Deaths: April 21
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He started out as romantic hero full of beauty and talent in Girl with a Suitcase (1961) beside Claudia Cardinale. Director Valerio Zurlini engaged the talented young actor for his Family Diary (1962) as Marcello Mastroianni's brother. Jacques Perrin's longtime work with director Costa-Gavras started with The Sleeping Car Murder (1965) and Un uomo a metà (1966) in which he had played the sensible heroes. For Costa-Gavras's Z (1969) he played a main part and was the producer. Jacques Perrin has played often in famous romantic movies by Jacques Demy beside Catherine Deneuve and in social-critic-movies like Home Sweet Home (1973) beside Claude Jade, for which he was co-producer too with his Reggane Productions. One of his memorable later roles is the adult Salvatore as movie-director in Cinema Paradiso (1988). In Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), he plays the older Thomas.- Alfredo Graciani was born on 6 January 1965 in Argentina. He died on 21 April 2021 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Amelia Vargas was born on 16 January 1928 in Havana, Cuba. She was an actress, known for La mano que aprieta (1953), Romeo y Julita (1953) and La secta del trébol (1948). She died on 21 April 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Anthony Senecal was born on 29 October 1941 in Plattsburgh, New York, USA. He died on 21 April 2020 in Plattsburgh, New York, USA.
- This elegant, ladylike baroness and 50s Broadway star was born with the lengthy name Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese Freiin von Furstenberg-Hedringen in Arnsberg, Germany on August 16, 1931, the daughter of Count Franz-Egon von Fürstenberg and his wife Elizabeth (Johnson). A lady of privilege, Betsy moved to America growing up and attended Miss Hewitt's Classes and New York Tutoring School. She performed with the American Ballet Theater at age 7.
A teenage model with strong designs on acting, she prepared for the theater at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner and made her stage debut in New York at the Morosco Theatre in 1951 with "Second Threshold." She went on to create a gallery of breezy and stylish debutantes and society girls and enjoyed her first major hit playing Myra Hagerman in "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!" in 1953. Her role would be played by Barbara Rush in the 1957 movie version. Betsy continued with prime roles throughout the 1950s in such plays as "The Chalk Garden," "Child of Fortune," "Nature's Way," "Wonderful Town" and "Much Ado About Nothing," among others. She was at her best playing impish, independent women. At the same time she also graced a number of live and taped TV dramas, including 'Playhouse 90," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Kraft Television Theatre" and a variety of talk shows. She became a regular presence on a variety of daytime soaps as well with roles on The Secret Storm (1954), Bluebeard (1955), Another World (1964) and As the World Turns (1956)
In the 1960s Betsy appeared in another sparkling comedy hit playing the role of Tiffany in "Mary, Mary" starring Barbara Bel Geddes and Barry Nelson. Again, however, when it came time to film the movie version, Betsy was replaced...this time by then-popular TV star Diane McBain. Making her first and only film appearance in the Italian-made _Donne senza nome (1949)_ [Women Without Names], one can only surmise the film career she might have had, had she been able to recreate some of her lovely stage roles. In the 1970s, Betsy was seen opposite Maureen Stapleton in "The Gingerbread Lady" and played Sybil in a production of "Private Lives." Light comedies also came her way with "There's a Girl in My Soup" (with Don Ameche and Taina Elg), "Absurd Person Singular," "Status Quo Vadis" and "Avanti!"
Married to Guy Vincent de la Maisoneuve, a mining engineer, they divorced in 1966 after two children. She turned to writing articles for columns in 1968; her novel Mirror Mirror, the story of an jet-setting heiress and her search for love, was published in 1988. She later married (1984) real-estate broker John J. Reynolds, who died ten years later. Retired from the stage in later years, she would often be glimpsed at high society gatherings and theater benefit functions until illness set in. She died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on April 21, 2015. - Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
"America's Boyfriend" Buddy Rogers was born in Olathe Kansas and became a talented musician on several instruments. He began acting in Hollywood in the 1920's and is probably best remembered as Clara Bow's love interest in "Wings". He also made several appearances in the "Mexican Spitfire" series with Lupe Velez, as well as being the nominal bandleader for several radio shows. He was married to Mary Pickford for forty-two years, until her death, and adopted two children. He appeared as a secondary character in scores of movies, and later became a frequent guest star on TV. Rogers died at age ninety-two in California. NOTE: The Charles Rogers whose biography also appears in this section is that of "Charley Rogers" a comedian and gagman for Hal Roach in the '20's and '30's. He is not the same Charles Rogers whose information is listed here.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers out there are starving!" When Patrick Dennis's fictional Auntie Mame uttered this pithy observation, she could have been speaking of Charles MacArthur. Charlie never shied away from the feast, and he certainly never went hungry. Arriving in November 1895 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Charlie was the second youngest of seven children born to stern evangelist William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur. His early life was dominated by his father's ministry, leading the family to travel cross country wherever the elder MacArthur's calling took them. Charlie spent much of his time during those years hiding in the bathroom -- the only place offering even a modicum of privacy for a member of such a large family -- reading virtually anything he could get his hands on. He developed a passion for the written word that would last him to his dying day. Resisting Reverend MacArthur's insistent urging that his son follow him into the ministry, young Charlie left the family's rural New York home soon after finishing high school. Heading off to the Midwest, he took a reporter's job at The Oak Leaves, a suburban Chicago newspaper owned by two of his older brothers and run by his older sister. His first professional taste of crafting something for others to read whetted his appetite for even more. Intently determined to pursue a calling which for him was as strong as the calling his father had heard, Charlie went to the City News Bureau of Chicago as the first step in his journey toward life as a journalist. Though only 19, the irreverent sense of humor and dislike for mindless authoritarianism for which he would later be so well known was already quite evident in the application he filled out for the job. In the space entitled "Tell us in exactly seventy-five words why you wish to become a reporter," Charlie wrote: "I want to become a reporter more because I like the work than for any other reason. I feel that even if I should branch off in another profession, the experience obtained in getting up on your toes after news would be valuable. These are my reasons. More words would be useless." The excitement of working in brash and brawling pre-1920s Chicago didn't quite satisfy Charlie's hunger for something more, however, and he soon hooked up with General "Black Jack" Pershing, galloping off to Mexico to join in the hunt for the infamous Pancho Villa. When World War I broke out, Charlie joined the Army's 149th Field Artillery, part of the Rainbow Division. During his time in France, he and his battery mate shot down a German plane with nothing more than a machine gun. Later in the war, Charlie sustained a mild shrapnel wound. In 1919 he penned his only book, A Bug's Eye View of the War (later republished in 1929 by Harper Collins as War Bugs) about his unit's adventures and misadventures during some of the most brutal and bloodiest fighting in history. Returning to Chicago just in time for Prohibition, the Roaring 20s, and Al Capone, Charlie became one of Chicago's most well-known and widely read reporters. He authored some of the most enduring pieces ever printed in the pages of the Chicago Tribune and Daily News. His style was inventive, charming, and witty. Readers couldn't get enough. Once, when writing about a dentist accused of sexually molesting his female patients, Charlie chose the headline "Dentist Fills Wrong Cavity". He also wrote several short stories, two of which, "Hang It All" (1921) and "Rope" (1923), were published in H.L. Mencken's The Smart Set magazine. His star continued to rise, and he eventually headed off to the greener pastures of New York City. Once settled in the Big Apple, he began to shift his efforts toward playwrighting. His first true Broadway success was in 1926 with the play "Lulu Belle", written in collaboration with Edward Sheldon. It would later be remade into a 1948 movie starring Dorothy Lamour and George Montgomery. His next play, "Salvation", written in collaboration with Sidney Howard, enjoyed a moderate Broadway run. During the summer of 1927, Charlie and long-time friend and collaborator, Ben Hecht, rented the premises of the Nyack Girl's Academy as a haven from which they could create their own special brand of playwrighting. Helen Hayes (the future Mrs. Charles MacArthur) would tell friends of times when she or Rose Hecht would visit to bring in food or other supplies for their men, and the building would be positively filled with shouts of laughter and merriment. The result of this seclusion was the 1928 Broadway debut of "The Front Page". The phenomenal stage success of "The Front Page" prompted Charlie to head to Hollywood and screenplay work. Having already developed such works as The Girl Said No (1930), Billy the Kid (1930) and The Unholy Garden (1931), he hit the jackpot in 1931, first with the movie version of The Front Page (1931) (again collaborating with Ben Hecht), which won Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Lewis Milestone), and Best Actor (Adolphe Menjou), and then, with the release of The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931), which netted a 1932 Best Actress Oscar for its star, Helen Hayes. The film also won awards at that year's Venice Film Festival for both its leading lady and its director, Edgar Selwyn. Charlie's screenplay for Rasputin and the Empress (1932), the only movie ever to feature siblings John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore together in the same film, gained him his own first Academy Award nomination (in 1934, for Best Original Story). Even though their efforts had turned mostly to filmmaking by this point, it was also during this period that Hecht and MacArthur produced their second smash theatrical effort, "Twentieth Century", which debuted on Broadway in December 1932, and was later made into the well-received 1934 movie starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. Unhappy with the machinations of Hollywood's fledgling film industry, however, MacArthur and Hecht decided to set up their own shop in Astoria, New York, producing, writing, directing, and even making uncredited onscreen appearances in a series of films such as The Scoundrel (1935) (poking fun at themselves by playing downtrodden patrons of a charity flop house) and Crime Without Passion (1934) (in which they portrayed -- what else? -- newspaper reporters). Their work earned much critical acclaim, culminating in the 1936 Best Writing (Original Story) Academy Award for The Scoundrel (1935). Their 1939 collaboration to turn Rudyard Kipling's epic poem into the movie Gunga Din (1939), starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., was recognized in 1999 by the National Film Registry, and their adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1939) garnered the two yet another Academy Award Best Writing (Screenplay) nomination in 1940. That year also saw the remake of "The Front Page" into the popular movie, His Girl Friday (1940), starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. The advent of World War II prompted Charlie to interrupt his writing career and sign on in his country's service once again. He began his second stint of service years as a Major in the Chemical Warfare Service, returning home at the war's conclusion a Lt. Colonel. By now, the father of two children, Mary and James MacArthur, and husband to "The First Lady of the American Theatre", Charlie had amassed a considerable amount of fame in his own right, yet was still looking for something different. Resuming his theatrical and film work, he also took on the duties of editing and publishing the foundering Theatre World magazine, but left after little more than a year, dissatisfied with the politics and constraints of working in a corporate atmosphere. The tragic loss of his 19-year-old daughter to polio in 1949 was a blow from which Charlie would never quite recover. Though he continued to work on screenplays and movie scripts up until his death in 1956, some of which enjoyed a modicum of success, he would never again completely recapture the freewheeling enthusiasm of his earlier days. When his son grew old enough to begin considering a career of his own, his father advised, "Do anything you like, son, but never become a playwright. It's a death worse than fate!" Charles MacArthur left behind a lasting imprint upon both those who knew him personally and those who knew him only through his published works. Supremely disdainful of anything even remotely false or affected, Charlie nevertheless did follow the path his father wished him to take, albeit in his own inimical fashion. His words carried a truth and sincerity few writers have been able to achieve. His unique mix of subtle irony, gentle sarcasm, and poignant pathos reached as deeply into his audience at least as well as any fiery sermon from a pulpit ever could. As Ben Hecht said in the eulogy he delivered at his friend's memorial service (and later expanded upon in his 1957 book, "Charlie: The Improbable Life and Times of Charles MacArthur"), "Charlie was more than a man of talent. He was himself a great piece of writing. His gaiety, wildness and kindness, his love for his bride Helen, and his two children, and for his clan of brothers and sisters -- his wit and his adventures will live a long, long while".- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Christina Amphlett was born on 25 October 1959 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress and composer, known for The Happytime Murders (2018), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Sixteen Candles (1984). She was married to Charlie Drayton. She died on 21 April 2013 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Craig Hill was born on 5 March 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), All About Eve (1950) and Flight That Disappeared (1961). He was married to Teresa Gimpera. He died on 21 April 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.- Additional Crew
- Director
- Editor
Desmond Saunders was known for his work on Prescription For Murder (1958), Floods of Fear (1958), So Evil So Young (1961), Thunderbirds (1964-1965), Stingray (1965), Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1966), Joe 90 (1968), The Secret Service (1969), Voyage of The Damned (1972), Invaders From The Deep (1981) and Terrahawks (1983-1985).- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
A native of San Francisco, Dimitri Diatchenko attended Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts. After high school, he attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida where he was a scholarship music student, majoring in classical guitar. After completing the Bachelors program, he matriculated to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida where he continued with his acting and music studies in the Masters program. His first acting experience was as the lead in the play, Foxfire, by Hume Cronin, where he played the country music star, Dillard Nations. Diatchenko continued to develop his acting skills both on stage and on camera in Florida-based projects from 1990 - 1996, while studying with Ken Stilson and George Judy. Some of these projects include the award-winning short films, Third on a Match, Used Cars and Goiter Boy. . In April of 1996, as Dimitri was graduating with his Masters degree from Florida State University, he landed a small role as a Navy Seal in Ridley Scott's Demi Moore starer G.I. Jane. After that break, Diatchenko moved out to Los Angeles and officially started his professional acting career. In addition to his acting, Diatchenko continues to perform as a master classical guitarist. As a soloist, he has four guitar CDs in release. His original composition for solo guitar, entitled, "Tango en Paraiso" is featured on the soundtrack for his film, Remarkable Power. Mel Bay Publications has published this piece in "Master Anthology of New Classic Guitar Solos, Vol. 1." Dimitri has also performed on the soundtrack of the film he co-stars in, Clubhouse and performs his arrangement of Hungarian Dance No. 5 by J. Brahms with a Django gypsy jazz treatment in the film, Repossessed.- Doreen Lang was born on 15 February 1915 in Gisborne, New Zealand. She was an actress, known for The Birds (1963), The Wrong Man (1956) and Hawaii Five-O (1968). She was married to Arthur Franz and Richard B. Rudy. She died on 21 April 1999 in Malibu, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tall, athletic leading man, the son of a judge. Lowe was initially slated for the priesthood but switched career paths on several occasions, at one time studying law, then teaching English and elocution. The latter led to his involvement in the acting profession. After briefly appearing in vaudeville, he joined the Oliver Morosco stock company in 1911 and made his Broadway debut six years later in 'The Brat'. Motion pictures soon beckoned, and, with his imposing physique and debonair manner, he quickly rose to becoming a popular matinée idol, the Tuxedo-attired star of such A-grade productions as East of Suez (1925).
In 1926, Lowe was cast, against type, in the role he would be identified with for the remainder of his career: that of the brash and profane Sergeant Harry Quirt in Maxwell Anderson's World War I drama What Price Glory (1926). He also featured in several sequels, invariably co-starring his on-screen adversary Victor McLaglen. After that, Lowe alternated between romantic lead (such as Dinner at Eight (1933)) and tough guy. In the latter category, he gave a strong central performance in the role of Specs Green in Dillinger (1945), one of the slickest productions turned out by little poverty row studio Monogram. The film elicited complaints from a few meekly-inclined civic groups and was even banned in Chicago for two years because of its 'brutal, sensational subject matter'. Irrespectively, it was a winner at the box office.
Edmund Lowe remained much sought-after by producers, having eased effortlessly into supporting roles once his days as a star were over. He worked under contract at 20th Century Fox (1924-27, 1929-32, 1934-35), Paramount (1932-33), MGM (1936) and Universal (1938-39). From the 1940's, he still played leads for smaller studios, free-lanced and later acted in television. Late in his career, he starred in his own half-hour series, Front Page Detective (1951), as a sleuthing newspaper columnist. In private life, Lowe had a reputation for impeccable attire and sartorial elegance. Not as well remembered today as he deserves to be, he is nonetheless immortalized with a star on the 'Walk of Fame' on Hollywood Boulevard.- Actress
- Writer
Eleonora Duse was born on 3 October 1858 in Vigevano, Lombardy, Italy. She was an actress and writer, known for Cenere (1917). She was married to Tebaldo Marchetti. She died on 21 April 1924 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Enrico Medioli was born on 17 March 1925 in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was a writer, known for The Leopard (1963), Rocco and His Brothers (1960) and The Damned (1969). He died on 21 April 2017 in Orvieto, Umbria, Italy.- Enrique Becker was born on 13 March 1949 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Lazos de amor (1995), La sombra del pecado (1966) and Marianela (1961). He died on 21 April 2021 in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Eric Chappell was born on 25 September 1933 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Singles (1988), Sjans (1992) and You Again? (1986). He was married to Muriel Taylor. He died on 21 April 2022 in Lincolnshire, England, UK.- Esteban Yáñez was born in 1984 in Ferrol, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. He was an actor, known for Pratos combinados (1995), A xinecóloga (2008) and Xabarín Club TVG (1994). He died on 21 April 2020 in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
- Composer
- Actor
- Director
Florian Schneider-Esleben was born on 7 April 1947 in Öhningen-Kattenhorn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was a composer and actor, known for Swordfish (2001), 17 Again (2009) and Control (2007). He died on 21 April 2020 in Germany.- Francisco Álvarez was born on 26 July 1892 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Un novio para Laura (1955), Al compás de tu mentira (1950) and La canción de los barrios (1941). He died on 21 April 1960 in Lanus, Argentina.
- Giovanna Galletti was born on 27 June 1916 in Bangkok, Thailand. She was an actress, known for Last Tango in Paris (1972), Rome, Open City (1945) and The Loves of Hercules (1960). She died on 21 April 1992 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Gummo Marx was born on 23 October 1892 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Helen von Tilzer. He died on 21 April 1977 in Palm Springs, California, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
One of the pre-eminent divas of post-war German cinema, Hannelore Elsner (born 'Elstner') was the consummate actress: a gifted and versatile performer with a penchant for intense roles, often as emancipated, strong-willed women. A Bavarian engineer's daughter (her father died of tuberculosis when she was eight), 'Hanni' first took acting classes in Munich where she also debuted on stage at the Kammerspiele and the Kleine Komödie. She appeared on screen from 1959, initially in teenage melodramas and 'Paukerfilms', later featuring as a regular guest star on TV in procedural crime dramas like Isar 12 (1961) and Stahlnetz (1958) . From the late 60's, Elsner alternated 'sexy roles' (such as her native American maiden in Christoph Kolumbus oder Die Entdeckung Amerikas (1969) ) with more demanding fare. Under the direction of such prominent film makers as Wolfgang Staudte, Edgar Reitz and Alf Brustellin, she proved her diverse range, headlining, respectively, in the satirical caper comedy Die Herren mit der weissen Weste (1970), the period biopic Der Schneider von Ulm (1978) and the hard-luck drama Der Sturz (1979). Among many other notable big screen credits were the romantic drama Der grüne Vogel (1980) (directed by István Szabó) and the delightful Otto Sander farce Wer spinnt denn da, Herr Doktor? (1982). Elsner's powerful tour-de-force acting showcase Die Unberührbare (2000) won her the first of two German film awards as Best Actress, as well as a Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. A patrician beauty well into middle age, she captured a large fan base on the small screen as star of Lady Cop (1994), a role which developed from two previous guest spots as a Chief Inspector in the long-running police series Tatort (1970).
She was married and divorced twice. Her subsequent life partner (from 1999) was Günter Blamberger, a professor of German philology. Her memoirs, entitled "Im Überschwang - Aus meinem Leben", appeared in 2011. Hannelore Elsner died after a long battle with cancer on April 21 2019 at the age of 76.- Writer
- Producer
- Soundtrack
I.A.L. Diamond was born on 27 June 1920 in Ungheni, Romania [now Moldova]. He was a writer and producer, known for The Apartment (1960), Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). He was married to Barbara Diamond. He died on 21 April 1988 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Irene Vernon was born on 16 January 1922 in Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Bewitched (1964), Fireside Theatre (1949) and The Sound of Fury (1950). She was married to Emmanuel Rosenberg. She died on 21 April 1998 in South Bend, Indiana, USA.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Jack Haley Jr. was born on 25 October 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Hollywood and the Stars (1963), Life Goes to War: Hollywood and the Home Front (1977) and Movin' with Nancy (1967). He was married to Liza Minnelli. He died on 21 April 2001 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
James Kirkwood Jr. was born on 22 August 1924 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for A Chorus Line (1985), Some Kind of Hero (1982) and P.S. Your Cat Is Dead! (2002). He died on 21 April 1989 in New York City, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
Jerry Bishop was born on 19 October 1935 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for Judge Judy (1996), A Man with Heart (1993) and Destination Truth (2007). He was married to Velma Joan Leventhal. He died on 21 April 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Joe Sawyer's familiar mug appeared everywhere during the 1930s and 1940s, particularly as a stock player for Warner Bros. in its more standard college musicals, comedies and crime yarns. He could play both sides of the fence, street cops and mob gunmen, with equal ease. He was born Joseph Sauers in Guelph, Canada, on August 29, 1906, and eventually moved to California to pursue a film career. Trained at the Pasadena Playhouse, he had a perfect "tough guy" look: sturdy build, jutting chin and beady eyes, made more distinctive by his shock of light hair and a slightly high-pitched voice. Sawyer made his film debut in 1931 under his real name, which, contrary to popular opinion, was German and not Irish, though he made a career out of playing Irishmen, and appeared mostly in strongarm bit parts in his early career until hitting his stride playing a variety of coaches, cops and sidekicks with imposing names like "Spud," "Slug" and "Whitey." He appeared in hundreds of films, in just about every genre, over a four-decade-long career, among them College Humor (1933), College Rhythm (1934), The Westerner (1934), The Informer (1935), in which his portrayal of an IRA gunman got him noticed by the public and critics alike, Pride of the Marines (1936), Black Legion (1937), The Petrified Forest (1936) (another "tough-guy" role that got him good reviews), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), Sergeant York (1941), Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943), Gilda (1946), It Came from Outer Space (1953), North to Alaska (1960) and How the West Was Won (1962). He also guest-starred on many TV series and was a regular on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954) as Sgt. Aloysius "Biff" O'Hara. His first wife was actress Jeane Wood, the daughter of Gone with the Wind (1939) uncredited director Sam Wood. His second wife, June, died in 1960. Sawyer died in Ashland, Oregon, on April 21, 1982 of liver cancer at the age of 75.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Joel Rogosin was born on 30 October 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Virginian (1962), Ironside (1967) and The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969). He was married to Deborah. He died on 21 April 2020 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Production Manager
John Welsh was born on 7 November 1914 in Wexford, Ireland. He was an actor and production manager, known for Krull (1983), To Serve Them All My Days (1980) and Tales from Soho (1956). He died on 21 April 1985 in Richmond, London, England, UK.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
He was a Spanish actor; his father was from Puerto Rico and his mother from Catalonia. His debut in theater was in 1943 and in cinema in 1944. At the end of the fifties he lived in South America. He committed suicide with a gunshot while living in Mexico City, Mexico.- José María Calleja was born on 16 May 1955 in León, Spain. He died on 21 April 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
- Actor
- Director
Ken Kercheval was born on 15 July 1935 in Wolcottville, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Dallas (1978), Network (1976) and The Secret Storm (1954). He was married to Cheryl Paris, Ava Ruth Fox and Judith Peters Launt. He died on 21 April 2019 in Clinton, Indiana USA.- Kristine Jepson was born on 28 July 1962 in Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977), Wonders Are Many (2007) and Independent Lens (1999). She died on 21 April 2017 in New York City, New York, USA.
- English actor Leslie Banks' film career would be negligible compared to his prestigious theatrical one if it were not for four exceptions. Hitchcock, for one, gave him the occasion to shine in two of his films, in a sympathetic role in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934) and in an outright unsympathetic one in "Jamaica Inn" (1938) - a telltale illustration, by the way, of the extent of his talent. The actor is also remembered for "Henry V" (1944), Laurence Olivier's masterful adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. It is fun to hear Banks roll his r's (hey! The year is 1600 after all!) while he introduces and comments the play to the audience of the Globe Theatre. But oddly enough, the thespian never made a bigger impression than in his first screen appearance, way back in 1932. Who indeed has forgotten the ruthless, ferocious, evil Count Zaroff, specializing in human game hunting, from Cooper and Schoedsack's horror classic "The Most Dangerous Game"? Banks' other movies, consisting mostly of B movies and World War II propaganda fare, did not leave a comparable impact. Maybe because Leslie Banks, always more interested in the theatre of which he was a big name, was not demanding enough in the choice of his films. On the boards, that is where he got great parts in great plays: Captain Hook in "Peter Pan", Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew", Mr. Chipping in "Goodbye Mr. Chips", James Jarvis in the Kurt Weill musical "Lost in the Stars", and many many others. Born in 1890 in West Derby near Liverpool, he studied at Keble College, Oxford. First wanting to be a parson, he became an actor instead, making his debut in 1911. His reputation rapidly rose, and Banks never stopped working until his untimely death, not only in England but also in the USA where he toured as early as 1912. With only one interruption, though a big one, due to World War I. Banks, who served with the Essex Regiment then, was wounded in the face, one side remaining permanently paralyzed. Which did not prevent him from quickly resuming his activities, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre first, then in London, New York and Hollywood. Unfortunately, if the delightfully threatening figure of Zaroff will rest forever in our minds, Leslie Banks physically disappeared in 1952, only aged 61, hit by a sudden stroke. He has been missed since.
- Lewis MacAdams was born on 12 October 1944 in San Angelo, Texas, USA. He died on 21 April 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Lonnie Mack was born on 18 July 1941 in Harrison, Indiana, USA. He is known for 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), Only You (1992) and Forever Lulu (2000). He died on 21 April 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Luisi Pistilli's most notable stage successes were roles in "The Threepenny Opera", "St. Joan of the Stockyards" and a 1972 production, "Lulu". In 1991 he reprised his role in "Lulu" in the first professional collaboration with actress-singer Milva, his partner in previous plays as well as in a four-year offstage relationship. Pistilli's most memorable roles were in Francesco Rosi's Illustrious Corpses (1976), Lino Del Fra's Antonio Gramsci: i giorni del carcere (1977), Carlo Lizzani's Italo-Bulgarian co-production The Bandit (1969) and Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), in which he played priest Pablo Ramirez, the brother of Eli Wallach's character Tuco. He also worked frequently in TV, including the Mafia series La piovra (1984), directed by Luigi Perelli.- Manuel Mujica Láinez was born on 11 September 1910 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer and actor, known for De la misteriosa Buenos Aires (1981), El capitán Pérez (1946) and Bomarzo 2007 (2007). He was married to Ana de Alvear Ortiz Basualdo. He died on 21 April 1984 in Cruz Chica, Córdoba, Argentina.
- María Zarattini was born in 1955 in Italy. She was a writer, known for Alborada (2005), Cabo (2021) and Al rojo vivo (1980). She died on 21 April 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Marjorie Eaton was born on 5 February 1901 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Monstrosity (1963), Night Tide (1961) and That Forsyte Woman (1949). She died on 21 April 1986 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
In 1920, Merian C. Cooper was a member of volunteer of the American Kosciuszko Squadron that supported the Polish army in the war with Soviet Russia, where he met best friend and producing partner Ernest B. Schoedsack. On 26 July 1920, his plane was shot down, and he spent nearly nine months in the Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. He escaped just before the war was over. He was decorated by Marshall Jozef Pilsudski with the highest military decorations: Virtuti Military. He had a successful career in the military and in the movie business.- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Michelle McNamara was born on 14 April 1970 in Oak Park, Illinois, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020), 51 Paintings (2012) and What is Real? The Story of Jivamukti Yoga (2016). She was married to Patton Oswalt. She died on 21 April 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Milt Sunde was born on 1 February 1942 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was married to Barbara. He died on 21 April 2020 in Bloomington, Minnesota, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Nelson Pereira dos Santos was born on 22 October 1928 in São Paulo, Brazil. He was a director and writer, known for Memórias do Cárcere (1984), O Amuleto de Ogum (1974) and Tenda dos Milagres (1977). He was married to Ivelise Ferreira. He died on 21 April 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- Nina Doroshina was born on 3 December 1934 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Love and Doves (1985), Chelovek rodilsya (1956) and Bezumnyy den (1956). She was married to Vladimir Ishkov and Oleg Dal. She died on 21 April 2018 in Moscow, Russia.
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actress
Nina Simone was born on 21 February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA. She was a music artist and actress, known for Point of No Return (1993), Repo Men (2010) and Miami Vice (2006). She was married to Andrew Stroud and Donald Ross. She died on 21 April 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.- Norm Nielsen was born on 17 February 1934 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Bobby Deerfield (1977), The Dean Martin Show (1965) and David Nixon's Magic Box (1970). He died on 21 April 2020.
- Pepe Fechoría was born on 20 March 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Las minas de Salomón Rey (1986). He died on 21 April 2016 in Galicia, Spain.
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Actor, entertainer, songwriter and author, educated in high school and a vaudeville trouper with his mother, Grace Hayes. During World War II, he served with valor in the United States Army Air Corps. With his wife Mary Healy he appeared in films, night clubs, theaters, and on radio and television. Joining ASCAP in 1951, his chief musical collaborators included Frank Loesser, Nacio Herb Brown, and Robert Allen. His popular-song compositions include "When You Used to Dance With Me (Alone)", "Why Do They Call a Private a Private?", "Cool Alaska Rock and Roll", and "Come to Me".- Polly Higgins was born on 4 July 1968 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She was married to Ian Lawrie. She died on 21 April 2019 in the UK.
- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, which lead him to move back and forth. Prince had a troubled relationship with his step-father which lead him to run away from home. Prince was adopted by a family called the Andersons. Prince soon after became friends with the Anderson's son, Andre Anderson (Cymone) together along with Charles Smith they joined a band called Grand Central. The band later renamed themselves Champagne and were a fairly successful live band, however soon diminished.
Prince at the age of eighteen started working on high-quality demo tracks with Chris Moon. With these demo tracks Prince eventually ended up signing a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records and was the youngest producer associated with the label. Prince made his debut on the record label with his 1978 album, For You. It wasn't a strong successful album, however it was fair for a beginning artist and ranked 163 on the U.S. Pop Charts. Prince's next releases would tend to do much better on the charts with his singles, "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and I Wanna Be Your Lover in 1979. This would start to introduce Prince as a person who presented sexually explicit material into the music industry. However Prince didn't begin to attract mainstream artists until he release his single, 1999. This single began to be noticed by M.T.V. viewers and this would make him a part of the main-stream music media. Prince released two more singles called Little Red Corvette and Delirious. The album featured Prince's new band, The Revolution. In 1984 Prince would release what would be seen as an admired and profound masterpiece the feature film/sound-track album, Purple Rain in 1984. Prince's father contributed to this album, by cowriting the chord sequence for a couple of his songs. Prince continued to give cowriting credit to his father on several other albums, as his famous chord sequence would be used in several of Prince's singles and albums.
A lot of Prince's songs did not agree with listeners and one of his songs, Darling Nikki prompted a group of people to start a censorship organization called, Parents Music Resource Center (P.M.R.C.) as the track implemented grinding ludicrous acts such as masturbating, which stunned listeners. Prince however continued to release various other singles with the same platform his memorable releases being, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Love Sexy, and Batman.
Prince released a sequel to Purple Rain in 1990 called Graffiti Bridge, a soundtrack album accompanied this movie entitled, Graffiti Bridge. The film did terrible in box-office and was nominated for several Razzie awards. Many people saw the sound-track album, as the high point of the film.
In 1991, Prince assembled a new band called, The New Power Generation with this band he would release singles such as Diamond And Pearls, Cream, and Gett Off. Prince eventually changed his stage name from Prince to a symbol, which lead people to call him, "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince". Prince soon took back his old stage name.
In the 1990s, Prince continued to release singles such as Came, The Gold Experience, Chaos And Disorder, and Emancipation. With the rise of the new millennium, Prince released material such as a religious album called The Rainbow Children,One Nite Alone,The Chocolate Invasion,The Slaughter House, and had a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on Stevie's single called, What The Fuss in 2005.
Prince died on April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, at his Paisley Park recording studio complex. He was 57.
Prince will be remembered as a musician and artist who inspired millions through his music, and set an inspirational platform which others still abide by.- Production Designer
- Set Decorator
- Art Director
Raúl Soldi was born on 27 March 1905 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a production designer and set decorator, known for The Last Meeting (1938), Carmen (1943) and Honeysuckle (1938). He died on 21 April 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Producer
- Production Manager
Sandy Gallin was born on 23 May 1940 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), I.Q. (1994) and Father of the Bride (1991). He was married to Bryan Fox. He died on 21 April 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Skye Bassett was born on 10 June 1973 in New York, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Dangerous Minds (1995), Sister Act (1992) and Law & Order (1990). She died on 21 April 1997 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Steve Golin was the founder and CEO of "Anonymous Content", a multimedia development, production and talent management company based in Culver City, California. The company reunited Golin with such directors as David Fincher, Neil LaBute, David Kellogg, Gore Verbinski and Mark Romanek, all of whom worked with Golin through his first venture, "Propaganda Films". While developing a slate of film and television projects at "Anonymous", Golin guided the company's commercial division to become one of the top commercial production entities in the industry, producing spots and campaigns for Nike, Intel, Citibank, United Airlines, Ford, Audi, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others. Its music video division, which earned Best Hard Rock New Artist Clip of The Year at the 2000 Billboard Music Video Awards for A Perfect Circle's "Judith", directed by David Fincher, had also produced projects for the Wallflowers, Third Eye Blind, Smashmouth, Filter and Cypress Hill, among other artists. Under Golin's leadership, the company's management division represented more than 50 writers, directors and actors. Previously, as co-founder of "Propaganda Films", Golin helped develop such filmmakers as Michael Bay, Spike Jonze, Dominic Sena, Simon West and Antoine Fuqua. There, he also oversaw the development and production of such acclaimed television projects as Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Twin Peaks (1990) and the Peabody Award-winning Tales of the City (1993). Golin built "Propaganda" into one of the largest music video and commercial production companies in the world, winning more MTV Video Awards and Cannes Palme d'Or Awards than any other company. He helped revolutionize the music video and commercial industries with sophisticated and award-winning work for such artists as Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, George Michael and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and major advertisers including Budweiser, AT&T, IBM, Nike, Apple and McDonald's.
- Teruyuki Okazaki was born on 22 June 1931 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He died on 21 April 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was a dashing romantic heartthrob of the 1960s, the scion of illustrious show business parents. Thomas was born in Dresden, the son of pre-war Ufa Film matinee idol Willy Fritsch and the actress and dancer Dinah Grace. He studied drama, ballet and singing in Hamburg and made his theatrical debut in 1963 at the Stadttheater Heidelberg. Success in films soon followed. Opposite screen icons like Lilli Palmer (Adorable Julia (1962), Das große Liebesspiel (1963)), Daliah Lavi (Das schwarz-weiß-rote Himmelbett (1962)) and Senta Berger (Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964)), Thomas became one of the most popular juvenile leads of the decade. As early as 1962, he won the prestigious Bambi Award as Best Young Actor. He gained further cinematic exposure through co-starring in European westerns (The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964), Legend of a Gunfighter (1964) ) and international co-productions (Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965) ). After he was conscripted to military service in 1966, his fortunes began to wane. By the time he was able to return to acting, public tastes had changed and his type of screen personae was no longer in demand. A projected career in Hollywood also ended in disappointment.
Following several years in the wilderness, Thomas made a comeback on stage as the star of light satirical comedies. By the mid-70s, he had also reinvented himself as a TV character player, often alternating sympathetically roguish with comical roles. His popularity with audiences was ultimately re-established with recurring roles in shows like Drei sind einer zuviel (1977), Rivalen der Rennbahn (1989), and Our Charly (1995). Moreover, Thomas frequently popped up as assorted suspects in the ever popular crime series Derrick (1974) and The Old Fox (1977). He also enjoyed a lengthy tenure as the narrator of children's radio plays and animated films. As a voice-over actor, he became familiar to millions, dubbing (among many others) for major stars like Tim Curry, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt, Russell Crowe (as Maximus in Gladiator (2000)), Alan Rickman, Alec Baldwin, Jeff Bridges and Ian McShane.
In private life, Thomas avidly supported animal welfare. He maintained residences on the island of Mykonos and in Munich where he died on April 21 2021 at the age of 77, having been diagnosed with dementia two years prior.- Additional Crew
Tina Girouard was born on 26 May 1946 in DeQuincy, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, USA. She is known for The Big Easy (1986). She was married to Dickie Landry. She died on 21 April 2020 in Cecilia, Louisiana, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Fair-haired, blue-eyed British actress with a long career on the London stage. She was born Ursula Jean McMinn in India, schooled in London and trained for acting at RADA. Ursula made her theatrical debut at the Criterion Theatre in 1922. From the 1930's, she specialised in classical plays by Shakespeare and Shaw, performing primarily at the Old Vic and with the Sadler's Wells Company. During World War II, she worked under the auspices of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), along with her second husband, the actor Roger Livesey. They often appeared together on stage and enjoyed a particularly successful run on the West End in a play written specifically for them by J.B. Priestley: "Ever Since Paradise". In the late 1950's, the Liveseys toured Australia and New Zealand in "The Reluctant Debutante". On screen, they had previously appeared in both the stage and screen versions of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943).
Ursula's relatively few film roles generally saw her as genteel, devoted wives, like her Mrs. Molly Wallis in The Dam Busters (1955). She was rather more effective, however, as the officer's wife Lady Windham in North West Frontier (1959), or as the middle-class widow Martha Dacre, coming to terms with the aftermath of the war in The Weaker Sex (1948).- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
With a decades-long career as an actor and stuntman, Verne Troyer was best known for playing "Mini-Me," Dr. Evil's smaller and more concentrated pure evil protégé, in the hit comedies Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and for his role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). Troyer, born in Sturgis, Michigan, had always dreamed of getting into showbiz. Shortly after his high school graduation in 1987, he moved with some friends to Arlington, Texas, where, in 1993, he got his first break as a stunt double for a 9-month-old baby on the film Baby's Day Out (1994). In his early years of film and television work, he often portrayed animals or small children.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tall, portly Viennese character actor Walter Slezak simultaneously pursued two different careers after his arrival in America in 1930: one, as a star of musical comedy on the stage, and another, as a portrayer of villains, impish rogues or pompous buffoons on screen.
Walter was born in May 1902 in Vienna, Austria, to a musical family, the son of Elisabeth (Wertheim) and famous opera star Leo Slezak. He had Czech, Austrian, and Jewish ancestry. Walter studied medicine but quickly lost interest. For a while, he held a position working in a bank. At the age of twenty, he was spotted in a beer garden by the Hungarian actor/director Mihaly Kertesz (Michael Curtiz) and persuaded to appear in his motion picture Sodom and Gomorrah (1922). Subsequently, the then rather lean Walter Slezak was signed by Ufa and became a matinee idol in German films of the 1920s. Always somewhat too fond of the culinary arts, Slezak over the years put on so much weight that, by the end of the decade, he was no longer considered bankable as a romantic star and became relegated to playing character roles instead.
In 1930, Slezak emigrated to the United States and instantly hit it off with public and critics alike in his Broadway debut with the musical comedy 'Meet My Sister' (1930-31). Though publicly modest about his vocal abilities, Slezak gained further plaudits for his role in the Oscar Hammerstein II production, 'Music in the Air' (1932-33), scored by Jerome Kern. By the 1950s, Slezak had become an established name on Broadway, star of shows like 'My 3 Angels' (1953-54), written by Sam and Bella Spewack and directed by José Ferrer; the hit comedy 'The Gazebo' (1958-59), in which he starred as Elliott Nash, opposite Jayne Meadows (filmed afterwards at MGM, with Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds in the lead roles); and his greatest success, as the likable curmudgeon Panisse in the musical production of Marcel Pagnol's 'Fanny', directed by Joshua Logan. For this role, he won the 1955 Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical. 'Fanny' chalked up an impressive run of 888 performances between 1954 and 1956. In 1959, Slezak fulfilled his dream of emulating his father by singing the part of Zsupan in 'The Gypsy Baron' at the Metropolitan Opera.
In motion pictures, Walter Slezak's career took quite a different path. He started in films in 1942, and just two years later, walked away with most of the acting honours for Alfred Hitchcock's claustrophobic thriller Lifeboat (1944). In it, he gave a compelling performance as the callous, methodical Nazi captain, who gradually assumes command of the vessel containing the survivors of the passenger ship torpedoed and sunk by his U-boat. Film critic Bosley Crowther, who had already been impressed with Slezak's previous performance as a Nazi agent in Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942), commented "Nor is he an altogether repulsive or invidious type. As Walter Slezak plays him, he is tricky and sometimes brutal, yes, but he is practical, ingenious and basically courageous in his lonely resolve. Some of his careful deceptions would be regarded as smart and heroic if they came from an American in the same spot" (New York Times, Jan.13 1944). The perceived incongruity of the enemy being portrayed with any sympathy whatever, resulted in criticism from other quarters for both the film and its director.
After 'Lifeboat', the ebullient Slezak appeared in a variety of lavish and colourful costume spectaculars: as a flamboyant pirate in the Bob Hope comedy The Princess and the Pirate (1944); as the reprehensible governor Don Alvarado, wooing Maureen O'Hara in the swashbuckler The Spanish Main (1945); and as yet another Spaniard, the boorish Don Pedro Vargas, having similar designs on Judy Garland in the MGM musical The Pirate (1948). He was also memorably evil as Sinbad's treacherous barber Melik in Sinbad, the Sailor (1947), the corrupt gumshoe Arnett in Robert Wise's gangster melodrama Born to Kill (1947), and as the scheming medicine-show man in The Inspector General (1949), starring Danny Kaye. (1949). He was again integral to the plot of Come September (1961), as enterprising major domo to Rock Hudson who secretly runs his employer's luxury villa as a hotel for eleven months of the year. Bosley Crowther described his comic performance as 'perfect'. Slezak further parodied his bad guy image in 'The Clock King' on TV's Batman (1966), then mellowed into the part of sagacious book dealer Strossel in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) and the amiable Squire Trelawney in the 1972 version of 'Treasure Island'.
In his private life, Walter Slezak was known as an experienced pilot, a connoisseur of art, lover of chess and good books. His long career as one of the outstanding character players of his time ended with his retirement in 1980. Despondent over a series of debilitating medical problems, Slezak took his own life in April 1983.