"Say Cheese!"
A list of actors that at the very least warrant a snapshot on their IMDb profiles.
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- Arnold Williams was born on 10 August 1935 in Louisiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Live and Let Die (1973), Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) and The Panic in Needle Park (1971).Went toe-to-toe in the smug department with Roger Moore in "Live and Let Die"
- Actor
- Producer
Though it can be said that he only gained fame as an actor because he bore such a heavy resemblance to Italian actor Franco Nero, Maurizio Merli was a very versatile and charismatic leading man in Italian cinema throughout the 1970's. His first appearance was in the Luchino Visconti film The Leopard (1963) as an uncredited extra. Throughout the 60's and early 70's, the young Merli kept a low profile and remained a fairly minor player in the Italian films. His major breakthrough came with director Tonino Ricci, who was to direct an unofficial sequel to Lucio Fulci's White Fang (1973) without the benefit of its star, Franco Nero. Ricci realized that casting Merli in the lead would fool the viewing audience into thinking they were seeing Nero and hence an authentic White Fang adventure. The subsequent film Zanna Bianca alla riscossa (1975) worked well enough for Marino Girolami and Fabrizio De Angelis to cast Merli as the lead in the crime drama Violent Rome (1975) a year later. Much like before, Merli was cast because the film vaguely resembled the Franco Nero Film High Crime (1973) ("High Crime"). Violent Rome (1975) turned out to be a huge success both in Italy and abroad and Merli found himself inexplicably catapulted to international stardom. Very similar to how Terence Hill found his niche in comedies after being discovered out of the crowd of Nero stand-ins, Maurizio Merli established himself as the leading man in the Italian crime film genre of the period. Over the brief span from 1975-1979, Merli starred in no less than a dozen crime films from the likes of noted Italian directors Umberto Lenzi, Stelvio Massi, and Fernando Di Leo including such classics as Violent Naples (1976), A Special Cop in Action (1976), and _Da Corleone a Brooklyn (1978)_. Merli also followed Nero's footsteps once again in the Keoma-inspired A Man Called Blade (1977). Merli's brief busy period saw him hopelessly typecast in the same role as the hard-nosed detective in practically every film he starred in. Merli was said to get so into these roles that he would frequently go overboard during the fight scenes and hurt the stuntmen. In both _Roma a mano armata (1976)_ and The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977), Merli was cast opposite Cuban actor Tomas Milian, with whom he did not get along in real life. The tension between the two made for some very good on-screen chemistry for the few scenes they had together. Merli's "tough cop" performances ranged from so-so to nearly brilliant at times with him angrily shaking his fists and grinding his teeth when the script would rarely call for such things. However, it was this type-casting which led to the demise of his career when Italian filmmakers began to focus less on crime films and more on fantastic films in the early 80's such as horror, action, and post apocalyptic films in which Merli simply had no place. He had a brief role in Giorgio Bontempi's spy thriller Notturno (1983) but by then his level of work was but a fraction of what it once was. A devout health-nut in his later years, Merli collapsed after overexerting himself in a tennis match and died of Myocardial Infarction at the age of 49.- Trevor Kent was born on 24 April 1940 in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. He was an actor, known for Prisoner (1979), A Cry in the Dark (1988) and The Timeless Land (1980). He died on 4 November 1989 in Australia.
- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Born Luigi Montefiori in 1942 near Genoa, Italy, the future actor provided artwork for various advertising agencies in Genoa before moving to Rome in 1966. Though he intended to further his art career, he became involved with a crowd of film people who urged him to put his good looks to advantage in the movies. Parts in Italian westerns soon followed, usually under the pseudonym "George Eastman". (He once reportedly missed out on a role in a Franco Nero western because his height made Franco Nero look too short.) Never quite "typed", the actor soon moved into other film genres playing good guys, bad guys, and good-bad guys. These parts often exploited his athletic physique by having him remove his shirt, perhaps most memorably in Lina Wertmüller's _Belle Starr (1968) where he suffered through a memorable torture scene involving a boot-spur. However, a few parts in English-language films, such as Charlton Heston's _Call of the Wild, The (1972)_ failed to significantly broaden his appeal. He also began to write or collaborate on scripts and in 1989 he directed his first movie: _DNA Formula Letale (1989)_. Details on his private life are sketchy but some sources indicate that he's the father of a daughter.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Damian Lau was born on 14 October 1949. He is an actor and producer, known for Duel to the Death (1983), The New Legend of Shaolin (1994) and Royal Tramp (1992). He has been married to So Ka Yin since 1992.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bill Thompson was born on 8 July 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Lady and the Tramp (1955), Peter Pan (1953) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). He was married to Mary Margaret McBride. He died on 15 July 1971 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Voiced arguably the best animated character of all time - "Spike" on the Tex Avery cartoons.- Giovanni Cianfriglia was born on 5 April 1935 in Anzio, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for Hercules the Avenger (1965), The Jewel of the Nile (1985) and Zoolander 2 (2016).
- Pepper Martin was born on 20 September 1936 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Superman II (1980), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980) and General Hospital (1963). He died on 18 March 2022 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
Tommy Lane was born Benjamin Thomas Lane in Liberty City, Miami, Florida. He was an actor and stuntman in various films, including Shaft (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), and Ganja & Hess (1973). In addition to a career on the stage and screen, Tommy was a jazz musician who played the trumpet and flugelhorn.- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
Ha Huang is known for Drunken Master (1978), Mission to Kill (1983) and Fo Shan Zan xian sheng (1978).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Die Wildecker Herzbuben is known for Tatort (1970), Evelyn Hamann's Geschichten aus dem Leben (1993) and Der Wixxer (2004).- Yau Cheung Yeung is known for A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980) and Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon (1990).
- Actor
- Casting Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Werner Pochath was born Werner Pochlatko on September 29, 1939 in Vienna, Austria. A champion skating figure in his youth, Pochath studied acting at the prestigious Max Reinhardt Seminar in his native Vienna. Werner made his stage debut in a 1959 theatrical production of "Die Courage." Pochath moved to Rome, Italy in 1968 to initiate a career in films and subsequently went on to act in a bunch of movies in the horror, action, Western, and exploitation genres in which the uniquely intense blue-eyed and light-haired thespian was often cast as a ruthless psychopathic villain. Moreover, Werner not only also worked as a casting director, but also appeared in a handful of TV shows and continued to act on stage. Pochath was the long-term partner of noted ballet dancer, director, and choreographer John Neumeier. Werner died in Neumeier's arms at age 53 on April 18, 1993.- Soccer, a Jack Russell terrier, became the star of the PBS television series Wishbone (1995). He was one of over one hundred dogs that auditioned for the role, and was picked for being the most expressive. Soccer lived with his trainer Jackie Martin in her ranch in Plano, Texas until his death in 2001.
- Actor
- Writer
- Production Manager
Bruce Mahler was born on 12 September 1950 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Police Academy (1984) and Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986).Brilliant performance as Doug Fackler in "Friday the 13th: A New Chapter".- Massimo Deda is known for Weapons of Death (1977), Violent Naples (1976) and Onore e guapparia (1977).
- Actor
José Terrón was born on 5 July 1939 in Madrid, Spain. He was an actor. He died on 12 May 2019.- Tommaso Palladino is known for Contraband (1980), Sicilian Connection (1987) and Malanapoli - la ventunesima stella (2013).Illustrated the fine art of 'getting shot through the mouth at close-range' with great aplomb in "Contraband" (1980)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Henry McGee specialized in comedy and was best known for his 20 year-long association with Benny Hill, on whose show he appeared as announcer and straight man. The son of a Rolls-Royce engineer, McGee was educated at Stonyhurst. After National Service in the Royal Navy, he joined the Italia Conti Stage Academy for two years, then acted with repertory companies in England and Australia.
He returned to England in the 1960's and enjoyed a prolific career on television, especially in comedies. His appearance as an upmarket conman who takes in Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby in The Perfect Gentleman (1975) was considered one of the highlights of the popular ITV sitcom, so much so that the storyline was recycled for the film version, Rising Damp (1980), when McGee's role was taken by Denholm Elliott.
McGee was also recognized for being in the 'Sugar Puffs' breakfast cereal commercials on television alongside The Honey Monster. His hobbies were gliding and collecting old engravings. He left a million pounds in his will.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bob Todd was born on 15 December 1921 in Faversham, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Superman III (1983), Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973) and The Best Things in Life (1969). He died on 21 October 1992 in Sussex, England, UK.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Francis Alick Howerd, who grew up to become popular British comedian Frankie Howerd, was born in 1917 and first stepped onstage at age 4. As a teen he taught Sunday school; not long after his Army-man father died in 1934, 17-year-old Frankie was invited to audition for RADA. After a poor audition, he knew his calling was as a comedian instead of an actor. At 19 he put together revues for music halls that included monologues, impressions, jokes, and comic songs. This was difficult since he suffered from major stage fright, a life-long debilitation. Following war service, Frankie refocused on his career with radio and theatre appearances. In the 1950s he finally earned his own TV variety show, but his burgeoning reputation, coupled with a lack of self-confidence, led the painfully shy man to suffer severe emotional conflicts with this newfound success. In the 1960s this culminated in a severe nervous breakdown. Prone to melancholia and deep depression, he somehow managed to recover, and he earned high praise for both his musical-comedy performance in the London production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (in the Zero Mostel role) and his work on the popular satire series That Was the Week That Was (1962). Though never a strong film performer, he managed to find work in such films as The Ladykillers (1955), Further Up the Creek (1958), The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), some 'Carry On' appearances, and the lead role in The House in Nightmare Park (1973). Frankie was awarded the OBE in 1977, the year his autobiography, "On My Way I Lost It," was published. In early April 1992 he went to the hospital for respiratory problems; he died of heart failure on April 19. He was buried at St. Gregory's Church in Weare, Somerset.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The chances are, you have seen Derek Deadman in a movie - but just don't realize it! He is one of those actors to whom you instantly recognize the face, but not the name.
He has starred in a whole array of films and television series since the 1970s, playing normally minor roles, generally as the fall guy who gets kicked around by some nasty villain, or as a comedic sidekicks to people such as Benny Hill.
But it's minor roles that have seemed to keep this actor in business. Work has always seemed to be available to him and, most recently, Derek has starred in one of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), as Tom the Landlord.
He has also appeared in the non-franchised James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983); Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991); Crush (2001) and other major films.
If you happen to be watching a 1970s or 1980s British movie, look out for Derek Deadman - chances are he's in it!!