mesa, Ariz., station KTYL, and starred in the local TV series "Western Caravan" on KPHO in Phoenix. One night, country singer Little Jimmy Dickens appeared on the show and was so impressed with Robbins that he urged his record label, Columbia Records, to sign the young star. Robbins' first song, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone", was recorded in 1951. Although the song failed to chart on any of Billboard magazine's country singles chart (the magazine had separate sales, radio airplay and jukebox to monitor the performance of country songs at the time), Robbins was on his way to country stardom; one of the follow-up singles, "I'll Go On Alone", went No. 1 in early 1953. Robbins became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in February 1953.
A steady string of hits followed, ranging in styles from rockabilly ("That's All Right" and "Singing the Blues"), teenage love songs ("A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)") and of course, cowboy songs. He had already appeared in several B-westerns and had scored a country hit with "The Hanging Tree" (the title track to the movie starring Gary Cooper) when, in 1959, he began writing and recording songs for his legendary album "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs"). The all-time classic from the album of songs was "El Paso", the story of a gunfighter who dies after being shot at the end of the song. The song went No. 1 on Billboard magazine's country singles chart in December 1959, where it spent seven weeks; it also became his only No. 1 Hot 100 hit and became the first country song to win a Grammy. At just over 4:40, radio programmers were reluctant to play such a long song (most songs were half as long), but demand won out, and it soon became one of country music's all-time most popular songs on fan surveys. His 1976 No. 1 hit, "El Paso City", revisited the gunfighter's legend.
During the 1960s and 1970s, his career continued, with a second Grammy coming in 1970 with his No. 1 ode to his wife, Marizona, "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife." He also dabbled in television ("Marty Robbins' Spotlight") and stock car racing. He left Columbia Records in 1972 to begin a three-year stint at Decca (later MCA) Records; though he had some success there, he returned to Columbia in late 1975.
During his 31-year recording career, Robbins had 94 songs make Billboard's country charts, with 16 going to No. 1; 31 of his songs also placed on the Hot 100. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, just two months before suffering his third heart attack (he had also suffered heart attacks in 1969 and 1981). He underwent a quadruple bypass at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., but died Dec. 8, 1982. His only posthumous country hit came in 1983, when he scored a No. 10 hit with "Honkytonk Man", the title track to Clint Eastwood's film. While cowboy and western songs were his trademark, it was Robbins' style, grace and dignity, plus his on-stage ability to communicate with his audience and understated sense of humor that made him one of country music's most beloved performers.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ocimar Versolato was born on 1 April 1961 in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil. He is known for Tieta of Agreste (1996) and Jet 7 (1996). He died on 8 December 2017 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.- Paulene Myers was born on 9 November 1913 in Ocilla, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for My Cousin Vinny (1992), The Sting (1973) and Playhouse 90 (1956). She died on 8 December 1996 in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Reginald Sheffield was born on 18 February 1901 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Suspicion (1941), Of Human Bondage (1934) and The Story of Mankind (1957). He was married to Louise Sheffield Cassan. He died on 8 December 1957 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
René Murat Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940 in New York City, to Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline (Murat), who was born in Paris, and Fernand Auberjonois, who was Swiss-born. René was born into an already artistic family, which included his grandfather, a well-known Swiss painter, and his father, a Pulitzer-nominated writer and Cold War-era foreign correspondent. The Auberjonois family moved to Paris shortly after World War II, and it was there that René made an important career decision at the age of six. When his school put on a musical performance for the parents, little René was given the honor of conducting his classmates in a rendition of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?". When the performance was over, René took a bow, and, knowing that he was not the real conductor, imagined that he had been acting. He decided then and there that he wanted to be an actor. After leaving Paris, the Auberjonois family moved into an Artist's Colony in upstate New York.
At an early age, René was surrounded by musicians, composers and actors. Among his neighbors were Helen Hayes, Burgess Meredith and John Houseman, who would later become an important mentor. Houseman gave René his first theater job at the age of 16, as an apprentice at a theater in Stratford, Connecticut. René would later teach at Juilliard under Houseman. René attended Carnegie-Mellon University and studied theater completely, not only learning about acting but about the entire process of producing a play. After graduating from CMU, René acted with various theater companies, including San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. In 1969, he won a role in his first Broadway musical, "Coco" (with Katharine Hepburn), for which he won a Tony Award.
Throughout his life, René acted in a variety of theater productions, films and television presentations, including a rather famous stint as Clayton Endicott III on the comedy series Benson (1979), not to mention seven years on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) as Odo. René also performed dramatic readings of a variety of books on tape, and appeared in projects like The Patriot (2000), starring Mel Gibson, Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000), and NBC's Frasier (1993) and ABC's The Practice (1997).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Robert Prosky was born on 13 December 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Thief (1981), Broadcast News (1987) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He was married to Ida Hove. He died on 8 December 2008 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Actor
- Director
Roberto Airaldi was born on 4 October 1902 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor and director, known for The Three Musketeers (1945), El juego del amor y del azar (1944) and El precio del orgullo (1965). He was married to Dina Rocco. He died on 8 December 1977 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Rocky Shahan was born on 4 March 1919 in Denton, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Rawhide (1959), Ride a Violent Mile (1957) and Blood Arrow (1958). He died on 8 December 1981 in Denton, Texas, USA.- Rosanell Eaton was born on 14 April 1921 in near Louisburg, North Carolina, USA. She was married to Golden Eaton. She died on 8 December 2018 in Louisburg, North Carolina, USA.
- Slim Pickens spent the early part of his career as a real cowboy and the latter part playing cowboys, and he is best remembered for a single "cowboy" image: that of bomber pilot Maj. "King" Kong waving his cowboy hat rodeo-style as he rides a nuclear bomb onto its target in the great black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Born in Kingsburg, near Fresno in California's Central Valley, he spent much of his boyhood in nearby Hanford, where he began rodeoing at the age of 12. Over the next two decades he toured the country on the rodeo circuit, becoming a highly-paid and well-respected rodeo clown, a job that entailed enormous danger. In 1950, at the age of 31, Slim married Margaret Elizabeth Harmon and that same year he was given a role in a western, Rocky Mountain (1950). He quickly found a niche in both comic and villainous roles in that genre. With his hoarse voice and pronounced western twang, he was not always easy to cast outside the genre, but when he was, as in "Dr. Strangelove", the results were often memorable. He died in 1983 after a long and courageous battle against a brain tumor. He was survived by his wife Margaret and children.
- Tamara Castro was born on 4 December 1972 in Ensenada, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She died on 8 December 2006 in Humberto Primo, Santa Fe, Argentina.
- Music Department
Vincent Nguini was born in July 1952 in Obala, Cameroon. He is known for P.O.V. (1988), Paul Simon: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (2007) and The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert (2009). He was married to Stephanie Batchelor and Florence Nombulelo Yawa. He died on 8 December 2017 in Abadiânia, Goiás, Brazil.- Additional Crew
Vladimir Kurbet was born on 5 December 1930 in Susleny, County of Orhei, Bessarabia, Kingdom of Romania. He is known for Sluchai na festivale (1976). He died on 8 December 2017 in Chisinau, Moldova.