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- Katy Jurado was born María Cristina Estela Jurado García into a wealthy family on January 16, 1924. Her early years were spent amid luxury until her family's lands were confiscated by the federal government for redistribution to the landless peasantry. Despite the loss of property, the matriarch of the family, her grandmother, continued to live by her aristocratic ideals. When movie star Emilio Fernandez discovered Katy at the age of 16 and wanted to cast her in one of his films, Jurado's grandmother objected to her wish to become a movie actress. To get around the ban, Katy slipped from the grasp of her family's control by marrying actor Víctor Velázquez.
Jurado eventually made her debut in No matarás (1943) during the what has been called "The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema". Blessed with stunning beauty and an assertive personality, Jurado specialized in playing determined women in a wide variety of films in Mexico and the United States. Her looks were evocative of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, and she used what she called her "distinguished and sensuous look" to carve a niche for herself in Mexican cinema. Indian features were unusual for a film star in Mexico--despite the success of Fernandez, the fabled "El Indio"--and her ethnic look meant she typically was cast as a dangerous seductress, a popular type in Mexican movies. The Mexican media reported that an American movie director at one of her first Hollywood auditions laughed at her derisively because she spoke English so poorly, and an outraged Jurado promptly stormed out of the audition room, cursing in Spanish. As it turned out, that kind of brazen behavior was exactly the type of personality that the director was looking for.
In addition to acting, Jurado worked as a movie columnist and radio reporter to support her family. She also worked as a bullfight critic, and it was at a bullfight that Jurado was spotted by John Wayne and director Budd Boetticher. Boetticher, who was also a professional bullfighter, cast Jurado in his autobiographical film Bullfighter and the Lady (1951), which he shot in Mexico. She was cast in her part despite having very limited English-language skills and had to speak her lines phonetically. Luis Buñuel cast her in his Mexican melodrama The Brute (1953), and then she made her big breakthrough in American films in the role of Gary Cooper's former mistress, saloon owner Helen Ramirez, in High Noon (1952). The role necessitated her moving to Hollywood. She received two Golden Globe nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for that part, for Most Promising Newcomer and Best Supporting Actress, winning the latter. "She planted the Mexican flag in the U.S. film industry, and made her country proud", said National Actors Association official Mauricio Hernandez. Her "High Noon" performance historically proved to be an important acting watershed for Latino women in American movies. Jurado's portrayal undermined the Hollywood stereotype of the flaming, passionate Mexican "spitfire." Previously, Mexican and Latino women in Hollywood films were characterized by an unbridled sexuality, as exemplified by such diverse actresses as Lupe Velez, Dolores Del Río (who came to loathe Hollywood and returned to Mexico in the 1940s), and Rita Hayworth, nee Margarita Cansino. Although Jurado's character was forced to kow-tow to the stereotype in "High Noon", delivering such lines as, "It takes more than big, broad shoulders to make a man," the actress' great dignity in her role as a moral arbiter among the competing factions of the marshal and his fiancée, the townspeople and the gunmen out to kill the marshal showed her Helen Ramirez to be in control and controlled by nothing, not even her former love for the marshal. Her restrained performance, delivered with a great deal of conviction, emphasized the shortcomings of the rest of the other characters. Her moral integrity is the reason she, like the marshal, must abandon the town.
With her superb performance, Jurado proved that Latino women could be more than just sexpots in the American cinema. Importantly, working against the tropes of a racist cinema, she used her talent to introduce into the American cinema the model of the un-stereotyped Mexican woman who is identifiably Mexican. One of the best examples of this can be seen at the end of the middle of her career, when Jurado played sheriff Slim Pickens' wife and partner in Sam Peckinpah's elegiac Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). Determined and tough as nails, Jurado's character was clearly her screen husband's equal, and she had a very moving scene with Pickens as his character faced death. Jurado was blessed with extraordinary eyes, which were both beautiful and expressive, their beauty and strength never fading with age. Two years after "High Noon", Jurado received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Spencer Tracy's Indian wife in Edward Dmytryk's Broken Lance (1954), making her the first Mexican actress thus honored.
She refused to sign a contract with a major Hollywood studio in order to be able to return to Mexico between her American roles to star in Mexican films. She +remained in Los Angeles for 10 years, marrying Ernest Borgnine, her co-star in The Badlanders (1958), in 1959. During their tempestuous relationship, Jurado and Borgnine separated and reconciled before finally separating for good in 1961. The tabloids reported that Borgnine had abused her, and their separation proved rocky as well, as they fought over alimony. Their divorce became final in 1964. Borgnine summed up his ex-wife as "beautiful, but a tiger", a bon mot that described her on-screen persona as well (she had two children with former husband Victor Velasquez, a daughter and a son, who tragically was killed in an automobile accident in 1981).
Jurado played the wife of Marlon Brando's nemesis Dad Longworth (Karl Malden) in One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Brando's sole directorial effort. In her role she also was the mother of a young woman who was Brando's love interest, thus marking a career transition point as she assumed the role of a mature woman. As Jurado aged, she appeared in fewer films, but notable among them included Arrowhead (1953) with Charlton Heston, Trapeze (1956) in support of Burt Lancaster and Man from Del Rio (1956) with her fellow Mexican national Anthony Quinn who, unlike Jurado, had become an American citizen. She also appeared with Quinn in _Barabbas (1962)_and The Children of Sanchez (1978).
She appeared on the Western-themed American TV shows Death Valley Days (1952), The Rifleman (1958), The Westerner (1960) and The Virginian (1962). Her career in the US began to wind down, and she was reduced to appearing in "B" pictures like Smoky (1966) with Fess Parker and the Elvis Presley movie Stay Away, Joe (1968). She attempted to commit suicide in 1968, and then moved back home to Mexico permanently, though she continued to appear in American films as a character actress. Her last American film appearance was in Stephen Frears' The Hi-Lo Country (1998), capping a half-century-long American movie career that continued due to her talent and remarkable presence, long after her extraordinary good looks had faded.
Aside from acting in films in the US and Europe, she continued to act in Mexican films. Her most memorable role in Mexican movies was in Nosotros los pobres (1948) (aka "We the Poor") opposite superstar Pedro Infante. Though in the latter part of her career she appeared occasionally in American films shot in Mexico (including an appearance with her former mentor, Emilio Fernandez, in "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" and John Huston's Under the Volcano (1984)), she appeared mostly in Mexican movies in the last decades of her career, becoming a prominent and highly respected character actress. She played the leader of a religious cult in the Bunuel-like satire Divine (1998). Jurado won three Ariel awards, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar, a Best Supporting Actress award in 1954 for Bunuel's The Brute (1953) a Best Actress Award in 1974 for Fe, esperanza y caridad (1974) and a Best Supporting Actress award in 1999 for "El evangelio de las Maravillas". She also was awarded a Special Golden Ariel for Lifetime Achievment in 1997. In the north, she was honored with a Golden Boot Award by the Motion Picture & Television Fund in 1992 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jurado was an avid promoter of her home state of Morelos as a location for filmmakers.
Towards the end of her life, she suffered from heart and lung ailments. Katy Jurado died on July 5, 2002, at the age of 78 at her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She was survived by her daughter. - Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was raised in Detroit. She got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series Star Search (1983), where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent, singing "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number", which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor.
During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million", which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever.
Aaliyah recorded the single 'Journey to the past' for the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Doctor Dolittle (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an romance/action film, Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. Romeo Must Die (2000) was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the success of her song "Try Again", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success, despite some lackluster reviews.
In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit.
On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway, killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passengers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Her funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released, from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) was released, in which Aaliyah played Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards 2002.
Aaliyah's short-lived, but brilliant career, was a true success story for a young African-American woman who went against all odds to be herself in an industry where originality is scarce. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. It's no wonder that her name means 'Highest, most ex-halted one; the best' in Hebrew. She had achieved so much in her twenty-two years.- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Alain Jessua was born on 16 January 1932 in Paris, France. He was a writer and assistant director, known for Life Upside Down (1964), Frankenstein 90 (1984) and En toute innocence (1988). He was married to Anna Gaylor. He died on 30 November 2017 in Évreux, Eure, France.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
A Presbyterian minister's son, softly-spoken, intellectual-looking Alexander Knox received his education from the University of Western Ontario where he studied English literature. An excellent elocutionist (a member of the university's Hesperian Club) he had his first fling with dramatic acting playing the lead in "Hamlet". His professional theatrical debut began on the Boston stage in 1929 while simultaneously earning an income as a journalist for the Boston Post. After just one year he went looking for better acting opportunities in England, specializing in 'serious' classical parts which required just the right measure of 'gravitas'. During another journalistic stint with the London Advertiser he made the acquaintance of noted stage director and producer Tyrone Guthrie who helped him to make a name for himself on the London stage at the Old Vic. As the decade progressed, Knox appeared opposite such theatrical icons as Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier (in "The King of Nowhere"), and in plays by James Bridie and George Bernard Shaw.
Movie work followed in 1938 with appearances in The Phantom Strikes (1938) and a bit part in The Four Feathers (1939). However, the outbreak of World War II prompted his return to America. In 1940, Knox got his big break on Broadway cast in the role of Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet", written and staged by Olivier and starring Vivien Leigh as Juliet. A later leading role in "The Three Sisters" (1942-43) -- a turn-of-the-century drama set in Russia -- saw him as Baron Tuzenbach opposite Katharine Cornell and Judith Anderson. With a brace of good critical notices, it became only a matter of time before the screen beckoned again. In 1941, Knox made his Hollywood film bow and was perfectly cast as the quiet intellectual Humphrey Van Weyden, protagonist of Jack London's maritime classic The Sea Wolf (1941). His performance was somewhat overshadowed by those of his co-stars, Edward G. Robinson (in the titular role of Wolf Larsen) and the dynamic John Garfield (as chief mutineer George Leech) but it led to further work as a reliable lead character player.
For most of his career, Knox tended to be typecast as men of integrity (though he did play the odd villain): stern authority figures, psychiatrists, academics and politicians - undoubtedly, this was because of his inherently sincere, though rather sombre on-screen personality. It was also a consequence of having been cast in the starring role of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. President, in Darryl F. Zanuck's over-ambitious biopic Wilson (1944). Bosley Crowther commented for The New York Times (August 2, 1944): "Much of the film's quality is due to the performance of Alexander Knox in the title role. Mr. Knox....draws a character that is full of inner strength - honest, forceful and intelligent, yet marked by a fine reserve... The casting of Mr. Knox, a comparative unknown, in this role was truly inspired". Despite the excellent personal notices, 'Wilson' was a rather slow and ponderous affair, a flop at the box office and one of Zanuck's most conspicuous failures. His personal reputation intact, Knox had several leading roles come his way in the wake of 'Wilson', even a rare comedy part in The Judge Steps Out (1948) as a starchy, but likeable Boston judge. However, in 1952, his career suffered a serious setback when he was blacklisted by HUAC for alleged left-wing affinities and forced to leave for England.
From 1954, Alexander Knox appeared in scores of British films and was particularly good in two productions for the director Joseph Losey (who had also been black-listed in Hollywood): The Damned (1962) and Accident (1967). He also played another U.S. president in the James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice (1967) and was a memorable spook (the ill-fated 'Control') in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) on television. He made a successful return to the London stage, frequently in plays by Henrik Ibsen and Clifford Odets. Outside of his principal occupation he was finally able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his long-standing literary ambition, as the author of plays ("Old Master", "Trafalgar Square"), screenplays and five adventure novels set in the wilds of 19th century Canada. Knox died in his adopted home in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, England, in 1995 at the age of 88.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Alyssa Edwards is known for Alyssa Edwards: Tongue Pop the Halls (2016), Hurricane Bianca (2016) and Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate (2018).- Amelia Vargas was born on 16 January 1928 in Havana, Cuba. She was an actress, known for La mano que aprieta (1953), Romeo y Julita (1953) and La secta del trébol (1948). She died on 21 April 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Amelita Vargas
- Actress
- Producer
Amy K. Harmon was born on 16 January 1983 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for American Splendor (2003), White Whale (2010) and Family Guy (1999).- Anastasiya Klyueva was born on 16 January 1987 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Zhara (2006), Rozhdeniya den (2013) and Rus'un Oyunu (2016).
- Anders Hove was born in Greenland on the 16th of January 1956 to a mother who was a nurse and a father who worked as a meteorologist. His father was politically involved in Greenland and helped the country work towards the government it has today. Spending most of his childhood there, Anders later moved with his parents to Thisted in Denmark when he was 14 years old. In the 1970s, Anders attended the Royal Academy in Denmark to learn formal acting. Before this he had studied law and economics and had planned on taking over his father's business. In 1980, he married an American dancer and choreographer named Ann Thayer Crosset, and they have two sons together, Anders Ezra and Elliot Todd.
His first real movie role was in the Danish movie Midt om natten (1984) (Middle of the Night), in which he played Nalle. After working in Denmark for a time as a stage and screen actor, Anders decided to try his luck on the American front. He and his wife sold their belongings and moved to the States. There he landed parts in shows like "Tales From the Crypt" and the sci-fi movie Critters 4 (1992) as 'Rick', the critter-infested ships captain, and the role that many know and remember him for, as the fiendish and obsessive 'Cesar Faison' on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital". He also worked in a Canadian soap opera called "Family Passions" with General Hospital co-star and friend Kin Shriner. Another former co-star on General Hospital, Michael Watson suggested that Anders should play the villainous vampire 'Radu Vladislas' in the Full Moon movie Subspecies (1991). He ended up being in three sequels to the movie during the 90s playing the long-fingered, drooling, infamous Radu. Hove returned to Denmark in the mid 90s and has continued to act there, being a favorite actor of the 'Dogme'-directors, usually playing bad guys. - Actress
- Director
- Writer
Aneta Kernová is an actress, film director and artist.
She studied acting school in the Czech Republic, portrayed a major role in a theatre in Philadelphia, directed over eight short films, that won awards at film festivals, acted in projects for Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Aneta created a video for an international campaign Masks4all that was featured on TV stations such as BBC, CNN, NBC and presidents or leaders of countries shared this video around the world.
Aneta's father is Slovakian and mother is Czech. Aneta travels the world and her work is inspired by surrealistic art.- Annika Peterson was born on 16 January 1972 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for The Man from Earth (2007), Moment in Time (2001) and Tanner Hall (2009).
- Actor
- Producer
Artur Albarran was born on 16 January 1953 in Mozambique. He was an actor and producer, known for A Bomba (2002), Europe, a Modern Profile (1992) and Repórteres (1992). He was married to Isabella Jimenez, Teresa Maria Pereira Lima and Lisa Hardy. He died on 15 February 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal.- Producer
- Actor
- Production Manager
Ash Christian was an Emmy Award-winning producer, director, and actor, with more than 15 feature films and television series to his credit.
Most recently, he produced the SXSW hit film 1985 (2018), which was released. Ash recently produced the thriller Burn (2019), released by eOne in 2019. He also executive produced After Everything (2018) (written and directed by Hannah Marks and Joey Power), which premiered at SXSW. Other productions include Southern Pride (2018), Little Sister (2016), Miles (2016), Hello Again (2017), Coin Heist (2017), Stranger in the House (2015), Petunia (2012), Mangus! (2011), Addiction: A 60's Love Story (2015), Nate & Margaret (2012), and Fat Girls (2006). In 2019, Coyote Lake (2019), was released. Other films released in 2019 included Kindred Spirits (2019) (directed by Lucky McKee) and Milkwater (2020). In 2018, he produced Social Animals (2018), which will be released in theaters from Paramount Pictures. He also produced Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate (2018) (the sequel to Hurricane Bianca (2016)), released theatrically in 2018.
Through his company, Cranium Entertainment, he is developing several feature film projects. Titles include "Untitled Timothy McVeigh Project" (directed by Mike Ott), "As Sick As They Made Us" (directed by Mayim Bialik), "Platonic" (directed by Cameron Fay and written by Sono Patel), and "Nightfall" (written and directed by Addison McQuigg).
Ash Christian died on August 13, 2020, aged 35, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Atticus Ross was born on 16 January 1968 in England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Mank (2020). He has been married to Claudia Sarne since 2001. They have three children.- Actress
- Producer
Ayanna Berkshire is an American stage and screen actress, a resident artist of Artists Repertory Theatre and a 2020 recipient of the TCG and Fox Fellowship Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship, recognized for distinguished career achievement. She is best known for her role as Cora in the film, Twilight. Originally from a remote island chain in Washington State, Ayanna was just three years old when she began performing for audiences as a young dancer and actress. She had her first agent at 13 years old and has been working professionally since the age of 20.- Ayça Bingöl was born in Istanbul in 1975. She graduated from the Theatre Department at the Istanbul University State Conservatory in 1998. Bingöl started performing as a professional actress at the Dormen Theatre in 1996. From 1998 to 2000, she acted as a guest actress at the Theatre Fora. She has also performed in many films, commercials, and TV series. In addition, she acts as a voice actress. Bingöl is a member of Yeditepe Actors. In the season of 2007-2008, she acted in the play "Bana Bir Picasso Gerek" at the Duru Theatre. In 2008-2009, she performed in "Nehrin Solgun Yüzü" at the Theater Studio. Bingöl has received many awards for her performance. She continues her work in Istanbul.
- Betty Missiego was born on 1 January 1945 in Lima, Peru. She is married to Fernando Moreno. They have four children.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Birgitte Hjort Sorensen is a Danish actress. She has been nominated for three Robert Awards and one Bodil Award. Born in Hillerød and raised in Birkerød, Sørensen aspired to an acting career after watching the West End production of the musical Chicago while at school. She graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts. Her acting debut was in a minor role in the television series The Eagle in 2005. She followed this by playing Roxie Hart in a Copenhagen production of Chicago, and later on the West End. Sorensen's breakthrough role was as journalist Katrine Fønsmark in the television political drama Borgen (2010-2013, 2022).- Birte Tove was born on 16 January 1945 in Denmark. She was an actress, known for The Kingdom (1994), Bedside Dentist (1971) and The Bamboo House of Dolls (1973). She was married to Ole Schächter. She died on 6 February 2016 in Denmark.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Bob Kulick was born on 16 January 1950 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Calicoon, Scorned (1993) and Kid (1990). He died on 28 May 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Director
- Producer
- Cinematographer
Brett Whitcomb was born in Houston, Texas, USA. Brett is a director and producer, known for Butterfly in the Sky (2022), Jasper Mall (2020) and GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (2012).- Bridget was born and raised in Harrow, London. From a large family, she was the second of 5 children. Her parents are Irish, her mother Bridie hails from Limerick and her father Jim is from Cork. As a result, Bridget grew up around Ceilidh bands and dancing. She attended Catholic schools and went on to graduate with a degree in English from Lancaster University.
She became a writer and won her first prize in 1991 for the Time Out short story category. She went on to write collections of short stories, plays for radio and theatre, and several films. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Buddy Lester, stand-up comedian and character actor on television and in motion pictures was born in Chicago and became a fixture on the international nightclub circuit for seven decades. In Las Vegas, he opened for Frank Sinatra several times and appeared in the Rat Pack films Ocean's Eleven (1960) and Sergeants 3 (1962) . Lester also appeared with Jerry Lewis in five films,The Ladies Man (1961), The Nutty Professor (1963), The Patsy (1964), Three on a Couch (1966) and The Big Mouth (1967). Lester made his film debut playing himself as an entertainer in The Gene Krupa Story (1959) starring Sal Mineo. The comedian proved even more popular on television, and was a part of the regular cast of The New Phil Silvers Show (1963). Lester also appeared in several episodes of the police series' Adam-12 (1968) and Barney Miller (1975) and was also a familiar face on Love, American Style (1969), The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971), The Odd Couple (1970) and Starsky and Hutch (1975).
A handsome man with dark hair, Lester could assume mockingly menacing personas because of a somewhat mysterious scar to the right of his mouth. He delighted in making up various stories about how he acquired it. He frequently said he got the scar when he was blown off a barge at Guadalcanal. He once used it to intimidate beefy rabble-rousers at a nearby table when he was watching friends on stage in a Chicago nightclub. And in a New York hotel, he told a group of Germans that he got the scar in a fencing duel while he was a student in Heidelberg. The truth, he confessed to the now-defunct Los Angeles Mirror in 1961, was: "I fell off a chair onto a broken water glass when I was 3 years old." Lester once considered plastic surgery to erase the mark, but changed his mind after a movie makeup artist liked it so much that he enlarged it for Lester's scenes.
Lester died Friday Oct. 4, 2002 of cancer in a Van Nuys nursing home. He was 86. Lester was survived by his son, Paul; daughter, Sylvia Jensen; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Carl was a writer on The Bends for FX; Tommy, starring Edie Falco, for CBS; The Deuce (created by David Simon and George Pelecanos) for HBO; The Chameleon for Netflix; and Vinyl (from executive producers Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese), for HBO. He is the author of Twisted Head: An Italian American Memoir (Random House, 2008), based on his solo show of the same name. His plays have been presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (three seasons), Yale Repertory Theatre, the Vineyard Theater, Theater for the New City, and many other venues around the country. As an actor, Carl is best known as Little Paulie Germani on HBO's The Sopranos, and has appeared in several classic indie features, including Five Corners and Mac. He is a native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx, and lives in Manhattan.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Leggy, brunette-maned pin-up actress Caroline Munro was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England, and lived in Rottingdean near Brighton where she attended a Roman Catholic convent school. By chance, her mother and a photographer entered her picture in a "Face of the Year" competition for the British newspaper The Evening News and won. This led to modeling chores, her first job being for Vogue Magazine at age 17. She moved to London to pursue top modeling jobs and became a major cover girl for fashion and television commercials while there.
Decorative bit parts came her way in such films as Casino Royale (1967) and Where's Jack? (1969). One of her many gorgeous photo ads earned her a screen test and a one-year contract at Paramount where she won the role of Richard Widmark's daughter in the comedy/western A Talent for Loving (1973). She first met husband/actor Judd Hamilton filming this movie but they later divorced. Also in 1969, she became the commercial poster girl for "Lamb's Navy Rum", a gig that lasted ten years. She had no lines as Vincent Price's dead wife in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) which, in turn, led to a Hammer Studios contract and such low-budget spine-tinglers as Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974). More noticeable roles came outside the studio as the slave girl/love interest in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), the princess in At the Earth's Core (1976), and a lethal Bond girl in the top-notch The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Her voluptuous looks sustained her for a bit longer but the quality of her roles did not improve with higher visibility. Later 70's and 80's roles included the lowergrade Starcrash (1978), Maniac (1980) and Slaughter High (1986), the last-mentioned written and directed by second husband George Dugdale, whom she married in 1990. He died in 2020.
Following her marriage, she was less seen. The septuagenarian continued to perform sporadically on camera, primarily in England and often in the horror genre. Subsequent lead and supporting movie roles have included Heaven's a Drag (1994), Domestic Strangers (1996), Flesh for the Beast (2003), Vampyres (2015), Cute Little Buggers (2017) and House of the Gorgon (2019) which also featured her daughter, actress Georgina Dugdale.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Sound Department
Carrie Keranen was born in Oak Park, Michigan, USA. She is an American voice actress, producer, production manager, and voice director. She is known for her work on Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011), KILL la KILL (2013), Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002), and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2015).
Carrie grew up in Oak Park, Michigan and had always been involved in acting, including high school plays, but she said she was more active in sports. She later attended the University of Michigan, and originally intended to major in international business with a specialization in Japanese but would be drawn back into doing plays and subbing in for major roles. She later graduated with a BA in Theatre and Linguistics and after visiting Europe, moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting.
As of 2010, she currently resides in Los Angeles, California.- Actress
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Charlotte Elise Best (born 16 January 1994) is an Australian actress and model. Her most notable role is from the show Home and Away as the young girl in the Campbell Family, Annie Campbell.
Best grew up in the suburb of Point Frederick in the township of Gosford. Along with her three brothers, Best attended Central Coast Grammar School where she won a performance award at the age of eight. From there she moved with her family to Beauty Point, attending SCECGS Redlands for six months until enrolling at Brent Street Performing Arts High School where she studied all aspects of performing arts.
Best made her television debut in 2007 in Home and Away, starring as Annie Campbell until 2010. She continued her education on-set, eventually completing her HSC in 2011 at Oxford Falls Grammar School where she won the music award. Three months into a full-time Global Studies course at the University of Technology, Sydney, Best accepted the role of Cheryl Haynes in Puberty Blues.
From a young age, Best has appeared regularly as a fashion model in such magazines as Barbie, Total Girl, Oyster and Cosmopolitan. She was the face of Miss Metallicus Clothing brand and appeared on Comedy Inc, and has modelled for Supre.
Charlotte is best known for her role as Annie Campbell in the long running TV series Home and Away between 2007 and 2010. Her character went on a student exchange to Japan, commencing October 2009, which was originally scheduled to be for 6 months. She returned on screen in March 2010, on a 6-week holiday break from Japan, before leaving again. Best earned a nomination for Most Popular New Female Talent at the Logie Awards of 2008, which was won by Bindi Irwin.
In March 2012, it was announced, that Best had been cast as Cheryl Hayes in Network Ten's drama series Puberty Blues, which is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette.- Actor
- Director
Chinmoy Roy was born on 16 January 1940 in Comilla, Bengal Presidency, British India. He was an actor and director, known for Chiriyakhana (1967), Ek Bar Bolo Uttam Kumar (2009) and Sindoor (1991). He was married to Juin Banerjee. He died on 17 March 2019 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Chris Cotton was born on 16 January 1987 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Every Damn Sketch Show (2018), Diwal'oween (2017) and Carpool Rules (2015). He was married to EricaLynn and Erica. He died on 11 December 2019 in Philadelphia, USA.- Claire Gordon died peacefully on 13th April 2015 in a nursing home in Acton, aged 74 years; she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in December 2014. At the time she was living in El-gouna, Egypt, but returned to London and underwent an operation at the Charing Cross hospital in January 2015.
- Composer
- Director
Claude Abadie was born on 16 January 1920 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. He was a composer and director, known for Smash en direct (1962), Ballon vole (1960) and Jojo d'Aval (1970). He died on 29 March 2020.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Conny Vandenbos was born on 16 January 1937 in The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. She was an actress, known for Theo & Thea in de gloria (1988), Knokken voor twee (1982) and Veertig jaar liedjes (1965). She was married to Ger Faber. She died on 7 April 2002 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.- Conor Duffy was born on 16 January 1980 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Good Girls Don't... (2004), From a Place of Darkness (2008) and Dallas (1978). He has been married to Emily Cutler since 11 March 2006. They have two children.
- Cristina Brondo was born on 16 January 1977 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is an actress, known for The Spanish Apartment (2002), Lola vende cá (2002) and Russian Dolls (2005). She has been married to Diego Yaker since 13 April 2007. They have two children.
- Dalia Gutmann is known for Campamento con mamá, Yo Soy Virgen (2010) and My Love or My Passion (2017).
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Dameon J. Clarke is a Canadian-American actor and voice actor. His TV credits include Graceland, How to Get Away with Murder, 24, Castle, Supernatural and Prison Break, and his film work includes How to Be a Serial Killer and I Love You Phillip Morris. He has worked with numerous Academy Award winning actors and directors in many films and TV shows. Clarke began acting at the age of 11 in Canada. His first role was a made for TV movie called "Secrets of a Married Man" as William Shatner's son. After several years in front of the camera Clarke took a sabbatical from acting to finish school and would later return to his roots at the age of 25 and has been acting ever since.
While living in Dallas, Texas in the early 2000s, Dameon worked alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr. and director Richard Linklater in a leading role in the film "A Scanner Darkly" which would later help launch his film and TV career. He also voiced major characters on anime shows, such as "Yu Yu Hakusho", "Fullmetal Alchemist", and the very popular "Dragon Ball Z", voicing the iconic character Cell. Clarke later moved to Los Angeles, CA around 2005 and started working in TV and Film in Recurring and Guest Starring roles. (He is one of the few actors to have Guest Starred on the entire CSI franchise and two of the NCIS franchise [NCIS LA and NCIS]). In 2008 Clarke starred in the film "How to be a Serial Killer" and won several best actor awards (including NY Horror Film Festival and LA Shriekfest Film Festival) for his portrayal of Mike Wilson. He guest starred in the first 2 seasons of "Graceland" as "A.D.I.C. Clarke" the Assistant Director in Charge of the F.B.I. on the USA Network.
Dameon has voiced over 200 characters, including "Handsome Jack" in the acclaimed video game series Borderlands 2, "Borderlands, The Presequel!"and "Tales from the Borderlands". After the release of Borderlands 2, the "Handsome Jack" character was so popular, that despite having killed him off, Gearbox Software developed "Borderlands, The Presequel!" to develop the character's back story and allow the player to play as the villainous character for the first time. Telltale Games" also brought the character back from the dead in "Tales From the Borderlands".
Clarke also won several awards for his portrayal as "Handsome Jack" including the notable Spike TV "VGA" (Video Game Award) for "Best Performance by a Human Male".
He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Daniela Escobar was born on 16 January 1969 in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is an actress and writer, known for Another Forever (2016), The Clone (2001) and Vida de Menina (2003). She was previously married to Marcelo Woellner Pereira and Jayme Monjardim.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dany Dauberson was born on 16 January 1925 in Le Creusot, Saône-et-Loire, France. She was an actress, known for A Tale of Five Women (1951), Paris Nights (1954) and The Upper Hand (1966). She died on 16 March 1979 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.- Actor
- Producer
David Chokachi was born on 16 January 1968 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Emerald Run (2020), Baywatch (1989) and Soul Surfer (2011).- David Knight was born on 16 January 1928 in Niagara Falls, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for On Such a Night (1956), A Story of David: The Hunted (1960) and Missiles from Hell (1958). He was married to Wendy McClure. He died on 20 December 2020.
- Producer
- Actress
- Director
Deborah Kaye Allen was born in Houston, Texas, to African-American parents, Vivian Elizabeth (Ayers), a poet and art director, and Andrew Arthur Allen, an orthodontist. As a child, Debbie, her older brother, Andrew (called Tex), and her older sister, actress Phylicia Rashad, lived in Mexico to escape US racism. Their mother decided to live there to give the Allen children a brief experience of not having to endure the chronic racism and segregation that was typical of Texas during the 1950s. Debbie and Phylicia are fluent in Spanish.
Debbie graduated from Jack Yates Senior High School in Houston, TX in 1967. She graduated cum laude from Howard University in 1971 with a BFA in Classical Greek Literature, Speech, and Theater from Howard University. She used her experiences from attending Historically Black College Howard to inform her production and direction of the TV show A Different World (1987).
Although her parents divorced, Debbie remained extremely close to her father until his death. With Phylicia she has production company "D.A.D." which stood for "Doctor Allen's Daughters". Her Pulitzer-nominated poet mother Vivian is, the artistic and free spirit that has influenced and encouraged the remarkable creativity that so marks Allen as a performer.- Director
- Writer
Dian Fossey was born on 16 January 1932 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was a director and writer, known for Gorillas in the Mist (1988), The World About Us (1967) and The American Sportsman (1965). She died on 26 December 1985 in Karisoke, Rwanda.- Actress
- Producer
Diana García was born on 16 January 1982 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She is an actress and producer, known for Sin Nombre (2009), The Air I Breathe (2007) and What Maisie Knew (2012).- One of the outstanding stage actresses of her time, Diana Wynyard will always be remembered for her unforgettable performance in the British version of the thriller Gaslight (1940) (re-made in Hollywood in 1944 with Ingrid Bergman). Starring opposite the great Anton Walbrook, she played the part of terrorized Bella Mallen (driven to the point of insanity by her evil husband) with an ethereal, haunted fragility. Diana Wynyard was educated at the Woodford School in Croydon and first appeared on the stage in London in 1925, debuting in 'Sorry, You've been Troubled' as Lady Sheridan. She soon became one of the great stars of the British theatre with a wide-ranging repertoire, which included Shakespeare, Chekhov and Shaw. In 1937, she played Eliza Doolittle in 'Pygmalion'.
In 1932, she was signed to a contract at MGM and was cast opposite the three Barrymores in Rasputin and the Empress (1932). However, her best performance was with Clive Brook in Noël Coward's Cavalcade (1933), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. The New York Times (June 6, 1933) remarked, "Miss Wynyard is excellent as Jane Marryot. She portrays her role with such sympathy and feeling that one scarcely thinks of her as an actress". Another review of Diana Wynyard, this time for One More River (1934), described her acting as 'stirringly sincere'. Her Hollywood career lasted only two years before the actress returned to England. She gave other sensitive performances in The Prime Minister (1941), with John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, and The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941), with Michael Redgrave, both directed by Carol Reed. Her subsequent marriage to Reed lasted just four years. Diana Wynyard appeared in smaller supporting roles during the 1950s and, in keeping with her confession "I don't really want to be a film star", gradually returned to the Shakespearean stage. One of her last significant screen roles was as James Mason's mother in Island in the Sun (1957).
On stage, she played Beatrice, first opposite Anthony Quayle and later John Gielgud, in 'Much ado about nothing' (Australian tour, 1949-50). Other parts included Katherine in 'The Taming of the Shrew' and Hermione in 'The Winter's Tale'. Diana was awarded a CBE in 1953 for her contribution to the theatre. She never stopped working and gave her final performance as Gertrude to Peter O'Toole's Hamlet. - Duncan Bell was born on 16 January 1955 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is an actor, known for Horatio Hornblower: The Duel (1998), World Without End (2012) and Minder (1979).
- Eduardo Frei Montalva was born on 16 January 1911 in Santiago de Chile, Metropolitan Region, Chile. He was married to María Ruiz-Tagle. He died on 22 January 1982 in Santiago de Chile, Metropolitan Region, Chile.
- Ellen Holly is a retired Black American actress. She was best known for her part as Carla Benari Hall in "One Life to Live" which she played for more than 20 years but she she was more then a soap opera actress.
On Broadway, she showed her versatile acting talent in the various roles she played in "A Hand Is on the Gate", "Tiger Tiger Burning Bright", "Face of a Hero", "Taming of the Shrew", "Henry V", "Too Late the Phalarope", "MacBeth", "Funnyhouse of a Negro", "Camino Real", "The Cherry Orchard", and others. She appeared in a handful of films, starting with "Take a Giant Step".
Her autobiography was titled "One Life: An Autobiography of an African American Actress". - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Elliott Reid was born on 16 January 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Inherit the Wind (1960) and Vicki (1953). He died on 21 June 2013 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Eriko made her acting debut at age 14 in the highly acclaimed Asian feature film, "Flowerly Afternoon," which was directed by Kazuki Omori, best known in the U.S. for his work with the famous "Godzilla" television series. Eriko rose to fame when she joined the popular TV show "Go with the Wild!" as a series regular. Then she starred in the award-winning NHK's mini-series "My Beloved Ultra Seven" followed by the Japan's highly regarded television series "Hideyoshi" in which she portrayed Hosokawa Garacia, a historically renowned woman in Japanese history who endured severe persecution when she became Japan's first woman to convert to Christianity. This demanding role required Eriko to play Garacia from age 14 all the way up to age 37. Between the big and small screen, Eriko also recorded and released 10 original albums and 18 singles with record label EMI, touring all over Japan giving sold out concert performances. Having played the lead in over 20 films and television series, her life would become the basis for a beloved anime series entitled: Legendary Idol Eriko, which has been translated into six languages and syndicated world-wide currently, airing in such countries as France, Italy, India and Spain.
Eriko joined the highest rated show of the 2006 - 2007 television season, NBC's drama "Heroes," as Princess Yaeko. The show received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series - Drama and also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Drama. Her tough but vulnerable performance as Princess Yaeko led to her being cast in 20th Century Fox's feature "Dragonball Evolution"as sexy villainess, Mai. Soon after she joined the cast of CW's "Reaper, (2009)" as Kristen, a love interest to Tyler Labine's character Sock. Her first autobiography was published in Japan by the leading publishing company, Bungeishunjyu (2010.) In 2011, the tragedy of Japan's magnitude 9.1 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster changed her life. Her parents' home in her hometown severely damaged by the aftermath eventually led her to shift her focus and found a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the survivors of this tragedy. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Erkan Kolcak Köstendil, is a Turkish actor, writer, director, and singer. His uncle is actor Bülent Sakrak. Born and raised in Bursa, a large city located in northwestern Anatolia, Kostendil was considering and working towards becoming a goalkeeper until his path crossed with two seasoned actors who made such an impression on him that he decided to study theater at the prestigious Mimar Sinan University of the Fine Arts. Kostendil later went on to write, direct, and act in plays and short films. He wrote and starred in the play 'Karsi Cinsle Tanisma Sanati' and was in another play named 'Aut', for which he was chosen 'Actor of the Year'. This play also earned him a 'Young Actor Special' award. Kostendil always kept busy as he wrote and directed the first Turkish Facebook Series, 'Mukadderat'. He gained widespread industry recognition as well as many awards with his short film, 'Vakit'. Kostendil then went on to write and direct a medium-length film which was shot in Istanbul and Amsterdam. Making a successful transition into TV acting, Kostendil has appeared in numerous popular shows and has claimed his place within the acting world by capitalizing on his unique character interpretations. He first appeared on 'Kurtlar Vadisi' in 2005. Kostendil got his first big break with the 2009 production, 'Sakarya Firat' in which he played a low-ranking soldier, and portrayed the character with utmost authenticity. In the following years he appeared in a number of movies and TV shows. In 2014, he portrayed the character 'Karlos Nevizade', on the hit TV show, 'Ulan Istanbul'. This character became a phenomenon among the Turkish TV audience, and gained Kostendil huge fame and recognition all around Turkey. It was on this show that he and one of his co-stars, Sebnem Bozoklu, performed a song he had written named 'Yanarim Yanarim' in one of the episodes. This performance got millions of views on Youtube. After a couple more successful projects, Kostendil appeared in the internationally aired historical drama, 'Muhtesem Yuzyil: Kosem', successfully portraying 'Shahin Khan Girai', the last Khan of Crimea. His last appearance was on the TV show, 'Familya'.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in the Astoria section of Queens, New York City, Ethel Merman surely is the pre-eminent star of 'Broadway' musical comedy. Though untrained in singing, she could belt out a song like quite no one else, and was sought after by major songwriters such as Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Having debuted in 1930 in "Girl Crazy, " she is yet remembered for her marvelous starring appearances in so many great musicals that were later adapted to the silver screen. Among the film versions, Merman herself starred in Anything Goes (1936) and Call Me Madam (1953). That wonderfully boisterous blonde, Betty Hutton, had the Merman lead in both Red, Hot and Blue (1949) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950). Besides Betty Hutton, other Merman screen stand-in roles include Lucille Ball, (in Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)), Ann Sothern, (in Panama Hattie (1942)), Vivian Blaine (in Something for the Boys (1944)) and Rosalind Russell (in Gypsy (1962)). (Russell could never render Stephen Sondheim and Jule Styne's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" the way the immortal Merman did, over and over again.) Ethel Merman's lifetime facts: her dare of birth, was on Thursday, January 16th, 1908 & her life expired on Wednesday, February 15th, 1984. Thursday, January 16th, 1908 & Wednesday, February 15th, 1984, differ 27,789 days, equaling 3,969 weeks & 6 days.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Eva Habermann was born on 16 January 1976 in Hamburg, West Germany. She is an actress and producer, known for Lexx (1996), The Ugly Truth (2021) and Under ConTroll (2019). She was previously married to Hans-Ullrich Hauenstein.- Actress
- Composer
- Director
FKA twigs was born on 16 January 1988 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK. She is an actress and composer, known for Honey Boy (2019), FKA Twigs: Pendulum (2015) and The King's Man (2021).- A solid, reliable working actor since the early 70s, Frederick Coffin was born January 16, 1943 to actress Winnie Collins, as one of five siblings. Educated at Western Reserve Academy, in Hudson, Ohio, Coffin was both an excellent athlete and student. It was at WRA that he first began theater studies; he graduated in 1961 with a BA in theater. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1962 intending to play football, but changed his focus to acting after deciding to perform in a musical. He would graduate from the U of M with a Masters in Theater. In the early 70s, he would begin to perform in plays including "Much Ado About Nothing", "As You Like It", and "King Lear". He would also start doing guest shots on TV series around this time, amassing a great many credits in the medium, appearing on such shows as Kojak (1973), Hill Street Blues (1981), Moonlighting (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), Dallas (1978), Hunter (1984) and L.A. Law (1986) - to name only several. In the late 70s, he would start to lend his engaging, professional, stolid presence to such features as King of the Gypsies (1978), Mother's Day (1980) (in which he was billed as 'Holden McGuire') and Alone in the Dark (1982), graduating to major supporting parts in films such as The Bedroom Window (1987), Shoot to Kill (1988), Hard to Kill (1990) (in which he was particularly fine as Steven Seagals old friend), Wayne's World (1992) and Identity (2003), which would sadly turn out to be his final feature film. He would die on July 31, 2003 in Los Angeles of lung cancer, survived by wife Barbara Monte-Britton, whom he married in 1977, and by his three brothers.
- Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was born in the small town of Banes in Oriente Province, Cuba, on January 16, 1901. His parents were workers on a sugar plantation and Batista, not wanting to spend the rest of his life cutting sugar cane, joined the army when he turned 20. He rose steadily, if unspectacularly, through the ranks and in 1932 was promoted to sergeant. In 1933 he had become powerful enough to lead a successful coup--known as the "Revolt of the Sergeants"--against the progressive government of Gerardo Machado.
After the coup Batista appointed himself head of the armed forces and quickly set out to consolidate his power. A year later he forced out the nominal president and appointed himself de facto ruler, although he used a succession of front men to hold the office of actual president. Batista quickly gained the support of the US government, which saw him as friendly to its political and economic interests. He also formed a friendship with American gangster Meyer Lansky--known as the "treasurer" of the American Mafia--that would last for 30 years. Through his friendship with Lansky Batista was introduced to major Mafia figures, resulting in his forming a business partnership with some of the most notorious figures in American organized crime. They built hotels and gambling casinos and controlled prostitution and the drug trade between Cuba and the US (with Batista, of course, getting a piece of the action). A change in the Cuban constitution in 1940 forced Batista to run for election as president, an election he won handily. However, the corruption and political repression of his regime and a string of high tax increases resulted in his losing re-election in 1944, after which he moved to Florida.
He ran for and won a seat in the Cuban parliament in 1948 and ran again for president, in 1952. However, when it became clear that he wouldn't win the election, he led a revolt against the government and once more took over, suspending the constitution and granting himself complete power. He formed an even closer relationship with American organized-crime figures, which allowed them to spread their influence into Central and South America, and he opened up the country to investment by large American corporations, which were attracted by Batista's policy of keeping wages artificially low and silencing, jailing or killing labor-union leaders. Eventually, however, his regime's corruption and heavy-handed repression eventually resulted in violent opposition, and a rebel movement led by Fidel Castro rose up in revolt in 1953. They were defeated by Batista's forces, with many of their number killed and others--including Castro--imprisoned. In 1956, after his release from jail and flight to Mexico, Castro returned with a small army to resume the fight. A series of strikes, riots and university protests resulted in Batista's government growing even more repressive, and many opposition figures were beaten and/or murdered. Armed opposition to his regime grew, and the various resistance groups came together under Castro's leadership. A combination of crushing defeats inflicted by the rebels on Batista's army and the US government's finally withdrawing support for his regime resulted in Batista fleeing the country on January 1, 1959, and Castro took over. Batista first went to the Dominican Republic, but eventually moved to Portugal, then to Spain, where he died on August 6, 1973. - Actor
- Writer
- Visual Effects
Gabriel Constantin is a Romanian - British actor. His maternal grandparents were Jewish-Russian and his paternal grandparents were of Greek-Italian ancestry. Early on he was trained in Ballroom dancing during which time he won several competitions nationally and internationally. His passion for acting was rekindled in 2008 when he was cast by Romanian director Nae Caranfil as James Bond in his mock short: "Drive Another Day" aimed to promote Transylvania International Film Festival that year. Encouraged by the feedback he decided to finally pursue acting as his career and after attending RADA, he followed it up with the MA acting course at Arts Ed London where he was offered a scholarship and graduated in 2011.- Garth Collins was born on 16 January 1967. He is an actor, known for The Last Days of American Crime (2020), Mercenary for Justice (2006) and Zulu (2013).
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Garth Ennis was born on 16 January 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Boys (2019), The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022) and Constantine (2005).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Gillian was born in Los Angeles, CA to parents, Victor and Cheryl Waters. She was raised in Altadena, CA. Her background is of African-American, Blackfoot Indian and Irish descent. An all around student athlete, Gillian was a star basketball player, Homecoming Queen and a honors student in high school. Gillian wanted to be an FBI agent and received a scholarship from the LAPD to attend Howard University and study Administration of Justice but later changed her major to Human Communication focusing on Intra/Interpersonal Relations and minored in Dramatic Arts.
A self-proclaimed "very cool, very hip nerd", Gillian has been in the business for over 20 years. Her first break was starring as LL Cool J's lover in his music video "Hey Lover" ft. Boyz II Men and then as Dr. Dre's wife and tango partner in his music video "Been There, Done That". She then moved on from music videos to television and got her first role in the feature film, "How To Be A Player" and then playing Cole's girlfriend on the hit show "Martin. She continued to book guest starring roles on sitcoms and dramas and smaller roles in feature films, like the Quentin Tarantino's classic Jackie Brown and Spike Lee's Bamboozled. Her favorite roles to date are playing the Amazon warrior, Amoria, on the show Xena: Warrior Princess which she filmed on location in New Zealand and the recurring villain, China Lee Arvin on the soap opera, Days of Our Lives.
Gillian married her best friend of 19 years and fiancé of 3 years, actor, director and martial arts star, Michael Jai White in a lavish but intimate ceremony in Thailand complete with a beautiful Thai couture dress, a parade of painted elephants, Thai drummers, exotic dancers throwing flower petals and a fireworks show. The two had just completed filming their new Sony Pictures film shot in Bangkok, Never Back Down 3, which they are both starring in. She has two daughters from a previous marriage, Alaia and Niahla and 3 stepchildren, Devin, Jai and Morgan from her new marriage. Michael and Gillian are quickly becoming Black Hollywood's newest IT couple because of their very public loving relationship that solely focuses on their family, health & fitness, upcoming projects and their genuine happiness together.Gillian Iliana Waters- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Giulia Nahmany is an actress, writer and producer. She was born on the 16th of January, 1983 in Kfar-Saba, Israel to a Jewish Ashkenazi family. Giulia showed love for the performing arts since a young age, deciding that she would pursue this as a career. She began working during her teenage years, while attending the American International school of Bucharest, presenting her first TV show at the age of 16. Love by Design (2014) , a romantic comedy, in which she starred alongside Jane Seymour, marked her American debut. In addition to co-starring in the lead role of Danielle Luca, Nahmany's credits included producer, story by, and co-writer screenplay landing Nahmany a First-time Filmmaker Award from the 2014 Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2016, Nahmany followed this, by starring in High Strung (2016) , for her previous director, Michael Damian. In 2013 Nahmany founded Goldline Production International to produce feature films.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Greedy Smith was born on 16 January 1956 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and composer, known for Crocodile Dundee (1986), The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) and Blinded by the Light (2019). He died on 2 December 2019 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Greg Page was born on 16 January 1972 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is an actor and writer, known for The Wiggles: Specials (1993), The Wiggles (1993) and The Wiggles Movie (1997). He has been married to Vanessa Miller since 2010. They have two children. He was previously married to Michelle Charlton.- Visual Effects
- Director
- Producer
Greg Strause grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Greg and his brother Colin Strause began experimenting with visual effects in their early teens. In 1995, Greg moved to Los Angeles and started working on the special effects for The X-Files (1993). From there he moved on to big-budget hits such as The Nutty Professor (1996), Volcano (1997), and the iceberg sequence of the Academy Award-winning Titanic (1997). He then broke into the music video and commercial arena, handling the special effects for artists such as U2, Britney Spears, and Aerosmith as well as spots for Nike, Jeep, and Pepsi. In 2000, Colin won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' video, "Californication." This led the brothers to start directing under the moniker "The Brothers Strause," and their Linkin Park clip "Crawling" was nominated for Best Direction and Best Rock Video at the 2001 VMAs. Other artists they have directed for include A Perfect Circle, Nickelback, Disturbed, and Staind.
Their visual effects company [Hydraulx] is at the forefront of the Industry delivering ground-breaking work on the blockbusters Fantastic Four (2005), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004), for which Greg won a British Academy Award (BAFTA).
The Brothers have recently directed spots for Coca Cola, Ford, The United States Marine Corps, Toyota, Universal Studios and Sony PlayStation's "God of War." Their latest music video for A Perfect Circle's "Passive" marked their second collaboration with the band. The video was shot almost entirely with thermal cameras and featured on the Constantine soundtrack and DVD.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Born in New York City to a Judge of Special Sessions who was also president of a sewing machine company. Grew up on City Island, New York. Attended Hamilton Military Academy and turned down an appointment to West Point to attend New York Law School, where his law school classmates included future New York City mayor James J. Walker. After a boating accident which led to pneumonia, Carey wrote a play while recuperating and toured the country in it for three years, earning a great deal of money, all of which evaporated after his next play was a failure. In 1911, his friend Henry B. Walthall introduced him to director D.W. Griffith, for whom Carey was to make many films. Carey married twice, the second time to actress Olive Fuller Golden (aka Olive Carey, who introduced him to future director John Ford. Carey influenced Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle to use Ford as a director, and a partnership was born that lasted until a rift in the friendship in 1921. During this time, Carey grew into one of the most popular Western stars of the early motion picture, occasionally writing and directing films as well. In the '30s he moved slowly into character roles and was nominated for an Oscar for one of them, the President of the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). He worked once more with Ford, in The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), and appeared once with his son, Harry Carey Jr., in Howard Hawks's Red River (1948). He died after a protracted bout with emphysema and cancer. Ford dedicated his remake of 3 Godfathers (1948) "To Harry Carey--Bright Star Of The Early Western Sky."- Actress
- Producer
Heather Elizabeth Parkhurst was born on 16 January 1967 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Alpha Dog (2006) and Bikini Summer III: South Beach Heat (1997).- Irene Vernon was born on 16 January 1922 in Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Bewitched (1964), Fireside Theatre (1949) and The Sound of Fury (1950). She was married to Emmanuel Rosenberg. She died on 21 April 1998 in South Bend, Indiana, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
- Writer
Jake recently starred in a recurring role on Netflix's UMBRELLA ACADEMY as well as THE HARDY BOYS on Hulu. He can also recently be seen starring in the Hallmark Movie, THE WEDDING CONTRACT. On TV, Jake has recurred on ABC's DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, USA's SUITS, and NBC's GONE. Epstein is best known for his role as Craig Manning on DEGRASSI, which earned him a Gemini Award. His other film work most recently includes EIGHT GIFTS OF HANUKKAH for Hallmark as well as the independent film TERROR IN THE COUNTRY, and he will next star in the feature films WHAT WE DO FOR LOVE, LAUGHING ALL THE WAY and SINCERELY CHRISTMAS. On Broadway, he starred as Gerry Goffin in the Tony-nominated, Grammy-winning musical, BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL. His other stage work includes SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), touring with SPRING AWAKENING (Melchior), Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT (Will) and BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (Tony).- Writer
- Producer
- Music Department
James May was born in 1963 but his development was tragically arrested at the age of 12. A confessed 'complete waster' until the age of 42, May then took the decision to apply his talent for the pointless in the direction of television. His oeuvre includes a record for the world's longest train set, building a real house from Lego, propelling children's action figures to beyond the speed of sound, a revival of the cult of duelling, the creation of a mechanical email system, and a wholesale rethink of the pet funeral business. He regards the fish-finger sandwich as the greatest single leap in human progress until the invention of the internet.
He lives in Hammersmith, but his neighbours wish he didn't.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jason Friedberg was born on 16 January 1970 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Disaster Movie (2008), Epic Movie (2007) and Meet the Spartans (2008).- Actor
- Writer
Jason Johnson was born on 16 January 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Twilight Zone (1959), Wonder Woman (1975) and Perry Mason (1957). He died on 24 November 1977 in Burbank, California, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Jennifer Dale was born on 16 January 1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Coroner (2019), SurrealEstate (2021) and What Would Sal Do? (2017). She was previously married to Robert Lantos.- Actor
- Writer
- Editorial Department
Jeremy began his acting career at the age of five, starring in his father's off beat home movies. Throughout his teenage and young adult years he has performed in a large number of theatrical productions in a variety of genres and continues to work in the live theatre arts today. He attended University where he studied photography and theatre and continues to hone his craft as an actor.- Jibon Rahman was a director, known for Prem Juddho (1994). He died on 16 January 2020 in Mothkhola, Pakundia, Bengladesh.
- Actor
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Born James Wayne Stafford on January 16, 1944, in Winter Haven, Florida, Jim is an American comedian, musician, singer-songwriter, and actor.
His songs include: "Spiders & Snakes", "Swamp Witch", "Under The Scotsman's Kilt", "My Girl Bill", and "Turn Loose of My Leg". Stafford has his own theater in Branson, Missouri, since 1990, and still performs there three nights a week. He is self-taught on guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica.
He was the supervising writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", which aired on NBC in 1988.- Jimmy Bracken was born on 16 January 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), The Magical World of Disney (1954) and Mission: Impossible (1966).
- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Jô Soares was born on 17 January 1938 in Rio de Janeiro. His father was a diplomat, and young Jô wanted to follow his father's career. He studied at a boarding school in Switzerland in the early '50s. In 1954 he begun his artistic life working at "Rei do Movimento". He also worked on two other famous films: "O Homem do Sputnik" (1959) and "Vai Que é Mole" (1960). In 1967 he was part of the cast of successful funny TV series "A Família Trapo". Three other comical TV series came later: "Faça Humor, Não Faça Guerra" (1970), "Satiricom" (1973) and "Planeta dos Homens" (1976). In 1976 he directed "O Pai do Povo", a film he also produced and inn which he worked as an actor. In 1970 he joined Globo TV and starred "Viva o Gordo" where he played many different comical characters. In 1988 he left Globo TV and moved to SBT, where he starred a similar show, called "Veja o Gordo". At SBT he started hosting a talk show called "Jô Onze e Meia". He later stopped making "Veja o Gordo". In 2000 he went back to Globo TV where he started "Programa do Jô", very similar to "Jô Onze e Meia". In 2016 his show was finished. Jô has written several novels, among them "O Xangô de Baker Street", "O Homem Que Matou Getúlio Vargas" and "Assassinato na Academia Brasileira de Letras." All these works have comical characteristics.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Months after high school graduation in Detroit at the age of seventeen, with his offbeat sense of humor, Joey found himself working as a stand-up comedian at the World Famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood with the likes of Richard Pryor and Robin Williams. A year later, he was mentored by the late legendary voice-over actor Daws Butler - better known as the voices of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. Mr. Butler helped Joey develop his remarkable talent for characterizations.
A longtime voice-over actor, Joey has worked on numerous projects: from being the voice of a Smurf, to the voice of McGruff the Crime Dog, to voicing multiple projects for animation maverick, Ralph Bakshi, to voicing popular video games such as Skylanders, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Mafia II and many others. As well as voicing spots for 100s of TV and radio commercials.
As a stand-up comic, he headlined at top comedy clubs across the country and in Las Vegas, and was the opening act for The Pointer Sisters, Richard Pryor, the late Marvin Gaye, and many others.
In Addition, he is the author of two non-fiction books. The 2013 pet memoir, My Life with Snoopy: How One Shelter Dog's Love Changed a Man's Life and Other Tails of Adventure, which tells the story of his 13 year relationship with his Burbank Shelter dog, and his 2017 autobiography, Laughing Through the Pain: Stories from the Trenches of Hollywood Standup Comedy and Beyond. It details Joey's life growing up as a white Jewish kid in black neighborhoods in Detroit then making his way into the world of Hollywood show business, and beyond.
His film-making credits include the comedy short, Bernie - a love story about a man and his mattress in which he wore several hats: Writer-Director-Producer and Actor. The short gained critical acclaim winning the Bronze Award at the Houston International Film Festival. He has also directed various YouTube videos for his comedy channel.- Joey Simmrin was born on 16 January 1981 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Nine Months (1995), Little Giants (1994) and Clockstoppers (2002).
- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky University and then USC film school in Los Angeles. He began making short films in 1962, and won an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Subject in 1970, for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970), which he made while at USC. Carpenter formed a band in the mid-1970s called The Coupe de Villes, which included future directors Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle. Since the 1970s, he has had numerous roles in the film industry including writer, actor, composer, producer, and director. After directing Dark Star (1974), he has helmed both classic horror films like Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and The Thing (1982), and noted sci-fi tales like Escape from New York (1981) and Starman (1984).- Burly, stentorian-voiced John Hamilton, worked on Broadway and in touring theatrical companies for many years prior to his 1930 film debut. He was in the original Broadway company of "Seventh Heaven" and would appear in the film remake (Seventh Heaven (1937)) in 1937. For Warner Bros, he starred with Donald Meek in a series of short mysteries based on S.S. Van Dine stories. He was often typecast as prison wardens, judges and police chiefs, but played various types of characters in an almost limitless number of films from the 1930s to the 1950s. He became famous when he was cast as Daily Planet newspaper editor Perry White in the 1950s TV classic, Adventures of Superman (1952). He died of a heart attack in 1957 and is survived by a son. Hamilton is often confused with John F. Hamilton, an American actor whose career began in the 1920s, John Hamilton, a British actor who worked during the same period but exclusively in the UK, and with several other actors of the same name.
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- Director
- Producer
Jonas Carpignano was born in 1984 and grew up between New York City and Rome. His first feature film Mediterranea debuted at the Cannes Film Festival -Semaine de la Critique in 2015 before receiving the award for the best directorial debut of 2015 by the National Board of Review and Gotham Independent Film Award for breakthrough. His second feature film A Ciambra had its world premier at the 2017 Cannes film festival -Director's Fortnight where it won the Europa Cinema Label prize for best European film. The film won numerous awards and prizes in addition to earning Carpignano a nomination for best director at the Independent Spirit Awards. A Ciambra was chosen to represent Italy for best foreign film at the 2018 Academy Awards and won two David Di Donatello awards including best director. His third film A Chiara had its world premiere in the Director's Fortnight at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and won the Europa Labels prize for Best European film marking the second time that the director earned this prize at Cannes.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Although born in Charleston, S.C. Jonathan grew up in Mobile, Alabama. He moved to Orlando, Florida at the age of twenty where he earned a B.S. in psychology and began doing improv comedy with Wayne Brady at SAK Theatre Comedy Lab. In 1995 he moved with a group of improvisers moved to L.A. The group began performing as the Houseful of Honkeys. Since then Jonathan has toured doing improv comedy all over the world with Wayne Brady and Drew Carey. Jonathan lives in Los Angeles with his wife Leah Stanko Mangum and their two sons, Chase and Austin.- Jorge Navarro was an actor, known for Sin miedo a la verdad (2018), Lying Heart (2016) and Suertuda gloria (2003). He was married to Gabriela Barajas. He died on 16 January 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Josh Evans was born on 16 January 1971 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and actor, known for The Doors (1991), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and The Price of Air (2000). He has been married to Roxy Saint since October 2012. They have one child. He was previously married to Charis Michelsen.- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Josh Gelman was a producer, known for 48 Hours (1988), Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line (2020) and 48 Hours on ID (2010). He was married to Christina Leijonhufvud . He died on 4 January 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Actress Josie Davis stars in director Drew Water's hilarious Christmas comedy, Festival of Trees, out this holiday season.Also set to release this year is her role as evil government astrophysicist, Dr Barboux, opposite James Remar, in the comedy Glowzies in which she and Remar were nominated at the Houston Film Festival. The movie premiered at the respected Sitges Film Festival, in Spain. She also has a watchable podcast on You Tube and can be heard on Apple, Spotify etc but you can watch clips from it on her Instagram page - @JosieDavis. Updates for her career are also found there.
A Hollywood, California native, Josie Davis began her career at the age of three years old. She starred in numerous television commercials, and as just a child, she was cast as a series regular, on the hit television show, Charles In Charge, rated number-one in syndication. Josie received three nominations for her performance on the series and also won the respected Youth In Film Award for her role as the adorable, shy and bookish, Sarah Powell.
Josie was the youngest student to study with respected acting teacher from Brooklyn, Paul E Richards, for twenty years until his passing. He had been referred to as Lee Strasberg's "right hand man."
At the age of twenty four, Davis auditioned in front of Hollywood heavyweights, Martin Landau, Mark Rydell, Shelley Winters, and Barbara Bain. After only one audition Davis was accepted into the legendary Actors Studio as a "Member with working privileges", then was made a Lifetime Member after only one callback. Over one thousand actors auditioned, making Davis only one of two actors to be accepted that year.
After wanting to focus on film, Academy Award winning director Mark Rydell told Josie even though she wanted to be thought of as a film actor she should be proud to be a new series regular on the last season of the iconic television series, Beverly Hills 90210. After the series ended, legendary Aaron Spelling cast Josie again as a series regular on his next show for NBC called, Titans, until it's final run.
Josie 's additional series credits include: a recurring role on CSI: NY with Gary Sinese, the fan favorite Christmas episode of Two and a Half Men that USA Today called "A must see". Comedy King, Chuck Lorre and the ex President of Warner Brothers, Peter Roth, told Davis she should've been nominated for an emmy as Sandy, the multiple personality cook. Lorre said, "I couldn't imagine anyone else playing that part". Davis' other television credits include: CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, Rules of Engagment with David Spade, The Mentalist, and the list goes on and on. Josie was cast opposite Ed O'Neil and Jennifer Love Hewitt in the television comedy, In the Game, playing a diva sports reporter which guest starred Tom Brady, for ABC.
In 2011, Martin Landau and Mark Rydell cast Josie in the stage production out of The Actors Studio - David Mamet's Speed the Plow where her performance extremely well-received.
Josie took a break from television to focus on films. First up was Wizardream, playing the British Evil Queen, opposite Malcolm Mc Dowell. Nicolas Cage cast Josie in his directorial debut, Sonny, opposite James Franco with the late Harry Dean Stanton. Josie has played the lead in numerous independent films as well as Lifetime movies, which earned her Lifetime Movie Network's Lifetime Achievement award as well as one for her lead role in Backstabbed, both voted entirely by Lifetime fans.
Josie is writing her Memoir, which will take years to complete. She is involved in a variety of animal charities, but has especially loved her anonymous volunteer work at the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter where she adopted her two cats- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
Juan Pablo Laplace was born on 16 January 1968 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an assistant director and director, known for El esquema de Ponzi (2013), Perfidia (2012) and La Casa del Mar (2015). He died on 7 July 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Actress
- Director
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Actress Julie Ann Emery is best known for her breakout recurring role in "Better Call Saul," AMC's highly buzzed-about prequel to "Breaking Bad." She can be seen as a series regular in AMC's fan favorite, "Preacher." Julie Ann takes on the important role of Lara Featherstone, one of the Grail's best operatives, and reports to Herr Starr. On "Better Call Saul," Julie Ann Emery played the role of Betsy Kettleman, one of the most mysterious characters in the series, who at first glance appears to be an average wife and mother, but has much more going on underneath.
Best known for the feature film Hitch ("...a sweet turn by Julie Ann Emery as Eva Mendes' best friend"...USA Today), Julie Ann made her big screen debut in the hit romantic comedy alongside Will Smith and Kevin James. Building on that momentum, she went on to star as Holly in the hit indie-comedy History of Future Folk and as Annie Cayne in the family film Dakota's Summer with Keith Carradine. Her most recent film project featured Julie Ann as a therapist to Mckenna Grace in "Gifted." The FOX feature film also starred Chris Evans.
No stranger to the small screen, you may also recognize Emery as Ida Thurman from the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning miniseries "Fargo," with Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Oliver Platt, and Bob Odenkirk. She starred as Special Agent Jennifer Sampson in Rod Lurie's critically acclaimed series "Line of Fire ("an agent so fiery and confident...she's reminiscent of Jodie Foster in The Silence of The Lambs"...NY Daily News). Emery also worked with Lurie as Secret Service Agent Joan Greer on ABC's political drama series "Commander in Chief" alongside Golden Globe-winner Geena Davis and Emmy-winner Donald Sutherland. Emery appeared as Amelia Keyes in Steven Spielberg's Emmy-nominated miniseries, "Taken," and in recurring roles on USA's "Suits," DirecTV's "Damages," "The Riches" for FX, Showtime's Emmy-nominated drama series "Dexter," and "NCIS."- Actress
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- Director
Juliet Berto was born on 16 January 1947 in Grenoble, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. She was an actress and writer, known for Neige (1981), Duelle (1976) and Cap Canaille (1983). She was married to Michel Berto. She died on 10 January 1990 in Breux-Jouy, Essonne, France.- Actor
- Writer
Kabir Bedi is one of India's most famous international actors, with a career that spans from Bollywood to Hollywood and Europe, in films, television, theatre, and radio.
Kabir's Italian series "SANDOKAN" made him a major star across all of Europe.
He starred in one of the world's most-watched TV series, "THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL"
He acted in the James Bond "OCTOPUSSY".
He has been a voting member of the "Oscars Academy" (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) since 1982.
In recent years, he has acted in 5 films in 5 languages: English, Italian, Hindi, Malayalam, and Telegu.
He is the Honorary Brand Ambassador for Sight Savers India, which performed over 5 million free eye operations across India.
He is the Honorary Brand Ambassador of Care & Share Italia, which educates children from kindergarten to university in the homes and centers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India.
To top it all, he has been Knighted by the Italian Republic with its highest civilian honour, "Cavaliere".- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Freund, an innovative director of photography responsible for development of the three-camera system used to shoot television situation comedies, was born on January 16, 1890, in the Bohemian city of Koeniginhof, then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire (now known as Dvur Kralove in the Czech Republic). Freund went to work at the age of 15 as a movie projectionist, and by the age of 17, he was a camera operator shooting shot subjects and newsreels. Subsequently, he was employed at Germany's famous UFA Studios during the 1920s, when the German cinema was the most innovative in the world.
At UFA, Freund worked as a cameraman for such illustrious directors as F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. For Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924) (aka The Last Laugh), screenwriter Carl Mayer worked closely with Freund to develop a scenario that would employ the moving camera that became a hallmark of Weimar German cinema. One of the most beautiful and critically acclaimed silent films, The Last Laugh (1924) is considered the perfect silent by some critics as the images do most of the storytelling, allowing for a minimal amount of inter-titles. The collaborative genius of Murnau, Mayer, and Freund meant that the images communicated the integral part of the narrative, visualizing and elucidating the protagonist's psyche. Freund filmed a drunk scene with the camera secured on his chest, with a battery pack on his back for balance, enabling him to stumble about and produce vertiginous shots suggesting intoxication.
Director Ewald André Dupont gave credit for the innovative camera work on his masterpiece Variety (1925) (aka Variety) to Freund, praising his ingenuity in an article published in The New York Times. Freund was one of the cameramen and the co-writer (with Carl Mayer and director Walter Ruttmann) on Berlin: Symphony of Metropolis (1927) (Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), an artistic documentary that used a hidden camera to capture the people of the city going about their daily lives. Always technically innovative, Freund developed a high-speed film stock to aid his shooting in low-light situations. This film also is hailed as a classic. Other classic German films that Freund shot were The Golem (1920) (aka The Golem) and Lang's Metropolis (1927).
Now possessing an international reputation, Freund emigrated to the U.S. in 1929, where he was employed by the Technicolor Co. to help perfect its color process. Subsequently, he was hired as a cinematographer and director by Universal Studios, where he cut his teeth, uncredited, as a cinematographer on the great anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Universal's first Oscar winner as Best Picture.
Universal's bread and butter in the early 1930s were its horror films, and Freund was involved in the production of several classics. Among his Universal assignments, Freund shot Dracula (1931) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), and directed The Mummy (1932). The Mummy (1932) was Freund's first directorial effort, and co-star Zita Johann, who disliked Freund, claimed he was incompetent, which is unfair, seeing as how the film is now considered a classic of its genre. The film uses the undead sorcerer Imhotep's pool with which he can impose his will over the living by spreading some tana leaves on the water, as a visual metaphor for the subconscious. The film is arresting visually due to Freund's cinematic eye that created a sense of "otherness." The film is infused with a dream-like state that seems rooted in the subconscious mind. Freund's other directorial efforts at Universal proved less satisfying.
Moving to MGM, Freund directed just one more motion picture, Mad Love (1935) (aka The Hands of Orlac) a horror classic that utilized the expressionism of his UFA apprenticeship. With the great lighting cameraman Gregg Toland as his director of photography, the collaboration of Freund and Toland created a European sensibility unique for a Hollywood horror film. The compositions of the shots featured arch shapes and utilized the expressive shadows of the best of the European avant-garde films of the 1920s.
But MGM wanted Freund for his genius at camera work. He shot the rooftop numbers for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), another Best Picture Oscar winner, and worked with William H. Daniels, Garbo's favorite cameraman, on "Camille" (1936). He shot Greta Garbo's Conquest (1937) solo, though he never worked with Garbo again. That same year, he was the director of photography on The Good Earth (1937), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Other major MGM pictures he shot were Pride and Prejudice (1940), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Tortilla Flat (1942), and A Guy Named Joe (1943). He also worked for other studios, shooting Golden Boy (1939) for Columbia. In 1942, he pulled off a rare double: he was nominated for Best Cinematography in both the black and white and color categories, for The Chocolate Soldier (1941) and Blossoms in the Dust (1941), respectively.
One of the last films he shot for MGM was Two Smart People (1946), starring Lucille Ball. In 1947, he moved on to Warner Bros, where he shot the classic Key Largo (1948) for John Huston. His last film as a director of photography was Michael Curtiz' Montana (1950), which starred Gary Cooper.
Always the technical innovator, Freund founded the Photo Research Corp. in 1944, a laboratory for the development of new cinematographic techniques and equipment. His technical work culminated in his receipt of a Class II Technical Award in 1955 from the Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for the design of a direct-reading light meter. That same year, he had the honor of representing his adopted country at the International Conference on Illumination in Zurich, Switzerland.
It was perhaps inevitable that the technical and innovation-minded Freund would get to work for a brand new visual medium, television. Lucille Ball, whom he had photographed when she was a contract player at MGM, became his boss when he was hired as the director of photography at Desilu Productions, owned by Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz. Desilu hired the great Freund as its owners were determined to shoot the show I Love Lucy (1951) on film rather than produce the show live, as was standard in the early 1950s. Most shows were shot live, while a film of the program was simultaneously shot from a monitor, a process that created a "kinescope." The kinescope would be shown in other time zones on the network's affiliates. Desilu's owners disliked the quality of kinescopes, and needed Freund to come up with a solution to their problem of how to maintain the intimacy of a live show on film.
Freund agreed that the show should be shot on film rather than live, as film enabled thorough planning and allowed for cutting, which was impossible with live TV. Freud knew that film would allow Desilu to eliminate the fluffs which were a staple of early television, and would allow the producers to re-shoot scenes to improve the show, if needed.
I Love Lucy (1951) had to be filmed before an audience to retain the immediacy of a live TV show, which meant that the traditional, time-consuming methods of studio production with one camera would not work. Freund decided to shoot I Love Lucy (1951) with three 35mm Mitchell BNC cameras, one of each to simultaneously shoot long shots, medium shots and close-ups. Thus, the editor would have adequate coverage to create the 22 minutes of footage needed for a half-hour commercial network show.
The then-innovative, now-standard technique of simultaneously shooting a situation comedy with three 35mm cameras cut the production time needed to produce a 22-minute program to one-hour. The cameras were mounted on dollies, with the center camera outfitted with a 40mm wide-angle lens, and the side cameras outfitted with 3- and 4-inch lenses. The resulting shots were edited on a Movieola. A script girl in a booth overlooking the stage cued the camera operators. Due to extensive rehearsal time before the show was shot live, the camera operators had floor marks to guide them, but Freund's system was enabled by the script girl overseeing their actions via a 2-way intercom. The system made the shooting, breaking-down, and setting-up process for the next scenes on the three sets of the I Love Lucy (1951) stage very economical in terms of time, averaging one and one-half minutes between shots.
Freund worked out the lighting during the rehearsal period. Almost all of the lighting was overhead, except for portable fill lights mounted above the matte box on each camera. In Freund's system, there were no lighting changes during shooting, other than the use of a dimming board. Since the lighting was mounted overhead on catwalks, power cables were kept off the floor, which facilitated the dollying that was essential for making the system work fluidly.
Freund's solution to the problem of shooting a show on film economically was to make lighting as uniform as possible, taking advantage of adding highlights whenever possible, since a comedy show required high-key illumination. Due to the high contrast of the tubes in the image pickup systems at the television stations, contrast was a potential problem, as any contrast in the film would be exaggerated upon transmission of the film. To keep the film contrast to what Freund called a "fine medium," the sets were painted in various shades of gray. Props and costumes also were gray to promote a uniformity of color and tone that would not defeat Freund's carefully devised illumination scheme.
In a typical workweek, the I Love Lucy (1951) company engaged in pre-production planning and rehearsals on Monday through Thursday. I Love Lucy (1951) was filmed before a live audience at 8:00 o'clock PM on Friday evenings, and Freund's camera crew worked only on that Friday and the preceding Thursday. Freund, however, attended the Wednesday afternoon rehearsal of the cast to study the movements of the players around the sets, noting the blocking and their entrances and exits, in order to plan his lighting and camera work. Thursday morning at 8:00 o'clock AM, Freund and the gaffers would begin lighting the sets, which typically would be done by noon, the time the camera crew was required to report on set to be briefed on camera movements. Then, Freund would rehearse the camera action in order to make necessary changes in the lighting and the dollying of the cameras.
It was during the Thursday full-crew rehearsal that the cues for the dimmer operator were set, and the floor was marked to indicate the cameras' positions for various shots. For each shot, the focus was pre-measured and noted for each camera position with chalk marks on the stage floor. Another rehearsal was held at 4:30 PM with the full production crew. Though a full-dress rehearsal was held at 7:30 PM, with the attendance of the full crew, the cameras were not brought onto the set. The director would take the opportunity to discuss the plan of the show and solicit input from the cast and crew on how to tighten the show and improve its pacing.
The next call for the entire company was at 1:00 PM on Friday to discuss any major changes that were discussed the previous night. After this meeting, the cameras would be brought out onto the stage, and at 4:30 PM, there would be a final dress rehearsal during which Freund would check his lighting and make any required changes.
After a dinner break, the cast and production crew would hold a "talk through" of the show to solicit further suggestions and solve any remaining problems. At 8:00 PM, the cast and production crew were ready to start filming the show before a live audience. Before shooting, one of the cast or a member of the company had briefed the audience on the filming procedure, emphasizing the need for the audience's reactions to be spontaneous and natural.
Shooting was over in about an hour due to the rapid set-ups and break-downs of the crew, which shot the show in chronological order. Due to the thorough planning and rehearsals, retakes were seldom necessary. Camera operators in Freund's system had to make each take the right way the first time, every time, to keep the system working smoothly, and they did. An average of 7,500 feet of film was shot for each show at a cost that was significantly less than a comparable major studio production.
Freund also served as the cinematographer on the TV series Our Miss Brooks (1952), which was shot at Desilu Studios, and Desilu's own December Bride (1954). It was no accident that Desilu productions turned to Karl Freund to realize their dream of creating a high-quality show on film. Freund had the broadest experience of any cameraman of his stature, starting in silent pictures, and then excelling in both B&W and color in the sound era. With his penchant for technical innovation, he was the ideal man to develop solutions for filming a television show. Freund met the challenge of creating high quality filmed images in a young medium still handicapped by its primitive technology.
Freund became the dean of cinematographers in a new medium, with Desilu's I Love Lucy (1951) and its other shows recognized as the gold standard for TV production. His work ensured the fortunes of Desilu Productions, and the personal fortunes of Desilu owners Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, as he provided them with quality films of each show that could be easily syndicated into perpetuity, whereas the live shows filmed secondarily off of flickering TV monitors as kinescopes could not.
After retiring as a cinematographer, Freund continued his research at the Photo Research Corp. He died on May 3, 1969.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the more controversial supermodels, primarily because of her unusually low weight during the early part of her career. (she typified the "waif" models). Her unusual appearance (and possibly her willingness to appear nude, "It's just work") have, in a very short time, made her almost as widely recognized as Cindy Crawford.- Kathy Evison's father is employed by the National Park Service. so by age 18 she had moved with her family as much as 20 times from one park to another, including Grand Canyon, Sequoia, and her favorite, Grand Tetons. She financed her college education by modeling for magazines like Shape, Self, and Seventeen, and appearing in television commercials all over the world. She graduated cum laude from the University of California at Davis with a degree in rhetoric, but she decided to switch to acting and appeared in two Spelling productions, The Heights (1992) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), before landing a regular role in SeaQuest 2032 (1993).
- Keith Wayne was born on 16 January 1945 in Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Night of the Living Dead (1968). He died on 9 September 1995 in Cary, North Carolina, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kellye Nakahara was born on 16 January 1948 in Oahu, Hawaii, USA. She was an actress, known for Clue (1985), M*A*S*H (1972) and Doctor Dolittle (1998). She was married to David Wallett. She died on 16 February 2020 in Pasadena, California, USA.