Birthdays: May 22
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- Arturo Vidal was born on 22 May 1987 in Santiago de Chile, Metropolitan Region, Chile. He is an actor, known for Sfide Impossibili (2015), LaLiga (1954) and UEFA Champions League (1992).
- Allison Joy Langer was born in Columbus, Ohio. At age 5, her family moved to the San Fernando Valley, just outside of Los Angeles, where she attended Granada Hills High School. She first began using her initials to join an all-boys baseball team, and the nickname stuck. She was introduced to Ernie Lively, who became her acting coach.
After roles on television shows, including Drexell's Class (1991) (which starred a then-unknown Brittany Murphy), Coach (1989), and The Wonder Years (1988), she gained international fame on the series My So-Called Life (1994) as Rayanne Graff. Though a critical hit, the series was canceled after only 19 episodes, and Langer moved on to several more short-run series. She married Charles Peregrine Courtenay, a practicing attorney and British peer, son of the 18th Earl of Devon. When her husband became the 19th Earl of Devon, she became the Countess of Devon. She had taken several years off to raise the couple's two children, but, in 2011, she returned to acting and joined the cast of Private Practice (2007).
In January 2014, she permanently relocated to London with her husband and children. - Actor
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Al Corley was born on 22 May 1956 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Dynasty (1981), The Ice Road (2021) and Don Juan DeMarco (1994). He was previously married to Jessika Cardinahl.- Alexandra Dowling was born on 22 May 1990 in the UK. She is an actress, known for Starbright, The Musketeers (2014) and Game of Thrones (2011).
- Aline Griffith was born on 22 May 1923 in Pearl River, New York, USA. She was married to Luis Figueroa y Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno. She died on 11 December 2017 in Madrid, Spain.
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Alison Eastwood was born on 22 May 1972 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Absolute Power (1997) and The Mule (2018). She has been married to Stacy Poitras since 15 March 2013. She was previously married to Kirk Fox.- Actress
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The grand, highly flamboyant Russian star Alla Nazimova of Hollywood silent films lived an equally grand, flamboyant life off-camera, though her legendary status has not held up as firmly as that of a Rudolph Valentino today.
Alla Nazimova was born Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon in 1879, in Yalta, Crimea, in the Russian Empire, to Jewish parents, Sonya Horowitz and Yakov Leventon. She was the third child in an abusive, contentious household. Most of her sad childhood was spent in foster homes or in the care of other relatives and she showed a strong penchant for outrageous behavior to cope. Nazimova also showed a great aptitude for music at a young age and began violin lessons at age seven. She changed her name to Alla Nazimova when she began appearing on stage--her father insisted on it, as "performing" was not considered respectable at the time.
She began acting lessons at age 17 and joined Konstantin Stanislavski's company of actors as a pupil of his "method style" at the Moscow Art Theatre. During that time she supported herself by being kept by rich, older men. A failed love affair led to her only marriage, to an acting student named Sergei Golovin, but they separated quickly. She grew discontented with Stanislavsky and later performed in repertory. She met the legendary Pavel Orlenev, a close friend of Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky, and entered into both a personal and professional relationship with him. They toured internationally throughout Europe with great success and came to New York in 1905, where Nazimova was saluted on Broadway for her definitive interpretations of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House." Orlenev returned to Russia but Nazimova stayed.
She made her screen debut with War Brides (1916), which was initially a 35-minute play. By 1918 she was a box-office star for Metro Pictures and completed 11 films for the studio over a three-year period. A torrid, stylish and rather outré tragedienne who played exotic, liberal women confronted by great personal anguish, she earned personal successes as a reformed prostitute in Revelation (1918), a suicide in Toys of Fate (1918) and dual roles as half-sisters during the Boxer Rebellion in The Red Lantern (1919), not to mention the title role of Camille (1921) with Rudolph Valentino. At the same time she maintained a strong Broadway theatrical career.
In accordance with her rise in the film industry, she began producing her own efforts, which were bold and experimental--and monumental failures, although they are hailed as great artistic efforts today. Her Salomé (1922) was quite scandalous and deemed a failure at the time. The monetary losses she suffered as producer were astronomical. The Hays Code, which led to severe censorship in pictures, also led to her downfall, as did her outmoded acting style. She was forced to abandon films for the theater, scoring exceptionally well in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." She did return to films briefly in the 1940s in a variety of supporting roles, but she made these solely for the money.
Nazimova's private life has long been the subject of industry gossip. As a Hollywood cover to her well-known bisexual lifestyle, she coexisted in a "marriage" with gay actor Charles Bryant for well over a decade. Her "Garden of Allah" home was the centerpiece for many glamorous private parties. She died in 1945.- Actor
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Andy Bowles is an award-winning American actor and filmmaker. A longtime resident of the New York City area. Andy grew up in the small Texas town of Cedar Hill where he made his own independent movies out of pure love for the art. Andy studied acting in Hollywood with some of the best teachers in the industry and continues his studies in NYC. In 2004 Andy formed his production company APB Productions which he produces all his movies through.- Actress
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The veteran actress Ania Marson was born in Gdynia Poland. After winning a scholarship at the age of 12 she was trained at 'Corona Academy of Theatrical and Dramatic Arts.' Her career started as a child actress with numerous TV and film credits. From Dixon of Dock Green to BBC's 'Casanova. ' she played Jane Fairfax in 'Emma.' And Jessica in Play of the Month' The Merchant of Venice' Early Feature films include Puppet on a Chain. Nicholas and Alexandra. The Abdication and Nicholas Roegs "Bad Timing." Having rejoined the profession at 60 after a 17 year break her most recent credits among many include...BBC's "Killing Eve." Netflix "The Witcher" season 2. Disneys "See How They Run" and Ghosts. She lives in London, and is married with two daughters.- Ann Cusack is an American actress. She had minor roles in Multiplicity (1996), A League of Their Own (1992), and The Informant! (2009). Additionally, she has made guest appearances in a number of television series, including Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, One Tree Hill, Charmed, Ghost Whisperer, The Unit, Boston Legal, Bones, Frasier, Ally McBeal, Criminal Minds, Private Practice, Fargo, Better Call Saul, The Boys and The Good Doctor.
- Anna Belknap was born on 22 May 1972 in Damariscotta, Maine, USA. She is an actress, known for CSI: NY (2004), Deadline (2000) and Medical Investigation (2004). She has been married to Eric Siegel since 31 August 2003. They have two children.
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Anne Grete Preus was born on 22 May 1957 in Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. She was a composer and actress, known for Svarta fåglar (1983), Snart 17 (1984) and At dere tør! (1980). She died on 25 August 2019 in Norway.- Writer
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Anthony Tambakis is a former Professor of Creative Writing, an award-winning short story writer, and recipient of a Paul Bowles Fellowship for fiction writing. His novel Swimming with Bridgeport Girls will be published by Simon & Schuster in Spring 2017. Tambakis is also adapting the 1961 novel and film The Hustler for Broadway. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, he lives in Venice, California, and New York City.- Apolo Ohno was born on 22 May 1982 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is an actor, known for Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Tasmanian Devils (2013) and Superstore (2015).
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Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer of Irish descent, considered a major figure in crime fiction. His most famous series of works consisted of the "Sherlock Holmes" stories (1887-1927), consisting of four novels and 56 short stories. His other notable series were the "Professor Challenger" stories (1912-1929) about a scientist and explorer, and the "Brigadier Gerard" stories (1894-1910) about a French soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Doyle's literary works have frequently been adapted into film and television.
In 1859, Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland to an Irish Catholic family. His father was Charles Altamont Doyle (1832 - 1893), a professional illustrator and water-colorist who is primarily remembered for fantasy-style paintings. Doyle's mother was Mary Foley (1837-1920). Through his father, Doyle was a nephew of the antiquarian James William Edmund Doyle (1822 - 1892), the illustrator Richard Doyle (1824-1883), and the gallery director Henry Edward Doyle (1827 -1893). Doyle's paternal grandfather was the political cartoonist and caricaturist John Doyle (1797-1868).
During his early years, Doyle's family had financial problems due to his father's struggles with depression and alcoholism. They received financial support from affluent uncles, who also financed Doyle's education. From 1868 to 1870, Doyle was educated at Hodder Place, a Jesuit preparatory school located at Stonyhurst, Lancashire. From 1870 to 1875, Doyle attended Stonyhurst College, a Roman Catholic boarding school. He disliked the school due to its rather limited curriculum, and the constant threats of corporal punishment and ritual humiliation used to discipline students.
From 1875 to 1876, Doyle received further education at Stella Matutina, a Jesuit school located at Feldkirch, Austria. His family wanted him to perfect his use of the German language, but this school offered a wider range of study subjects. Stella Matutina attracted student from many countries, and was more cosmopolitan in nature than Doyle's previous schools.
Doyle decided to follow a medical career. From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He also took botany lessons at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. During his university years, Doyle started writing short stories. He had trouble finding a publisher, and "Blackwood's Magazine" (1817-1980) rejected his submitted work. Doyle's first published short story was "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" (1879), featuring a demon in South Africa. That same year, Doyle published his first academic article in a science journal. The article examined the uses of the flowering plant Gelsemium as a poison. As an experiment, Doyle self-administrated doses of the poison and recorded the symptoms.
In 1880, Doyle worked for a while as a doctor in the whaling ship "Hope". In 1881, following his graduation from medical school, Doyle served as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba. In 1882, Doyle and a former classmate established a medical practice in Plymouth, Devon. Their partnership failed, and Doyle soon started his own practice in Southsea, Hampshire. He did not have many patients, so he decided to resume writing fiction to supplement his income.
In 1886, Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes. He loosely based his creation on his former college teacher Joseph Bell (1837 - 1911), inspired by Bell's emphasis on the importance of "deduction and inference and observation". Doyle completed the first Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887), and sold the rights to the publishing house "Ward, Lock & Co." (1854-1964). The novel's publication was delayed until November, 1887, but it was well-received by professional critics.
Doyle next completed the sequel novel "The Sign of the Four" (1890), commissioned from the American literary magazine Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1868-1915). He started writing short stories about Holmes for the British literary magazine "The Strand Magazine" (1891-1950).
Besides Holmes stories, Doyle wrote seven historical novels between 1888 and 1906. He wrote "Micah Clarke" (1889), as a fictionalized account of the Monmouth Rebellion (1685) and its consequences. The novel also voices Doyle's arguments against religious extremism. He wrote "The White Company" (1891) to examine the role of mercenaries in 14th-century warfare, depicting the campaigns of Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376) in the Kingdom of Castile. He wrote "The Great Shadow" (1892) to feature the experiences of soldiers in the Battle of Waterloo (1815). He wrote "The Refugees" (1893) to examine the fates of Huguenot refugees who were fleeing 17th-century France to escape religious persecution by Louis XIV (1638-1715, reigned 1643-1715). He wrote "Sir Nigel" (1906) to examine the early phases of the Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453). He regarded these novels to be his best literary work, though they were never as popular as his crime novels.
In 1900, Doyle served as a volunteer doctor in the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902), though he had no previous military experience. He was stationed at a field hospital at Bloemfontein. At about this time, Doyle wrote the non-fiction book "The Great Boer War" (1900), which covered in detail the early phases of the war. He also wrote the companion work "The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct" in order to defend the British Empire from accusations of misconduct in its military efforts. These works were translated in multiple languages, and were appreciated by the British government. For his services to the British Empire, Doyle was knighted in 1902. In 1903, Doyle became a knight of the Order of Saint John, a British royal order of chivalry that was based on the original Knights Hospitaller.
In 1906, Doyle was involved in efforts to exonerate the lawyer George Edalji, a mild-mannered man who had been convicted of animal mutilations on insufficient evidence. Doyle helped publicize other instances of miscarriages of justice, and convinced the public that there was need of reforms in the legal system. In 1907, British authorities reacted to this campaign by establishing the Court of Criminal Appeal.
In 1909, Doyle wrote the non-fiction work "The Crime of the Congo" (1909). In the book, Doyle denounced the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State, and claimed that the Belgian colonial forces had enslaved the local population. He quoted testimonies from many witnesses and tried to convince the public of a need to intervene in the area.
World War I (1914-1918) was a difficult time for Doyle , as several of his relatives and friends died due to the war. Doyle's son Kingsley was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Somme (1916), and never fully recovered. Kingsley died of pneumonia in 1918, while still hospitalized. Doyle's brother, Brigadier-general Innes Doyle, died of pneumonia in 1919. Doyle's brother-in-law, the famous author E. W. Hornung, died of pneumonia in 1921. The series of deaths led Doyle to further embrace Spiritualism, and that faith's claims about existence beyond the grave. He spend much of the 1920s as a missionary of Spiritualism, and investigated supposed supernatural phenomena. He also wrote many non-fiction spiritualist works. In 1926, Doyle financed the construction of a Spiritualist Temple in Camden, London.
In July 1930, Doyle suffered a heart attack while staying in his then-residence, Windlesham Manor, in Crowborough, Sussex. He spend his last moments in reassuring his wife Jean Leckie that she was wonderful. He was 71-years-old at the time of his death. He was survived by two sons and two daughters. His daughter Jean Conan Doyle (1912 - 1997) was the copyright holder of much of her father's works until her own death.
Since Doyle was no longer a Christian at the time of his death, his family declined giving him a Christian burial place. Doyle was buried in Windlesham Manor's rose garden. His remains were later re-interred in Minstead churchyard, New Forest, Hampshire. His wife's remains were buried beside him. His gravestone epitaph described him as "Steel true/Blade straight/Arthur Conan Doyle/Knight/Patriot, Physician and man of letters".
Doyle is long gone, but his works have remained popular into the 21st century. Doyle has been cited as an influence on later crime writers, and Agatha Christie's earliest novels were strongly influenced by Sherlock Holmes' stories. His life's events have inspired several biographies, and a number of fictionalized accounts.- Actress
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Barbara Parkins is best remembered as an icon of the Sixties who had starring roles in two of the era's more notorious productions, Peyton Place (1964) and Valley of the Dolls (1967). After arriving in Hollywood as a teenager, Parkins soon began appearing on episodic television programs such as Wagon Train (1957) and Perry Mason (1957). She also appeared with George Burns as a dancer in his nightclub act. She was soon offered the pivotal role of "Betty Anderson" in what would become television's first prime-time soap opera, Peyton Place (1964). The show was an immediate success and turned Parkins, along with costars Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow into household names. Parkins was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Actress and stayed with the series for its entire 5 year run. Her popularity was further solidified when, in 1967, she starred in the motion picture Valley of the Dolls (1967), which became a huge box office hit. She became close friends with her "Dolls" costar, Sharon Tate and traveled to London to be her bridesmaid when Tate married director Roman Polanski in 1968. Parkins fell in love with England, UK. After Tate's murder in 1969, Parkins decided to leave Hollywood and took up residence in London. There, she appeared on the BBC and starred in such international productions as Puppet on a Chain (1970), Christina (1974) and Shout at the Devil (1976). Her career, however, was no longer the prime focus of her life. She married in the late 1970's and lived in France for awhile. When her marriage ended, Parkins returned to the United States and gave Hollywood another try. She appeared in popular TV shows of the day, such as The Love Boat (1977), Fantasy Island (1977), and Hotel (1983). She also filmed Bear Island (1979) with Donald Sutherland and Vanessa Redgrave and Breakfast in Paris (1982). Parkins joined other original cast members for a Peyton Place reunion movie, Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985), in 1985. Her career, however, was once again put on hold when her daughter, Christina Parkins, was born. Parkins has made infrequent appearances since the late 1980's although she did return to weekly television for a brief stint in the CBS-TV series Scene of the Crime (1991) which was filmed in the city she was born, Vancouver. In 1997, Parkins was the guest of honor at a 30th anniversary screening of Valley of the Dolls (1967) in San Francisco. During a question-and-answer segment with columnist Ted Casablanca, she announced to the sold-out audience that she planned to retire. The following year, however, she appeared in Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story (1998), based on the life of Valley of the Dolls' controversial author. Whether Parkins will resume her career full- time or really retire is unknown at this time.- Benjamín Alfonso is known for Educando a Nina (2016), Historia de un clan (2015) and Señales del fin del mundo (2013).
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Bernie Taupin was born on 22 May 1950 in Lincolnshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Rocketman (2019), Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Gnomeo & Juliet (2011). He has been married to Heather Lynn Hodgins Kidd since 27 March 2004. They have two children. He was previously married to Stephanie Haymes-Roven, Toni Lynn Russo and Maxine Feibelman.- Additional Crew
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Brody Stevens was born on 22 May 1970 in San Fernando Valley, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Hangover (2009), Due Date (2010) and The Hangover Part II (2011). He died on 22 February 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Brooke Smith grew up in New York in the shadow of show business owing to the fact that she is the daughter of powerful publicist Lois Smith. After studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, her "first big thing" was playing Catherine Martin, the abducted young girl in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She went on to play Sonya in Louis Malle's Vanya on 42nd Street (1994) and Dawn in Daniel Minahan's brutal sendup of reality television Series 7: The Contenders (2001). Whether she is humming a Tom Petty tune, as her character did in "Lambs," or screaming for a bean dip, as her pregnant character does in "Series 7," Smith is known for giving brooding, detailed performances. In addition to stage work, her other interests include filmmaking (she has directed a short film and a feature-length documentary), journalism (she has published interviews with actors Steve Buscemi, Ed Harris, and Fred Ward), and travel (she has traveled extensively, especially to Africa).
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Bryan Lloyd Danielson is an American professional wrestler and author currently signed to WWE under ring name Daniel Bryan.
In WWE, Bryan held the WWE Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once, in addition to being a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of Team Hell No (with Kane). He was also the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank winner, the 2013 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and the SmackDown General Manager from July 2016 to April 2018. Bryan is the 26th Triple Crown Champion and the 6th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history and headlined several major pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania XXX.
Danielson was previously signed to the WWE, then known as the WWF, for an 18-month period from 2000-2001. Prior to joining WWE for his second stint in 2009, Danielson wrestled for various companies internationally using both his real name and the ring name (and later nickname) American Dragon.
He wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2009, being recognized as a "Founding Father" of the promotion, where he was a one-time ROH World Champion as well as the final Pure Wrestling Champion (unifying the Pure title with the World title). He was the first winner of ROH's annual Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2004.
Danielson also wrestled extensively in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (with Curry Man) in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Between WWE, ROH and Japanese promotions, he held eleven total championships. Danielson also won numerous titles on the independent circuit, including two PWG World Championships, the FIP Heavyweight Championship and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship.- Actress
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Camren Renee Bicondova is an American actress and dancer from San Diego, California, who is best known for her role as Selina Kyle on the Fox television crime-drama, Gotham (2014).
Bicondova began dancing at the age of 6 and, after her family relocated to Hawaii, she studied at a local dance studio where she learned various styles. By age 11, she had become an elite protégé for "The PULSE on Tour" dance convention, traveling the country as an assistant to some of the nation's top teachers and choreographers and, after garnering mainstream attention in the 2012 dance-drama, Battlefield America (2012), her all-girl dance group, 8 Flavahz, were runners-up in the 7th season of America's Best Dance Crew (2008).
In 2014, she was cast in the DC Comics-inspired series, Gotham (2014), and earned a Saturn Award nomination for "Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series" for her work during its debut season. In September 2015, she was listed in Variety's annual Youth Impact Report as an artist who "represents the next wave of Hollywood savvy and talent".
Aside from her TV and movie performances, Camren has also appeared in a number of music videos by artists including Krewella and Ciara, and also lends her support to many charitable causes including The USO, NOH8 Campaign, Global Citizen Festival and North Shore Animal League America.- Actor
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Beloved French chanson entertainer Charles Aznavour, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, Italian, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records in all, was born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, the younger of two children born to Armenian immigrants who fled to France. His mother was a seamstress as well as an actress and his father was a baritone who sang in restaurants. Both Charles and his elder sister waited on tables and he performed, as well. He delivered his first poetic recital while just a toddler. Within a few years later he had developed such a passion for singing/dancing, that he sold newspapers to earn money for lessons.
He took his first theatrical bow in the play "Emil and the Detectives" at age 9 and within a few years was working as a movie extra. He eventually quit school and toured France and Belgium as a boy singer/dancer with a traveling theatrical troupe while living the bohemian lifestyle. A popular performer at the Paris' Club de la Chanson, it was there that he was introduced in 1941 to the songwriter Pierre Roche. Together they developed names for themselves as a singing/writing cabaret and concert duo ("Roche and Aznamour"). A Parisian favorite, they became developed successful tours outside of France, including Canada. In the post WWII years Charles began appearing in films again, one of them as a singing croupier in Adieu... Chérie (1946).
Eventually Aznavour earned a sturdy reputation composing street-styled songs for other established musicians and singers, notably Édith Piaf, for whom he wrote the French version of the American hit "Jezebel". Heavily encouraged by her, he toured with her as both an opening act and lighting man. He lived with Piaf out of need for a time not as one of her many paramours. His mentor eventually persuaded him to perform solo (without Roche) and he made several successful tours while scoring breakaway hits with the somber chanson songs "Sur ma vie" and "Parce que" and the notable and controversial "Après l'amour." In 1950, he gave the bittersweet song "Je Hais Les Dimanches" ["I Hate Sundays"] to chanteuse Juliette Gréco, which became a huge hit for her.
In the late 50s, Aznavour began to infiltrate films with more relish. Short and stubby in stature and excessively brash and brooding in nature, he was hardly leading man material but embraced his shortcomings nevertheless. Unwilling to let these faults deter him, he made a strong impressions with the comedy Une gosse 'sensass' (1957) and with Paris Music Hall (1957). He was also deeply affecting as the benevolent but despondent and ill-fated mental patient Heurtevent in Head Against the Wall (1959). A year later, Aznavour starred as piano player Charlie Kohler/Edouard Saroyan in Francois Truffaut's adaptation of the David Goodis' novel Shoot the Piano Player (1960) [Shoot the Piano Player], which earned box-office kudos both in France and the United States. This sudden notoriety sparked an extensive tour abroad in the 1960s. Dubbed the "Frank Sinatra of France" and singing in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Portuguese), his touring would include sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall (1964) and London's Albert Hall (1967).
Aznavour served as actor and composer/music arranger for many films, including Gosse de Paris (1961), which he also co-wrote with director Marcel Martin, and the dramas Three Fables of Love (1962) [Three Fables of Love") and Caroline chérie (1968) [Dear Caroline]. The actor also embraced the title role in the TV series "Les Fables de la Fontaine" (1964), then starred in the popular musical "Monsieur Carnaval" (1965), in which he performed his hit song "La bohême".
His continental star continued to shine and Aznavour acted in films outside of France with more dubious results. While the satirical Candy (1968), with an international cast that included Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and Ringo Starr, and epic adventure The Adventurers (1970) were considered huge misfires upon release, it still showed Aznavour off as a world-wide attraction. While he was also seen in The Games (1970) (1970), The Blockhouse (1973) (1973) and an umpteenth film version of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (1974), it was his music that kept him in the international limelight. Later films included Yiddish Connection (1986), which he co-wrote and provided music; Il maestro (1990) with Malcolm McDowell; the Canadian-French production Ararat (2002) for which he received special kudos; cameos as himself in The Truth About Charlie (2002) and Emmenez-moi (2005); and his final feature film, Mon colonel (2006)
Films aside, his chart-busting single "She" (1972-1974) went platinum in Great Britain. He also received thirty-seven gold albums in all. His most popular song in America, "Yesterday When I Was Young" has had renditions covered by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Julio Iglesias. In 1997, Aznavour received an honorary César Award. He has written three books, the memoirs "Aznavour By Aznavour" (1972), the song lyrics collection "Des mots à l'affiche" (1991) and a second memoir "Le temps des avants" (2003). A "Farewell Tour" was instigated in 2006 at age 82. He died
Married at least three times (some claim five) to Micheline Rugel, Evelyne Plessis and Ulla Thorsell, he fathered six children (daughters Katia, Patricia and Seda Aznavour, and sons Misha, Nicholas, and Patrick Aznavour). He died on October 1, 2018, in France.- Charlie DePew is an American actor from Pasadena, California. A passionate storyteller, Charlie would spend hours in front of family and friends reenacting movies, speaking casually in accents, and doing impressions. His "big break" happened at his elementary school where he was cast to play Charlie Brown in his sixth grade play.
Appearing as Emma Stone's younger brother in The Amazing Spider-man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014) Charlie eventually moved on to play prominent recurring roles on Awkward (2014) and The Goldbergs (2015). He also made his mark on Mad Men's Midseason 7 finale (2014) with Kiernan Shipka. - Actress
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Cheryl Campbell is an English actress, probably best known in the United States for her role as Eileen in Dennis Potter's Pennies from Heaven (1978), for which she received a BAFTA nomination as Best Television Actress. The following year, she won the award for her roles in three shows: Testament of Youth (1979), Mystery!: Malice Aforethought (1979) and Une maison, une histoire (1980).
Born in 1949 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, she studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), then went on to apprentice in repertory theater, most notably with Birmingham Rep. She was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), during which time she played, among many other roles, Nora Helmer, in Ibsen's "A Doll's House". For her performance as Nora she won the prestigious Olivier Award in 1983 for Best Actress in a Revival. She is a member of the Royal National Theatre.- Born in San Francisco and grew up in Southern California, Pedersen was never formally trained as an actor; is musician, race car driver, and become actor when was approached by director Penelope Spheeris at a park in Burbank where the band T.S.O.L. was playing; Pedersen appeared in Platoon, Night of the Comet and Point Break, but he began to distance himself from the film industry in the early 1990s, focusing instead on cars and technology.
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Chris Salvatore grew up in Richboro, Pennsylvania, a small town outside Philadelphia. He started his career in entertainment as a singer/songwriter. In 2005 he studied vocal performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His music has been featured on MTV and is available in online music stores including iTunes. Chris graduated from The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in 2008 where he studied acting. He starred in the romantic comedy 'Eating Out: All You Can Eat' directed by Q. Allan Brocka in 2009. Chris then went on to star in two more 'Eating Out' sequels adding to the franchise that premiered on the LOGO Network. Chris's latest project was his debut in the New York theatre scene in the new original play, Pieces. Pieces captured rave reviews from NY audiences following it's sold out run in Los Angeles.- Christie Beran was born on 22 May 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is an actress, known for Driver (2018), Knight of Cups (2015) and The Trust (2016).
- Dale Winton was born on 22 May 1955 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Trainspotting (1996), French and Saunders (1987) and The Other Half (1997). He died on 18 April 2018 in London, England, UK.
- Daniel Salzano was born on 22 May 1941 in Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. He died on 24 December 2014 in Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
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David Schneider was born on 22 May 1963 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Death of Stalin (2017), 28 Days Later (2002) and Mission: Impossible (1996).- Actress
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Denise Welch is married to the artist Lincoln Townley. Between them they have 3 children, Matthew Healy: lead singer of the 1975, Louis Healy who is an Actor and Lewis Townley who works in post production. She is an actress and TV presenter, known for her work on Loose Women, Waterloo Road and Hollyoaks.- Actor
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Don Estelle was born on 22 May 1933 in Manchester, England, UK. He was an actor, known for It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974), Not Now, Comrade (1976) and Dad's Army (1968). He was married to Elizabeth Amy Brent and Mary Heywood. He died on 2 August 2003 in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, UK.- Music Department
Else Blangsted was born on 22 May 1920 in Würzburg, Germany. She is known for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), The Man with Two Brains (1983) and And Justice for All (1979). She was married to Folmar Blangsted and Eric Seelig. She died on 1 May 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Facundo Cabral was born on 22 May 1937 in Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer, known for From Here Nor There (2016), Chavela (2017) and Help Me if You Can't (2019). He died on 9 July 2011 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Franco Masini was born on 22 May 1994 in Vicente López, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an actor and composer, known for The Clan (2015), Love After Loving (2017) and Rebelde (2022).- Actor
- Soundtrack
A brawny, firm-jawed, sandy-haired player of 60s and 70s primetime TV, Frank Converse seemed to be one of those handsome tough-guy action figures that could go by the wayside after the demise of their famous series. Instead, this stage-trained actor persevered as a well-respected, all-purpose character actor in a career that has now passed its fourth decade.
Born on May 2, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, Frank received his early education at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and earned his BFA degree in drama in 1962 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. In the 1960s he built up his Shakespearean resume with roles in "King Lear", "Caesar and Cleopatra", "Hamlet", "The Comedy of Errors", "Richard III", "Henry V" and "Much Ado About Nothing" before making his 1966 Broadway debut in "First One Asleep, Whistle", which closed that same day. By this time he had set his sights on film but it was strong-armed TV drama that made him a name.
1967 was a banner year for Frank. Not only did he appear to good advantage in the films Hour of the Gun (1967) as Virgil Earp, and the Southern-baked melodrama Hurry Sundown (1967), he earned surprise stardom in his first TV vehicle Coronet Blue (1967). Probably best remembered for this short-lived series (filmed in 1965, but televised as a summer replacement series from May to September 1967), Converse played the very mysterious Michael Alden, who was roughed up and dumped unceremoniously into the New York harbor by would-be assassins. Left for dead and having lost his memory, the only key to his past are the code words "Coronet Blue". Although audiences never found out just what those words meant (the show ended abruptly and without a proper conclusion), they at least now knew the name Frank Converse.
From there the actor ventured on (still in a New York City setting) with the police drama N.Y.P.D. (1967). He fared better this time around alongside co-stars Jack Warden and Robert Hooks as three plainclothes detectives tracking down the city's most virulent. This show lasted until 1969. His third and last major series co-starred burly trucker Claude Akins in the big-rig action-adventure Movin' On (1974). In all three series, Converse owned a quiet, reserved, somewhat detached quality that invited "mystery man" appeal. During this stage of his popularity he starred or co-starred in a number of mini-movies including Dr. Cook's Garden (1971) with Bing Crosby and Blythe Danner, A Tattered Web (1971), The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974), Killer on Board (1977), Cruise Into Terror (1978) and, most notably, Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978). He also guested on such popular 70s shows as "The Mod Squad", "Medical Center", "Police Story", "Rhoda" "The Love Boat", "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "The Bionic Woman". Despite his hectic TV schedule, he continued to return to his theater roots appearing in the original cast of John Guares bizarre black comedy "The House of Blue Leaves" (1971) and earning challenging parts in "The Seagull" in 1973 and "Hobson's Choice" in 1977.
Having achieved semi-hunk status as a result of his trio of series work, Frank could have easily drifted away by decade's end. Instead he continued to impressed on the stage. In the 1980s he made a strong return to Broadway opposite Blythe Danner in "The Philadelphia Story" (1980) and later appeared as Mitch opposite Danner's Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1988). Other 80s Broadway shows included "Brothers (1983) and "Design for Living" (1984), the latter in which he replaced actor Frank Langella. Other productions around the country included that of "The Crucible", "Death of a Salesman", "A Man for All Seasons", "Misalliance", "The Shadow Box", "Two for the Seesaw" and even the musical "South Pacific".
On the TV/film front, Frank showed up in stalwart character form on a number of daytime soaps during the 1980s ("One Life to Live") and the 1990s ("As the World Turns", "All My Children"). A return to series TV with The Family Tree (1983) and Dolphin Cove (1989) were again very short-lived. More recently he showed up on stage as Doc Gibb in "Our Town", which starred Paul Newman and was later televised, and has been a guest star on such shows as "Law & Order". He has been married to his third wife, Tony-nominated stage actress Maureen Anderman, since 1982. They have two children along with his two children from a previous marriage.- Casting Director
- Producer
- Casting Department
Fred Roos was born on 22 May 1934 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is a casting director and producer, known for St. Vincent (2014), The Godfather Part II (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Gary Kasper was born on 22 May 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for All Rise (2019), Dreadspace (2017) and Redwood Massacre: Annihilation (2020). He has been married to Laraine Lowrey since 1982.- Actor
- Special Effects
- Soundtrack
Gary Sweet was born on 22 May 1957 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is an actor, known for Police Rescue (1989), Alexandra's Project (2003) and Adore (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ginnifer Goodwin was born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin on May 22, 1978, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Linda (Kantor), a doctor of educational technology, and Tim Goodwin, a musician and the owner of Memphis Sound Productions recording studio. Ginnifer graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996 and received her BFA in Acting from Boston University's School for the Arts in 2001. She went on to study at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-Upon-Avon. She lived briefly in New York before moving to California, where she resides with her husband, actor Josh Dallas and their two sons. Ginnifer is of Scottish and English descent on her father's side, and she is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent on her mother's.- Giuseppi Logan was born on 22 May 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a composer, known for Water in the Boat (2009), The Devil's Horn (2016) and Create the Movie (2015). He died on 17 April 2020 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Parisian Guy Émile Marchand had a dual career as a musician and as an actor. The son of a scrap metal dealer, he studied at the Lycée Voltaire during daytime while playing his clarinet in the night clubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Additionally, he wrote songs, was adept at playing jazz piano and had an affinity with tango. As a chansonnier, he became popular from the mid-sixties, resulting in several successful singles ("Destinée") and albums ("Chansons de ma jeunesse") which included collaborations with Claude Bolling and others.
Marchand began his military service as a reserve officer with the Airborne Troops Training Base (BETAP) in the Pyrenees and was then reassigned as a parachutist second lieutenant to Montigny-lès-Metz. During the Algerian conflict, he was stationed with the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. His experience as a paratrooper qualified him as a technical advisor on the all-star World War II epic The Longest Day (1962). He also had a bit part in the film which ended up on the cutting room floor. Marchand was already 31 years old when he made his screen debut and has since appeared in numerous supporting roles, culminating in a 1982 Cesar Award for his role as a police inspector in Claude Miller's The Grilling (1981). He became even better known the following year as the hard-boiled private detective Nestor Burma, détective de choc (1982), a kind of French Philip Marlowe. He reprised his popular character in a TV series a decade later.
Very much on the sporty side of life, Marchand was involved in boxing, horse riding, polo and car racing. He latterly also published several novels, including 'Le Soleil des enfants perdus' (2011), which touched on his experiences in Algeria. Guy Marchand died on December 15 2023 at the age of 86 in Cavaillon, Vaucluse, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Harry Ritz was born on 22 May 1907 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Gorilla (1939), Behind the Eight Ball (1942) and Kentucky Moonshine (1938). He was married to Naomi C. Leon, Betty Kellow Roday, Betty May Heath (actress) and Charlotte Greenfield. He died on 29 March 1986 in San Diego, California, USA.Harold Ritz- Harvey Milk was born on 22 May 1930 in Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Chafed Elbows (1966), Queer Serial: American LGBTQ+ History (2017) and News Talk (1977). He died on 27 November 1978 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Heiða Rún Sigurðardóttir known by her stage name Heida Reed, is an Icelandic actress and model. She is known for playing parts in One Day, Jo (2013), Silent Witness (2014) and the BBC drama Poldark. Reed was born in Iceland, the middle of three children of a music teacher father and a dental hygienist mother. She grew up in Breiðholt, Reykjavík, and attended Ölduselsskóli. Aged 18, she was recruited by an Icelandic modeling agency, and moved to Mumbai to work as a model in India for two years. When she was 19/20, she settled in London, where she studied drama at Drama Centre London, graduating in 2010.- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Special Effects
Holly Conrad was born on 22 May 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and costume designer, known for Shelf Life (2011), The Holodeck (2013) and Pacific Rim: Training Day (2013). She was previously married to Ross O'Donovan.- Actor
- Soundtrack
- Additional Crew
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon's acting conservatory, Grant has appeared on and off-Broadway and in several regional theater productions throughout the country. Favorite's include 'What the Butler Saw','Later Life','A Chorus Line' and 'The Illusion', at theater's which include Circle in the Square, Manhattan Theater Club, Hartford Stage and Cleveland Playhouse. After a debilitating spinal cord condition left him reliant on a cane or wheelchair, he left New York for Los Angeles where he continues to work in TV and film. He has appeared on such shows as 'C.S.I.NY', 'The Guardian', 'Just Shoot Me', 'Any Day now'', and 'Malcolm in the Middle'. He is also an ubiquitous voice over artist- he has been the voice of Epson computers, CNN, Lexus, SWair, Lego,
- J.D. Williams was born on 22 May 1978 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for Pootie Tang (2001), The Kill Point (2007) and Oz (1997).
- Actor
- Director
Jack Kehler was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as a waiter in New York, until he decided to pursue a career in theater at the age of 24. In 1982, he was admitted into the Actors Studio. After a while, he moved to Los Angeles. In his career in Hollywood, worked as character actor in supporting roles on the film as: Strange Invaders (1983), Year of the Dragon (1985), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Wyatt Earp (1994), My Fellow Americans (1996), Lost Highway (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Men In Black II (2002), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), The Last Godfather (2010), Lost on Purpose (2013), A Winter Rose (2016). Appreciated multifaceted actor, today he continues to work in many television and film productions.- Actress
- Producer
Jacqueline Duprey has built a successful career on stage both in US as well as abroad. She has performed at many of the nation's foremost regional theaters. These include Yale Repertory Theater, The Alliance Theater, Los Angeles Theater Center, Dallas Theater Center, Arizona Theater Company, Pasadena Playhouse and many more. In New York City, she has worked on Broadway (the production of Pulitzer Prize winner Anna in the Tropics at the Royal Theater) off-Broadway and off-off Broadway. With her classical training from the Yale School of Drama and her rich emotional range, she has played an amalgam of characters that go from Shakespearean leading ladies like Miranda in The Tempest to lower class women like May in Fool for Love and Solange in The Maids. Abroad, she has done over twenty five plays in Puerto Rico and has performed at international theater festivals in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico, Portugal and Denmark.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
James Hawkinson was born on 22 May 1962 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a cinematographer, known for The Man in the High Castle (2015), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) and The Unborn (2009).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
James Lorinz was born on 22 May 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Frankenhooker (1990), Street Trash (1987) and King of New York (1990).- Jeremy Gelbwaks was born on 22 May 1961 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Partridge Family (1970) and This Is Your Life (1970).
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jim Thorpe is an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played American football (collegiate and professional), baseball, and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals.
Jim Thorpe grew up in Oklahoma, and attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school's football team. After his Olympic success in 1912, which included a record score in the decathlon, he added a victory in the All-Around Championship of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1913, Thorpe signed with The New York Giants Baseball Team, and he played six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919. Thorpe joined the Canton Bulldogs American football team in 1915, helping them win three professional championships; he later played for six teams in the National Football League (NFL). He played as part of several all-American Indian teams throughout his career, and barnstormed as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians.
From 1920 to 1921, Thorpe was nominally the first president of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which became the NFL in 1922. He played professional sports until age 41. He struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. He was married three times and had eight children, before suffering from heart failure and dying in 1953.
Thorpe has received various accolades for his athletic accomplishments. The Associated Press named him the "greatest athlete" from the first 50 years of the 20th century, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him as part of its inaugural class in 1963. A Pennsylvania town was named in his honor and a monument site there is the site of his remains. Thorpe appeared in several films and was portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the film Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951).- Actress
- Director
- Cinematographer
Joana Preiss was born on 22 May 1972 in Marseille, France. She is an actress and director, known for Paris, I Love You (2006), Raw (2016) and Dans Paris (2006).- John La Zar was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He trained at the American Conservatory Theatre and has studied acting with Uta Hagen, Bill Ball, Jack Kosslyn, and Paul Shenar. La Zar was portraying the titular role in a University of Hawaii stage production of "Caligula" when he was approached by 20th Century Fox studio casting agent Phil Benjamin to audition for the part of deranged and debauched rock'n'roll music producer Ronnie 'Z-Man' Barzell in Russ Meyer's delightfully outrageous camp cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." John's wonderfully wild and eccentric performance as 'Z-Man' should have led to bigger and better things, but alas did not. A majority of La Zar's subsequent roles have been decidedly minor: funny as sleazy pimp Carl McKinney in Meyer's typically off-the-wall "Supervixens," a Palestine general in the "David & Goliath" episode of "Greatest Heroes of the Bible," a limousine driver in "Eddie Presley," a warlock in "Night of the Scarecrow," and a strip club patron in "Stripteaser." However, on occasion John has landed a more substantial part; he's especially memorable as evil sorcerer Jarek in the enjoyably silly tongue-in-cheek sword and sorcery fantasy hoot "Deathstalker II." La Zar had a recurring role as scientist Dr. Fez on the soft-core cable TV series "Click." In addition to his regrettably sparse film and TV credits, John has acted in stage productions of such plays as "The Crucible," "Macbeth," "Carnival," "High Mass," "No Exit," and "Everyman." Outside of acting, La Zar is also a ballet dancer, master swordsman, and expert martial artist. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
- Classically-trained London-born character actor and stage director, the paternal uncle of film makers Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan. In 1968, he played Clitus in Julius Caesar with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, followed by two years of residency. He subsequently appeared in most of the Bard's plays, including The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. Nolan has also played the lead in the Dostoyevsky Trilogy for the Bristol Old Vic (1980-81) and latterly essayed the alcoholic Doc in Tennessee Williams' Small Craft Warnings at the Arcola Theatre in the East End of London.
Nolan made his screen debut in 1967. His first pivotal role in that medium was as the eponymous hero in a famous BBC adaptation of George Eliot's Daniel Deronda (1970). This led to more regular TV work, including as Geoff Hardcastle, one of the Doomwatch (1970) department, and as the artist Nick Faunt in the miniseries Shabby Tiger (1973), set in 1930s Manchester. In addition to diverse TV guest spots, Nolan portrayed Wayne Enterprise board member Douglas Fredericks on the big screen in Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). As a voice actor, he has narrated documentaries and appeared in ads on TV and radio.
His most high profile screen role to date has been that of ex MI-6 agent John Greer, primary antagonist (from season two) in the compelling sci-fi drama Person of Interest (2011). Greer was the operational head of Decima Technologies, a sinister covert organisation serving Samaritan, an artificially intelligent (but seriously flawed) mass surveillance computer system. The show was created by John's nephew Christopher, according to whom "the best bad guys are always English. That's just kind of a rule. And so my uncle came on board in exactly the same fashion as all of these actors, as a memorable turn that became a longer story arc."
Since 1975, John Nolan has been married to Kim Hartman, best known on TV for her role as the manipulative seductress Helga Geerhart in the popular BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! (1982). - Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born in Washington, D.C., Johnny Gill was discovered by singer Stacy Lattisaw after singing in his family's group Wings of Faith from the age of five. His solo career began in 1983 with the Top 30 R&B single "Super Love." In 1988, he joined New Edition, replacing Bobby Brown. In 1989 he sang on two R&B hits: "Where Do We Go from Here," a #1 by Stacy Lattisaw, and "One Love," by George Howard. Gill finally scored as a solo singer in 1990 with the release of his album Johnny Gill, which sold a million copies, topped the R&B chart, and made the Top Ten in the pop chart. He reunited with New Edition in 1996 and still records as a solo artist.- Johnny Olson was born on 22 May 1910 in Windom, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Match Game (1973), The Price is Right (1972) and Snap Judgment (1967). He was married to Penelope Katheen Powers. He died on 12 October 1985 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Jorge Mayorano is known for Un ángel en la ciudad (1980), Vivir con alegría (1979) and Todo tuyo (1982).
- Music Department
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Joseph Ward was born on 22 May 1932 in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Gondoliers (1972), The Sunday Drama (1977) and Lost Empires (1986). He died on 27 April 2019 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.- Karl E. Meyer was born on 22 May 1928 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He was married to Shareen Blair Brysac , Sarah Peck and Iris Hill. He died on 22 December 2019 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Karoline Herfurth was born on 22 May 1984 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Text for You (2016) and Einfach mal was Schönes (2022).- Actress
- Executive
- Soundtrack
Katie Price was born on 22 May 1978 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. She is an actress and executive, known for Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017), Dream Team (1997) and Footballers' Wives (2002). She has been married to Kieran Hayler since 16 January 2013. They have two children. She was previously married to Alexander Reid and Peter Andre.- Kesun Loder was born on 22 May 1993 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Fido (2006), Smith (2006) and Criminal Minds (2005).
- Kichiemon Nakamura was born on 22 May 1944 in Tokyo, Japan. He was an actor, known for Onihei hankachô (1995), Rikyu (1989) and Chushingura (1962). He was married to Chisa Namino. He died on 28 November 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High Anglican priest. His surname came from a great-great-grandfather who was of French Huguenot origin.
One of Olivier's earliest successes as a Shakespearean actor on the London stage came in 1935 when he played "Romeo" and "Mercutio" in alternate performances of "Romeo and Juliet" with John Gielgud. A young Englishwoman just beginning her career on the stage fell in love with Olivier's Romeo. In 1937, she was "Ophelia" to his "Hamlet" in a special performance at Kronborg Castle, Elsinore (Helsingør), Denmark. In 1940, she became his second wife after both returned from making films in America that were major box office hits of 1939. His film was Wuthering Heights (1939), her film was Gone with the Wind (1939). Vivien Leigh and Olivier were screen lovers in Fire Over England (1937), 21 Days Together (1940) and That Hamilton Woman (1941).
There was almost a fourth film together in 1944 when Olivier and Leigh traveled to Scotland with Charles C. Bennett to research the real-life story of a Scottish girl accused of murdering her French lover. Bennett recalled that Olivier researched the story "with all the thoroughness of Sherlock Holmes" and "we unearthed evidence, never known or produced at the trial, that would most certainly have sent the young lady to the gallows". The film project was then abandoned. During their two-decade marriage, Olivier and Leigh appeared on the stage in England and America and made films whenever they really needed to make some money.
In 1951, Olivier was working on a screen adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie" (Carrie (1952)) while Leigh was completing work on the film version of the Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). She won her second Oscar for bringing "Blanche DuBois" to the screen. Carrie (1952) was a film that Olivier never talked about. George Hurstwood, a middle-aged married man from Chicago who tricked a young woman into leaving a younger man about to marry her, became a New York street person in the novel. Olivier played him as a somewhat nicer person who didn't fall quite as low. A PBS documentary on Olivier's career broadcast in 1987 covered his first sojourn in Hollywood in the early 1930s with his first wife, Jill Esmond, and noted that her star was higher than his at that time. On film, he was upstaged by his second wife, too, even though the list of films he made is four times as long as hers.
More than half of his film credits come after The Entertainer (1960), which started out as a play in London in 1957. When the play moved across the Atlantic to Broadway in 1958, the role of "Archie Rice"'s daughter was taken over by Joan Plowright, who was also in the film. They married soon after the release of The Entertainer (1960).- Linda Emond is a three-time Tony Award nominee and is the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and an Obie. She works in film, television, theatre and voiceover, across genres, in roles that are often transformational. She was born in New Jersey but grew up in Southern California. She attended Loara High School (where she was Homecoming Queen) and received her MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her first professional job as an actor was at The Empty Space Theatre in Seattle. She went on to work extensively in Chicago and ultimately in New York City.
- Louis Talpe was born on 22 May 1981 in Kortemark, Belgium. He is an actor, known for Of Kings and Prophets (2016), Allegory of the Jam Jar (2015) and Spitsbroers (2015).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lucy Gordon was born on 22 May 1980 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Spider-Man 3 (2007), The Four Feathers (2002) and Serendipity (2001). She died on 20 May 2009 in Paris, France.- Actress
- Producer
Margaret Denise Quigley was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a father of Polish and Irish descent (originally based in New York) and a Vietnamese mother. Her parents met during the Vietnam War. Maggie has two older half-siblings from her mother's previous marriage, and two older sisters. The family moved to Hawaii and settled in Mililani.
Maggie dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but modeled and found herself bursting onto the Hong Kong movie scene - eventually becoming a full-fledged superstar in Asia. She changed her name to the easily pronounceable "Maggie Q" (for the Chinese audience). She had a cameo in the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker smash hit Rush Hour 2 (2001) and is part of the supporting cast in Mission: Impossible III (2006), starring Tom Cruise.- Actress
- Soundtrack
- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sweet, sexy and shapely black actress Marilyn Joi greatly enlivened a bunch of enjoyably trashy 1970s drive-in exploitation pictures with her boundless vitality, bubbly, upbeat personality, stunningly gorgeous looks and considerable sex appeal.
Joi began her performing career as a popular nightclub dancer, and in fact made her film debut as a nightclub dancer in the solid Fred Williamson blaxploitation vehicle Hammer (1972). She appeared in a handful of features for legendary schlock director Al Adamson: Mean Mother (1973), The Naughty Stewardesses (1973), Blazing Stewardesses (1975), Black Samurai (1976) and Nurse Sherri (1977). Joi's most memorable roles include one of obsessive doctor Richard Basehart's hapless victims in the creepy horror item Mansion of the Doomed (1976); Velvet, a vicious henchwoman of Dyanne Thorne in the splendidly sleazy Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), Cleopatra Schwartz in the uproarious sketch comedy hoot The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), a high school cheerleader who gets abducted by brutish football players in The Great American Girl Robbery (1979) and a winged bat girl alien in the amusingly goofy sci-fi spoof Galaxina (1980). Moreover, Marilyn did guest spots on such TV series as Hill Street Blues (1981), Hunter (1984), Good Times (1974), Starsky and Hutch (1975) and Charlie's Angels (1976). She also acted under the pseudonyms Ineda King, T.A. King, Tracy Ann King, Tracy-Ann King and Tracy King. "Players" magazine cited Marilyn as "America's Favorite Black Poster Girl" in 1980 and deemed her one of "America's Ten Sexiest Black Women" two years later.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Mark Christopher Lawrence was born on 22 May 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Island (2005), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and K-PAX (2001).- Mauro Boselli has been married to Belén since 2011. They have three children.
- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Max Brooks was born on 22 May 1972 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for World War Z (2013), The Great Wall (2016) and Saturday Night Live (1975). He has been married to Michelle Kholos Brooks since 2003. They have one child.- Actor
- Soundtrack
MC Eiht was born on 22 May 1967 in Compton, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Menace II Society (1993), Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Merry Anders practically grew up in local bijous watching films and their accompanying stage shows with her movie-crazy mother and grandmother. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1949 and, while attending John Burroughs Junior High School, Anders made the acquaintance of Rita La Roy, an old-time film actress who convinced her to take a modeling course. Later, to help her with her modeling, she took dramatic lessons at the Ben Bard Playhouse and was "spotted" by a 20th Century-Fox talent scout in a Playhouse stage presentation. After several years at Fox, Anders turned freelancer, working in TV as well as starring in a string of modestly budgeted Western, science fiction and horror films.- Award-winning Greek-American actor Michael Constantine (born 22 May 1927) is best known for his portrayal of the Windex bottle-toting family patriarch "Gus Portokalos" in the sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). Before his appearance in that movie and the subsequent TV series based on it, he was primarily known for his portrayal of principal Seymour Kaufman in the series Room 222 (1969), for which he won a 1970 Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor (in 1971, he also received a second Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the role).
Michael Constantine was born Constantine Joanides in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Greek parents, Andromache (Fotiadou) and Theoharis Ioannides, a steel worker. He made his Broadway debut as part of the ensemble of the hit play "Inherit the Wind," which made its bow at the National Theatre on April 21, 1955, and closed on June 22, 1957, after 806 performances. During the run of the play, Constantine managed to work his way up into the part of "Conklin". His next appearance on the Great White Way was in "Compulsion," a dramatization of the Leopold & Loeb trial, in which he played three parts: speakeasy owner "Al," defense attorney "Jonathan Wilk" and "Dr. Ball." The show had a modest run of 140 performances in the 1957-58 season at the Ambassador Theatre.
On October 19, 1959, Constantine was part of the opening-night cast of the hit play "The Miracle Worker," appearing in the role of "Anagnos." It ran for 719 performances at the Playhouse through July 1, 1961, but his next play, "The Egg", was a flop, lasting but one week (eight performances) at the Cort in January 1962. His last turn on Broadway was in Tony Richardson's staging of Bertolt Brecht's mediation on the rise of Adolf Hitler, "Arturo Ui" (a.k.a. "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui"). Constantine played the character "Dogsborough" in support of the great Broadway star Christopher Plummer's "Arturo Ui." It, too, was a one-week flop, lasting but eight performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in November 1963. Constantine's Broadway career was at an end.
He made his motion picture debut in The Last Mile (1959) in support of Mickey Rooney, but had already begun appearing in the medium in which he made his reputation, television, the year before. He appeared in teleplays on the omnibus television anthologies Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950) and Play of the Week (1959) and made numerous guest appearances on TV series, where his ethnic look made him valuable as heavies on such programs as The Untouchables (1959). In film, he appeared in such productions as Robert Rossen's classic The Hustler (1961), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) and the film version of Woody Allen's play, Don't Drink the Water (1969), the latter two films revealing his flair for comedy.
Constantine was a regular on the series Hey, Landlord (1966). His stint on Room 222 (1969) was followed by his star-turn in the short-lived series Sirota's Court (1976), for which he received his second Golden Globe nomination, this time as Best Leading Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV Series, in 1976. After that, he remained steadily employed but his career remained rather quiet until cast he was cast in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).
Michael Constantine died in August 2021. He was 94. - Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Michael was born in Philadelphia but raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia by parents Michael and Maureen Kelly. He has two sisters, Shannon and Casey, and one brother, Andrew. He went to college at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina with the original intention to study law, but changed his mind after taking an acting elective. In addition to acting, Michael is a musician and very athletic. He is a lifetime member of the Actor's Studio. He now lives and works out of New York.- Michael Kostroff is a television, stage, and film actor best known for his five seasons as unscrupulous gang attorney Maury Levy on HBO's legendary series, "The Wire," and for his recurring roles on a long list of popular television shows.
Born in New York City, he grew up attending theatre and went on to study at the High School of Performing Arts. He traveled throughout the US as a member of the original cast of the first national tour of "The Producers," and again as the comic villain, Thénadier, in "Les Misérables," a role he reprised for the re-imagined 25th anniversary production.
Kostroff is the author of four books including "The Stage Actor's Handbook" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), named one of Playbill.com's must-reads for fall, 2022. He's a former advice columnist for Backstage and a former writer for Disneyland. His blog, "The Weekly Curmudgeon," offers humorous gripes.
As an instructor, he's offered classes in acting, comedic acting, the business of the business, and more. His popular Audition Psych 101 workshop deals with the mental part of the audition process. Kostroff has also been a frequent guest at colleges, universities, and theatre schools.
He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles. - Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Michael Lockwood was born on 22 May 1961 in Hawthorne, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for As the Village Sleeps (2021), Lisa Marie Presley: Idiot (2005) and Jovi & Lou (2023). He has been married to Stephanie Hobgood since 10 October 2022. He was previously married to Lisa Marie Presley.- Owning a pair of the most incredibly soulful and searching eyes you'll ever find, Michael Sarrazin's poetic drifters crept into Hollywood unobtrusively on little cat's feet, but it didn't take long for him to make his mark. Quiet yet uninhibited, the lean, laconic, fleshy-lipped actor with the intriguingly faraway look and curiously sunken features enhanced a number of quality offbeat fare without ever creating too much of a fuss. While Hollywood couldn't quite pigeonhole him, they also weren't sure what to do with him. Out-and-out stardom would prove elusive.
He was born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin on May 22, 1940 in Quebec, Canada, and drifted through eight different schools before eventually dropping out. He worked at a Toronto theatre, on TV, and for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during his teen years. He also studied acting at the Actors Studio in New York. While playing parts for the National Film Board of Canada in a handful of their historical documentary shorts, he was noticed by Universal and signed in 1965. Following insignificant roles in such series as The Virginian (1962) and in the mini-movie The Doomsday Flight (1966), the actor made his film debut in the post-Civil War drama Gunfight in Abilene (1967) starring an equally offbeat Bobby Darin. One scene had him being flogged shirtless. It was Sarrazin's second film, however, that created the initial stir playing grifter George C. Scott's young apprentice in The Flim-Flam Man (1967). Sarrazin's hesitant con artist more than held its own against the freewheeling Scott while also engaging in romantic clinches with Lolita (1962) sexpot Sue Lyon.
A number of other Sarrazin characters found their way as a result. He played a guileless tenderfoot again, this time taken under the wing of cowboy Anthony Franciosa, in A Man Called Gannon (1968) which takes an unexpected twist at the end; he shared the screen with fellow up-and-comers Harrison Ford and Jan-Michael Vincent as a green Confederate soldier in Journey to Shiloh (1968); earned a Golden Globe "best promising newcomer" nomination portraying an aimless surfer in The Sweet Ride (1968) opposite the spectacularly beautiful Jacqueline Bisset (they lived together for several years); and supposedly turned down the role of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy (1969) in order to appear in the kinky love triangle In Search of Gregory (1969) as, yet again, another be charming young stranger, but that film was not successful.
This all culminated in the portrayal of his career as a wanderlust Depression-era floater plucked from the beach shore to participate in a grueling dance marathon. As Robert, the unassuming partner to feisty, cynical Jane Fonda's Gloria, in the bleak, fascinatingly depressing They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Sarrazin was both soft and spellbinding. His pairing with Fonda is an eerie and ultimately doomed one resulting in a shattering climax. Remote and wordless, Sarrazin's strength lies in both his ease and passive defiance. His peaceful body language and the few calm utterances he allows himself seems to illicit a strange, neutralizing power. It's not the kind of movie persona, however, that wins awards - as it did for his more flamboyant co-stars Ms. Fonda, Susannah York and Gig Young.
Another glum, ostracized outsider role came in the showier form of Paul Newman's hippie half-brother in Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) and Sarrazin continued to show a flair for the unconventional with the non-mainstream Believe in Me (1971), as a medical student who shares a drug needle with (again) Ms. Bissett, and in The Pursuit of Happiness (1971) as a collegiate fighting the system. In Harry in Your Pocket (1973) Sarrazin again plays the naive square who falls in with a bad crowd (this time, pickpockets). He capped this radical run with a mesmerizing, intelligent and, of course, sympathetic portrayal of the monster in the mini-movie Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). As assurance of his offbeat popularity, he hosted Saturday Night Live (1975) twice.
A performance as the haunted title role in the psychological thriller The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) proved to be one of his last hurrahs, as the film was a critical and box office failure. At this juncture his films (or his film roles) became underwhelming. He starred alongside Ursula Andress in the Italian film The Loves and Times of Scaramouche (1976), but the film was very poorly received. Utterly wasted even though second billed as Barbra Streisand's hubby in her slapstick vehicle For Pete's Sake (1974), he also headed up a so-so car chase film in The Gumball Rally (1976). He co-starred in the big budget escapist adventure Caravans (1978), but the film was a financial disaster. The 1980s signaled a significant down turn and strange pall in his films.
It started with his third-wheel participations in the excruciating bad and violent Morgan Fairchild/Andrew Stevens stalking thriller The Seduction (1982) and in the hard-edged vigilante film Fighting Back (1982) behind Tom Skerritt/Patti LuPone. When he did have a lead, the films themselves were flawed as in Keeping Track (1986) and the excessively sleazy Mascara (1987). Sarrazin has continued to work steadily, however, but the one great film that could put him into the top character ranks had yet to arrive. With age, the always-lean Sarrazin turned pale and haggard which lent itself toward rather eccentric casting.
Throughout the course of his career, Michael remained true to his homeland, appearing in many Canadian-based productions such as The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Double Negative (1980), Joshua Then and Now (1985), Captive Hearts (1987), The Phone Call (1989), La Florida (1993) and Crackerjack 2 (1997).
Sarrazin moved to Montreal many years back in order to be near family. He died there following a brief bout with cancer at age 70 on April 17, 2011, and was survived by daughters Michelle and Catherine, as well as producer/brother Pierre Sarrazin. While the fascination and appeal of Michael Sarrazin certainly cannot be denied, one wonders why Hollywood was not able to serve his talent better in later years. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Molly began working professionally at age thirteen at Philadelphia's Prince Music Theater in a production of "The Snow Queen." Soon after she played Little Red Ridinghood in the Arden Theater's production of "Into the Woods," for which she was nominated for a Barrymore Award. She went on to reprise this role when she made her Broadway debut at 15 in "Into the Woods" on Broadway in 2002, and was nominated for a Drama League Award. Molly also performed in the Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" in 2004. She then attended Princeton University where she was a member of the Triangle Club, and graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in Religion. During this time she also made her film debut in Disney's "College Road Trip" as Wendy Greenhut. After graduating, Molly performed in several Off-Broadway plays including "End Days" at Ensemble Studio Theater, and in some television work including "Royal Pains" and an HBO Pilot, "The Wonderful Maladys." Molly has starred in several regional productions, including the "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Barrington Stage Company and North Shore Music Theatre in 2008, and Westport Country Playhouse's 2010 production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" in which she played Anne. Molly is best known for her role in the 2010 movie "Paranormal Activity 2" in which she plays teenage daughter, Ali and the ABC comedy written by Jack Burditt and starring Tim Allen, entitled "Last Man Standing"- Actor
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- Music Department
Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Davyhulme, Manchester, England, UK. At a very early age, he took an interest in writing. His top priority was poetry, though he would have his biography on James Dean, "James Dean Is Not Dead", published by his early 20s. His literary influences ranged from Oscar Wilde to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, though he was also an avid fan of pop music and film. Some of his primary musical idols were David Bowie, Ray Davies and Marc Bolan.
In 1982, Morrissey was approached by local Mancunian guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr. Marr asked him to collaborate, and so began possibly the greatest songwriting duo of the 1980s. Morrissey's witty and morbidly sentimental lyrics were a perfect match with Marr's odd chord progressions and unusual tunings. They soon added Marr's schoolmates Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). The duo became a quartet and dubbed themselves The Smiths. The Smiths released six studio albums and several catchy three-minute singles from 1983 to 1987. The band found critical acclaim in both their native England and the U.S. They never broke into the mainstream in the U.S., though they became college radio legends, mainly due to Morrissey's intelligent but often controversial themes.
The band broke up in 1987 over a conflict of musical interest between Morrissey and Marr. Morrissey found solo success after The Smiths, achieving a far greater status in the U.S. than The Smiths ever had. His greatest triumph was 1992's "Your Arsenal", which was nominated for a Grammy for best alternative album. The album was produced by former David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson.
In 1997, former The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce successfully sued Morrissey and Marr over songwriting royalties. The chance of a "Smiths" reunion seems bleak, but their music will continue to be played by devoted, intelligent fans everywhere. To put it simply, the music of Steven Morrissey and The Smiths was "as smart as pop music gets".- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Naomi Campbell was born on 22 May 1970 in Streatham, London, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Zoolander 2 (2016), I Feel Pretty (2018) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995).- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Natasha Shneider was born on 22 May 1956 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR. She was an actress, known for 2010 (1984), 2012 (2009) and Catwoman (2004). She was married to Alain Johannes and Serge Kapustin. She died on 2 July 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Nathan Davis was born on 22 May 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Holes (2003), Poltergeist III (1988) and Chain Reaction (1996). He was married to Metta Davis. He died on 15 October 2008 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Actress
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- Writer
Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).
Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).
Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.
Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.
Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.- Writer
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- Actor
This screenwriter and director won acclaim for his first two produced screenplays, Where the River Runs Black (1986) and River's Edge (1986). The latter, arguably, was the first grimly honest portrait of what would soon come to be called "Generation X." Unlike, say, Reality Bites (1994), the adolescent protagonists who populated River's Edge were not cuddly in their surliness. Opening with an obese dead-eyed youth seated next to his freshly murdered girlfriend, the film presented a chilling collection of sullen and hopeless characters including Dennis Hopper's crazed ex-hippie burnout and Crispin Glover's manic speed freak.
Jimenez co-scripted (with Marshall Brickman and Lindy Laub) For the Boys (1991), a slight but overlong musical drama with a skimpy historical overview. This diverting, if forgettable, Bette Midler vehicle followed brassy entertainer Dixie Leonard as she entertained the troops from WWII to Vietnam to today. Jimenez made his directorial debut (co-helming with Michael Steinberg) with The Waterdance (1992), the story of a quadriplegic writer played by Eric Stoltz. Set in a physical rehab center, the film dealt movingly and unflinchingly with differences in class and temperament between the patients, as well as between Stoltz and his able-bodied girlfriend. Scripted by Jimenez, The Waterdance was based on his personal experiences after a 1984 accident paralyzed him.
Jimenez was also one of five writers credited with Sleep with Me (1994), a slight comedy about a man (Eric Stoltz) who confesses his love for the wife (Meg Tilly) of a friend (Craig Sheffer). He also worked on the adaptation of Dean R. Koontz' novel Hideaway (1995), a muddled suspense thriller about a man (Jeff Goldblum) whose near-death experience links him with a serial killer which in turn threatens his family.- Actor
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Nedumudi Venu was born on 22 May 1948 in Alleppey, Travancore, India. He was an actor and writer, known for Charlie (2015), Oru Minnaminunginte Nurungu Vettam (1987) and Bharatham (1991). He was married to T. R. Susheela. He died on 11 October 2021 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.- Actor
- Director
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"There are those who miss being in-depth with the world," explains Nikolaj Lie Kaas in an interview with Politiken on April 29th, 2001, "but for me superficiality means a lot - that's where I get my drive." This is an interesting comment from an actor, whose acting always strikes a deeply personal cord. While other actors strive to close in on life, Kaas - who experienced tragic loss at an early age - seems eager to escape the eye of the storm. It is a disturbing quality that etches his characters in the audience's mind.
Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film The Boys from St. Petri (1991) (The Boys from Sct. Petri) in 1991 as Otto, the rebel son of a traitor. The development of the character illustrates the growth of moral resistance into full-fledged violent revolt. This somber and masterfully-acted part earned Kaas two Danish film prizes, a Robert and a Bodil.
Today Kaas imbues his adult characters with the unsentimental innocence and vulnerability of a child and audiences respond intuitively. Jeppe in Lars von Trier's The Idiots (1998) takes on true love, only to lose it. The actor received another Bodil for this portrayal. Kaas makes a narrow escape from type-casting by adding original qualities to the individual characters. He has also done self-parody as a happy-go-easy cook, working for a mafia-like boss in the midst of a murderous streak in In China They Eat Dogs (1999) (In China They Eat Dogs) and as a helpless man in the throes of love in Flickering Lights (2000) (Blinking Lights).
After imbuing smaller parts with larger-than-life performances, Kaas landed another main part in Et rigtigt menneske (2001) as Ahmed, the aborted son (!) of a working couple. His would-be little sister is the emotionally neglected Lisa. When she dies, Ahmed comes to life and tries to become a real human being. Kaas delivers another masterful performance in this movie, inspired by the tragic tale of Casper Hauser.- Actress
- Producer
In her homeland of Israel, Noa Tishby's name is synonymous with stardom. An actress and a producer, Tishby got her first big break, at 16, playing the lead in the hit original musical, "King David", for which she won national recognition.
She got a full scholarship with The National Museum of Arts and went on to play the lead in the nation's highest-rated prime-time drama, Ramat Aviv Gimmel (1995). She became a household name and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, among them the critically-acclaimed "Hamesh Dakot BeHalincha (2001)" (aka A Five Minute Walk (2001)). Her album, "Nona", was the first English-speaking album released by an Israeli artist and also the first to hit #1 on the nation's charts (it was released in Japan by Virgin Records). She won critics' hearts playing "Anita" in the Israeli National Theater production of "West Side Story". Her image adorns billboards, entertainment and fashion magazine covers and she was voted "Sexiest Woman in Israel" in 2007.
In the US, Noa appeared in The Island (2005) with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson for director Michael Bay. She also landed leading roles in the indie films Fatwa (2006) and Connecting Dots (2003), which won the first prize in The NY and L.A. Independent film festival. Noa's recent projects are Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) for Warner Brothers opposite Matthew McConaughey, and recurring roles on HBO's Big Love (2006) and The Deep End (2010) for ABC.
As a producer, Tishby made history selling the first Israeli TV show to an American network--In Treatment (2008) to HBO. She is executive producing it with Mark Wahlberg. Gabriel Byrne and Dianne Wiest star in this revolutionary Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning drama. She recently set up three additional TV projects in the US, and her company, "Noa's Arc", is developing numerous TV, film and theater projects from Israel to the world.
Born in Tel Aviv, Noa now resides in Los Angeles.