Deaths: April 25
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- Music Department
- Actress
- Composer
Controversial, flamboyant, and spontaneous are probably the best words to describe Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Born in Philadelphia, and raised throughout the world as the daughter of a U.S. Army serviceman, Lisa Lopes became one of the most important trendsetters in the 1990s music scene. After relocating to Atlanta during her young adult years, Lopes became heavily involved in that city's thriving music industry that produced many top name acts such as Cameo, Jermaine Dupri, Xscape, and Kelly Price. However, it was Lopes and her two bandmates, Tionne "T-Boz Watkins" and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas who put Atlanta on the map. Originally starting as a trio called 'Second Nature', Watkins and Lopes were soon joined by Thomas to form 'TLC', the best-selling girl group of all time. TLC, which stood for the first initial of each member's nickname, were discovered at an Atlanta club by singer Pebbles, who immediately signed them to her label.
After breaking into the scene, TLC went on to great success under Arista's new LaFace label, which was managed by superstar producers, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and L.A. Reid, Pebble's former husband. After snatching them away from Pebbles, TLC became one of the 1990s greatest success stories due to their creative style and flamboyance. Utilizing condoms on their colorful, baggy clothes, TLC scored three major hits on their 1992 debut album, "Ooooooooh on the TLC Tip". With success at hand, Lopes ventured off into the world of stardom, and doing so brought her major headlines. In 1995, Lopes made national and international headlines after she set the home of her boyfriend, Andre Rison, ablaze after a major fight. Lopes, who was sentenced to 5 years probation and therapy at a halfway house, never was able to shake that incident from her personality, and along with Lil' Kim, became one of hip hop music's bad girls. Along with her TLC bandmates, Lopes filed for bankruptcy that same year claiming that poor royalties and an outstanding debt that was owed to Pebbles after she sued the group for breach of contract caused them to take this action.
With the release of their sophomore album, "Crazy Sexy Cool," Lopes and her TLC bandmates underwent a change from their childlike antics to a sense of maturity that represented their metamorphosis as major recording stars. That album, which became sold 11 million copies became one of that decade's biggest selling albums, netted the group two Grammy Awards, and produced three hit singles.
After promoting that album was over, Lopes decided to venture into a variety of projects that showcased her excellent ability to spot talent. She became the mentor and producer of the R&B trio Blaque, whose members saw TLC-like success with several hit singles and starring roles in the film "Bring it On". Along with Blaque, Lopes worked with other major artists who sought her talents in producing. Working with singers such as Montell Jordan, Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisolm, and NSYNC, Lopes became one of the music industry's highly sought stars due to her unique vocals and amazing style.
However, Lopes who sought a fresh new start in life after a difficult childhood, began to involve herself in holistic and spiritual practices that brought her a sense of peace and tranquility. It was during a trip to Honduras, that Lopes saw a world different from what she saw in the United States, and began to get herself involved in several projects that benefited many victims of Hurricane Mitch, which struck Central America in 1997. Building a healing hut and a child center, Lopes connected with a world that was innocent and new to her. Her sense of pride and duty were reflected by the numerous trips she took to Honduras since her encounter with an African healing doctor in the mid 1990s.
After the release and promotion of TLC's 1999 album, "Fanmail", Lopes started to shun away from her bandmates in order to develop an identity independent from that of her bandmates. Often disputing with them in public, Lopes worked hard on a solo debut album, "Supernova" which was released internationally but never released in the United States due to poor radio play. That album, produced the top 20 hit, "The Block Party" which was a big hit in the United Kingdom and Japan.
In her continuation for a change, Lopes signed a deal to release an album under the alias N.I.N.A. (Not Into Name Alternatives) with controversial producer Suge Knight. That project never came about. On Thursday, April 25 while returning from the village where she called home for the past few years, Lopes was the only fatality in a car crash that occurred when her car swerved off the road near the town of Roma, Honduras. Lopes, who was to celebrate her 31st birthday the next month, died instantly while four of the seven others who were riding in the sports utility vehicle she was driving were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Lopes, who adopted a young girl several years ago, left her motherless and left a legion of grieving, distraught fans crying for another life taken so quickly.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Agustín Irusta was born on 28 August 1902 in Rosario, Santa Fé, Argentina. He was an actor and composer, known for La guitarra de Gardel (1949), Buenos Aires a la vista (1950) and Boliche (1933). He died on 24 April 1987 in Caracas, Venezuela.- Albert Paulsen's pronounced accent and clipped manner may have marked him as German, Austrian or some East European nationality--roles he played often--but he was actually born in Guyaquil, Ecuador, in 1925. Although he did appear in some films and on stage, he was mainly a television actor, with numerous appearances in dramas and action shows, especially in such series as Mission: Impossible (1966) and Combat! (1962), and played a succession of Communist spies, Russian generals, East European dictators, Nazi officers and the like. However, he did show up once on the comedy series The Odd Couple (1970) playing a European opera star who wasn't quite as uptight as everyone thought he was. He died in his sleep in Los Angeles, CA, in 2004.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
A Presbyterian minister's son, softly-spoken, intellectual-looking Alexander Knox received his education from the University of Western Ontario where he studied English literature. An excellent elocutionist (a member of the university's Hesperian Club) he had his first fling with dramatic acting playing the lead in "Hamlet". His professional theatrical debut began on the Boston stage in 1929 while simultaneously earning an income as a journalist for the Boston Post. After just one year he went looking for better acting opportunities in England, specializing in 'serious' classical parts which required just the right measure of 'gravitas'. During another journalistic stint with the London Advertiser he made the acquaintance of noted stage director and producer Tyrone Guthrie who helped him to make a name for himself on the London stage at the Old Vic. As the decade progressed, Knox appeared opposite such theatrical icons as Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier (in "The King of Nowhere"), and in plays by James Bridie and George Bernard Shaw.
Movie work followed in 1938 with appearances in The Phantom Strikes (1938) and a bit part in The Four Feathers (1939). However, the outbreak of World War II prompted his return to America. In 1940, Knox got his big break on Broadway cast in the role of Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet", written and staged by Olivier and starring Vivien Leigh as Juliet. A later leading role in "The Three Sisters" (1942-43) -- a turn-of-the-century drama set in Russia -- saw him as Baron Tuzenbach opposite Katharine Cornell and Judith Anderson. With a brace of good critical notices, it became only a matter of time before the screen beckoned again. In 1941, Knox made his Hollywood film bow and was perfectly cast as the quiet intellectual Humphrey Van Weyden, protagonist of Jack London's maritime classic The Sea Wolf (1941). His performance was somewhat overshadowed by those of his co-stars, Edward G. Robinson (in the titular role of Wolf Larsen) and the dynamic John Garfield (as chief mutineer George Leech) but it led to further work as a reliable lead character player.
For most of his career, Knox tended to be typecast as men of integrity (though he did play the odd villain): stern authority figures, psychiatrists, academics and politicians - undoubtedly, this was because of his inherently sincere, though rather sombre on-screen personality. It was also a consequence of having been cast in the starring role of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. President, in Darryl F. Zanuck's over-ambitious biopic Wilson (1944). Bosley Crowther commented for The New York Times (August 2, 1944): "Much of the film's quality is due to the performance of Alexander Knox in the title role. Mr. Knox....draws a character that is full of inner strength - honest, forceful and intelligent, yet marked by a fine reserve... The casting of Mr. Knox, a comparative unknown, in this role was truly inspired". Despite the excellent personal notices, 'Wilson' was a rather slow and ponderous affair, a flop at the box office and one of Zanuck's most conspicuous failures. His personal reputation intact, Knox had several leading roles come his way in the wake of 'Wilson', even a rare comedy part in The Judge Steps Out (1948) as a starchy, but likeable Boston judge. However, in 1952, his career suffered a serious setback when he was blacklisted by HUAC for alleged left-wing affinities and forced to leave for England.
From 1954, Alexander Knox appeared in scores of British films and was particularly good in two productions for the director Joseph Losey (who had also been black-listed in Hollywood): The Damned (1962) and Accident (1967). He also played another U.S. president in the James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice (1967) and was a memorable spook (the ill-fated 'Control') in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) on television. He made a successful return to the London stage, frequently in plays by Henrik Ibsen and Clifford Odets. Outside of his principal occupation he was finally able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his long-standing literary ambition, as the author of plays ("Old Master", "Trafalgar Square"), screenplays and five adventure novels set in the wilds of 19th century Canada. Knox died in his adopted home in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, England, in 1995 at the age of 88.- Actress
- Soundtrack
An actress from the age of 6, Anita appeared with Walter Hampden in the Broadway production of Peter Ibbetson. As a juvenile actor, Anita used the name Louise Fremault and made her film debut at 9 in the film The Sixth Commandment (1924). She continued to make films as a child actor, and in 1929, Anita dropped her "Fremault" surname, billing herself by her first and second names only. Unlike many child actors, her film career continued as a teenager, and as a blue-eyed blonde, Anita became a star in Warner Brothers costume dramas such as Madame Du Barry (1934), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), and Marie Antoinette (1938). Anita complained that her looks often interfered with her chances to obtain serious roles. With her ethereal beauty, she continued to appear in ingénue roles into the 1940s as she played girlfriends, sisters, and daughters. By 1940, Anita was only in her mid 20s, but her career had turned to 'B' movies, and her time on the big screen ended with the rehashed Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947). In 1956, Anita was cast as Johnny Washbrook's mother, Nell McLaughin, on the Television series My Friend Flicka (1955), the story of a boy and his black horse. Anita was also the substitute host of The Loretta Young Show (1953) when Loretta Young was recuperating from surgery. Other shows Anita hosted included Theater of Time (1957) and Spotlight Playhouse (1958). Her television guest roles included Mannix (1967) and Mod Squad (1968). Anita devoted her final years to various philanthropic causes.- Art Fleming was born on 1 May 1924 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), MacArthur (1977) and International Detective (1959). He was married to Rebecca Lynn, Peggy Ann Ellis and Mildred Lauretta Goodrich. He died on 25 April 1995 in Crystal River, Florida, USA.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Actress-comedienne Bea Arthur was born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1922 in New York City to a Jewish family. She grew up in Maryland, where her parents ran a dress shop. At 12 years old, she was the tallest girl in her school at 5'9".
She earned the title of "Wittiest Girl" in her school, and her dream was to be in show business, but she didn't think her family would support her. She then worked as a laboratory technician, and in the Marine Corps; she drove a truck, and worked as a typist. Her brief first marriage ended in divorce. Afterwards, she told her parents that she wanted to pursue a career in show business, and they supported her decision to join the New York's Dramatic Workshop for the New School for Social Research.
Arthur (her acting name based on a variation of her first husband's surname) played classical and dramatic roles, but it would be years before she found her niche in comedy. Her breakthrough came on stage while appearing in the musical play "The Threepenny Opera," with Lotte Lenya. For one season in the 1950's, she was a regular on Sid Caesar's television show,Caesar's Hour (1954). In 1964, she became truly famous as Yente the Matchmaker, in the original Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof". Despite this being a small supporting role, Arthur stole the show night after night.
In 1966, she went to work on a new Broadway musical, "Mame", directed by her second husband, Gene Saks, winning a Tony Award for the featured role of Vera Charles. The show's star, Angela Lansbury, also won a Tony Award, and she and Bea became lifelong friends. In 1971, Arthur appeared on the hit sitcom All in the Family (1971) as Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's cousin, who was forever driving Archie Bunker crazy with her liberal politics. The guest appearance led to Arthur's own series, Maude (1972). The show was a hit, running for six years, during which many controversial topics of the time, including abortion, were tackled, and Bea won her first Emmy Award. While doing Maude (1972), Arthur repeated the role of Vera Charles in the film version of Mame (1974), again directed by Gene Saks, but it was a dismal flop. She also appeared on The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). While appearing in Maude (1972), she raised her two sons, whom she had adopted with husband Gene Saks. After the show ended, so did her marriage to Saks. She never remarried. She became a lifelong animal rights' activist.
In 1983, she started working on a new sitcom, Amanda's (1983), patterned after Britain's Fawlty Towers (1975) but it was short-lived. In 1985, The Golden Girls (1985) made its debut. Co-starring Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show was about the lives of three middle-aged women, and one elderly mother, (played by Getty, who was actually younger than White and Arthur), living in Miami. It was an immediate hit, running for seven seasons. All of the cast members, including Arthur, won Emmy Awards during the show's run. She left when she thought each show was at its peak. The producers realized the shows wouldn't be the same without her. In 1992, The Golden Girls (1985) was canceled. Arthur kept a low profile, appearing in only two movies: For Better or Worse (1995) and Enemies of Laughter (2000).
In 1999, Arthur made an appearance at The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Jerry Stiller (1999). She did a one-woman stage show in 2001, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. In 2003, she reunited with Betty White and Rue McClanahan for The Golden Girls (1985) reunion special on the Lifetime Channel. Noticeably absent was supporting actress Estelle Getty, who was ill. The three lead actresses made appearances together for the rest of the decade to promote DVD releases of The Golden Girls (1985). They appeared together for the last time in 1998, at the TV Land Awards, receiving a standing ovation as they accepted the Pop Culture Award. She attended her induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, with Angela Lansbury.
On April 25, 2009, at home with her family, Arthur died of cancer. She was 86. She was survived by her two sons, Matthew and Daniel, and her grandchildren, Kyra and Violet. In her will, she left $300,000 to New York's Ali Forney Center, an organization supporting homeless LGBT youths.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Ben Molar was born on 3 October 1915 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a composer, known for Fascinación (1949), Los días calientes (1966) and Patricia mía (1961). He died on 25 April 2015 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Bobby Pickett was born on 11 February 1938 in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Monster Mash: The Movie (1995), Love, Simon (2018) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). He died on 25 April 2007 in West Los Angeles, California, USA.- Calep Emphrey Jr. was born on 1 May 1949 in Greenville, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Heart and Souls (1993). He was married to Bernadine Hinton. He died on 25 April 2017 in Greenville, Mississippi, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carol Reed was the second son of stage actor, dramatics teacher and impresario founder of the Royal School of Dramatic Art Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Reed was one of Tree's six illegitimate children with Beatrice Mae Pinney, who Tree established in a second household apart from his married life. There were no social scars here; Reed grew up in a well-mannered, middle-class atmosphere. His public school days were at King's School, Canterbury, and he was only too glad to push on with the idea of following his father and becoming an actor. His mother wanted no such thing and shipped him off to Massachusetts in 1922, where his older brother resided on--of all things--a chicken ranch.
It was a wasted six months before Reed was back in England and joined a stage company of Dame Sybil Thorndike, making his stage debut in 1924. He forthwith met British writer Edgar Wallace, who cashed in on his constant output of thrillers by establishing a road troupe to do stage adaptations of them. Reed was in three of these, also working as an assistant stage manager. Wallace became chairman of the newly formed British Lion Film Corp. in 1927, and Reed followed to become his personal assistant. As such he began learning the film trade by assisting in supervising the filmed adaptations of Wallace's works. This was essentially his day job. At night he continued stage acting and managing. It was something of a relief when Wallace passed on in 1932; Reed decided to drop the stage for film and joined historic Ealing Studios as dialog director for Associated Talking Pictures under Basil Dean.
Reed rose from dialog director to second-unit director and assistant director in record time, his first solo directorship being the adventure Midshipman Easy (1935). This and his subsequent effort, Laburnum Grove (1936), attracted high praise from a future collaborator, novelist/critic Graham Greene, who said that once Reed "gets the right script, [he] will prove far more than efficient." However, Reed would endure the sort of staid, boilerplate filmmaking that characterized British "B" movies until he left this behind with The Stars Look Down (1940), his second film with Michael Redgrave, and his openly Hitchcockian Night Train to Munich (1940), a comedy-thriller with Rex Harrison. It has often been seen as a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938) with the same screenwriters and comedy relief--Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, who would just about make careers as the cricket zealots Charters and Caldicott, from "Vanishes".
The British liked these films and, significantly, so did America, where Hollywood still wondered whether their patronage of the British film industry was worth the gamble of a payoff via the US public. Dean was just one of several powerhouse producers rising in Britain in the 1930s. Other names are more familiar: Alexander Korda and J. Arthur Rank stand out. For Reed, who would wisely decide to start producing his own films in order to have more control over them, finding his niche was still a challenge into the 1940s. He was only too well aware that the film director led a team effort--his was partly a coordinator's task, harmonizing the talents of the creative team. The modest Reed would admit to his success being this partnership time and again. So he gravitated toward the same scriptwriters, art directors and cinematographers as his movie list spread out.
There were more thrillers and some historical bios: The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941) with Redgrave and The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) with Robert Donat. He did service and war effort fare through World War II, but these were more than flag wavers, for Reed dealt with the psychology of transitioning to military life. His Anglo-American documentary of combat (co-directed by Garson Kanin), The True Glory (1945), won the 1946 Oscar for Best Documentary. With that under his belt, Reed was now recognized as Britain's ablest director and could pick and choose his projects. He also had the clout--and the all-important funds--to do what he thought was essential to ensure realism on a location shoot, something missing in British film work prior to Reed.
Odd Man Out (1947) with James Mason as an IRA hit man on the run did just that and was Reed's first real independent effort, and he had gone to Rank to do it. All too soon, however, that organization began subjugating directors' wishes to studio needs, and Reed made perhaps his most important associative decision and joined Korda's London Films. Here was one very important harmony--he and Korda thought along the same lines. Though Anthony Kimmins had scripted four films for Reed, it was time for Korda to introduce the director to Graham Greene. Their association would bring Reed his greatest successes. The Fallen Idol (1948) was based on a Greene short story, with Ralph Richardson as a do-everything head butler in a diplomatic household. Idolized by the lonely, small son of his employer, he becomes caught up in a liaison with a woman on the work staff, who was much younger than his shrewish wife. It may seem slow to an American audience, but with the focus on the boy's wide-eyed view of rather gloomy surroundings, as well as the adult drama around him, it was innovative and a solid success.
What came next was a landmark--the best known of Reed's films. The Third Man (1949) was yet another Greene story, molded into a gem of a screenplay by him, though Reed added some significant elements of his own. The film has been endlessly summarized and analyzed and, whether defined as an international noir or post-war noir or just noir, it was cutting-edge noir and unforgettable. This was Reed in full control--well, almost-- and the money was coming from yet another wide-vision producer, David O. Selznick, along with Korda. Tension did develop in this effort keep a predominantly Anglo effort in this Anglo-American collaboration.
There were complications, though. For one thing, Korda--old friend and somewhat kindred spirit of wunderkind director Orson Welles--had a gentlemen's agreement with the latter for three pictures, but these were not forthcoming. Korda could be as evasive as Welles was known to be, and Welles had come to Europe to further his inevitable film projects after troubles in Hollywood. Always desperate for seed money, Welles was forced to take acting parts in Europe to build up his bank account in order to finance his more personal projects. He thus accepted the role of the larger-than-life American flim-flam man turned criminal, Harry Lime. The extended time spent filming the Vienna sewer scenes on location and at the elaborate set for them at Shepperton Studios in London, entailed the longest of the ten minutes or so of Welles' screen time. Here was a potential source of directorial intimidation if ever there was one. Welles took it upon himself to direct Reed's veteran cinematographer Robert Krasker with his own vision of some sewer sequences in London (after leaving the location shoot in Vienna), using many takes. Supposedly, Reed did not use any of Welles' footage, and in fact whatever there was got conveniently lost. Yet Citizen Kane (1941)'s shadow was so looming that Welles was given credit for a lot of camera work, atmospherics and the chase scenes. He had referred to the movie as "my film" later on and had said he wrote all his dialog. Some of the ferris wheel dialog with its famous famous "cuckoo clock" speech (which Reed and Greene both attributed to him) was probably the essence of Welles' contributions.
Krasker's quirky angles under Reed's direction perfectly framed the ready-made-for-an-art designer bombed-out shadows and stark, isolated street lights of postwar Vienna and its underworld. Unique to cinema history, the whole score (except for some canned incidental café music) was just the brilliant zither playing of Anton Karas, adding his nuances to every dramatic transition. Krasker won an Oscar, and Karas was nominated for one.
Reed's attention to detailed casting also paid off, particularly in casting German-speaking actors and background players. Selznick insisted on Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, the benighted protagonist, and his clipped and sharp voice and subterranean drawl were perfect for the part. Reed had wanted James Stewart--definitely a different perception than Americans of its leading men. Selznick parted ways with Reed on other issues, however; there was a laundry list of reasons for his re-editing and changing some incidentals for the shorter American version, partly based on negative comments from sneak preview responses. Perhaps it was the constant interruptions from the other side of the Atlantic that drove Reed to personally narrate the introduction describing Martins in the British version of the film (given the basic tenets of noir films, the star always played narrator to introduce the story and voice over where appropriate). Selznick showed himself--in this instance, anyway--to have a better directorial sense by substituting Cotten introducing himself in the American cut. It made far more sense and was much more effective. On the other hand, Selznick's editing of the pivotal railway café scenes with Cotten and Alida Valli had continuity problems.
Nonetheless, the film was an international smash, and all the principal players reaped the rewards. Reed did not get an Oscar, but he did win the Cannes Film Grand Prix. Greene was motivated enough to take the story and expand it into a best-selling novel. Even Welles, with his minimum screen time--he was spending most of his time in Europe trying to obtain financing for his newest project, Othello (1956)--milked the movie for all it was worth. He did not deny directorial influences (though in a 1984 interview he did), and even developed a Harry Lime radio show back home.
However, the movie had its detractors. It was called too melodramatic and too cynical. The short scenes of untranslated German dialog were also criticized, yet that lent to the atmosphere of confusion and helplessness of Martins caught in a wary, potentially dangerous environment--something the audience inevitably was able to share. It was all too ironic that Reed, now declared by some as the greatest living director of the time, found his career in decline thereafter. Of his total output, four were based on plays, three on stories and 15 on novels. With less than half of them to go, he was to be disappointed for the most part. His The Man Between (1953) with James Mason was too much of a "Third Man" reprise, and A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) was too sentimental.
By now Reed was being sought by enterprising Hollywood producers. He had--as he usually did--the material for a first-rate movie with two popular American actors, Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis for Trapeze (1956). However, it suffered from a slow script, as would the British-produced The Key (1958), despite another international cast. Things finally picked up with his venture into another Greene-scripted film from his novel, with Alec Guinness in the lead in the UK spy spoof Our Man in Havana (1959) with yet another winning international cast.
When Hollywood called again, the chance at such a British piece of history as Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) with a mostly British cast and Marlon Brando seemed bound for success. It was the second version of the movie produced by MGM (the first being the Clark Gable starrer Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)). However, Brando's history of being temperamental was much in evidence on location in Tahiti. Reed shot a small part of the picture but finally left, having more than his fill of the star's ego (and, evidently, being allowed too much artistic control by the studio) and the film was finished by Lewis Milestone. Reed would ultimately be branded as a failure in directing historical movies, but it was an unfair appraisal based on the random aspect of film success and such forces of nature as Brando, not artistic and technical expertise.
The opportunity to make another film came knocking again with Reed and American money forming the production company International Classics to produce Irving Stone's best-selling story of Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel, The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Here is perhaps the prime example of Reed being given short shrift for a really valiant effort at an historical, artistically significant and cultural epic because it was a "flop" at the box office. Shot on location in Rome and its environs, the film had a first-rate cast headed by Charlton Heston doing his method best as the temperamental artist with Rex Harrison, an effortless standout as the equally volatile Pope Julius II. Diane Cilento did fine work as the Contessina de Medici, with the always stalwart Harry Andrews as architect rival Donato Bramante. Most of the other roles were filled by Italians dubbed in English, but they all look good.
Reed's attention to historical detail provided perhaps the most accurate depiction of early 16th-century Italy--from costumes and manners to military action and weapons (especially firearms)--ever brought to the screen. The script by Philip Dunne was brisk and always entertaining in the verbal battle between the artist and his pontiff. Yet by the 1960s costume epics were going out of style and bigger flops, such as Cleopatra (1963) (talk about agony) despite the wealth of stars which included Harrison, tended to spread like a disease to those few that came later. Despite a high-powered distribution campaign by Twentieth Century-Fox, Reed's exemplary effort would ultimately be appreciated by art scholars and historians--not the stuff of Hollywood's money mentality.
For Reed the only remaining triumph was, of all things, a musical--his first and only--yet again he was working with children. However, the adaptation of the great Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twistt" top the screen (as Oliver! (1968)) was a sensation with a lively script and music amid a realistic 19th-century London that was up to Reed's usual standards. The film was nominated for no less than 11 Oscars, wining five and two of the big ones--Best Picture and Best Director. Reed had finally achieved that bit of elusiveness. He could never be so simplistically stamped with an uneven career; Reed had always kept to a precise craftsman's movie-making formula.
Fellow British director Michael Powell had said that Reed "could put a film together like a watchmaker puts together a watch". It was Graham Greene, however, who gave Reed perhaps the more important personal accolade: "The only director I know with that particular warmth of human sympathy, the extraordinary feeling for the right face in the right part, the exactitude of cutting, and not least important the power of sympathizing with an author's worries and an ability to guide him."- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
In a career that covered six decades, Constance Collier evolved into one of Broadway and London's finest tragediennes during the first half of the 1900s. While the regal, dark-featured beauty who bore classic Romanesque features enjoyed a transcontinental career like a number of her contemporaries, her theatre success did not encourage an enviable film career. It wasn't until her senior years that Constance engaged in a number of well-regarded supporting performances on screen. Later respect also came as one of Hollywood's premiere drama and voice coaches.
She was born Laura Constance Hardie in Windsor, Berkshire on January 22, 1878, the only child of Auguste Cheetham and Eliza Georgina (Collier) Hardie, both minor professional actors. Young Constance made her stage debut at the age of three as a fairy in a production of "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and the die was cast. By age 6 she was appearing with famed actor/manager Wilson Barrett in "The Silver King". An early break occurred in her teens (1893) when the tall, under-aged beauty was given consent by her parents to become a member of the famed George Edwardes-Hall "Gaiety Girls" dance troupe. Groomed extensively in singing, dancing and elocution, she managed to stand out among those others in the chorus line and went on to featured status in two of Edwardes-Hall's biggest hits, "A Gaiety Girl" and "The Shop Girl" (both 1894).
Legit ingénue roles in "Her Advocate", "Tommy Atkins" and "The Sign of the Cross" followed. Just after the turn of the century (1901) she was invited to join the theatre company of the esteemed Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who had been searching for a comparably tall leading lady to play opposite him. She remained with his company at His Majesty's Theatre for six years where she built up a formidable classical resumé. Alongside Sir Herbert in such plays as "Ulysses", "The Eternal City" and "Nero", Constance also proved a fine Shakespearean with her Olivia, Viola, Portia, Mistress Ford and Cleopatra at the top of the list. She also made a noteworthy Nancy Sykes in "Oliver Twist" which she toured extensively both here and abroad. During this time (1905), she married British-born actor Julian L'Estrange and together they became an internationally respected stage couple.
Ms. Collier made a successful American stage debut in 1908 with "Samson" at the Garrick Theatre in New York opposite well-known American actor/playwright William Gillette, thereby placing herself solidly among the most popular and respected actresses of the day. Among her subsequent Broadway offerings were "Israel" (1909), "Trelawney of the Wells" (1911), "Oliver Twist" (1912), "Othello" (1915) and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1917).
Sir Herbert and Constance both appeared as extras in the silent D.W. Griffith classic Intolerance (1916). While still in the U.S., he filmed Macbeth (1916) with Constance as his Lady Macbeth. Not only was the Shakespearean film poorly received but her starring appearances in two other silents released earlier that year, The Tongues of Men (1916) and The Code of Marcia Gray (1916), were also overlooked.
Tragedy struck in October of 1918. She and her husband, L'Estrange, had begun a Broadway run together of "The Ideal Husband" only a month earlier. During the run he contracted the deadly Spanish influenza which had spread worldwide and died of pneumonia at the untimely age of 40. The grief-stricken actress finished the play's run into November then returned to England where she appeared in the films The Impossible Woman (1919), Bleak House (1920) and The Bohemian Girl (1922). Among her London theatre successes were "Our Betters" (1923) at the Globe Theatre, which ran for over twelve months, and "Hamlet" wherein she played Queen Gertrude opposite John Barrymore's Great Dane (1925) at the Haymarket Theatre. Constance also moved into writing and penned her own play "Forever", which was based on the George L. Du Maurier novel "Peter Ibbetson". She then co-wrote with actor/friend Ivor Novello the play "The Rat" (1924), in which Novello starred and which Collier produced.
The advent of sound provided the exciting opportunity for the eloquent Collier to work in the U.S., but not necessarily as an actress. By helping established silent film stars transition into talkies, she became Hollywood's foremost drama and voice coach. Finding less and less time for stage work, she directed a Broadway production of "Camille" in 1931. She did, however, manage to appear in productions of "Peter Ibbetson" (1931), which she also staged, "Dinner at Eight (1932) and "Hay Fever" (1933) all in New York. Her final Broadway curtain call was taken as Madame Bernardi in "Aries Is Rising" (1939) at New York's Golden Theatre.
In later years, she continued to coach (among her students were Marilyn Monroe) and write, but she also found time to return to the large screen in a dozen or so films, usually providing stately support. She appeared in a range of movies from the Shirley Temple vehicle Wee Willie Winkie (1937) to the film noir piece The Dark Corner (1946). Better known roles during this period include those in Stage Door (1937), playing, quite appropriately and amusingly, the resident drama coach, An Ideal Husband (1947), excellent as Lady Markby, and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948). Her last film was Whirlpool (1950).
Constance Collier died of natural causes in New York on April 25, 1955, and left behind her 1929 memoirs "Harlequinade". She had no children.- His father, a wine importer loved the theatre and encouraged his acting ambitions and got him his first job at 16 touring with a Shakespearean company painting scenery and doing walk on parts. His mother disapproved thinking it wasn't a job for a respectable middle class young man. By 1939 he'd graduated to leading roles but then the war came. He joined the army and rose through the ranks to become a major. Within four days of leaving the service he was back in the theatre in a play 'Fifty Fifty' and the 'Seagulls Over Sorento' which ran five years.
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- Composer
Dexter Gordon was considered one of the greatest jazz saxophonists ever, During his heyday, namely `45-`80, he played tenor sax with many of the all-time jazz greats, including Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Billy Eckstine and many others. In the 60s, he left his vices behind and created some wonderful music. He played in Europe extensively where he was very popular and lived there for the most part during the 60s and the early to mid 70s. Around 1977, he returned to America and made some well-received records. Round Midnight was his only feature role, playing a character not unlike himself, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. He has influenced subsequent generations of musicians with his artful approach to jazz. His feel and subtle nuances are sorely missed in the world of jazz.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
One of the most recognisable character actors of the 1950s, Boston Massachusetts-born Dick Wesson began his career with his older brother, Gene Wesson, in a comedy act that made the rounds of the nightclub circuit. He made his film debut in the sci-fi classic Destination Moon (1950), and spent his career specializing in playing the rambunctious, wisecracking smart alec, often in westerns and war films, easily recognizable by his big smile, crew-cut and amazing comedic timing. In addition to his film appearances, his extensive TV credits included The Bob Cummings Show (1955), The Danny Thomas Show (1953) (aka The Danny Thomas Show), Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974) (aka The Paul Sand Show), The People's Choice (1955), just to name a few. In the 60s, his comedic talents took him to directing and producing in such shows as The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) and Petticoat Junction (1963).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Donald Mankiewicz was born in Berlin into an illustrious creative family, his father being the screen-writer Herman Mankiewicz and his uncle film director Joseph Mankiewicz, whilst his brother Frank would also distinguish himself as a journalist. Brought up in Beverly Hills - where his parents' dinner guests numbered the biggest screen stars of the 1930s - he graduated from Columbia University in 1942 and served in Army Intelligence before becoming a staff writer for the 'New Yorker'. In the early 1950s, he began writing for television, one of his early jobs being an adaptation of Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Last Tycoon'. At the time, he commented that, of his writing contemporaries, he was possibly the only one to have known the author, who was a friend of his father. In 1958 he was Oscar-nominated for writing 'I Want To Live', which gained Susan Hayward her Academy Award as convicted murderess Barbara Graham, though much of his work was in television, on such series as 'Marcus Welby,MD', 'Ironside', and 'Star Trek', and, as a key member of the writers' union, he helped to gain union recognition for quiz show writers. Don Mankiewicz died of heart failure at his home in Monrovia, California on 25 April 2015, leaving behind a widow Carol, to whom he had been married for 43 years and four children, son John being a screen-writer and daughter Jane an authoress.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Don Wilson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not much is known about his early life but what is known is that he played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920s. Wilson began his radio career as a singer in Denver's radio station, KFEL, in 1923. In 1929, he started working at radio station KFI in Los Angeles, California.
In the summer of 1932, Wilson worked as a sportscaster, covering the opening of the 1932 Summer Olympics games and, in the early part of 1934, Wilson was working as the announcer on George Gershwin's series, "Music by Gershwin", when Jack Benny heard him on the radio and insisted that he come to work for him and, on 6 April 1934, Wilson made his first broadcast as Benny's announcer in his live radio show, that started a relationship with Benny that lasted for over thirty years.
Wilson was a "portly man" with a deep resonating voice and a robust figure that made him very popular with sponsors as, in the early days of radio, the show's announcer read the commercial pitches for the sponsors and the sponsors believes a deep voice was more agreeable to the audience. Being a good business man, Wilson always made sure his contracts allowed him to freelance and take on other endeavors, and he did just that, as in 1946, Wilson was a regular on the daytime comedy, "Glamour Manor" (1946). He also worked as an announcer for variety shows and comedy radio programs. In 1950, Jack Benny made the move to television and Wilson made the move as well, until 1965, when The Jack Benny Program (1950) ended.
In 1966, Wilson made his last television appearance on the Batman (1966) TV series (1966-1968) episode, Dizzoner the Penguin (1966), where he played the uncredited role of newscaster "Walter Klondike", a spoof of Walter Cronkite. From 1968 until the mid-1970s, Wilson and his wife hosted a television show called "Town Talk" in the Palm Springs area and he continued to do interviews on radio and television whenever the topic was about Jack Benny or old time radio (He was considered a authority on both).
Don Wilson died of a stroke on April 25, 1982 at age 81 in Cathedral City, California. He was survived by his wife of over 30 years, radio actress Lois Corbett.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Flashy, leggy, bouffant blonde Dorothy Provine was a solid screen representation of the Kennedyesque era when life seemed so full of fun, so innocent and so optimistic. This sparkling beauty also gave TV audiences a double dose blast to the past via her popular co-starring roles on late 50s/early 60s series TV. A talented girl whose comedic gifts were never sufficiently tapped into by Hollywood, Dorothy nevertheless secured a dedicated fan base merely on her sunny smile, creamy good looks and carefree radiance alone.
Graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Theater Arts. Hollywood folklore has it that the South Dakota-born (but raised in San Francisco) actress landed the role of the notorious femme bank robber in the low-budget "B" film The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) just three days after arriving in Hollywood. It certainly proved to be a lucky break, although it didn't clinch the movie stardom she might have expected. On the contrary, Dorothy was forced to languish in such predicable programmers as Riot in Juvenile Prison (1959) and Live Fast, Die Young (1958), while playing the gigantic, radiation-exposed love interest in the poorly-executed The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) opposite rolypoly comedian Lou Costello in his only film effort after breaking up with partner Bud Abbott. Fortunately, TV made up for her lack of success on film.
Signed up by Warner Bros. and seemingly better suited for the small screen, Dorothy became one of the more visible female faces on TV and would be best remembered for her period roles as 1890s saloon singer Rocky Shaw, the friend of "Gold Rush" fortune seekers Roger Moore and Jeff York in The Alaskans (1959) and, better yet, as Pinky Pinkham, the Charleston-dancing flapper in the Warner Bros. adventure series The Roaring 20's (1960).
A vivacious guest on scores of other TV shows, Dorothy occasionally reappeared in lightweight 1960s films wherein she generally projected a squeaky-clean image playing various sparkly housewives, girlfriends and sisters. She was part of the all-star zaniness in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) as Milton Berle's wife; appeared as Jack Lemmon's bright-eyed better half in the suburban comedy Good Neighbor Sam (1964); played Hayley Mills's beleaguered older sis in the feline caper That Darn Cat! (1965); had a slam-bang cameo as Lily Olay the barroom singer who belts out the memorable "He Shouldn't-A, Hadn't-A, Oughtn't-A Swang on Me" in the slapstick farce The Great Race (1965); showed up as the true-blue gal pining for Jim Hutton in the bank heist comedy Who's Minding the Mint? (1967); and made her last silver screen appearance alongside Dick Van Dyke in the comedy Never a Dull Moment (1968), which did not live up to its title.
During this time Dorothy occasionally made use of her vocal talents on the live stage, and appeared briefly as a duo with George Burns in a 1963 Las Vegas nightclub act, replacing Burns' ailing wife Gracie Allen, who by this time had fully retired due to serious heart problems. Eventually, however, she lost interest in her career.
Dorothy abruptly left the business in 1969 after marrying director Robert Day, who was involved in several of the Tarzan movies. She showed up a couple of times on TV in the 70s but, for the most part, found her self-imposed retirement completely to her liking. The couple moved permanently to Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1981, and there she found contentment simply gardening and tending to her animals. They had one son, Robert Day Jr., who became a musician. Dorothy battled emphysema in her last years and died at a nearby hospice on April 25, 2010, at age 75.- Edith MacArthur was born on 8 March 1926 in Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK. She was an actress, known for Rob Roy (1977), Sunset Song (1971) and The Omega Factor (1979). She died on 25 April 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
- Emilio Salgari was born on 21 August 1862 in Verona, Austrian Empire [now Verona, Veneto, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Mystery of the Black Jungle (1954), Carthage in Flames (1960) and El corsario negro (1944). He was married to Ida Peruzzi. He died on 25 April 1911 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
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- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
The son of a Greek immigrant father (merchant) and an English mother, George Coulouris was educated at England's Manchester Grammar School. As an actor he was quite adept at playing villains, particularly wealthy businessmen, but he was just as suitable at playing nobler roles. A member of Orson Welles' famed Mercury Theater players, he appeared in such films as Citizen Kane (1941), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Papillon (1973) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). The film that established him as an interesting and reliable heavy, with his massive shoulders and hooded eyes, was Watch on the Rhine (1943).
Coulouris studied with Elsie Fogerty at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. His London stage debut came in 1925 with "Henry V" at the Old Vic. He was soon playing the Yank at the first British staging of Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape". By 1929 he had reached Broadway, via a modern dress version of "Measure for Measure". His role as Tallant in "The Late Christopher Bean" took him to Hollywood in 1933 for MGM's film of the play. The next milestone in his burgeoning career occurred when he was playing in "Ten Million Ghosts" and met Orson Welles. They got on well and Coulouris joined Welles' Mercury Theatre, playing Mark Antony in the famous modern dress production of "Julius Caesar" (1937). When Welles went to Hollywood to make "Citizen Kane", Coulouris climbed into movie history in the part of Walter Parks Thatcher, the Kane family's crotchety lawyer and business manager. By that time his future as a cinema actor was assured and he went on to play character parts in a long string of Hollywood productions throughout the 1940s. At the end of the 1940s Coulouris returned to England, joining the Bristol Old Vic where he was notable as Tartuffe, transferring to London. In the '50s and '60s he remained a stalwart stage actor in spite of his movie reputation. He liked nothing better than to grapple with Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, August Strindberg, Molière or William Shakespeare. During these years he tackled Dr. Stockman in Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People", Patrick Flynn in Sean O'Casey's "The Plough and the Stars", the father in Jean-Paul Sartre's "Altona", Edgar in Strindberg's "The Dance of Death" and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". All of these are parts to swell a scene and Coulouris had the flourish to fill them, sometimes to overflowing, always compellingly. In Britain his film parts tended towards the mundane, though he rose to the occasion as the native Babalatchi in Carol Reed's Outcast of the Islands (1951) and seized rare chances to play comedy in Doctor in the House (1954), Doctor at Sea (1955) and the Frankie Howerd vehicle The Runaway Bus (1954). Towards the end of his life he tried his hand at writing and produced some charming memoirs describing his early life in Manchester and his early stage experiences. A vivid excerpt was published in the Guardian newspaper in February 1986 and the memoirs are available in full on the official website maintained by his son.- Actor
- Writer
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George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in Find the Lady (1936). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd's of London (1936). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941)), royalty (Charles II in Otto Preminger's Forever Amber (1947)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911, the daughter of Lela E. Rogers (née Lela Emogene Owens) and William Eddins McMath. Her mother went to Independence to have Ginger away from her husband. She had a baby earlier in their marriage and he allowed the doctor to use forceps and the baby died. She was kidnapped by her father several times until her mother took him to court. Ginger's mother left her child in the care of her parents while she went in search of a job as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and later to New York City. Mrs. McMath found herself with an income good enough to where she could send for Ginger. Lelee became a Marine in 1918 and was in the publicity department and Ginger went back to her grandparents in Missouri. During this time her mother met John Rogers. After leaving the Marines they married in May, 1920 in Liberty, Missouri. He was transferred to Dallas and Ginger (who treated him as a father) went too. Ginger won a Charleston contest in 1925 (age 14) and a 4-week contract on the Interstate circuit. She also appeared in vaudeville acts which she did until she was 17 with her mother by her side to guide her. Now she had discovered true acting.
She married in March 1929, and after several months realized she had made a mistake. She acquired an agent and she did several short films. She went to New York where she appeared in the Broadway production of "Top Speed" which debuted Christmas Day, 1929. Her first film was in 1929 in A Night in a Dormitory (1930). It was a bit part, but it was a start. Later that year, Ginger appeared, briefly, in two more films, A Day of a Man of Affairs (1929) and Campus Sweethearts (1930). For awhile she did both movies and theatre. The following year she began to get better parts in films such as Office Blues (1930) and The Tip-Off (1931). But the movie that enamored her to the public was Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). She did not have top billing, but her beauty and voice were enough to have the public want more. One song she popularized in the film was the now famous, "We're in the Money". Also in 1933, she was in 42nd Street (1933). She suggested using a monocle, and this also set her apart. In 1934, she starred with Dick Powell in Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934). It was a well-received film about the popularity of radio.
Ginger's real stardom occurred when she was teamed with Fred Astaire where they were one of the best cinematic couples ever to hit the silver screen. This is where she achieved real stardom. They were first paired in 1933's Flying Down to Rio (1933) and later in 1935's Roberta (1935) and Top Hat (1935). Ginger also appeared in some very good comedies such as Bachelor Mother (1939) and Fifth Avenue Girl (1939), both in 1939. Also that year, she appeared with Astaire in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939). The film made money but was not anywhere successful as they had hoped. After that, studio executives at RKO wanted Ginger to strike out on her own.
She made several dramatic pictures, but it was 1940's Kitty Foyle (1940) that allowed her to shine. Playing a young lady from the wrong side of the tracks, she played the lead role well, so well in fact, that she won an Academy Award for her portrayal. Ginger followed that project with the delightful comedy, Tom, Dick and Harry (1941) the following year. It's a story where she has to choose which of three men she wants to marry. Through the rest of the 1940s and early 1950s she continued to make movies but not near the caliber before World War II. After Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) in 1957, Ginger didn't appear on the silver screen for seven years. By 1965, she had appeared for the last time in Harlow (1965). Afterward, she appeared on Broadway and other stage plays traveling in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. After 1984, she retired and wrote an autobiography in 1991 entitled, "Ginger, My Story".
On April 25, 1995, Ginger died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 83.- Gregorio Casal was born on 13 July 1935 in San Miguel el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico. He was an actor and director, known for Chanoc en las garras de las fieras (1970), Chanoc contra el tigre y el vampiro (1972) and Mercenarios de la muerte (1983). He died on 25 April 2018 in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico.
- Henri Kichka was born on 14 April 1926 in Brussels, Belgium. He died on 25 April 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
India Adams was a 'ghost singer', a voice double for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon (1953) (her most famous number being "That's Entertainment") and for Joan Crawford in Torch Song (1953). This was kept under wraps for a long time, the actress having had to sign a gag order as part of her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She later said "you had to swear on a Bible you weren't going to tell anybody." A year later, India dubbed Crawford's singing again for the Republic western Johnny Guitar (1954).
On the strength of her work in Hollywood, she was signed to a recording deal by RCA Victor which led to the release of her first album. In New York during the 50s, India appeared off-Broadway in musicals like Can- Can and Brigadoon and had a successful career as a featured singer in Manhattan nightclubs and at Radio City Music Hall. Working in England between 1965 and 1981, she was on the airwaves with BBC Radio and made frequent television appearances, including in a Royal Command Performance. In 1990, she assembled a vocal quartet, "Hollywood's Secret Singing Stars", teaming up with Annette Warren (who had provided the dubbing voice for Ava Gardner's singing in Show Boat (1951) and for Lucille Ball in Fancy Pants (1950)), former big band vocalist Jo Ann Greer (who had dubbed for Rita Hayworth 's singing in Pal Joey (1957), June Allyson in The Opposite Sex (1956) and Esther Williams in Jupiter's Darling (1955)) and Betty Wand (vocal stand-in for Esther Williams in Pagan Love Song (1950) and Leslie Caron in Gigi (1958)). The act went on to perform at various West Coast venues and the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in New York.
By 2011 and now in her mid-80s, India still regularly headlined at the Catalina Bar & Grill jazz club on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, accompanied by her musical director, the pianist Paul Horner. She also made a few forays to screen acting in non-singing character roles, including a small part in the horror film Followed (2018), starring John Savage.- Indra Devi was born on 12 May 1899 in Riga, Russian Empire [now Latvia]. She was married to Siegrid Knauer and Jan Strakaty. She died on 25 April 2002 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actor
- Writer
Joe Wright was born on October 28, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA as Joseph Anthony Wright. He was an actor and writer, known for Silver Bullet (1985), S.C.R.E.W.D. (2006) and Poison Ivy (1985). He had become rich in his later years and bought himself a mansion. He died on April 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- John Havlicek is an American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA championships, four of them coming in his first four seasons with the team.
In the National Basketball Association he is one of four players to have won eight championships in their playing careers; only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones have won more, with 11 and 10 championships respectively. Havlicek is one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8-0 record in NBA Finals series outcomes. Havlicek is widely considered to have been one of the greatest players in the history of the game and was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. He was a three-sport athlete at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio.
In 1997, Havlicek was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, by a panel of journalists, players, coaches, executives, and general managers. - Karin Priester was born on 29 December 1941. She died on 25 April 2020 in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Larry Flash Jenkins was born on 10 May 1955 in Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Fletch (1985) and Mr. Mom (1983). He was married to Michelle, Harriet Michele Lark and Jean Coleman. He died on 25 April 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Margarita Xirgu was born on 18 June 1888 in Molins de Rei, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was an actress, known for Alma torturada (1917), La reina joven (1916) and Blood Wedding (1938). She was married to Josep Arnall. She died on 25 April 1969 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Marino Casem was born on 23 June 1934 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was married to Betty Jean McCain. He died on 25 April 2020 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
London-born Michael Anderson began his career in films as an office boy at Elstree studios. By 1938, he had progressed up the ladder to become assistant director for distinguished film makers Noël Coward, David Lean and Anthony Asquith. Shortly after, during wartime with the Royal Signals Corps (Army Kinematograph Service), Anderson made the acquaintance of Peter Ustinov. Upon demobilisation, the 24-year old up-and-coming director secured the release from the military of his 'favourite corporal' and mentor to work as first assistant on Secret Flight (1946) and Vice Versa (1948). For Ustinov's third venture, Private Angelo (1949), Anderson both co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay, but the picture that first put him on the map was to be the patriotic wartime drama The Dam Busters (1955), based on true events. Britain's most successful film of 1955, in turn, led to Anderson being hired by Mike Todd to direct the all-star blockbuster Around the World in 80 Days (1956). A hugely popular box-office hit and winner of five Academy Awards, it elevated Anderson into the realm of more ambitious international productions.
His strong visual style -- in no small way complemented by a fruitful and long-standing collaboration with the cinematographer Erwin Hillier -- became ideally suited for suspenseful thrillers and action subjects like Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958), the sub-Hitchcockian psychological whodunnit The Naked Edge (1961) or the underrated maritime drama The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) (based on a novel by Hammond Innes and originally intended for Alfred Hitchcock who went on to do North by Northwest (1959) instead). Another little gem is the intricately plotted spy thriller The Quiller Memorandum (1966), tautly directed and noteworthy for supremely well captured Berlin exteriors (a familiarity which stemmed from Anderson having spent some of his early childhood in Berlin and Hillier having worked at Ufa in the 20s before collaborating on Fritz Lang's classic thriller M (1931)). According to Hillier, Anderson also had a reputation for being "superb at handling actors". This is reflected in his films which have often featured big name stars like Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier or Alec Guinness.
Moving into science fiction, Anderson made style triumph over content with his (for the time) expensively made dystopian thriller Logan's Run (1976). Though not a big success with critics, the picture won at the box office and helped MGM out of its financial doldrums. Also in this genre, but with less distinction, Anderson directed Millennium (1989) and a miniseries, The Martian Chronicles (1980). A foray into the world of comic strip heroes, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), proved to be one of his rare failures. His more recent work of note has included the Gemini Award-winning TV movie Young Catherine (1991), based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great. Vanessa Redgrave, who played Empress Elizabeth, was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the Supporting Actress category.
In 1957, Anderson received the Silver Medallion for outstanding work from the Screen Director's Guild of America and was in 2012 also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. A Canadian resident since the 1970s, Anderson passed away at his home on the Canadian Sunshine Coast in British Columbia on April 25 2018 at the age of 98.- Michael Bryant was born on 5 April 1928 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972) and Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He was married to Judith Coke and Josephine Martin. He died on 25 April 2002 in Richmond, London, England, UK.
- Michele Alboreto was born on 23 December 1956 in Milan, Italy. He was married to Nadia Astorri. He died on 25 April 2001 in Klettwitz, Germany.
- Actor
- Director
Born in Fukushima, 1950. Formed punk band The Stalin in 1980. Their radical performances and unconventional methods of expression bring them attention, in 1982 they appear in "Burst City", directed by Sogo Ishii (Now, Gakuryu Ishii). Makes their debut the same year. After disbandment in 1985, he experiences various band activities to then go solo in 1993 in acoustic. Since entering the 21st century, he shows in various live performances and also publishes many poems, photography books and essays. 2011, he begins the "Project Fukushima" with various activities to support the restoration after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The same year, he begins filming centering on his 60th anniversary solo tour, to direct his first film "Mother, I've Pretty Much Forgotten Your Face". 2013, he is hospitalised for connective tissue disorder. At the same time he publishes the anthology "Collagen Hospital" and announces the album "Fukushima". 2015, he arranges his songs into Bon Festival Dance style, to form a band specialising in folk song, "Shida Myojin", and "The Eend" as his final band. He currently continues to perform energetically.- Urbane, grey-eyed, silver-haired Australian-born character actor, notable for his smooth manner and clipped upper-class English diction. A grazier's son, Matheson first worked as a clerk in a bank in Geelong, Victoria. However, his overriding ambition to become an actor caused him to abscond to Melbourne, where he eventually joined the Little Theatre and spent two years being trained by the celebrated actress Ada Reeve. He made his theatrical debut at His Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne in 1934 and then spent a year with touring companies, afterwards making the inevitable move to England. Matheson's first appearance on the London stage was in the 1937 revue "And On We Go", followed by performances in "Oscar Wilde" and "Candida". In the course of many years, he became a prolific interpreter of roles in plays by Noël Coward. In 1940, Matheson's acting career was put on hold by wartime service as an intelligence officer in the RAF, attached to the British Embassy in Moscow.
His screen career took off after a post-war move to Canada. Initially cast in radio and TV productions, Matheson was signed by Paramount to play a convict clergyman in the 18th century seafaring drama Botany Bay (1952). In between the numerous TV assignments which followed, Matheson had featured billing in several other Hollywood pictures, including King of the Khyber Rifles (1953), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) and Signpost to Murder (1964). However, he became most familiar to 1960s' and '70s TV audiences as a regular guest star, equally versed in playing civilised, benevolent authority figures or crooks of the 'polite, yet deadly' variety. His most cherished performances may well include the evil KAOS mastermind Cedric Devonshire of Get Smart (1965); the alien Dr. Reynard, heading an indoctrination facility for The Invaders (1967); a discarded clown, one of "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" from The Twilight Zone (1959); and the antiquarian Felix Mulholland, owner of Mulholland's Rare Books & Prints and purveyor of information to Banacek (1972) (a recurring role for which he had signed a six-months contract).
Matheson also remained true to his roots in legitimate theatre, occasionally appearing in modern plays at the Pasadena Playhouse and other West Coast venues. He died in April 1985 at the age of seventy-two in Los Angeles. - Olga Grey was born on 10 November 1896 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Intolerance (1916), A Bold Impersonation (1915) and His Lesson (1915). She died on 25 April 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Paul L. Smith was born on 24 June 1936 in Everett, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Maverick (1994), Popeye (1980) and Dune (1984). He was married to Eve Smith. He died on 25 April 2012 in Ra'anana, Israel.- Writer
- Director
After graduating from high school, Enquist studied literature at Uppsala University. After completing his studies, he turned to journalism: he wrote for the features section of several newspapers and appeared as a presenter on cultural television programs. Enquist interrupted his journalistic work in Sweden in 1970 when he went to Berlin for a year with the help of a scholarship from the German Academic Foreign Service.
In 1973 he moved to the USA as a guest lecturer, where he also stayed for a year. After Enquist had been part of literary circles in Sweden for a long time, he switched completely to freelance writing in 1977. He had already published his first novel in 1961 under the title "The Crystal Eye". In 1979 Enquist published the novel "The Second".
With the historical novel "The Visit of the Personal Physician" (2001), which deals with the relationship between the doctor and politician Struensee and Queen Caroline of Denmark, the writer achieved an international breakthrough, including in Germany. His first children's novel "Grandfather and the Wolves" was published in 2003. Enquist received the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1969 and the German Book Prize for International Fiction in 2002.
In 2003 he was awarded the LUCHS for his first children's novel. In the same year he also received the Nelly Sachs Prize from the city of Dortmund. In 2005, Enquist published his successful novel "The Book of Blanche and Marie", which, as a kind of fictional docu-drama, tells the story of real people with fictional elements and searches for explanations for love.
For this work, the Swedish writer was awarded the Corine Book Prize for fiction in Munich that same year.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Ravi Vallathol was born on 25 November 1952 in Malappuram, Kerala, India. He was an actor and writer, known for Revathikkoru Pavakkutty (1986), Dhruvam (1993) and Aanaval Mothiram (1990). He was married to Geethalakshmi . He died on 25 April 2020 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.- Sound Department
Remo Belli was born on 22 June 1927 in Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. He is known for Leo Sonnyboy (1989), Journey of Hope (1990) and The Butterfly's Dream (1994). He died on 25 April 2016 in Pasadena, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Actor/director Richard Benedict was born Joseph Sciurba in Sicily. He came to the US with his family when he was seven. He was a prizefighter before journeying to Hollywood to break into the movies. His stocky, somewhat menacing appearance got him tough-guy and henchman roles, although he did get the occasional second lead. His best-known role was as Leo Minosa, the man trapped in an abandoned mineshaft in Billy Wilder's tough look at unscrupulous journalism and how legitimate tragedies are turned into a media circus in Ace in the Hole (1951). In 1962 he began directing, and though he turned out a few features, the majority of his directing work was in series television.- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
London-born character actor George Richard Haydon was noted for his put-on nasal delivery and pompous, fussy manner. Haydn had a laborious start to his show business career, selling tickets in the box office of London's Daly Theatre. This was followed by an unsuccessful stint with a comedy act in musical revue. For a change of pace, he became overseer of a Jamaican banana plantation only to see it wiped out by a hurricane.
Returning home, he appeared in the 1926 West End production of 'Betty of Mayfair' and, soon after, also began to act on radio. It was in this medium where he first found success, creating his signature character: the perpetually befuddled nasally-voiced fish expert and mother's boy Edwin Carp. Haydn later immortalized the titular character in a book, titled "The Journal of Edwin Carp". The Carp routine opened the door for Haydn to appear with Beatrice Lillie on Broadway in Noël Coward's 'Set to Music' (1939) and this, in turn, resulted in a contract with 20th Century Fox.
While his first major screen role in Charley's Aunt (1941) was relatively straight-laced, he was more often seen in comedic roles where his lugubrious face and dignified, sometimes unctuous presence could be employed to scene-stealing effect. His notable characterizations in this vein include the over-enunciating Professor Oddly in Ball of Fire (1941), Rogers (the butler) in And Then There Were None (1945) and Mr. Wilson in Cluny Brown (1946). He essayed a rare villainous role as the odious Earl of Radcliffe in the period drama Forever Amber (1947) and was back to his usual form as Mr. Appleton in Sitting Pretty (1948). In The Late George Apley (1947), he played the character of Horatio Willing "with a broad edge of wheezy burlesque" (so wrote Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, March 21, 1947).
In the late 40s, Haydn made a brief foray into directing. Of his three films for Paramount, the Bing Crosby vehicle Mr. Music (1950) enjoyed the best critical reviews. Among his later appearances on screen, that of Trapp family friend and promoter Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music (1965), is the one which most often comes to mind. Over the years, he also made an impression as a voice actor in animated cartoons, notably on Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and as the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland (1951). He had frequent guest roles on television and starred in one of the best-remembered episodes of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (1959) ("A Thing About Machines"), as the arrogant machine-hating pedant Bartlett Finchley who loses a pitched battle with his household appliances, in particular his car. Haydn also caricatured a Japanese businessman in an episode of Bewitched (1964).
In private life, Haydn was a rather reclusive individual who liked horticulture and shunned interviews.- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Robert Mandell was born on 29 August 1929 in New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Omnibus (1952), New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (1958) and Screenplay (1986). He was married to Ruth. He died on 25 April 2020 in Leicester, England, UK.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Rosita Moreno was born on 18 March 1907 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for El último varon sobre la Tierra (1933), Tango Bar (1935) and De la sartén al fuego (1935). She was married to Shauer, Melville. She died on 25 April 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Has played 37 career NHL games with the Calgary Flames and the New Jersey Devils.
Played in various leagues as the East Coast Hockey League, International Hockey League, Roller Hockey International, and the West Coast Hockey League on his way to the NHL. - Additional Crew
- Art Department
- Animation Department
Saul Bass was born in New York City in 1920 and is a widely acclaimed graphic designer with a career spanning over 40 years. Among his most famous works are the title sequences for such classic films as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960). Bass used his innovative ideas and unique perspective of the world to influence his art, engaging his audiences and developing the graphic design industry in the process. Hitchcock's famous shower-murder scene in Psycho owes its success to the design work of Bass' storyboards. Bass' short documentary Why Man Creates (1968) was spotlighted on the premiere episode of 60 Minutes (1968) in 1968. He is also responsible for the logos of many prominent corporations like AT&T, United Airlines, and Dixie. Bass died in Los Angeles in 1996.- Shukhrat Abbasov was born on 16 January 1931 in Kokand, Uzbek SSR, USSR [now Uzbekistan]. He was a director and writer, known for Malenkiy chelovek v bolshoy voyne (1990), Drama lyubvi (1972) and Mahallada Duv-duv Gap (1960). He died on 25 April 2018.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Singer/songwriter Susan Jacks was born as Susan Pesklevits on August 19, 1948 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, one of eight siblings.
A striking blonde with a sweet and angelic voice, Susan first started singing at age seven on the radio on Saturday afternoons. Her family moved to British Columbia when she was nine years old. She sang in her school and church choirs and was featured on her own radio show at age thirteen. She made her first professional public appearance at age fourteen for a legion dance in Haney, British Columbia, Canada. At age sixteen, she became a regular on the Canadian musical variety TV show "Music Hop".
In 1966, aged 18, she met singer-songwriter and guitarist Terry Jacks. The couple began performing in small clubs as a duo and married in 1967. Susan and Terry eventually formed the rock group The Poppy Family, which scored a massive smash hit in 1970 with the touching ballad "Which Way You Goin', Billy?"; the song not only peaked on the radio at #1 in Canada and #2 in America, but also sold over two million copies worldwide and won four Juno Awards. The follow-up songs "Where Evil Grows," "That's Where I Went Wrong," and "Good Friends?" were all solid Canadian radio hits. The Poppy Family disbanded in 1973 and Susan divorced Terry later that same year, although she kept his last name professionally.
She released her debut solo album "I Thought of You Again" in 1973; the haunting titular track was nominated for a Juno Award. Jacks released her second album "Dream" in 1975; the song "Anna-Marie" was nominated for a Juno Award. In 1977, Susan met Canadian football player Ted Dushinski and they married. She took a hiatus from the music business to have a son. She returned to the studio and live performing in 1979. In 1980, she released the album "Ghosts", the hit song "All the Tea in China" was once again nominated for a Juno Award. In 1983, she, Dushinski, and their son Thad moved to Nashville, Tennessee. The song "Tall Dark Stranger" was nominated for yet another Juno Award and Jacksbwon "Best New Female Country Artist" in Oklahoma.
She became a staff songwriter for a Nashville publishing company. She went on to manage a publishing company before becoming the executive vice-president and part owner of a telecommunications company in Nashville. Susan and her family moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2004. Ted Dushinski died of cancer at age 61 on October 24, 2005.
Susan worked as a consultant for INS Entertainment and as a performance consultant for other artists in the studio. More recently, she co-wrote a song for and made a guest appearance in the 2006 made-for-cable-TV Lifetime feature "Last Chance Cafe." Jacks was inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame on June 27, 2010.- Tito Vilanova was born on 17 September 1968 in Bellcaire d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. He was married to Montse Chaure. He died on 25 April 2014 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Virginia Gibson was born on 9 April 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Funny Face (1957) and Stop, You're Killing Me (1952). She died on 25 April 2013 in Newtown, Pennsylvania, USA.- Composer
- Actor
Vytautas Barkauskas was born on 25 March 1931 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was a composer and actor, known for Feelings (1968), The Day of Retribution (1975) and Laiptai i dangu (1966). He died on 25 April 2020 in Kaunas, Lithuania.