Coming to America 1988 premiere
Sunday June 26th, TCL Chinese Theatre 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
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- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A native of New Jersey and son of a mechanic, African-American John Amos has relied on his imposing build, eruptive nature and strong, forceful looks to obtain acting jobs, and a serious desire for better roles to earn a satisfying place in the annals of film and TV. He has found it a constant uphill battle to further himself in an industry that tends to diminish an actor's talents with severe and/or demeaning stereotypes and easy pigeonholing. A tough, often hot-headed guy with a somewhat tender side, John would succeed far better on stage than on film and TV...with one extremely noteworthy exceptions.
Born on December 27, 1939, John was first employed as an advertising copywriter, a social worker at New York's Vera Institute of Justice, and an American and Canadian semi-professional football player before receiving his calling as an actor. A stand-up comic on the Greenwich Village circuit, the work eventually took him West and, ultimately, led to his hiring as a staff writer on Leslie Uggams' musical variety show in 1969. Making his legit stage debut in a 1971 L.A. production of the comedy "Norman, Is That You?", John went on to earn a Los Angeles Drama Critics nomination for "Best Actor". As such, he formed his own theater company and produced "Norman, Is That You?" on tour.
The following year he returned to New York to take his first Broadway bow in "Tough To Get Help". By this time he had secured secondary work on the classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) as Gordy the weatherman. His character remained on the periphery, however, and he left the show after three discouraging seasons. On the bright side, he won the recurring role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of maid Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) on Norman Lear's Maude (1972) starring Bea Arthur. The two characters were spun-off into their own popular series as the parental leads in Good Times (1974).
Good Times (1974), a family sitcom that took place in a Chicago ghetto high-rise, initially prided itself as being the first network series ever to be created by African-Americans. But subsequent episodes were taken over by others and John was increasingly disgruntled by the lack of quality of the scripts and the direction Lear was taking the show. Once focused on the importance of family values, it was shifting more and more toward the silly antics of Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who was becoming a runaway hit on the show as the aimless, egotistical, jive-talking teenage son JJ. John began frequently clashing with the higher-ups and, by 1976, was released from the series, with his character being killed in an off-camera car accident while finding employment out of state.
Amos rebounded quickly when he won the Emmy-nominated role of the adult Kunte Kinte in the ground-breaking epic mini-series Roots (1977), one of the most powerful and reverential TV features ever to hit television. It was THE TV role of his career, but he found other quality roles for other black actors extremely difficult to come by. He tried his best to avoid the dim-headed lugs and crime-motivated characters that came his way. Along with a few parts (the mini-movie Willa (1979) and the films The Beastmaster (1982) and Coming to America (1988)), he had to endure the mediocre (guest spots on The Love Boat (1977), "The A-Team", "Murder, She Wrote" "One Life to Live"). John also toiled through a number of action-themed films that focused more on grit and testosterone than talent.
He found one answer to this acting dilemma on the proscenium stage. In 1985, the play "Split Second" earned him the NAACP Award as Best Actor. He also received fine reviews in a Berkshire Theater festival production of "The Boys Next Door", a tour of O'Neill's towering play "The Emperor Jones", and in a Detroit production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...and The Boys". In addition, John directed two well-received productions, "Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" and "Twelve Angry Men", in the Bahamas. He took on Shakespeare as Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare and earned strong notices in the late August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences" at the Capital Repertory Company in Albany, New York. Overseas he received plaudits for his appearance in a heralded production of "The Life and Death of a Buffalo Soldier" at the Bristol's Old Vic in England. Capping his theatrical career was the 1990 inaugural of his one-man show "Halley's Comet", an amusing and humanistic American journey into the life of an 87-year-old who recalls, among other things, World War II, the golden age of radio, the early civil rights movement, and the sighting of the Comet when he was 11. He wrote and has frequently directed the show, which continues to play into the 2007-2008 season.
In recent years, John has enjoyed recurring parts on "The West Wing" and "The District", and is more recently appearing in the offbeat series Men in Trees (2006) starring Anne Heche. John Amos has two children by his former wife Noel Amos and two children. Son K.C. Amos director, writer, producer, editor and daughter Shannon Amos a director, writer and producer. Amos has one grand child,a grand-daughter, Quiera Williams.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Vanessa Lynne Williams was born on March 18, 1963 in Tarrytown, Greenburgh, New York and raised in Millwood, New Castle, New York to Helen Williams & Milton Williams, both music teachers. Vanessa and her brother grew up in suburban New York in comfortable surroundings. Vanessa sang and danced in school productions and signed her high school yearbook with a promise to "see you on Broadway". After winning a performing scholarship to Syracuse University, she left school and tried to make it in New York show business. She began entering beauty contests in 1984, eventually winning Miss New York and then becoming the first African-American Miss America. During her reign, some nude girl-girl photos, taken while she was in New York, surfaced in Penthouse magazine. Although the photos were taken before her beauty contest victories, she was forced to resign her crown. Many predicted that her future in show business was over. She went on to land a recording contract and released several albums, including "The Comfort Zone" and "The Sweetest Days".
Vanessa made her film debut in 1986 in Under the Gun (1987) and appeared in the films The Pick-up Artist (1987), Another You (1991) and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991). She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser (1996), opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in Hoodlum (1997) and the box office hit, Soul Food (1997). She also starred in Dance with Me (1998), Light It Up (1999), Shaft (2000), opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Johnson Family Vacation (2004). She starred recently in the independent features, My Brother (2006) and And Then Came Love (2007) (aka "Somebody Like You"). On television, Vanessa starred in such movies and mini-series as Stompin' at the Savoy (1992), The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), ABC's revival of Bye Bye Birdie (1995), Nothing Lasts Forever (1995), The Odyssey (1997), Don Quixote (2000) and Keep the Faith, Baby (2002), and she executive-produced and starred in Lifetime's The Courage to Love (2000) for Lifetime and the VH1 Original Movie, A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000).
Her albums "The Right Stuff", "The Comfort Zone and "The Sweetest Days" earned multiple Grammy nominations and have yielded the Academy Award-winning single "Colors of the Wind", from Disney's Pocahontas: The Musical Tradition Continues (1995). Her recordings also include two holiday albums, "Star Bright" and "Silver & Gold", "Vanessa Williams Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years" and "Everlasting Love", a romantic collection of love songs from the 1970's. In 1994, Vanessa took Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in "Kiss of the Spider Woman", winning the hearts of critics and becoming a box-office sensation. She garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award for the 2002 revival of "Into the Woods". She also headlined a limited special engagement of the classic, "Carmen Jones", at the Kennedy Center and starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of "St. Louis Woman".
She stars in ABC's critically-acclaimed hit series, Ugly Betty (2006), for which she has won or been nominated for numerous individual and ensemble awards, including the Emmy, SAG Award, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards. Vanessa achieved a career pinnacle, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her accomplishments as a performer. Her charitable endeavors are many and varied, embracing and supporting such organizations as Special Olympics and many others.- Cynthia Cristina Ferrare, the TV personality and former wife of auto executive John DeLorean, was born on February 8, 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Italian-American Catholic parents, Renata Velia (Torinesi) and Tavio C. Ferrare, a butcher. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was 14 years old. Because of her beauty, she was offered work as a teenage model while she was still 14, and eventually was hired as a model by the makeup company Max Factor when she was 16. As a 20-year-old, she signed with Eileen Ford, one of the top modeling agencies in New York, and became a cover girl on the major fashion magazines. This exposure led to acting offers, and she signed a contract with the film studio 20th Century. She continued as the face of Max Factor, "The Max Factor Girl", until she was 26 years old.
In 1973, she married National Alliance of Businessmen President John DeLorean, the former vice president of car and truck production at General Motors, who was 25 years her senior. DeLorean, who had been the youngest man to ever head a division at General Motors when he was promoted head of the Pontiac Div. in 1965 at the age of 40, was a non-conformist with a flair for self-promotion who moved in show business circles. He had left G.M. in 1973 with the idea of starting his own automobile company, which eventually would become a reality in the 1980s, but would lead to his professional downfall and the collapse of his marriage.
The same year Ferrare married DeLorean, she had her sole leading role in motion pictures, the B-horror movie Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975). Shot in Mexico and featuring the beautiful Ferrare as a bisexual vampire, the movie was released and sank without a trace despite her erotic nude scenes. She was a finalist to appear in Charlie's Angels (1976), losing out to Jaclyn Smith, but her acting career never gained traction. As an actress, she mostly did guest spots on series TV like The Love Boat (1977), but Ferrare did establish a career as a TV host. She served as the co-host on ABC's The Home Show (1988) as co-host of the "Home & Family" show with Michael Burger, and as co-host of "AM Los Angeles", which during her five-year stint, was was the highest rated morning show in its market, the second-largest in the country.
As Ferrare's career as a TV personality rose, DeLorean's business fortunes crashed. The car company that bore his name went bankrupt. In 1982, John DeLorean was trapped in a sting operated by the F.B.I. and charged with trafficking in cocaine, to raise money to refinance his car company. Both Ferrare and DeLorean became born-again Christians after the arrest, and in the two-year legal ordeal that followed, Ferrare stood by her husband. DeLorean was acquitted in August 1984, due to entrapment.
Ferrare realized her marriage to DeLorean had been shallow and unfulfilling. Since she was a girl in Cleveland, she had dreamed of having a fairy tale life. Life with media darling DeLorean, however, eventually came to feel make-believe, and she knew their marriage was over long before it was officially ended. Her turning to Christianity helped her to brave the ordeal of her husband's arrest and trial, but after DeLorean's acquittal, Ferrare sought a divorce.
Her divorce was granted in 1985, and that same year, she married entertainment industry executive Tony Thomopoulos, whom she had first met in 1979 when he was the head of the ABC Television Network and she was auditioning for a sport on "Good Morning America". They had met again years later, and Ferrare knew she would marry him on their first date. They have been happily married for 22 years and have two daughters.
In addition to her TV appearances, she has written books, including "Cristina Ferrare's Family Entertaining", "Okay, So I Don't Have a Headache", and "Realistically Ever After". Ferrare also works for Creative Brands Group, designing jewelry, home accessories and furniture. - Tony Thomopoulos is known for Striking Distance (1993), The Suck and The Secret Things of God (2008). He has been married to Cristina Ferrare since 20 April 1985. They have two children. He was previously married to Anne Thomopoulos.
- 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.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Norman Nixon was born on 10 October 1955 in Macon, Georgia, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bedazzled (2000), S.W.A.T. (2017) and The Magical World of Disney (1954). He has been married to Debbie Allen since 27 April 1984. They have two children.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Shannon Amos was born in New Jersey, the daughter of veteran actor John Amos and artist Noel Mickelson. Her father is of African-American, as well as Ghanaian ancestry. Her mother is Ashkenazi Jewish, a descendant of Eastern Europe.
Shannon was exposed to Hollywood at an early age, growing up on the sets of popular sitcoms and movies such as "Good Times" and "Coming To America." Observing the production process from behind the scenes provided invaluable experience for Shannon, as her father encouraged her to learn the business side of Hollywood. Mr. Amos took her along to meetings with agents, managers and attorneys and instructed her to listen. After high school, she landed a job as an intern working with Director Spike Lee on his film "Mo Better Blues," which starred Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes; it was Shannon's first step toward her dream of becoming a producer.
Shannon's next step took her to college, but, after her freshman year and a chance meeting with Director Ted Demme, she traded a college degree for practical experience when he hired Shannon as a production assistant on MTV's first hip-hop show "Yo! MTV Raps." She quickly rose up the ranks from production assistant to associate producer.
Ambitious and determined to create her own show, Shannon moved to Washington, D.C. in hopes of working for BET Networks, the first cable network to exclusively feature African-American programming. Determined to get hired, she mailed her resume every week for months. In the meantime, she landed a job as a segment producer on the Emmy Award-winning series "America's Most Wanted," the first TV series that helped law enforcement successfully catch criminals. Continuing to solicit BET for work, Shannon's persistence finally paid off nearly a year later when she was hired as a producer. Her talents were quickly recognized, and she advanced from a producer to show creator and director of original programs.
When BET was sold to Viacom in 2001, Shannon left the company and moved to Los Angeles where the music industry was thriving. She began producing music videos for numerous hip-hop and R&B artists, including Snoop, Jodeci, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.
Meanwhile, the digital revolution was taking place as NAPSTER and other new digital download technology rocked the music industry. Music video budgets were slashed as labels made cut-backs, but DVD sales were on the rise. With direct-to-video as a new option for distribution, Shannon produced her first independent feature film starring her father and comedians J.B. Smoove and Corey Holcomb. The raucous urban comedy film received a DVD Exclusive Award nomination and was distributed by Blockbuster.
Shannon's talents then lead her to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment where she was hired as a creative executive and drove the success of their DVD sales. Shannon executive produced a host of multi-million dollar ad campaigns, including Academy Award-winning films such as "Blood Diamond," "Letters from Iwo Jima," and "Good Night and Good Luck."
By 2009 Shannon recognized another shift taking place in the industry as DVD sales began to plummet. She believed digital technology and YouTube would be the new wave. Shannon stepped out on her own to launch Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, a boutique talent management and production company. Being a trend-spotter, Shannon's company quickly became the success that she anticipated. Shannon now produces digital and TV content and manages the careers of several YouTubers while branding them across multiple platforms, including live shows, music, TV and film.
Afterglow's client list includes, Turner Originals, ESPN, TVOne, BET, Dormtainment.com, Tracey Edmond's AlrightTV, Russell Simmons' All Def Digital and All Def Music and Brian Robbin's AwesomenessTV. Shannon's mission is to successfully connect talent, brands, storytellers, music, products and content owners to create a cultural phenomenon for their offerings. Shannon Amos resides in Los Angeles, CA with her partner and daughter.- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Vanity was a glamorous Canadian model and lead singer of the all-girl group "Vanity 6." She specialized in playing sultry female characters often in trouble with the law.
Vanity was born Denise Katherine Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Helga Senyk and James Levia Matthews. She was of African and German descent. Vanity first appeared on screen in the biographical tale of writer Jack London titled Klondike Fever (1979), before venturing into more gritty territory such as the slasher film Terror Train (1980), the very odd chick flick Tanya's Island (1980), a B-grade martial arts film entitled The Last Dragon (1985) and the totally weird Never Too Young to Die (1986).
However, her best two performances were as the naive stripper assisting blackmail victim Roy Scheider in the under-rated thriller 52 Pick-Up (1986) and as a seductive, smart-talking nightclub singer teaming up with cop Carl Weathers to defeat murderous car tycoon Craig T. Nelson in the violent Action Jackson (1988).
Unfortunately, the remainder of Vanity's film work was of the "straight-to-video" variety and she only scored minor roles in several low-budget thrillers such as Neon City (1991) and Da Vinci's War (1993). In late 1995, Vanity turned her back on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and dedicated her life to the Christian faith.
Vanity, who suffered from sclerosis encapsulating peritonitis, died on February 15, 2016 in Fremont, California.- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Robert Townsend transcends any medium he touches whether he's performing stand up, acting, writing, directing, producing, or running a television network. A Chicago native, Townsend is often referred to as one of the "Godfathers" of the Independent Film World." With over 30 years in the business, he has made an indelible mark in Hollywood with an extensive list of credits. Robert's genius first revealed itself in elementary school. As a kid Robert was always fascinated with television, watching and studying it tirelessly, he began to practice acting out scenes and impersonating famous characters. At his school during a reading of Shakespeare's Oedipus Rex he dazzled the class with his ability to transform effortlessly into character, as a result Robert's remarkable versatile talent as a young actor was born and caught the attention of Chicago's Experimental Bag Theatre. Robert made an unforgettable mark in his hometown of Chicago, where he went onto New York's renowned comedy club the Improvisation that initiated his career as a stand-up comedian. Then for Robert it was on to Hollywood, where he dabbled in a mixture of industries and found that with his versatile talent, he was able to adapt easily from being a comedian to a full-screen actor. Robert's first film appearance was (uncredited) in popular urban classic, Cooley High (1975). His break came while performing on various television comedy specials including Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me (1986) and Uptown Comedy Express (1987). Although comedy had been his forte during the early part of his career, he knew he was destined to be on the big screen. He landed the role of a lifetime co-starring opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Story (1984), and appeared with Diane Lane in Streets of Fire (1984) and Kevin Costner in American Flyers (1985).
Once in Hollywood, seeing the difficulty Black Actors had and the lack of good work available in the film industry, left a burning desire for Robert to step behind the camera. With his acting career in high gear, Robert's career took a turn for the best when Robert Townsend the "independent filmmaker" was born. He wanted to do something to fill this void and without formal film education or outside funding (he used his own credit cards to finance), Robert wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own first film. The result was the critically acclaimed Hollywood Shuffle (1987), a satire, depicting the trials and tribulations of Black Actors in Hollywood. The success of this film forced "Hollywood" to recognize and appreciate the visionary versatile talent of "Robert Townsend", Tinseltown's newest, talented actor and filmmaker.
Following the success of "Hollywood Shuffle," film projects continued to pour in. He was soon directing Eddie Murphy in Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987). His next film endeavor was the popular tearjerker classic The Five Heartbeats (1991)," a semi-autobiographical piece; reminiscent of the 60s R & B male groups and the ups and downs of the music industry. This classic continues to be a favorite amongst audiences and one of the most talked about films in the industry. The Meteor Man (1993) that he also wrote, directed and starred in included a stellar cast: James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby and Eddie Griffin.
In between features, Robert created and produced his ground breaking Cable Ace award-winning Partners in Crime (2005) variety specials for HBO and highly praised Townsend Television (1993) for FOX television. He also created and starred in the WB Network hit series The Parent 'Hood (1995).
Townsend has made history by being nominated for over 30 NAACP Image Awards for film and television. At the 2001 NAACP Image Awards he directed three performers nominated in the best actor/actress category in three different films: Leon, for his role in NBC's Little Richard (2000); Alfre Woodard in the Showtime Movie Holiday Heart (2000) (which also garnered her a Golden Globe nomination) and Natalie Cole for her gripping self-portrayal in Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story (2000) (for which she won the coveted Image Award for best actress). Townsend continued to helm films for the small screen: Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) for MTV Films, starring Beyoncé (one of the highest rated shows for MTV) and Image Award winner, 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) for Showtime, a highly acclaimed period piece about the Pullman porter strike, starring Andre Braugher and Charles S. Dutton.
Robert has worked with some of the top talent in Hollywood including: Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Alfre Woodard, Louis Gossett Jr., Keenen Ivory Wayans and Chris Tucker, just to name a few and is responsible for discovering many of Hollywood's A-List talent before they became household names. He is the mastermind behind many of Hollywood's favorite and best-remembered movies and hit series. Robert's body of work has been seen on MGM, Disney, Fox, NBC, HBO, WB and MTV.
While busy as a performer and filmmaker, Robert always makes time to participate in humanitarian efforts and speak to various organizations. As a longtime speaker for the United Negro College Fund and the NAACP, his concern for inner city youth takes him through out the country to inspire young people to follow their dreams. In addition, Robert shares his business expertise with various Fortune 500 companies. Townsend is also a spokesman for the Milken Family Fund an organization created to recognize outstanding educators in the country, and stress to children the importance of education and respect for teachers. He has traveled with The Milken Family Fund to Chicago, Boston, Sacramento, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Los Angeles to recognize deserving teachers and inspire and motive students around the country.
Although he has many accolades, but none are more important than his family. His four children are the center of his heart. Following in his footsteps, his 3 daughters; Grace, Sierra and Skylar aka "The T Unit". They have received their first TV credit for the "B5 Christmas Special" aired on the BFC, a concept they came up with and pitched to their father. Despite his demanding schedule, Robert makes sure he spends quality time with his son, Max and his three daughters.
Always a pioneer, Townsend took the helm as President and CEO of Production for The Black Family Channel (BFC) creating and spearheading production for BFC's top rated shows. Where he ran the cable network for four years before it was sold to the Gospel Music Channel in the Spring of 2007. During his reign, he created unprecedented original programming for the network. Showing his unstoppable genius, in his short time as a television executive Townsend reached several milestones; he created over 15 new shows for the network with limited financing; of which two shows were nominated for a prestigious NAIMC Vision Award (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications), The Thou$and Dollar Bee and Lisa Knight and the Round Table), and he was voted one of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable by Cable World Magazine.
Townsend has recently returned in front of the camera to star opposite Angela Bassett in the faith based film Of Boys and Men (2008). He has also directed Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames in a biopic about the troubled boxing legend Sonny Liston entitled Phantom Punch (2008). Townsend also directed Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy (2009), a comedy documentary on the history of African America Comedians from slavery to present, with interviews including such legends as Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Chris Rock and the Wayans. As a Hollywood Icon and humanitarian, Townsend's mission is to create quality programming for everyone to enjoy and to create a classic body of work that would be timeless.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 7 1973, Graduated from Old Mill High School in 1991. Has spent 10 years in Law Enforcement starting his career in the prison system than going on to be a police officer. Was awarded a commendation in 2000 for capturing an escaping inmate. Started his acting career in the award winning Tv show Strange Encounters (1999) . Has also written five short screenplays. During filming of Live Free Or Diehard in Baltimore, while he was on lunch a production asst asked him to be in a scene and rekindled the passion of wanting to act as a stress release from his career in Law Enforcement.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Shari Headley was born on 15 July 1964 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Coming to America (1988), Coming 2 America (2021) and Towelhead (2007). She was previously married to Christopher Martin.- Actress
- Art Department
- Producer
Allison Dean is known for Coming to America (1988), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) and Tears of the Sun (2003).- Actress
- Manager
- Executive
Carla Ferrigno was born on 24 May 1949. She is an actress and manager, known for Black Roses (1988), The Adventures of Hercules (1985) and The Seven Magnificent Gladiators (1983). She has been married to Lou Ferrigno since 30 May 1980. They have three children.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
An internationally famous and well respected bodybuilder / actor, Lou Ferrigno first appeared on TV screens in 1977 as the musclebound title character of The Incredible Hulk (1978), the alter ego of meek scientist David Banner. Ferrigno was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951 and as a child suffered from an ear infection that resulted in permanent partial hearing loss. Undeterred by what some may have perceived as a disadvantage, Lou threw himself into athletics (predominantly weightlifting and body building) and at the age of 21 won his first Mr. Universe title. For good measure, he came back and won it again the following year!
He also played professional football in the Canadian Football League, before coming to the attention of producer Kenneth Johnson, who was seeking just the right person to portray on screen the comic book superhero, The Incredible Hulk. With his 6'5", 285 lbs. frame, Lou was the biggest professional bodybuilder of the time, and had recently starred in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977), about the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest in South Africa. He successfully auditioned for the part of the green-skinned Goliath, and that is the role with which he is most closely identified.
"The Hulk" was a huge ratings success and spawned several telemovies after the initial TV series completed its run. Lou continued to remain busy in films and TV with appearances often centered around his remarkable physique. His films included Hercules (1983), Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989) and Frogtown II (1992). Lou has additionally guest-starred on several TV shows including The Fall Guy (1981) and The New Mike Hammer (1984) and had a recurring role on The King of Queens (1998). In 1997 he was featured in the dynamic documentary about his sensational return to professional bodybuilding at age 43, Stand Tall (1997). The film detailed how he returned to compete in the Masters category of the Mr. Olympia contest against several familiar bodybuilding foes. In more recent years, he has appeared in several films, including The Misery Brothers (1995), Ping! (2000), From Heaven to Hell (2002) and a cameo as a security guard in the big-budget remake of Hulk (2003).
Big Lou is also a successful author with two books detailing his bodybuilding knowledge, and his life behind the scenes playing the Incredible Hulk on TV in the 1970s, plus he has a popular website frequented by his many fans worldwide.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
John Landis began his career in the mail room of 20th Century-Fox. A high-school dropout, 18-year-old Landis made his way to Yugoslavia to work as a production assistant on Kelly's Heroes (1970). Remaining in Europe, Landis found work as an actor, extra and stuntman in many of the Spanish/Italian "spaghetti" westerns. Returning to the US, he made his feature debut as a writer-director at age 21 with Schlock (1973), an affectionate tribute to monster movies. Clad in a Rick Baker-designed gorilla suit, Landis starred as "Schlockthropus", the missing link. After working as a writer, actor and production assistant, Landis made his second film, The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), in collaboration with the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams. Landis rose to international recognition as director of the wildly successful National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). With blockbusters such as The Blues Brothers (1980), Trading Places (1983), Spies Like Us (1985), Three Amigos! (1986) and Coming to America (1988), Landis has directed some of the most popular film comedies of all time. Other feature credits include Into the Night (1985), Innocent Blood (1992) and the comedy/horror genre classic An American Werewolf in London (1981), which he also wrote. In 1986, Landis and four others were acquitted of responsibility for the tragic accident that occurred in Landis' segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) in which actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed. The film also included segments directed by Joe Dante, George Miller and Steven Spielberg. In 1983 Landis wrote and directed the groundbreaking music video of Michael Jackson's Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983), created originally to play as a theatrical short. "Thriller" forever changed MTV and the concept of music videos, garnering multiple accolades including the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Overall Video, Viewer's Choice, and the Video Vanguard Award - The Greatest Video in the History of the World. In 1991 "Thriller" was inducted into the MVPA's Hall of Fame. In 1991, Landis collaborated again with Jackson (I) on Michael Jackson: Black or White (1991), which premiered simultaneously in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500 million. Although it was not the first motion picture or music video to do so, "Black or White" popularized the use of "digital morphing", where one object appears to seamlessly metamorphoses into another; the project raised the standard for state-of-the-art special effects in music videos. Landis has also been active in television as the executive producer (and often director) of the Ace- and Emmy Award-winning HBO series Dream On (1990). Other TV shows produced by his company, St. Clare Entertainment (St. Clare is the patron saint of television), include Weird Science (1994), Sliders (1995), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997), Campus Cops (1995) and The Lost World (1998). In 2004 the Independent Film Channel broadcast his feature-length documentary about a used-car salesman, Slasher (2004). Deer Woman, an original one-hour episode written by Landis and his son Max Landis, inaugurated the Masters of Horror (2005) series in the fall of 2005 on Showtime. "Masters of Horror" also features one-hour episodes by John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Tobe Hooper, Don Coscarelli, Mick Garris, Dario Argento and Larry Cohen.
A sought-after commercial director, Landis has worked for a variety of companies including Direct TV, Taco Bell, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's and Disney. He was made a Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1985, awarded the Federico Fellini Prize by Rimini Cinema Festival in Italy and was named a George Eastman Scholar by The Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Both the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Torino Film Festival have held career retrospectives of his films. In 2004 Landis received the Time Machine Career Achievement Award at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain. Sent as a filmmaker/scholar by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Landis has lectured at many film schools and universities including Yale, Harvard, NYU, UCLA, UCSB, USC, Texas A&M, The North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Miami and Indiana University. He has also acted as a teacher and advisor to aspiring filmmakers at the Sundance Institute in Utah. Additionally, he edited Best American Movie Writing 2001 (Thunder's Mouth Press, NY, 2001). Born in Chicago, Illinois, Landis moved to Los Angeles soon after his birth. He is married to Deborah Nadoolman, an Oscar-nominated costume designer, and President of the Costume Designers Guild, with whom he has two children.- Costume Designer
- Actress
Deborah Nadoolman grew up in New York city standing in the back of the house at Broadway shows after her high school day was finished. She was awarded the first grant for Costume Design from the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States. After graduating from UCLA with an M.A. in Costume Design in 1975, she had a baptism in wardrobe working at NBC television. Her versatility was an asset for director John Landis for his The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), in which a dozen distinct short segments were molded into a coherent whole. Nadoolman met Landis while a freshman at college, through a group of friends who had been to high school with him. Landis is a high school drop-out. In addition to two children, the relationship established a long-term film collaboration between the costume designer and the director, including the comedy classics National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and The Blues Brothers (1980). The elaborate period of the 1940s was depicted in Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979).
Her work with Spielberg continued with the iconic costume for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Louis Malle on Crackers (1984), and 'Costa Gavras' on Mad City (1997). Further designing for John Landis included Trading Places (1983), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Three Amigos! (1986), Coming to America (1988), and the costumes for the groundbreaking music video Michael Jackson's Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983), winner of MTV's first music video award.
She is a two-term past president of The Costume Designer's Guild, Local 892, the union representing working Hollywood costume designers. In addition to writing the chapter "Designing Hollywood: Women Costume and Production Designers" in Women Designers in the USA 1900 - 2000, Pat Kirkham, Editor (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2000), and compiling and editing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences catalogue 50 Costumes/50 Designers: Concept to Character (University of California Press, 2004) she is the author of Screencraft: Costume Design (Focal Press, London, 2003), Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design (Harper Collins, New York, 2007), and FilmCraft: Costume Design (Focal Press, 2012). Nadoolman wrote the first doctoral dissertation in the field of film costume design, Scene And Not Heard: The Role of Costume in the Cinematic Storytelling Process, and graduated with a PhD in the History of Design from the Royal College of Art in 2003. She is the David C. Copley Chair in Costume Design at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, and Director of the David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design at UCLA. She is the senior curator for the exhibition Hollywood Costume, opening October 20, 2012 at the V&A Museum in London, England.
Her award-winning theatrical credits include work for the Virginia Opera ("Turandot," 1993), American Conservatory Theatre ("Dinner at Eight," 1992 and "Gaslight," 1995) as well as the Mark Taper Forum ("The Waiting Room," 1994 and "Closer," 2000).- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Holly Robinson Peete was born on 18 September 1964 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for 21 Jump Street (1987), For Your Love (1998) and 21 Jump Street (2012). She has been married to Rodney Peete since 10 June 1995. They have four children.- Producer
- Actress
- Manager
Dolores Robinson was born on 13 April 1936 in Penllyn, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for The Hunter (1980), Between Brothers (1997) and Matt Waters (1996). She was previously married to Matt Robinson.- Actor
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Ronny Cox is a superbly talented actor, singer-songwriter, and musician who has been consistently active in Hollywood for more than 40 years portraying a diverse range of characters. Born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, Cox received positive reviews for his first film role, his portrayal of ill-fated businessman Drew Ballinger in the terrifying backwoods thriller Deliverance (1972), with Cox featuring in the entertaining "Duelling Banjos" sequence of the film. Following this promising start, Cox regularly guest-starred in numerous television series before scoring the lead in the short-lived family drama Apple's Way (1974) and grabbing the critics' attention again with an excellent performance in the Emmy-nominated TV movie A Case of Rape (1974).
Interestingly, Cox was often at his best playing rigorous authority figures, usually in law enforcement or military roles, including as a detective in the TV movie Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), alongside Charlton Heston in the submarine drama Gray Lady Down (1978), as a Los Angeles detective pursuing cop killers in The Onion Field (1979), and alongside then-rising stars Tom Cruise and Sean Penn in the powerful Taps (1981). The 1980s was a high-profile decade for Cox, with strong supporting roles in several blockbusters playing strong-willed figures on both sides of the law. Cox starred alongside box office sensation Eddie Murphy in the mega-hit Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and its sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), as well as portraying sinister company executives in the futuristic sci-fi action films RoboCop (1987) and Total Recall (1990).
Throughout the 1990s, Cox was again prolific, appearing in many television series, feature films, and high-caliber TV movies. He took control of the USS Enterprise for two episodes as Captain Edward Jellico in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and contributed entertaining performances in Murder at 1600 (1997), Early Edition (1996), Forces of Nature (1999), and the chilling tale Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder (2000). Cox has continued to remain busy with more recent performances in Stargate SG-1 (1997), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), and the highly popular Desperate Housewives (2004). However, when he's not in front of the cameras, Cox can be found touring and demonstrating his musical talents at various music festivals and theater shows and, to date, he has released ten albums (four of them live performances)-an eclectic mixture of jazz, folk, and western tunes.- Mary Cox was born on 25 August 1941 in Elk Horn, Iowa, USA. She was a writer, known for Courage (1984) and Tattletales (1974). She was married to Ronny Cox. She died on 18 December 2006 in Encino, California, USA.
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- Director
Ron Perlman is a classically-trained actor who has appeared in countless stage plays, feature films and television productions.
Ronald N. Perlman was born April 13, 1950 in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York. His mother, Dorothy (Rosen), is retired from the City Clerk's Office. His father, Bertram "Bert" Perlman, now deceased, was a repairman and a drummer. His parents were both from Jewish families (from Hungary, Germany and Poland).
With a career spanning over three decades, Perlman has worked alongside such diverse actors as Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Dominique Pinon, Brad Dourif, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Jude Law, Christina Ricci, Federico Luppi, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Wincott and Elijah Wood to name a few.
While he has never been a bankable star, Perlman has always had a large fan-base. He started out strong as Amoukar, one of the tribesmen in Jean-Jacques Annaud's Academy Award-winning film Quest for Fire (1981), for which he earned a Genie Award nomination. Perlman teamed up with Annaud again, this time as a hunchback named Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986). His first real breakthrough came later when he landed the role of the noble lion-man Vincent, opposite Linda Hamilton on the fantasy series Beauty and the Beast (1987). His work in this role earned him not only a Golden Globe Award but an underground fan following. Sadly the series was canceled in its third season shortly after Hamilton's character's death.
After that, he spent time doing supporting work on television and independent films such as Guillermo del Toro's debut Cronos (1992) (where a lifelong friendship and collaboration between the director and Perlman would blossom) as Angel and his first lead role as One in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's surreal The City of Lost Children (1995). His first real big role in a mainstream film came when Jeunet wanted him for the brutish Johner in his first Hollywood outing Alien: Resurrection (1997). Perlman has also used his distinctive voice to his advantage, appearing in many animated films/series, commercials and he is a video game fan favorite because of his work on such games as the Fallout series.
It was not until much later he received worldwide fame when his good friend Guillermo del Toro helped him land the title role in the big-budget comic book movie Hellboy (2004). Del Toro fought the studio for four years because they wanted a more secure name, but he stood his ground and in 2004, after almost 25 years in and out of obscurity, Perlman became a household name and a sought out actor. Perlman has had one of the most offbeat careers in film, playing everything from a prehistoric ape-man to an aging transsexual and will always be a rarity in Hollywood.
Other notable roles include the cunning Norman Arbuthnot in The Last Supper (1995), sniper expert Koulikov in Enemy at the Gates (2001), vampire leader Reinhardt in Blade II (2002), his reprisal of Hellboy in Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and biker chief Clarence Morrow on the popular series Sons of Anarchy (2008).
He currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Opal, and their two children, Blake and Brandon.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll", traveled in his early days with the legendary vaudeville star Spencer "Snake" Anthony. One of Richard's early bands had the young, then unknown singer James Brown (the Godfather of Soul), a fourteen-year-old keyboardist named Billy Preston, and the famous and legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. His first recording session took place at WGST in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; he was backed by a local band led by Billy Wright. This session produced a local hit called "Every Hour" which enjoyed heavy airplay on Atlanta's WERD radio station which was the first completely Black-owned radio station in the United States. Little Richard was backed up by his idol Billy Wright, once referred to him as the most fantastic entertainer he had ever seen. Indeed, it was Wright who used a brand of makeup called Pancake 31.
Little Richard admitted to copying Wright's penchant for heavy makeup and wild stage theatrics. With a public persona and personal life marked by sexual ambiguity, he would make his mark with later hits such as the suggestive "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly". Unbeknownst to many fans, Richard overcame a debilitating drug habit and eventually became an ordained minister. Beginning in the 1980s, he saw a resurgence in his popularity as he acquired small acting roles where he impressed fans, old and new, with his unique comedic timing. As versatile and ageless as ever, Little Richard continues to delight fans the world over with his extraordinary stage presence and flamboyant antics. Now inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame, he remains one of the most popular entertainers in the world.- Actor
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Edward Regan Murphy was born April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, to Lillian Lynch (born: Lillian Laney), a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer who was also an amateur comedian and actor. After his father died, his mother married Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyer's Ice Cream plant. His brothers are Charlie Murphy & Vernon Lynch Jr. Eddie had aspirations of being in show business since he was a child. A bright kid growing up in the streets of New York, Murphy spent a great deal of time on impressions and comedy stand-up routines rather than academics. His sense of humor and wit made him a stand out amongst his classmates at Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. By the time he was fifteen, Murphy worked as a stand-up comic on the lower part of New York, wooing audiences with his dead-on impressions of celebrities and outlooks on life.
In the early 1980s, at the age of 19, Murphy was offered a contract for the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players of Saturday Night Live (1975), where Murphy exercised his comedic abilities in impersonating African American figures and originating some of the show's most memorable characters: Velvet Jones, Mr. Robinson, and a disgruntled and angry Gumby. Murphy made his feature film debut in 48 Hrs. (1982), alongside Nick Nolte. The two's comedic and antagonistic chemistry, alongside Murphy's believable performance as a streetwise convict aiding a bitter, aging cop, won over critics and audiences. The next year, Murphy went two for two, with another hit, pairing him with John Landis, who later became a frequent collaborator with Murphy in Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994). Beverly Hills Cop (1984) was the film that made Murphy a box-office superstar and most notably made him a celebrity worldwide, and it remains one of the all-time biggest domestic blockbusters in motion-picture history. Murphy's performance as a young Detroit cop in pursuit of his friend's murderers earned him a third consecutive Golden Globe nomination. Axel Foley became one of Murphy's signature characters. On top of his game, Murphy was unfazed by his success, that is until his box office appeal and choices in scripts resulted into a spotty mix of hits and misses into the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Films like The Golden Child (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) were critically panned but were still massive draws at the box office. In 1989, Murphy, coming off another hit, Coming to America (1988), found failure with his directorial debut, Harlem Nights (1989). Another 48 Hrs. (1990), his turn as a hopeless romantic in Boomerang (1992) and as a suave vampire in Vampire In Brooklyn did little to resuscitate his career. However, his remake of Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor (1996) brought Murphy's drawing power back into fruition. From there, Murphy rebounded with occasional hits and misses but has long proven himself as a skilled comedic actor with laudable range pertaining to characterizations and mannerisms. Though he has grown up a lot since his fast-lane rise as a superstar in the 1980s, Murphy has lived the Hollywood lifestyle with controversy, criticism, scandal, and the admiration of millions worldwide for his talents. As Murphy had matured throughout the years, learning many lessons about the Hollywood game in the process, he settled down with more family-oriented humor with Doctor Dolittle (1998), Mulan (1998), Bowfinger (1999), and the animated smash Shrek (2001), in a supporting role that showcased Murphy's comedic personality and charm. Throughout the 2000s, he further starred in the hits The Haunted Mansion (2003), Shrek 2 (2004), Dreamgirls (2006) (for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), Norbit (2007), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010).
Murphy was married to Nicole Mitchell Murphy from 1993 to 2006. Murphy has ten children.- Producer
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- Writer
Arsenio Hall was born on 12 February 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Coming to America (1988), Coming 2 America (2021) and Harlem Nights (1989).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally, James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. At an early age, he started to take dramatic lessons to calm himself down. It appeared to work as he has since starred in many films over a 40-year period, beginning with the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). For several movie fans, he is probably best known for his role as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy (due to his contribution for the voice of the role, as the man in the Darth Vader suit was David Prowse, whose voice was dubbed because of his British West Country accent). In his brilliant course of memorable performances, among others, he has also appeared on the animated series The Simpsons (1989) three times and played Mufasa both in The Lion King (1994) and The Lion King (2019), while he returned too as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).- Madge Sinclair was born Madge Dorita Walters on April 28, 1938 in Kingston, Jamaica, married young and had two sons. Madge worked as a teacher in Jamaica until she was 30. She left her two boys with their father and moved in 1968 to New York City to be an actress.
She began modeling and later acted with the New York Shakespearean Festival and at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre. In 1974, Madge made her film debut, playing Mrs. Scott in Conrack (1974). She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance as Bell Reynolds in the miniseries Roots (1977).
In 1982, shortly after joining the cast of Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Sinclair was diagnosed with leukemia. She continued to work, outliving the doctors' predictions by several years. On December 20, 1995, Madge Sinclair died at age 57 in Los Angeles, California, after a 13 year battle with leukemia. - Paul Bates was born on 24 December 1958 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Coming to America (1988), True Romance (1993) and 8 Mile (2002).
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Actor/director/producer Eriq La Salle is best known to worldwide television audiences for his award-winning portrayal of the commanding Dr. Peter Benton on the critically acclaimed and history-making medical drama ER. Educated at Juilliard and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, his credits range from Broadway to film roles opposite Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Robin Williams in One Hour Photo and Hugh Jackman in Logan. La Salle has maintained a prolific acting career while at the same time working steadily as a director, taking the helm for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Fox and CBS. He remains a valued member of the Dick Wolf Entertainment camp after 4 years as Executive Producer and director on Chicago PD in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order, and Law and Order Organized Crime. As a writer, La Salle is the author of several critically acclaimed thrillers published in 2022 and 2023-Laws of Depravity, Laws of Wrath, and Laws of Annihilation. He has also written an episode of The Twilight Zone which made WGA's list of 101 Best Written TV Series. He lives in Los Angeles, California- Actor
- Soundtrack
Frankie Faison was born on 10 June 1949 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. He is an actor, known for Coming to America (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989) and White Chicks (2004). He is married to Samantha Jupiter Faison. He was previously married to Jane Mandel.- Actress
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Vanessa Bell Calloway was born on 20 March 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Coming to America (1988), What's Love Got to Do with It (1993) and Daylight (1996). She has been married to Tony Calloway since 3 September 1988. They have two children.- Actor
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Iconic comedian Louie Anderson, the three-time Emmy®-Award winner, was one of the country's most recognized and adored comics; named by Comedy Central as "One of 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time." His career spanned more than 30 years. He was a best-selling author, star of his own stand up specials and sitcoms, and toured, performing to standing-room only crowds worldwide.
Louis Perry Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Ora Zella (Prouty) and Louis William Anderson, a trumpet player. He was of Swedish, Norwegian, and English descent. Sharing the ups and downs of his childhood experiences as one of eleven children, Louie crafted comedy routines that rang true for his early club audiences while reducing them to helpless fits of laughter, routines that led him from his career as a counselor to troubled children to the first-place trophy at the 1981 Midwest Comedy Competition. Henny Youngman, who hosted the competition, recognized the diamond-in-the-rough genius of the young comic and hired him as a writer, providing invaluable experience that soon put Louie in his own spotlight on comedy stages all over the country.
Johnny Carson, the comedy icon for generations of rising stars, invited Louie to make his national television debut on the "The Tonight Show" in 1984, and the rest is history. Leno, Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, "Comic Relief" and Showtime, HBO and CMT specials followed, including hosting the legendary game show, Family Feud, making Louie a household name and opening doors for him as an actor. He guest-starred in sitcoms like "Grace Under Fire" and dramas like "Touched by an Angel" and "Chicago Hope," and had memorable featured roles in film comedies like "Coming to America," opposite of Eddie Murphy, and the classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." In 2013, he took a dive on the ABC reality series, "Splash" where he conquered his own fears while becoming an inspiration of hope. His stand up Special, "Big Baby Boomer" premiered on CMT, in 2013. Also in that year, he competed and inspired on the ABC reality competition show, Splash.
In 1995 Louie put his creative energies to work on the Saturday morning animated series "Life with Louie." The long-running series based on Louie's own childhood and his life with his father won three Humanitas Prizes for writing on a children's' animated series, making him the only three-time recipient of this award. It also earned a Genesis Award for its depiction of the proper treatment of animals and, most significantly, two Emmy Awards.
His best selling books included Dear Dad - Letters From An Adult Child, a collection of alternately touching and outrageous letters from Louie to his late father, and Good-bye Jumbo...Hello Cruel World, self-help for those who struggle with self-esteem issues, and his latest installment on family, The F Word, How To Survive Your Family.
In 2016, Louie was cast to co-star along with Zach Galifianakis and Martha Kelly in the hit FX series, "Baskets." Anderson's extraordinary new role is Christine Baskets, the matriarch of the Baskets clan. The character is based on both his mother and his five sisters, who were a major presence in his life; "I'm not as nice in the character as my mom was as a person. It really is an extension of my mom, Anderson says, adding that he always aims to make his performance "as real as possible" without "affecting or cartooning it up. It felt like it was divine intervention when I got the call to be on the show, that somehow my mom, from the great beyond, was finally getting herself into show business where she truly belonged in the first place."
When not in production, Louie traveled the States doing what he loved to do, stand-up comedy, and again delivered to his fans his inimitable brand of humor and warmth. He died on January 21, 2022, in Las Vegas, of large B-cell lymphoma.- Actor
- Producer
Jake Steinfeld was born on 21 February 1958 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Coming to America (1988), Ratatouille (2007) and Tough Guys (1986). He has been married to Tracey L Morrison since December 1988. They have four children.- Actor
- Director
Bahamian-born Calvin Lockhart first caught moviegoers' attention in the supercharged urban films Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Halls of Anger (1970) before becoming a fairly steady fixture in the "blaxploitation" movies of the early-to-mid-1970s.
Born Bert Cooper to a large family in Nassau on October 18, 1934, he was raised there before moving to New York in his late teens with initial designs on becoming a civil engineer (Cooper Union School of Engineering). Dropping out after a year to pursue an acting career, Calvin worked as a carpenter and construction worker, among other odd jobs. He first studied with legendary coach Uta Hagen and then hit the New York theater boards. The story goes that he was discovered by playwright Ketti Frings while working as a taxi driver. She was so impressed with his arrogance that she cast him in her play "The Cool World" in 1960. From there Calvin drummed up interest via a bit of controversy on Broadway when he played a sailor in love with a white girl in the racially-themed "A Taste of Honey" starring Angela Lansbury.
Serious film and TV roles for black actors were scarce at that time, so Calvin moved to Europe. In Italy he owned a restaurant and formed his own theater company, serving as both actor and director. He also lived in Germany before settling in England. He starting building up film credits with minor work in such British movies as A Dandy in Aspic (1968) and Only When I Larf (1968). He made news in another racially-motivated project entitled Joanna (1968), which centered around a "mod", interracial romance with 'Genevieve Waite'.
Returning to the US with a stronger resume, he made a distinct early impression as a slick preacher bent on fraud in the hip cop flick Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and as an English teacher in the inner-city potboiler Halls of Anger (1970). He also involved himself in such black action features as Melinda (1972), Honeybaby, Honeybaby (1974) and The Baron (1977). Similar in charismatic style and intelligence to Sidney Poitier, the famed actor-director was impressed enough to cast Calvin in his broad comedy vehicles Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Let's Do It Again (1975). Calvin could also play fey upon request, camping it up briefly in Myra Breckinridge (1970). During this rich period he also became an artist-in-residence with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford (the first black actor so honored) and appeared prestigiously in such productions as "Titus Andronicus" (1972).
Calvin's career grew lackluster, however, by the end of the decade, resorting to trivial guest parts in such TV shows as Good Times (1974) and Get Christie Love! (1974). He landed a recurring role on the nighttime soap Dynasty (1981) in the early '80s.
In 1974, Calvin married a woman also from the West Indies and had three children. After his career subsided, he decided to return to his homeland in the mid '90s and resettled in Nassau with his fourth wife, Jennifer Miles. There he involved himself with the Freeport Players Guild as a director. He also returned to films after a 15-year absence, completing Rain (2008), a movie shot in the Bahamas, shortly before he suffered a major stroke. Calvin died of complications on March 29, 2007, and his family is in the process of establishing a scholarship fund in his name for Bahamian student pursuing an acting or filmmaking career.- Actor
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Samuel L. Jackson is an American producer and highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 100 films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000), Formula 51 (2001), Black Snake Moan (2006), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005), as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Samuel Leroy Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., to Elizabeth (Montgomery) and Roy Henry Jackson. He was raised by his mother, a factory worker, and his grandparents. At Morehouse College, Jackson was active in the black student movement. In the seventies, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company (together with Morgan Freeman). In the eighties, he became well-known after three movies made by Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990) and Jungle Fever (1991). He achieved prominence and critical acclaim in the early 1990s with films such as Patriot Games (1992), Amos & Andrew (1993), True Romance (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), and his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), and later Django Unchained (2012). Going from supporting player to leading man, his performance in Pulp Fiction (1994) gave him an Oscar nomination for his character Jules Winnfield, and he received a Silver Berlin Bear for his part as Ordell Robbi in Jackie Brown (1997). Jackson usually played bad guys and drug addicts before becoming an action hero, co-starring with Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).
With Jackson's permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character, Nick Fury. He later did a cameo as the character in a post-credits scene from Iron Man (2008), and went on to sign a nine-film commitment to reprise this role in future films, including major roles in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and minor roles in Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He has also portrayed the character in the second and final episodes of the first season of the TV show, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013). He has provided his voice to several animated films, television series and video games, including the roles of Lucius Best / Frozone in Pixar's film The Incredibles (2004), Mace Windu in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Afro Samurai in the anime television series Afro Samurai (2007), and Frank Tenpenny in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).- Actor
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Vondie Curtis-Hall was born on 30 September 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Romeo + Juliet (1996), Falling Down (1993) and Waist Deep (2006). He has been married to Kasi Lemmons since 19 August 1995. They have two children.- Actress
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Named one of People Magazine's highly coveted 50 Most Beautiful in 2014, Haitian-born actress Garcelle Beauvais immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with her mother and sisters, and has since charmed audiences with her dramatic and comedic abilities. A seasoned actress, Garcelle Beauvais starred in the indie film, "A Girl Like Grace," from executive producer Dan Garcia.
Garcelle was also seen as the host of "Window Warriors," a store front skill-based design reality series on GSN. Her latest film role includes starring alongside Michael Keaton in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
In addition to all of the above, Garcelle served as host on Fox's daytime talk-show, Hollywood Today Live, where she breaks down the latest in entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity news. Above all, Garcelle's most important job is being a mother. She has been inspired by motherhood to write a children's book series entitled 'I AM,' addressing identity issues relevant to many children today.
Garcelle got her start when she began modeling at the age of seventeen and easily transitioned to acting in the Aaron Spelling series "Models, Inc." After that, she co-starred opposite Jamie Foxx for five years on the popular WB sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show." For four seasons she also starred on the highly rated Emmy© Award-winning series "NYPD Blue." In between her acting projects, she also co-hosts for shows like E!'s "Fashion Police" and "Access Hollywood Live" on NBC.
Garcelle supports the Step Up Women's Network, a national non-profit that empowers women and girls to be strong and reach their full potential. She is also active with March of Dimes and Fonkoze. She resides in Los Angeles and has three sons, Oliver, Jax and Jaid.- Victoria Dillard was born on 20 September 1969 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Coming to America (1988), Ali (2001) and Deep Cover (1992).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Ruben Santiago-Hudson recently directed the world premiere of his play Your Blues Ain't Sweet Like Mine at The Two River Theater and the world premiere of Dominique Morriseau's Paradise Blue at Williamstown Theater Festival. Other credits include The Piano Lesson (Lucille Lortel, Joseph A. Callaway, Audelco, OBIE), The Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage), and My Children My Africa, Seven Guitars, and The First Breeze of Summer at Signature Theater where he served as Associate Artist of the season dedicated to the Negro Ensemble Company. Regionally, Ruben has directed at A.C.T. San Francisco, The Two River Theater Company, The McCarter Theater, and The Kennedy Center. His screenplay Lackawanna Blues garnered numerous awards including The Humanitas Prize, National Board of Reviews, NAACP Image Award, and The Christopher Award, and nominations for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and WGA. As an actor Ruben has received a Tony Award, two OBIE Awards, and a Helen Hayes Award. He most recently performed in August Wilson's solo show How I Learned What I Learned. Ruben served as co-artistic director along with Stephen McKinley Henderson to record August Wilson's American Century Cycle comprised of the entire canon of his plays. Ruben holds an MFA from Wayne State University, a BA from Binghamton University, and Honorary Doctorate Degree's from both Wayne State University and Buffalo State College.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Cuba Gooding Jr. was born on January 2, 1968, in The Bronx, New York. His mother, Shirley (Sullivan), was a backup singer for The Sweethearts. His father, Cuba Gooding, was the lead vocalist for the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit with the song "Everybody Plays The Fool". His paternal grandfather was from Barbados.
Cuba's father moved the family to Los Angeles in 1972, only to leave them a few years later. Despite this setback, Cuba was able to maintain a positive outlook and overachieved throughout school. He attended four different high schools and was elected class president in three of them. While at high school, Cuba met and fell in love with Sara Kapfer, whom he later lived with for seven years before tying the knot in March 1994.
Following high school, Cuba studied Japanese martial arts for three years before turning his focus toward acting. Early on, he landed guest starring roles on shows like Hill Street Blues (1981) and MacGyver (1985). His first major role was in the 1991 box office surprise Boyz n the Hood (1991). He followed this success with supporting roles in major films like A Few Good Men (1992), Lightning Jack (1994) and Outbreak (1995).
In 1996, Cuba was cast as an arrogant but loyal football player in the Tom Cruise-Cameron Crowe film Jerry Maguire (1996). The film became a huge box office smash and earned Cuba an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the movie became a nationwide catchphrase. The role elevated him to superstar status, as many of Hollywood's top producers began to "show him the money" to appear in their films.
Since Jerry Maguire (1996), Cuba has managed to keep busy with a wide range of roles alongside many of Hollywood's biggest stars. Most recently, he won critical support for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped man in the heartwarming film Radio (2003), another movie about football. In 2002, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He resides in Studio City, California.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Don Ameche was a versatile and popular American film actor in the 1930s and '40s, usually as the dapper, mustached leading man. He was also popular as a radio master of ceremonies during this time. As his film popularity waned in the 1950s, he continued working in theater and some TV. His film career surged in a comeback in the 1980s with fine work as an aging millionaire in Trading Places (1983) and a rejuvenated oldster in Cocoon (1985).
Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Barbara Edda (Hertel) and Felice Amici, a bartender.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ralph Bellamy was a veteran actor who was so well-liked and respected by his peers that he was the recipient of an honorary Oscar in 1987 for his contributions to the acting profession.
Ralph Rexford Bellamy was born June 17, 1904 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise (Smith), originally from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy, who had deep roots in New England. Bellamy began his career as a player right out of high school in 1922, joining a traveling company that put on Shakespearean plays. For the next five years he appeared with stock companies and repertory theaters associated with the Chautauqua Road Co., which brought culture to the hinterlands. He not only learned his craft but by 1927 wound up owning his own theatrical troupe. Two years later he made his Broadway theatrical debut in "Town Boy" (29 years later he would win a Tony Award).
Bellamy made the first of his over 100 films in 1933, appearing as a gangster in The Secret 6 (1931). While he never became a major star or played many leads in "A" pictures, he made a career out of playing second-leads in major productions before developing into a character actor. In his heyday he typically played a rich but dull character who is jilted by the leading lady (he won his only Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, for just such a role in the 1937 comedy The Awful Truth (1937), in which he lost Irene Dunne to Cary Grant). He also specialized in redoubtable detectives who always find their man (he starred as Ellery Queen in a series of four "B" movies) and as slightly sinister yet stylish villains (such typecasting reaching its apogee with his turn as the not-so-kindly doctor in the horror classic Rosemary's Baby (1968)).
Bellamy's greatest role was as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Dore Schary's play "Sunrise at Campobello," for which he won a 1958 Best Actor-Dramatic Tony Award. He also reprised his portrayal of Roosevelt in Schary's 1960 movie adaptation of his play Sunrise at Campobello (1960), which brought his co-star Greer Garson a Golden Globe award and a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for playing Eleanor Roosevelt.
To play F.D.R. and show his struggle with the onset of polio, Bellamy studied up on Roosevelt as both man and politician, gaining an insight into the future president's psyche. Like Method actors Marlon Brando and Jon Voight, who prepared for their portrayals of paraplegic war veterans in the movies The Men (1950) and Coming Home (1978) by living in veterans hospitals with paraplegics, Bellamy tried to understand the trauma that F.D.R. underwent and the challenges he faced. Bellamy spent a considerable amount of time at a rehabilitation center learning how to master leg braces, crutches and a wheelchair to increase the verisimilitude of his portrayal of Rosevelt. So successful was his portrait of Roosevelt that he was called upon a generation later to recreate F.D.R. for the blockbuster TV miniseries War and Remembrance (1988) (ironically, Voight himself would later play F.D.R. in the movie Pearl Harbor (2001)).
Bellamy also had a prolific career on television, beginning with his 1948 debut in The Philco Television Playhouse (1948). He starred in one of the first TV police shows, Man Against Crime (1949), which was on the air from 1949-54, and later had roles in several other TV series, including The Eleventh Hour (1962), The Survivors (1969) and The Most Deadly Game (1970). He also appeared in countless TV-movies and tele-plays, and was three times nominated for an Emmy Award.
Known as a champion of actors' rights, Bellamy was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild, and also served four terms as President of Actors' Equity from 1952 to 1964. He took office during some of the darkest days of McCarthyism, but positioned Actors' Equity and thus, the Broadway theater to the left of Hollywood by resisting blacklisting. Many of those blacklisted in Hollywood found homes in the theater. Under Bellamy, Actors Equity established standards to protect members against charges of Communist Party membership or "exhibiting left-wing sympathies". (One of the charges levied against legendary stage and film director Elia Kazan, including Rod Steiger at the time Kazan received an honorary Oscar, was that he should have defied the House Un-American Activities Committee and not have named names because he could have remained employed in the theater even if he had been blacklisted in Hollywood.)
Under Bellamy's leadership, Actor's Equity managed to double its assets within the first six years of his presidency and was successful in establishing the first pension fund for actors. It was for his services to the acting community that he was the recipient of an honorary Academy Award in 1987.
Ralph Bellamy died on November 29, 1991 in Santa Monica, California. He was 87 years old.- Editor
- Producer
- Editorial Department
- Producer
- Writer
Robert D. Wachs was born on 1 May 1940 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), The Golden Child (1986) and Harlem Nights (1989). He was married to Tess. He died on 2 December 2013 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Producer
David Sheffield is known for Boomerang (1992), The Nutty Professor (1996) and Coming 2 America (2021).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Producer
Barry W. Blaustein was born in 1955. He is known for Beyond the Mat (1999), Boomerang (1992) and The Nutty Professor (1996).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
There is nothing you can say about Nile Rodgers that hasn't already been heard by billions of people, in millions of cities, via thousands of radio airwaves, in hundreds of countries. The career of Nile Rodgers is one of the most enduring and prolific in music. Nile's signature is scrawled across an amazing array of music - from Madonna to Diana Ross, from David Bowie to Eric Clapton.
Nile first picked up a guitar while still in school and there was no stopping the evident talent that quickly emerged. At the age of 19, Nile not only worked for Sesame Street, but was performing nightly as part of the house band for the world renowned Apollo Theatre in Harlem, playing with luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Parliament Funkadelic, Ben E. King and The Cadillacs. Pretty amazing for a skinny kid with glasses from New York City, but he wanted more. Nile Rodgers wanted a band of his own.
Once the decision was made, Nile searched for a partner in crime. He soon found him in local boy Bernard Edwards, whose precision with the bass was as close to Nile's precision with the guitar as either of them could hope for. The two were confident enough in their talent to introduce the world to CHIC in 1977. "Dance, Dance, Dance", the first single off CHIC's eponymous debut, hit the Top 10 and they never looked back. 1978 yielded their second hit, "Everybody Dance", while a third single, "Le Freak", hit No. 1 and became Warner Brothers' biggest selling single of all time. The dynamic duo of Edwards and Rodgers finished off the year by releasing their second album, C'est Chic, which went directly into the Top 5.
The year 1979 brought the singles "I Want Your Love", "Good Times" and a third CHIC album, Risque. While they still kept their day job as the front men of CHIC, Nile and Bernard were not content with just propelling their own band to the top. They produced and composed the album We Are Family by Sister Sledge and completed the same duties on Diana, the best selling album by Diana Ross, featuring their smash singles, "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then surely the Sugarhill Gang's appropriation of the bass line from "Good Times" as the bass line for 1980's seminal rap song "Rapper's Delight" is an outstanding tribute.
Though the 70s embraced the R&B funk of CHIC, it was the 80s that secured Nile's place in music history. While forever bonded, Nile branched away from Bernard in the early 80s to collaborate with David Bowie. Their partnership may have raised more than a few eyebrows, but it offered music lovers Let's Dance, the biggest selling record in Bowie's career, and the hits "China Girl" "Modern Love" and "Let's Dance". With the success of Let's Dance, Nile proved an R&B guy could produce pop and rock. So, he followed it up by working with a girl from Michigan named Madonna, on a little record called "Like A Virgin", which went on to sell 14 million copies in the United States alone. Nile then produced Duran Duran's "The Reflex" single, which stayed at No. 1 for 15 weeks. After more production collaborations with Duran's the "Wild Boys" single and the Notorious album - Nile went on to work with a staggering array of musicians ranging from Mick Jagger on his She's The Boss record, INXS' groundbreaking "Original Sin" single, The Thompson Twins' Here's To Future Days, Grace Jones' Inside Story, the B-52s' Cosmic Thing, Eric Clapton's tribute to Jimi Hendrix album Stone Free, Paula Abdul and of course Beavis and Butthead.
Perhaps there is not a more fitting tribute than the one Nile received in Japan in 1996. Selected among his peers as Billboard Magazine's Top Producer in the World, he was honored as JT Super Producer. Nile was invited to Japan to perform a retrospective of his career, and was joined by Bernard Edwards, Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon LeBon and Slash, as they performed the hits that Nile took part in creating. To compliment the event, a TV and radio documentary, CD, and a DVD were released.
Shortly after producing Rai music superstar Cheb Mami's album Dellali featuring Sting, the events of September 11th prompted Nile to embark upon the biggest project of his life - The We Are Family Project, A Celebration of Our Common Humanity. The project encompasses a National We Are Family Day spearheaded for passage in Congress by Senator Robert Dole; a re-recording of We Are Family with over 200 celebrities and an accompanying music video directed by Spike Lee; an unprecedented recording and music video of over 100 famous children's characters singing We Are Family that aired simultaneously on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and PBS on March 11, 2002; an 80 minute documentary entitled The Making and Meaning of We Are Family which debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival with a standing ovation; limited edition prints of an interpretive artwork entitled "We Are Family" by world renowned artist Francesco Clemente; and a permanent We Are Family exhibit at The Children's Museum of Utah launched during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Amidst all of his accomplishments, Nile has still found time to win Grammys for Best Rock Instrumental for his collaboration with Jeff Beck on "Escape", Best Contemporary Blues Recording and Best Rock Instrumental Performance with the Vaughan Brothers, add his famous guitar licks to Seal's version of "Fly Like An Eagle", score films such as Coming to America, Earth Girls Are Easy and Beverly Hills Cop III, win a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), be the Musical Director of the largest commercial broadcast success in VH-1's history, VH-1's Divas Live Tribute to Diana Ross, be a Governor and Trustee of NARAS, and be responsible as either artist, producer or writer of songs that have accounted for sales of over 100,000,000 records.
History is still in the making. Nile is currently in the studio with the original members of Duran Duran producing their next album to be released in 2002. He is also working with famed French artist/producer Cerrone and finishing the highly anticipated new CHIC album - of which the single "Let's Bounce" debuted in the hit movie Rush Hour 2.
There is a lot to say about a talent as vast and far reaching as Nile Rodgers. He has been at the helm of music that has shaped two decades, and he continues to impose his influence in the next millennium. The music and genius of Nile Rodgers truly speaks for itself - just turn on your radio and listen.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Producer
Sol Negrin was born on 16 February 1929 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for Superman (1978), Kojak (1973) and Baker's Dozen (1982). He was married to Betty Paradisin and Shirley. He died on 20 March 2017 in the USA.- Cinematographer
- Additional Crew
- Camera and Electrical Department
Woody Omens is currently a teacher at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. He was once a student at this very institute of higher learning. After first entering the industry in the 1960s, he considered changing his name to Vladimir Ominsky, as cinematographers with European-sounding names were en vogue and tended to find more work. Took the role of the ringside announcer in Harlem Nights, at director/star Eddie Murphy's urging. Omens received a SAG card for his performance, yet has stated that he has little desire to act in films. Has photographed only one film in the anamorphic (panavision) format: History of The World, Part I (1981).- Editor
- Editorial Department
Malcolm Campbell is known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Nothing to Lose (1997) and Coming to America (1988).- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
David Michael Frank was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied classical piano and composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. After graduating from Nothwestern University, David moved to New York, where he became Broadway's youngest conductor. His credits include The Me Nobody Knows, Grease and Pippin. After six years in New York, David moved to California to pursue a career in film composition. He has scored over 200 episodes of television series such as Columbo, Different Strokes and Fortune Hunter. David was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the 'Sammy Davis Jr.' tribute starring Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy in 1990.- Actress
- Music Department
- Composer
Laura Branigan was born on 3 July 1952 in Mount Kisco, New York, USA. She was an actress and composer, known for Flashdance (1983), Ghostbusters (1984) and I, Tonya (2017). She was married to Laurence Ross Kruteck. She died on 26 August 2004 in East Quogue, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Producer
Joe Esposito was born in 1938. He first met singer Elvis Presley while they both were in the military in 1958. They both went through basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, but they didn't meet face to face until a year later when they were stationed in West Germany, where they became fast friends. Esposito became Elvis's road manager and bodyguard beginning in 1960 and helped Elvis's aide Marty Lacker with the bookkeeping. It was Esposito who arranged women for Elvis to date. Esposito served as the best man at Elvis's wedding while Esposito's wife, Joan, served as the matron of honor. Esposito also played the guitar for Elvis's recording sessions from 1971 onward. After Elvis's death in 1977, Esposito started his own business, the Sterling Coach Company, a Los Angeles limousine service. He later became the road manager for the Bee Gees. Esposito appeared in several of Elvis's films and portrayed himself in the 1981 movie This Is Elvis.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mel Appleby was born on 11 July 1966 in Hackney, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Coronation Street (1960), Mel & Kim: Respectable (1987) and Mel & Kim: F.L.M. (1987). She died on 18 January 1990 in Westminster, London, England, UK.- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Kim Appleby was born on 28 August 1961 in Stoke Newington, London, England, UK. She is an actress and composer, known for Coronation Street (1960), Doctors (2000) and Mel & Kim: Respectable (1987).- Angel Mercado is known for The Cover Girls: Show Me (1987), The Cover Girls: Spring Love (1987) and The Cover Girls: Because of You (1987).
- Caroline Jackson is known for The Cover Girls: Show Me (1987), The Cover Girls: Spring Love (1987) and The Cover Girls: Because of You (1987).
- Sunshine Wright is known for Krush Groove (1985), The Cover Girls: Show Me (1987) and The Cover Girls: Spring Love (1987).
- Actress