R.I.P.2011
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- Make-Up Department
- Additional Crew
- Composer
Verne Langdon's never-ending quest for perfection has afforded him successful pursuits as a makeup artist, radio personality, voice-over artist, writer, producer, actor, makeup artist, mask maker, professional wrestler, puppeteer, magician, comic, musician, singer and songwriter, with no less than a dozen albums to his credit. Whether performing romantic abstract excursions on keyboards or interpreting his own often melancholy lyrics, his gentle artistry is a never-ending expedition into the romantic corners of his fertile and most remarkable Imagination. His life and career can best be described as varied; Verne Langdon is, truly, a Renaissance man.- Actor
- Producer
An oddly fascinating bloke with prominent bony cheeks and rawboned figure, Peter William (Pete) Postlethwaite was born on February 16, 1946 and was a distinguished character actor on stage, TV and film. Growing up the youngest of four siblings in a Catholic family in Warrington, Lancashire (near Liverpool) in middle-class surroundings to working-class parents, he attended St Mary's University (London). However, while completing his studies, he developed an interest in theatre, to the chagrin of his father, who wanted his children to find secure positions in life.
A drama teacher initially at a Catholic girls convent school, he decided to follow his acting instincts full-time and gradually built up an impressive array of classical stage credits via repertory, including the Bristol Old Vic Drama School, and in stints with Liverpool Everyman, Manchester Royal Exchange and the Royal Shakespeare Company. By the 1980s he was ready to branch out into film and TV, giving a startling performance as a wife abuser in the Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988).
By 1993 he had crossed over into Hollywood parts and earned his first Oscar nomination for his superb role as Daniel Day-Lewis' father in In the Name of the Father (1993). Other quality roles came his way with The Usual Suspects (1995), Brassed Off (1996), and Amistad (1997). He did fine work on television in Sharpe's Company (1994), Lost for Words (1999), and The Sins (2000). Postlethwaite worked equally both in the UK and abroad, and avoided the public limelight for the most part, except for occasional displays of political activism.
Postlethwaite lived quietly out of the spotlight in England and continued on in films with roles in The Shipping News (2001), The Limit (2004), Dark Water (2005), The Omen (2006), Ghost Son (2007) and Solomon Kane (2009). In 2010, he was seen in Clash of the Titans (2010), Inception (2010) and The Town (2010).
Postlewaite died on January 2, 2011, at age 64, of pancreatic cancer. He was surrounded by his wife and son, and by his daughter from a prior relationship.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anne Francis got into show business quite early in life. She was born on September 16, 1930 in Ossining, New York (which is near Sing Sing prison), the only child of Phillip Ward Francis, a businessman/salesman, and the former Edith Albertson. A natural little beauty, she became a John Robert Powers model at age 6(!) and swiftly moved into radio soap work and television in New York. By age 11, she was making her stage debut on Broadway playing the child version of Gertrude Lawrence in the star's 1941 hit vehicle "Lady in the Dark". During this productive time, she attended New York's Professional Children's School.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer put the lovely, blue-eyed, wavy-blonde hopeful under contract during the post-war World War II years. While Anne appeared in a couple of obscure bobbysoxer bits, nothing much came of it. Frustrated at the standard cheesecake treatment she was receiving in Hollywood, the serious-minded actress trekked back to New York where she appeared to good notice on television's "Golden Age" drama and found some summer stock work on the sly ("My Sister Eileen").
Discovered and signed by 20th Century-Fox's Darryl F. Zanuck after playing a seductive, child-bearing juvenile delinquent in the low budget film So Young, So Bad (1950), Anne soon starred in a number of promising ingénue roles, including Elopement (1951), Lydia Bailey (1952), and Dreamboat (1952) but she still could not seem to rise above the starlet typecast. At MGM, she found promising leading lady work in a few noteworthy 1950s classics: Bad Day at Black Rock (1955); Blackboard Jungle (1955); and the science fiction cult classic Forbidden Planet (1956). While co-starring with Hollywood's hunkiest best, including Paul Newman, Dale Robertson, Glenn Ford and Cornel Wilde, her roles still emphasized more her glam appeal than her acting capabilities. In the 1960s, Anne began refocusing strongly on the smaller screen, finding a comfortable niche on television series. She found a most appreciative audience in two classic The Twilight Zone (1959) episodes and then as a self-sufficient, Emma Peel-like detective in Aaron Spelling's short-lived cult series Honey West (1965), where she combined glamour and a sexy veneer with judo throws, karate chops and trendy fashions. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nomination.
The actress returned to films only on occasion, the most controversial being Funny Girl (1968), in which her co-starring role as Barbra Streisand's pal was heartlessly reduced to a glorified cameo. Her gratuitous co-star parts opposite some of filmdom's top comics' in their lesser vehicles -- Jerry Lewis' Hook, Line and Sinker (1969) and Don Knotts' The Love God? (1969) -- did little to show off her talents or upgrade her career. For the next couple of decades, Anne remained a welcome and steadfast presence in a slew of television movies (The Intruders (1970), Haunts of the Very Rich (1972), Little Mo (1978), A Masterpiece of Murder (1986)), usually providing colorful, wisecracking support. She billed herself as Anne Lloyd Francis on occasion in later years.
For such a promising start and with such amazing stamina and longevity, the girl with the sexy beauty mark probably deserved better. Yet in reflection, her output, especially in her character years, has been strong and varied, and her realistic take on the whole Hollywood industry quite balanced. Twice divorced with one daughter from her second marriage, Anne adopted (as a single mother) a girl back in 1970 in California. She has long been involved with a metaphysical-based church, channeling her own thoughts and feelings into the inspirational 1982 book "Voices from Home: An Inner Journey". Later, she has spent more time off-camera and involved in such charitable programs as "Direct Relief", "Angel View" and the "Desert AIDS Project", among others. Her health declined sharply in the final years. Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, the actress died on January 2, 2011, from complications of pancreatic cancer in a Santa Barbara (California) retirement home.- Peter Hobbs was born on 18 January 1918 in Etretat, France. He was an actor, known for The Man with Two Brains (1983), The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Sleeper (1973). He was married to Carolyn Adams, Patience Cleveland, Parker McCormick and Ruth Margaret Davis. He died on 2 January 2011 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Miriam Seegar was born on September 1, 1907, to Frank and Carrie (née Wall) Seegar, both teachers. Raised in Greentown, Indiana, in the Seegar-Sewell home on 404 S. Main Street, she was the fourth of five daughters. Her sisters, known around town as the Seegar Sisters, were educator Helen Seegar-Stone (1895-1976) stage actress and opera singer Dorothy Seegar-Hatch (1897-1999) Mildred Seegar (1905-1913) and actress Sara Seegar (1914-1990.)
Seegar viewed her first movies in Kokomo, Indiana at the age of eight. As the sisters started acting and singing, Frank Seegar left teaching to open a hardware store in efforts to support his daughters' growing singing and acting pursuits. After his death at Seegar's age of 14, her two older sisters invited her to spend summers with them in their bedbug-laden Upper West Side apartment in New York City. Helen, working in a theatrical producer's office and Dorothy, acting and singing on Broadway, sent Miriam to an agent, and she began appearing on stage in minor, uncredited roles. She would return to Greentown in the winter upon her mother's insistence to complete her schooling with her younger sister, Sara.
After finishing school, Seegar acted in her first Broadway production as a Spanish blonde in a now-forgotten play at the 48th Street Theatre, followed by five more stage stints. While playing the part of the ingenue in The Squall (1926-1927) prolific producer Albert H. Woods took notice, and offered Seegar to star with Ernest Truex in the London West End production of his hit show Crime (1928.) At the age of 18, Seegar accepted Woods' offer and moved to London, soon followed by her mother and sister Sara to live with her in the Park Lane Hotel: "All my life I had wanted to go to England. I was just beginning to get a start in New York, but I was glad to be transferred to England." Between Stage engagements with multiple productions in London, she acted in her first two films The Price of Divorce and The Valley of Ghosts (film), both released in 1928. Next Miriam was chosen to co-star with Nelson Keyes in When Knights Were Bold (1929 film), as her figure of just under 5'1 and 100lbs would make her shorter and smaller than Keyes. The film was being directed by American director Tim Whelan, whom Miriam had just met. After the film's release she and Whelan, 14 years her senior, moved to Hollwood in 1929 and started dating. She quickly went to work making three pictures in 1929, signing with Paramount for Fashions in Love and the love doctor then making Seven Keys to Baldpate for RKO. For the next three years, Seegar made 11 more films, most being B-movies.
Blonde haired, blue eyed Miriam was one of the tiniest women in pictures, standing at just under 5'1 tall and weighing 100lbs. From a 1930 Photoplay magazine: "The question of clothes is a problem to her. Everything must be specially made, since she has no desire to step out in twelve-year-old dimities from a department store. She sees a gown model she likes and has it duplicated in a more miniature form. She likes frocks of rich material, but made without fuss and furbelows." Miriam didn't consider her name good for screen purposes as she said people were inclined to accent the last syllable, as if it were "cigar." However, she refused to change it unlike some Hollywood actresses, even after being asked by Albert H. Woods while offering to send her to London for "Crime." Also from Photoplay in 1930: "Miriam has had no very serious love affairs, although she does admit that she has been in love. In fact, several times. The only trouble is that she falls out of love so easily. She says that she believes married men are far more interesting than the young eligibles, but she's an old-fashioned girl and does not care to be the "heavy" in a real life triangle drama.
Seegar married Tim Whelan in 1931, and the couple had two sons, Tim Junior and Michael(1935-1997,) born with down's syndrome. Miriam's last film, false faces, was made in 1932. It played the Times Square Paramount, where her first American picture had been premiered just three and a half years earlier. Seegar retired from acting to raise her first child, Tim Whelan Jr, and found her career at odds with her husband's: "The sort of roles I got latterly were not becoming for a woman whose husband was then a major force in motion pictures. Selznick and Cukor offered me work, but after a while I just said no."
In 1953, she received her ASID certification and began working as an interior decorator, first with Harriet Shellenberger and later on her own. She did not retire until 1995. Her husband died in 1957, and decades later, both sons died within a span of nine months. Tim Whelan, Jr. died from cancer in 1997, and son Michael, who was born with Down syndrome, died in 1998. In 2000, at the age of 93, Seegar appeared in the documentary I Used to Be in Pictures, which featured commentary from many of her contemporaries. Thereafter she made a series of guest appearances at film festivals which culminated in an award for her screen work from the Memphis Film Festival when she was 95. On her 102nd birthday she sailed from Southampton to New York on the RMS Queen Mary 2 and back again.
Miriam Seegar had two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren at the time of her death on January 2, 2011. No specific cause of death was given, but her daughter-in-law Harriet Whelan stated that Seegar was very frail and had died from "age-related causes". - Patricia Smith was born on 20 February 1930 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. She was an actress, known for The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), The Debbie Reynolds Show (1969) and Helen Keller and Her Teacher (1970). She was married to John Lasell. She died on 2 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Margot Stevenson was born on 8 February 1912 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Calling Philo Vance (1940), Granny Get Your Gun (1940) and Flight Angels (1940). She was married to Val Avery and Robert Russell. She died on 2 January 2011 in New York, New York, USA.
- Additional Crew
Richard D. Winters was born on 21 January 1918 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for Band of Brothers (2001), Dick Winters: Hang Tough (2012) and The Last Days of World War II (2005). He was married to Ethel. He died on 2 January 2011 in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
A slim, stunning, stylish-looking actress, British Jill Haworth (born Valerie Jill Haworth on August 15, 1945 in Sussex) was a free-spirited product of the 1960s. Her father was a textile magnate and sometime race car driver and mother an aspiring ballerina. Trained in dance herself, she attended the Corona Stage School and appeared, unbilled, as a schoolgirl in a couple of movies, before fame came knocking at her door.
The diminutive (5'2") Jill was discovered by ever-formidable director Otto Preminger after he happened upon her photo from her acting school. Looking for a new face to play the refugee role of Karen in his monumental Oscar-winning film Exodus (1960), Jill made a touching impression as Sal Mineo's ill-fated Jewish girlfriend. An impressed Preminger went on to cast the actress in two other of his other important epics that same decade -- The Cardinal (1963) and In Harm's Way (1965). Both, however, were received with much less fanfare.
At this juncture, Jill had gained a sympathy vote in Hollywood as many of her ingénues seemed to meet untimely ends. Despite a dusky, untrained singing voice, the lovely blonde went to Broadway in 1966 and fashioned the role of the capricious Britisher Sally Bowles (played with a dark wig) in the musical "Cabaret," which co-starred Bert Convy as her naive American boyfriend and the irrepressible Joel Grey as the seedy Master of Ceremonies. The Kander/Ebb musical, which took place in decadent pre-Nazi Berlin, was based on Christopher Isherwood's popular "Berlin Stories". A huge hit, it won numerous Tony awards, including best musical of the 1966-67 season. Although Jill received mixed reviews, she played the role for two years.
Interestingly, it was veterans Lotte Lenya and Jack Gilford who received Tony nominations for their elderly roles in the production and not the young leads Haworth and Convy. Later on, while Grey was asked to recreate his magnetic Tony-winning part for the 1972 film Cabaret (1972), Jill and Bert were snubbed again when the leads went to others. It should be noted that by the time Bob Fosse's screen version was ready to go, Jill's star had dimmed considerably. The movie was now geared as a showcase for the fast-rising Liza Minnelli. As such, the Bowles character was Americanized and her boyfriend, played now by Michael York, served as her British counterpart. Both Minnelli and Grey won well-deserved Oscars for their dazzling performances.
After the "Cabaret" success, things died down and Jill returned to England, relegated to a few horror films here and there, including It! (1967), Horror House (1969) and Tower of Evil (1972). She also appeared on several American TV series from time to time, including Mission: Impossible (1966), The F.B.I. (1965), Baretta (1975) and Vega$ (1978). By the 1980s, however, Jill was pretty much out of sight.
In 2001 she appeared out of nowhere in a support role for the America film Mergers & Acquisitions (2001). She was living in New York and reportedly had just finished working on a voiceover YMCA spot in 2011 when she died suddenly in her Manhattan home of "natural causes" at age 65.- Actress
- Writer
Nine-Christine Jönsson was born on 8 June 1926 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress and writer, known for Port of Call (1948), Livet i Finnskogarna (1947) and Kvinnor i väntrum (1946). She died on 3 January 2011.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Yosef Shiloach was born on 9 July 1941 in Kurdistan, Iran. He was an actor and writer, known for Rambo III (1988), Desperado Square (2001) and Private Popsicle (1982). He died on 3 January 2011 in Tel Aviv, Israel.- Hélio Ary was born on 5 March 1930 in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Pai Herói (1979), Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976) and O Homem Nu (1968). He died on 4 January 2011 in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
- Herb Mitchell was born on 18 June 1937 in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Innerspace (1987) and Gettysburg (1993). He was married to Scarlet Kinney and Janet Ahear. He died on 4 January 2011 in Blue Hill, Maine, USA.
- Valeriy Pogoreltsev was born on 15 July 1940 in Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. He was an actor, known for Khronika nochi (1973), Tysyacha okon (1968) and Cherez Gobi i Khingan (1981). He died on 4 January 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty was born on April 16, 1947 in Paisley, Scotland. He was the third son of Irish miner and lorry driver Joseph Rafferty and Rafferty's Scottish wife Mary Skeffington. His abusive alcoholic father died when Gerry was only sixteen. Rafferty grew up in a council house on the town's Glenburn estate and attended St. Mirin's Academy. Inspired by his Scottish mother who taught him both Irish and Scottish folk songs and the music of Bob Dylan and the Beatles, Gerry started writing his own material. In 1963 he left St. Mirin's Academy and worked in a butcher's shop and as a civil service clerk while also playing with the local group Maverix on weekends. In the mid 60s Rafferty earned money busking on the London Underground. In 1966 he met fellow musician Joe Egan; they were both members of the pop band the Fifth Column. In 1969 Gerry became the third member of the folk-pop outfit the Humblebums which also featured comedian Billy Connelly. Rafferty and Connelly recorded two well-received albums on the Transatlantic label as a duo. In 1972 Gerry released his first solo album "Can I Have My Money Back?". That same year Egan and Rafferty formed the group Stealers Wheel. Stealers Wheel had a huge hit with the jaunty and witty song "Stuck in the Middle with You," which peaked at #6 on the Billboard pop charts. Stealers Wheel had a lesser Top 40 hit with "Star" ten months later and eventually broke up in 1975. In 1978 Gerry hit pay dirt with his second solo album "City to City," which soared to #1 on the Billboard album charts and sold over five million copies worldwide. The album also beget the hit song "Baker Street;" this haunting and poetic ballad was an international smash that went to #2 in America, #3 in the United Kingdom, #1 in Australia, and #9 in the Netherlands. Rafferty's third album "Night Owl" likewise did well. Moreover, Gerry had additional impressive chart successes with the songs "Right Down the Line," "Home and Dry," "Days Gone Down," and "Get It Right Next Time." Alas, a handful of albums Rafferty recorded throughout the 80s and 90s all proved to be commercial flops. Gerry sang the vocal on the song "The Way It Always Starts" for the soundtrack of the movie "Local Hero." Rafferty was married to Carla Ventilla from 1970 to 1990. He recorded his last album "Another World" in 2000 and released the compilation CD "Life Goes On" in 2009. Unfortunately, Gerry had problems with alcoholism that directly contributed to his untimely death at age 63 from liver failure on January 4, 2011; he's survived by his daughter Martha, granddaughter Celia, and brother Jim.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Beach stud movie and TV actor Aron Kincaid started life out as Norman Neale Williams III on June 15, 1940, in Hollywood, California. While still a toddler, his father, serving as a Second Lieutenant with the Army Air Force, died at age 27 after his plane was shot down by the Nazis during the last year of World War II. Aron was sent to Big Bear Lake, high in the San Bernardino Mountains, to live with his paternal grandparents. His early interest in drawing and painting saw the young lad going from cabin to cabin selling his artwork for 10 cents apiece. At age 12, he won his first important art award, taking first place in a national contest sponsored by Eutectic Welding Alloy. Following two years at Ridgewood Military Academy, his mother remarried, and the three resided in Oakland, California. While still in high school, Aron enrolled at the famous California College of Art but quit after two sessions when his professor grabbed Aron's brush and began to make "corrections and additions" to his art work. That was the end of any formal art training.
Aron grew into a tall, riveting-looking hairy-chested teen with blond hair and a deep tan, qualities he perceived could possibly be his fortune. He soon started to lean towards acting. As a senior at Oakland High School, the ambitious highschooler wrote, produced, directed and starred in his first amateur film. The hour-long 8mm color/sound production entitled The Fall of Nineveh (1957), in which he also designed the sets and costumes, included a cast of around 400. Upon graduation, he returned to Southern California and enrolled at UCLA where he made several small student films. While a sophomore, he was introduced to Roger Corman who handed him his very first (unbilled) professional acting job as a beekeeper in the cult horror flick The Wasp Woman (1959). His second unbilled film appearance came as Laurence Olivier's standard bearer in the epic-scale classic Spartacus (1960). While accompanying an actress friend to an Equity stage audition for support, he wound up auditioning himself and won the role of the young suitor in "The Loud, Red Patrick". After a casting agent witnessed his performance, he ended up with a Universal contract. Producer Leonard Freeman caught sight of the handsome UCLA college student and, following a screen test, was signed for a regular role on the last season of the popular TV series Bachelor Father (1957) as John Forsythe's law partner and subsequent fiancé to young Noreen Corcoran, who played Forsythe's niece on the show. This, in turn, led to work on a number of Universal series including Channing (1963), Alcoa Premiere (1961), and Boris Karloff's Thriller (1960).
Following graduation from UCLA in 1962, Aron enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. He eventually returned to Hollywood and resumed where he left off. By that time, the beach party flicks were all the rage and Aron fell easily in with the anything-for-fun crowd. With the help of actor Bart Patton, he won a starring role in Paramount's The Girls on the Beach (1965), which reunited him with TV girlfriend Noreen Corcoran and featured The Beach Boys and The Crickets (post-Buddy Holly) as musical guests. This, in turn, led to Paramount's Beach Ball (1965), which top-lined Edd Byrnes and Chris Noel and provided The Supremes and The Righteous Brothers with singing showcases; Ski Party (1965) starring Beach Party "king", himself, Frankie Avalon and featured vocalists Lesley Gore and James Brown; and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), the seventh and last installment of the by-now waning "Beach Party" series. Of all his "party" pictures at American International Pictures (AIP), his all-time favorite role was Ski Party (1965) and playing the obnoxious athlete-lover "Freddy Carter". Contractual problems with AIP led to an unfortunate lawsuit (his first and only) in which he sued and won a large settlement. Obligated to star in two more films of the studio's choosing as part of his settlement, he was handed a role in the dreadful sci-fi horror Creature of Destruction (1968), an inferior remake of The She-Creature (1956). The second film was never made.
Now freelancing on his own, he made a quick return to film. He played an amusingly arrogant Freddy-like character in Disney's The Happiest Millionaire (1967); received second billing to 'Chuck Connors (I) in the adventure The Proud and Damned (1972) (made in 1968); and co-starred in the underwater saga Black Water Gold (1970), which was filmed almost entirely in Nassau, Grand Bahamas, with a company that included Keir Dullea, Bradford Dillman, Ricardo Montalban, France Nuyen and Lana Wood. On Catalina Island, he went on to shoot Joseph Conrad's famous short story The Secret Sharer (1967) with David Soul of Starsky and Hutch (1975). Aron gained added exposure in a number of the popular TV shows of the day, including The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Get Smart (1965), The F.B.I. (1965), Family Affair (1966), Lassie (1954) and Love, American Style (1969). On stage, he worked in a couple of local Equity productions and appeared with Virginia Mayo in a production of "Cactus Flower". In the meantime, his face became familiar in scores of TV commercials. Disappointed in the long run by a decade of work that seemed to amount to very little and the steady decline of quality filming altogether, Aron decided to remove himself from the Hollywood rat race, lease his home and move to San Francisco in 1972 to refocus on painting. After a brief bartending job, he was spotted by a top West Coast female modeling agency, Sabina Models, and became their only male client, appearing in hosts of billboards, newspaper ads and magazines. Within two years time, he was working with the famed Nina Blanchard Agency, the best modeling firm in Southern California, and found significant representation in several large cities. His modeling peak, however, came with his signing with Wilhelmina and her New York agency, landing his first interview with them on the New Year's cover of New York magazine. For the next 20 years, Aron worked as one of the top photography and runway models. An on-camera spokesman, he pitched everything from after-shave lotion to Cadillac automobiles. Movie and TV acting assignments began to come his way again with parts in Gable and Lombard (1976), Cannonball! (1976), Planet Earth (1974) and Brave New World (1980). In the early 1980, he extended his talents into animation and lent his voice to such projects as The Smurfs (1981), The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986), Batman Returns (1992) The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) and Walt Disney's DuckTales (1987).
In 1995, on his 55th birthday, Aron completely dropped out of the limelight, opting for early retirement and recommitting himself to art. He resides, as he has for quite some time, at his 1917 Benedict Canyon hunting lodge where he specializes in old Hollywood portraits and caricatures and in landscapes and seascapes of California and Italy.- Janine Souchon was born on 20 June 1930 in Aubervilliers, Seine [now Seine-Saint-Denis], France. She was an actress, known for A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), Le deuil sied à Electre (1974) and Cinq à sec (1977). She died on 6 January 2011 in Vigneux-sur-Seine, Essonne, France.
- Serge Christiaenssens was born on 9 April 1944 in Canada. He was an actor, known for The Jackal (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and Rafales (1990). He died on 7 January 2011 in Canada.
- Krzysztof Kolberger was born on 13 August 1950 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for 1968. Szczesliwego Nowego Roku (1992), Pan Tadeusz (1999) and Dziewczeta z Nowolipek (1986). He was married to Anna Romantowska. He died on 7 January 2011 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Irina Preys was born on 8 February 1921 in Khoni, Georgia. She was an actress, known for The Cranes Are Flying (1957), Ori okeanis saidumloeba (1957) and Oni ne proydut (1965). She died on 8 January 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Having seen Robbery (1967) and Bullitt (1968), it comes as no surprise that Peter Yates started out as a professional racing car driver and team manager - albeit briefly - before turning his attention to film. The son of a military man, he was educated at Charterhouse School and trained at RADA, gaining his first experience as an actor with local repertory companies. In the early 1950's, he worked as a dubbing assistant, cutter, stage manager and theatre director (Royal Court), eventually graduating to assistant director on The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). He cut his teeth, directing many episodes of The Saint (1962) and Secret Agent (1964) for television, before helming his first feature film, the musical Summer Holiday (1963).
"Summer Holiday" did nothing for his career. However, the exhilarating car chase through the streets of London - staged for his next film, "Robbery" - so impressed Steve McQueen that he requested Yates to direct him in "Bullitt". The rest is history: for many years, THAT car chase became the yard stick by which all others were measured. The success of this venture prompted Yates to remain in America, adapting himself to a variety of other genres, though continuing to be preoccupied with action subjects. His best films include the stylish and ingenious caper comedy The Hot Rock (1972); the underwater adventure The Deep (1977), based on the novel and screenplay by Peter Benchley; and the quirky coming-of-age comedy Breaking Away (1979). For the latter, Yates received simultaneous Oscar nominations as Best Director and Best Producer.
He was nominated again for a more cerebral 'actor's piece', The Dresser (1983), starring Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay , based on a play about an ageing stage actor and his long-standing assistant. Never a prolific director, Yates subsequently made only a few more films. Most memorable, perhaps, were the courtroom thriller Suspect (1987), the political drama The House on Carroll Street (1988) and the enjoyably old-fashioned comedy It All Came True (1998), starring Michael Caine and Maggie Smith as a couple of theatrical ghosts.- Gaston L'Heureux was born on 14 May 1943 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor, known for 100% bio (2003), Vaut mieux en rire (1982) and Research Unit (2006). He died on 9 January 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
John Dye was born on 31 January 1963 in Amory, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Tour of Duty (1987), Touched by an Angel (1994) and Jack's Place (1992). He died on 10 January 2011 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Ed K. Gildersleeve was born on 4 March 1956 in the USA. He was an actor, known for Imagination (2007), Arizona Seaside (2007) and Cofax & Lily (2011). He died on 10 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Margaret Whiting was the daughter of Richard A. Whiting, himself a successful songwriter and author of "On The Good Ship Lollipop", "The Japanese Sandman" and "Ain't We Got Fun?" and the sister of actress/singer Barbara Whiting.
Born July 22,1924 in Detroit, she began singing as a small child and, by the age of seven, signed with Johnny Mercer, the popular songwriter and founder of Capitol Records, for whom her father worked. She was a popular vocalist in the 1940s and 1950s, recording dozens of hits for Capitol Records, launched by her father and two partners. She was the first artist to be engaged by the label, where she began recording in 1942. She served as President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation, and she continued her work as a performer of Mercer songs. In the early 1940s, her hits included "That Old Black Magic" (with Freddie Slack), "Moonlight in Vermont" (with Billy Butterfield) and "It Might As Well Be Spring" (with Paul Weston). Between 1946-54, she had more than 40 solo hit tunes for Capitol. After stints with Dot Records and Verve Records and, a brief return to Capitol in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, she recorded for the London label beginning in 1966.
In the late 1990s, she appeared in the Broadway musical "Dream" (1997) and in the PBS broadcast The Songs of Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous for Words (1997). Under her own name in late 1945, she recorded the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II composition "All Through The Day", which became a bestseller in the spring of 1946, and "In Love In Vain", both of which were featured in the film Centennial Summer (1946). She also had hits with songs from the Broadway musicals "St. Louis Woman" and "Call Me Mister" in 1946. Those first recordings under her name were made in New York. In late 1946, she returned to California and began recording there, with Jerry and His Orchestra--"Guilty" and "Oh, But I Do" were the best-selling results of that session. Her hit streak continued in 1948-49.
Due to a musician's strike in the US, orchestral tracks were recorded outside of the country and vocals added in US studios. Whiting supplied vocals to tracks cut by 'Frank DeVol' (q) and His Orchestra, including "A Tree In The Meadow", a #1 hit in the summer of 1948, recorded in London. Her next #1 song occurred in 1949 with "Slipping Around", one of a series of duet recordings made with country/western singer and cowboy star Jimmy Wakely. Also during that year, Whiting recorded a duet with Mercer, "Baby, It's Cold Outside". In 1950, she had a hit with "Blind Date", a novelty record made with Bob Hope and Billy May and His Orchestra.
Whiting continued recording for Capitol into the mid-1950s, until her run of hits dried up. She left the company in 1958 for Dot Records but achieved only one hit there. She switched to Verve Records in 1960 and recorded a number of albums, including one with jazz vocalist Mel Tormé. A brief return to Capitol was followed by a hiatus, after which Whiting signed with London Records in 1966, where she recorded her last two charting pop singles. Her recordings continued to appear on the easy listening charts into the 1970s. Whiting was still recording in the early 1990s and performing in cabaret and concerts. She died on January 10, 2011 (aged 86) in Englewood, New Jersey.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Editorial Department
Vivek Shauq was born on 21 June 1963 in Chandigarh, Punjab, India. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and Nalaik (2005). He died on 10 January 2011 in Thane, Maharashtra, India.- Actress
- Casting Department
Dolores Keator was born on 16 February 1925 in New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for Dr. No (1962) and Lord of the Flies (1963). She was married to Sanford L. Ziff, Albert Goodstein, Richard S. Keator and George William Hoppe. She died on 11 January 2011 in Miami, Florida, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
David Nelson was born on October 24, 1936 in New York City to Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson. He attended Hollywood High School. He later was a film producer (The Nelson Co.) and director, who directed several episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952).
Nelson had two sons with his first wife, June Blair. Daniel Blair Nelson was born on August 20, 1962 and James Eric Nelson was born June 8, 1966. After that marriage ended in divorce, he remarried to Yvonne O'Connor Huston in 1975, adopting her three children.
His stepdaughter Teri Nelson Carpenter was once married to game show host Chuck Woolery. His twin nephews Matthew and Gunnar, perform as The Nelsons. Matthew Nelson performs with Red37 and Gunnar Nelson is a radio host. His niece, Tracy Nelson, is an accomplished actress.- As a child Paul Picerni had aspirations to become an attorney until he acted in an eighth-grade play and later learned that the school principal liked his performance and called him "a born actor". He next appeared in little theater productions, then (after World War II Air Force service) on the stage at Loyola University. Picerni was acting in a play in Hollywood when he was spotted by Solly V. Bianco, head of talent at Warner Brothers; brought to the studio, the young actor was given a role in Breakthrough (1950). This WWII actioner turned out to be aptly named, as it led to a Warners contract for Picerni and a long succession of roles at that studio. Best-known for his second-banana role on the TV classic The Untouchables (1959) with Robert Stack, Picerni is the father of eight and grandfather of ten.
- Actor
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- Additional Crew
Popular German television star from the 1960's to the 1980's, with long-standing experience in radio and on the stage. Lange trained at an acting school in Hannover between 1946 and 1948, subsequently making his stage debut at the Junges Theater in Munich, followed by an open-air Karl May revival in Stuttgart. He was active on Radio Bremen in the 1950's, as both director and narrator. Tall and muscular, with a distinct speaking voice, Lange achieved lasting fame for his title role in the 4-part miniseries 'The Deerslayer' (1969), based on James Fenimore Cooper, which stood out at the time for excellent production values. He appeared in films and on television in adaptations of Edgar Wallace, and starred in Francis Durbridge's detective thriller 'The Scarf' (Das Halstuch (1962)) as Edward Collins. From 1971 to 1981, he compered the popular quiz show 'Kennen Sie Kino?' ('Do you know the cinema?'). He was also a noted voice-over artist, dubbing for such English-speaking stars as Charlton Heston, Donald Sutherland and Paul Newman. Hellmuth Lange died after a lengthy illness in Berlin on January 13 2011.- Actor
- Producer
Prabhakar Panshikar, a celebrated Marathi stage actor, left an indelible mark on the world of theater. Born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, he hailed from the Karhade Brahmin community. His lineage included Sanskrit scholars, with his grandfather translating the authoritative Ayurvedic manual, Nighantu Ratnakar, into Marathi.
From a young age, Prabhakar was captivated by acting and the world of theater. During his school days, he not only watched famous plays but also actively participated in Ganesha Festival performances in Girgaon, Mumbai. His love for drama led him away from his family during his early teens.
In 1955, at the age of 25, Prabhakar embarked on his professional journey in Marathi theater with the play Ranicha Baag. Under the guidance of veteran Marathi drama director M. G. Rangnekar, he honed his skills and acted in plays like Kulwadhu, Bhumikanya Sita, Vahini, and Khadashtak. However, it was Rangnekar who offered him the breakthrough role in the play To Mi Navhech (translated as "I Am Not Him"). Prabhakar portrayed the character of Lakhoba Lokhande, which became immortal in Marathi theater history. To Mi Navhech gained immense popularity and was even translated into other Indian languages, including Gujarati and Kannada.
Prabhakar Panshikar founded Natyasampada, a Marathi drama production organization. Through this platform, he nurtured local artists and launched them in cities like Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, and Nagpur. Over his illustrious career, Prabhakar performed in more than 8,000 stage shows spanning 53 years. His commitment to the stage was unwavering, and he became a beacon for aspiring actors and theater enthusiasts.
Prabhakar hailed from the Panshi village in Pernem Taluka, Goa. His family roots were deeply connected to this region. His passion for theater and dedication to the craft left an indelible mark on Marathi cultural heritage. Prabhakar Panshikar's portrayal of Lakhoba Lokhande and his unwavering commitment to the stage continue to inspire generations of artists and theater enthusiasts. His legacy lives on as a beacon of creativity and excellence in Marathi theater .- Tuviah Friedman was born on 23 January 1922 in Radom, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was married to Anna Gutman. He died on 13 January 2011 in Haifa, Israel.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Already a talented singer and dancer as a child, Georgia matured into a beautiful Hollywood model. Aged 17, she made the cover of 'Redbook' and her face continued to be featured throughout the 1930's and 40's in fashion magazines (Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Ladies Home Journal), on calendars and in advertising. In 1941, she was signed by Warner Brothers and decorated several A-grade productions, generally in small parts and, occasionally, featuring her exquisite voice. She sang 'Should I', in the MGM musical Thousands Cheer (1943), where she met her future husband, the bandleader Kay Kyser. According to Kyser's publicist/band manager, Paul Mosher, Georgia and Kay were speeding through Nevada one night in June 1944, when they were pulled over by a state trooper. In order to avoid the bad publicity of a speeding charge, they swore that they were on their way to get married. Thus preempted, they roused a Justice of the Peace from his sleep and went on to become one of the most successful couples in show business. Georgia continued as vocalist with the Kay Kyser band, as well making appearances on television. She retired in 1951, concentrating on raising her family, collecting antiques and being active in the Chapel Hill (N.C.) historical preservation movement.- Toshiyuki Hosokawa was born on 15 December 1940 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. He was an actor, known for Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970), Miyamoto Musashi (1973) and Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967). He was married to Norie Fujimoto and Mayumi Ogawa. He died on 14 January 2011 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Roger Rowland was born on 1 April 1935 in York, England, UK. He was an actor, known for An American Werewolf in London (1981), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Softly Softly (1966). He was married to Elspeth Alexandra Carling and Anne Stallybrass. He died on 14 January 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Barry Lee Hobart passed away on 14 January 2011 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. Hobart was a local television celebrity and late night horror movie host, nationally known as "Dr. Creep".
As founder of the Montgomery County project "Christmas Smiles" Barry helped over 93,000 families over 33 years. He used his celebrity status to raise contributions in the Muscular Dystrophy telethon each Labor Day. Barry was a 1959 Graduate of Middletown High School, and a 1963 Graduate of the University of Cincinnati majoring in Television and Radio Broadcasting. After his college graduation he entered the USA Air Force and served overseas in service broadcasting during the Vietnam War era. After his honorable discharge he was employed by Channel 22 as a camera specialist and master control operator before creating the host of "Shock Theatre" as "Dr. Creep,".
Barry Hobart was inducted into the "Horror Host Hall of Fame" in 2011 for his horror host character "Dr. Creep" in the television series "Shock Theater" on DATV TCI Channel 20 Dayton, Ohio. - Stephanie Glaser, a popular Swiss actress and singer, was born in Neuchâtel in 1920. After studying acting at the Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna, she appeared in various theaters in Switzerland and Germany. Back in Switzerland, she sang at the "Bärenstatze", the "Floigefänger" and "Fédéral" cabarets, in solo or with partners like Walter Roderer, Freddy Lienhard, etc. From then on Stephanie Glaser ranked among the leading figures of the Swiss comedy scene. Hans Gmür wrote several pieces especially for her. In 1954, she started a film career: she was Trinette in the Gotthelf film adaptations by Franz Schnyder, Uli der Knecht (1954) and its sequel Uli, der Pächter (1955). In 1965, she married Oscar Düby. In the 1970s Glaser became the public's favorite as "Aunt Elise" with the goldfish "Traugottli" in the popular television show "Teleboy" by Kurt Felix. She also took part in series such as "Die Direktorin" (1994). In 2001 she was nominated for the Swiss Film Prize as Best Actress for her performance in the film "Komiker" by Markus Imboden. She was cast in her first leading film role in "Die Herbstzeitlosen". In 2006 Stefanie Glaser was honored with a Special Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival and, in the same year, the Swiss Award in the culture category. The vivacious old lady was nearly 91 when she died in 2011, after a long life and a long career.
- Actress
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- Soundtrack
The lovely Susannah York, a gamine, blue-eyed, cropped-blonde British actress, displayed a certain crossover star quality when she dared upon the Hollywood scene in the early 1960s. A purposefully intriguing, enigmatic and noticeably uninhibited talent, she was born Susannah Yolande Fletcher on January 9, 1939 in Chelsea, London, but raised in a remote village in Scotland. Her parents divorced when she was around 6. Attending Marr College, she trained for acting at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, winning the Ronson Award for most promising student. She then performed classical repertory and pantomime in her early professional career.
Making an impression on television in 1959 opposite Sean Connery in a production of "The Crucible" as Abigail Williams to his John Proctor, the moon-faced beauty progressed immediately to ingénue film roles, making her debut as the daughter of Alec Guinness in the classic war drama Tunes of Glory (1960). She emerged quickly as a worthy co-star with the sensitively handled coming-of age drama Loss of Innocence (1961), the more complex psychodrama Freud (1962), as a patient to Montgomery Clift's famed psychoanalyst, and the bawdy and robust 18th century tale Tom Jones (1963), with Susannah portraying the brazenly seductive Sophie, one of many damsels lusting after the bed-hopping title rogue Albert Finney.
Susannah continued famously both here and in England in both contemporary and period drama opposite the likes of Warren Beatty, William Holden, Paul Scofield and Dirk Bogarde. Susannah was a new breed. Free-spirited and unreserved, she had no trouble at all courting controversy in some of the film roles she went on to play. She gained special notoriety as the child-like Alice in her stark, nude clinches with severe-looking executive Coral Browne in the lesbian drama The Killing of Sister George (1968). A few years later, she and Elizabeth Taylor traveled similar territory with X, Y & Zee (1972).
Award committees also began favoring her; she won the BAFTA film award as well as Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her delusional Jean Harlow-like dance marathon participant in the grueling Depression-era film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Her crazy scene in the shower with Oscar-winner Gig Young was particularly gripping and just one of many highlights in the acclaimed film. She also copped a Cannes Film Festival award for her performance in Images (1972) playing another troubled character barely coping with reality. On television, she was Emmy-nominated for her beautifully nuanced Jane Eyre (1970) opposite George C. Scott's Rochester.
Susannah's film career started to lose ground into the 1970s as she continued her pursuit of challengingly offbeat roles as opposed to popular mainstream work. The film adaptations of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971) opposite Rod Steiger and Jean Genet's The Maids (1975) with Glenda Jackson were not well-received. Her performances in such films as Gold (1974), Conduct Unbecoming (1975) which starred another famous York (Michael York), That Lucky Touch (1975), Sky Riders (1976) and The Shout (1978) were overlooked, as were the films themselves. In the one highly popular movie series she appeared in, the box-office smashes Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), she had literally nothing to do as Lara, the wife of Marlon Brando's Jor-El and birth mother of the superhero. While the actress continued to pour out a number of quality work assignments in films and television, she failed to recapture her earlier star glow.
Wisely, Susannah began extending her talents outside the realm of film acting. Marrying writer Michael Wells in 1960, she focused on her personal life, raising their two children for a time. The couple divorced in 1980. In the 1970s, she wrote the children's books "In Search of Unicorns" and "Lark's Castle". She also found time to direct on stage and wrote the screenplay to one of her film vehicles Falling in Love Again (1980). On stage Susannah performed in such one-woman shows as "Independent State", 'Picasso's Women", "The Human Voice" and "The Loves of Shakespeare's Women", while entertaining such wide and varied theatre challenges as "Peter Pan" (title role), "Hamlet" (as Gertrude), "Camino Real", "The Merry Wives of Windsor", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Private Lives", "Agnes of God" and the title role in "Amy's View".
At the age of 67, Susannah showed up once again on film with a delightful cameo role in The Gigolos (2006), and seemed ripe for a major comeback, perhaps in a similar vein to the legendary Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren. Sadly, it was not to be. Diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, the actress died on January 15, 2011, six days after her 72nd birthday. Her final films, Franklyn (2008) and The Calling (2009), proved that she still possessed the magnetism of her earlier years.- Gita Dey was born on 5 August 1931 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India. She was an actress, known for Three Daughters (1961), Aagoon (1988) and Mon Niye (1969). She died on 17 January 2011 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
- One of America's greatest unsung leaders. Sargent Shriver was not only George McGovern's running mate in the 1972 Presidential election, but also served at one time as the Ambassador to France (1968-1970). In addition, he was the first to head up the Peace Corps, served as the first director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and, as a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, created VISTA, Head Start, Community Action, Job Corps, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities, and Neighborhood Health Services.
Ambassador Shriver's wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, began the Special Olympics -- an international program of year-round sports training and athletic competition for more than one million children and adults with mental retardation. His children included newsperson Maria Shriver, producer Robert Shriver, Maryland state legislator Mark Shriver, Anthony Shriver - founder of Best Buddies, and Tim Shriver, President and CEO of the Special Olympics. - Bruce Gordon was born on 1 February 1916 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Piranha (1978), Tower of London (1962) and The Buccaneer (1958). He was married to Mary Jane Farrar Falvey and Marla Gordon. He died on 20 January 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
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- Soundtrack
Reynolds Price was born on 1 February 1933 in Macon, North Carolina, USA. He was a writer, known for American Playhouse (1980), Cathedral (1999) and You Don't Know Jack (2010). He died on 20 January 2011 in Durham, North Carolina, USA.- Jamiu Adebiyi was born on 18 August 1972 in Lagos, Nigeria. He was an actor, known for Being Othello (2009), The Street (2006) and The Time of Your Life (2007). He died on 20 January 2011 in London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
E.V.V. Satyanarayana was born on 10 June 1956 in Dommeru, Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a writer and director, known for Fitting Master (2009), Nuvvante Nakistam (2005) and Hello Brother (1994). He died on 21 January 2011 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Additional Crew
Theoni V. Aldredge was born on 22 August 1922 in Thessaloniki, Greece. She was a costume designer, known for The Great Gatsby (1974), Addams Family Values (1993) and Ghostbusters (1984). She was married to Tom Aldredge. She died on 21 January 2011 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.- Writer
- Music Department
- Composer
Tony Geiss was born on 16 November 1924 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. Tony was a writer and composer, known for Sesame Street (1969), An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988). Tony was married to Phyllis Eisen. Tony died on 21 January 2011 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Violet Rensing was born on 19 July 1927 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for One Step Beyond (1959), Stips (1951) and Decision at Midnight (1965). She was married to Stephen Zlatko Korper. She died on 22 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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- Additional Crew
LaLanne was addicted to sugar as a child, causing him to commit acts of violence, including setting his parents' house on fire and attacking his brother with an axe. He was so weak his family physician recommended he be removed from school to rest and regain his strength. Around this time, he and his mother attended a lecture by Paul C. Bragg, a nutritionist who told LaLanne he was a human garbage can. LaLanne turned his life around with a strict diet and exercise. By the age of 18, he was running a home bakery selling healthy breads and a home gym where he trained policemen and firemen in exercise and weightlifting. LaLanne's reputation as a physical fitness guru eventually led to his 34-year stint as the host of TV's The Jack LaLanne Show (1951). There he taught exercise aimed principally at homemakers, using items found around the home. Even as he exceeded 95 years of age, LaLanne continued to boast a fine physique, and encourage fans with health and fitness tips through videos and writing. LaLanne died of pneumonia at his home in Morro Bay, California, in January 2011, with his wife Elaine, family and friends surrounding him. Mr. LaLanne had been ill prior to his death.- Producer
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- Actor
Bernd Eichinger was born on 11 April 1949 in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany. He was a producer and writer, known for Downfall (2004), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006). He was married to Katja Hofmann. He died on 24 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
John's parents were Hans Buckup (b. 1902) and Kitty. He has a brother: Achim (b. 1931) and a sister: Ursula (b. 1934). He's descendant from Germany and English. He studied Law. He has a daughter and a son with actress Eva Wilma: Vivien (b. 1956) and John Herbert Junior (b. 1958). Vivien is a cinema director and has two sons: Miguel and Mateus. John Junior is a musician and has three children: Gabriela, Francisco and Vitorio. John Herbert is married to Claudia Librach (1978-present). They have two boys: Ricardo (b. 1979) and Eduardo (b. 1983).- María Mercader was born on 6 March 1918 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was an actress, known for The House of Smiles (1991), Savannah Bay (1990) and The Mysterious Rider (1948). She was married to Vittorio De Sica. She died on 26 January 2011 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
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Mario Scaccia was born on 26 December 1919 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for Ferdinando and Carolina (1999), Double Murder (1977) and Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973). He died on 26 January 2011 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born Charles Callias in Brooklyn, NY on December 20, 1927, he served in the US Army in Germany during World War 2.
Originally a drummer, he played with Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill and Buddy Rich. He was always clowning around and would drive the band members crazy on the bus as they traveled. So much so, they suggested he should be a comedian. "He was just messing around with the guys and it worked, I guess" his son Mark said. Charlie was a natural comic, and it wasn't long before he gave up drumming for stand-up routines. He dropped a vowel from his legal name, Callias, when he took to the stage in his first television appearance in 1963 on the "Hollywood Palace" variety show.
In 1967, he appeared on The Merv Griffin Show and had Jerry Lewis (another one of Merv's guests) in hysterics so much so he told Merv that he had to use Charlie in his upcoming film "The Big Mouth".
He was a regular on the Andy Williams Show and a semi-regular on the Flip Wilson and the Des O'Connor Variety Show; acted as co-host on the Joey Bishop Show.
In 1975, Callas co-starred, for three years, with Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert on the series "Switch." His character used different disguises in most shows proving his versatility.
He made over 50 appearances on The Tonight Show, a popular favorite of Johnny's until Sept 1982 when as part of his act he shoved Johnny off his chair. Carson told him in front of the audience that he would never appear on his show again, and he never did.
Callas had a rapid-fire humor that has tantalized audiences in nightclubs from coast to coast. Among his nightly appearances was a one-year tour of major engagements with Frank Sinatra, including the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Charlie has also appeared at the Hilton Hotels, Caesar's Palace, The Sands Hotel, Flamingo Hilton, Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas; Harrah's Clubs in Reno and Lake Tahoe; Cal-Neva Lodge; Lake Geneva Playboy Club, Resorts International, Claridge Hotel and Park Place.
Some of his more recent television appearances were on both the "Larry The Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular" (2007) and the "Larry The Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganza" (2008) where he delighted audiences with his trademark antics and exceptional comedic talents.
He was married to Eve Velac (who died in July, 2010), had two sons, Mark and Larry, and two grandsons.- Francisco Maestre was born on 2 July 1957 in Mérida, Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Devil's Backbone (2001), Barrio (1998) and Bad Education (2004). He died on 27 January 2011 in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
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- Director
Herb Robins was born on 12 January 1930 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Sinthia: The Devil's Doll (1970), The Worm Eaters (1977) and The Funhouse (1981). He died on 27 January 2011 in California, USA.- Sound Department
François Groult was born on 1 July 1952 in Cherbourg-Octeville, Manche, France. He is known for Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008), Léon: The Professional (1994) and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). He died on 28 January 2011 in La Trinite-des-Laitiers, Orne, France.- Geórgia Gomide was born on 17 August 1937 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. She was an actress, known for Vereda Tropical (1984), O Tempo e o Vento (1967) and Teresa (1965). She died on 29 January 2011 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
John Barry was born in York, England in 1933, and was the youngest of three children. His father, Jack, owned several local cinemas and by the age of fourteen, Barry was capable of running the projection box on his own - in particular, The Rialto in York. As he was brought up in a cinematic environment, he soon began to assimilate the music which accompanied the films he saw nightly to a point when, even before he'd left St. Peters school, he had decided to become a film music composer. Helped by lessons provided locally on piano and trumpet, followed by the more exacting theory taught by tutors as diverse as Dr Francis Jackson of York Minster and William Russo, formerly arranger to Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, he soon became equipped to embark upon his chosen career, but had no knowledge of how one actually got a start in the business. A three year sojourn in the army as a bandsman combined with his evening stints with local jazz bands gave him the idea to ease this passage by forming a small band of his own. This was how The John Barry Seven came into existence, and Barry successfully launched them during 1957 via a succession of tours and TV appearances. A recording contract with EMI soon followed, and although initial releases made by them failed to chart, Barry's undoubted talent showed enough promise to influence the studio management at Abbey Road in allowing him to make his debut as an arranger and conductor for other artists on the EMI roster.
A chance meeting with a young singer named Adam Faith, whilst both were appearing on astage show version of the innovative BBC TV programme, Six-Five Special (1957), led Barry to recommend Faith for a later BBC TV series, Drumbeat (1959), which was broadcast in 1959. Faith had made two or three commercially unsuccessful records before singer/songwriter Johnny Worth, also appearing on Drumbeat, offered him a song he'd just finished entitled What Do You Want? With the assistance of the JB7 pianist, Les Reed, Barry contrived an arrangement considered suited to Faith's soft vocal delivery, and within weeks, the record was number one. Barry (and Faith) then went from strength to strength; Faith achieving a swift succession of chart hits, with Barry joining him soon afterwards when the Seven, riding high on the wave of the early sixties instrumental boom, scored with Hit & Miss, Walk Don't Run and Black Stockings.
Faith had long harboured ambitions to act even before his first hit record and was offered a part in the up and coming British movie, Wild for Kicks (1960), at that time. As Barry was by then arranging not only his recordings but also his live Drumbeat material, it came as no surprise when the film company asked him to write the score to accompany Faith's big screen debut. It should be emphasised that the film was hardly a cinematic masterpiece. However, it did give Faith a chance to demonstrate his acting potential, and Barry the chance to show just how quickly he'd mastered the technique of film music writing. Although the film and soundtrack album were both commercial successes, further film score offers failed to flood in. On those that did, such as Never Let Go (1960) and The Amorous Mr. Prawn (1962), Barry proved highly inventive, diverse and adaptable and, as a result, built up a reputation as an emerging talent. It was with this in mind that Noel Rogers, of United Artists Music, approached him in the summer of '62, with a view to involving him in the music for the forthcoming James Bond film, Dr. No (1962).
He was also assisted onto the cinematic ladder as a result of a burgeoning relationship with actor/writer turned director Bryan Forbes, who asked him to write a couple of jazz numbers for use in a club scene in Forbes' then latest film, The L-Shaped Room (1962). From this very modest beginning, the couple went on to collaborate on five subsequent films, including the highly acclaimed Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), King Rat (1965) and The Whisperers (1967). Other highlights from the sixties included five more Bond films, Zulu (1964), Born Free (1966) (a double Oscar), The Lion in Winter (1968) (another Oscar) and Midnight Cowboy (1969).
In the seventies he scored the cult film Walkabout (1971), The Last Valley (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) (Oscar nomination), wrote the theme for The Persuaders! (1971), a musical version of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and the hit musical Billy. Then, in 1974, he made the decision to leave his Thameside penthouse apartment for the peace of a remote villa he was having built in Majorca. He had been living there for about a year, during which time he turned down all film scoring opportunities, until he received an invitation to write the score for the American TV movie, Eleanor and Franklin (1976). In order to accomplish the task, he booked into the Beverly Hills Hotel for six weeks in October 1975. However, during this period, he was also offered Robin and Marian (1976) and King Kong (1976), which caused his stay to be extended. He was eventually to live and work in the hotel for almost a year, as more assignments were offered and accepted. His stay on America's West Coast eventually lasted almost five years, during which time he met and married his wife, Laurie, who lived with him at his Beverly Hills residence. They moved to Oyster Bay, New York and have since split their time between there and a house in Cadogan Square, London.
After adopting a seemingly lower profile towards the end of the seventies, largely due to the relatively obscure nature of the commissions he accepted, the eighties saw John Barry re-emerge once more into the cinematic limelight. This was achieved, not only by continuing to experiment and diversify, but also by mixing larger budget commissions of the calibre of Body Heat (1981), Jagged Edge (1985), Out of Africa (1985) (another Oscar) and The Cotton Club (1984) with smaller ones such as the TV movies, Touched by Love (1980) and Svengali (1983). Other successes included: Somewhere in Time (1980), Frances (1982), three more Bond films, and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
After serious illness in the late eighties, Barry returned with yet another Oscar success with Dances with Wolves (1990) and was also nominated for Chaplin (1992). Since then he scored the controversial Indecent Proposal (1993), My Life (1993), Deception (1992), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) and has made compilation albums for Sony (Moviola and Moviola II) and non-soundtrack albums for Decca ('The Beyondness Of Things' & 'Eternal Echoes').
In the late nineties he made a staggeringly successful return to the concert arena, playing to sell-out audiences at the Royal Albert Hall. Since then he has appeared as a guest conductor at a RAH concert celebrating the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor and made brief appearances at a couple of London concerts dedicated to his music. In 2004 he re-united with Don Black to write his fifth stage musical, Brighton Rock, which enjoyed a limited run at The Almeida Theatre in London.
He continued to appear at concerts of his own music, often making brief appearances at the podium. In November 2007, Christine Albanel, the French Minister for Culture, appointed him Commander in the National Order of Arts and Letters. The award was made at the eighth International Festival Music and Cinema, in Auxerre, France, when, in his honour, a concert of his music also took place.
In August 2008 he was working on a new album, provisionally entitled Seasons, which he has described as "a soundtrack of his life." A new biography, "John Barry: The Man with The Midas Touch", by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker, and Gareth Bramley, was published in November 2008.
He died following a heart-attack on 30th January 2011, at his home in Oyster Bay, New York.- Nildo Parente was born in 1934 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. He was an actor, known for São Bernardo (1972), Tropical Paradise (2007) and Celebrity (2003). He died on 31 January 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Actor
- Producer
Swarthy, stage-trained actor Michael Tolan was born Seymour Tuchow on November 27, 1927, in Detroit, Michigan. During and following graduation from Wayne State University, he appeared in radio serials. After studying under acting guru Stella Adler and performing in such classic theater productions as "Uncle Vanya," "Candida," "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Oedipus," "Coriolanus" and "The Grass Is Always Greener," he made his debut on Broadway in the 1955 hit George Axelrod comedy "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" This, in turn, led to a rise in stature with strong assignments in "A Hatful of Rain," "Romanoff and Juliet," "A Majority of One" and "The Far Country."
Tolan began on film (billed as Lawrence Tolan in the beginning) with several bit roles, often as ethnics, between the years 1951 and 1953, including The Enforcer (1951), Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951), Fort Worth (1951), The Savage (1952), Hiawatha (1952) and Ich suche dich (1956), but was not given the breaks to rise to feature status and quickly left the medium.
Tolan instead focused on TV, from the mid-1950s on, as a utility player, playing a wide range of roles over a long period of time. His strong voice also proved capable of narrative projects. Following a year's stint on The Doctors and the Nurses (1962), his momentum started to pick up. He played Lazarus in the all-star Biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), appeared in support of Dustin Hoffman on stage in "The Journey of the Fifth Horse" and in the film John and Mary (1969), and was a regular on The Bold Ones: The Senator (1970). Sporadic filming included his featured roles as a western gun-wielder in Hour of the Gun (1967), an inspector in The Lost Man (1969), and a series of doctors in The 300 Year Weekend (1971), All That Jazz (1979) and Talk to Me (1982).
He essayed a number of authoritative/professional roles (doctors, psychiatrists, military brass, etc.) throughout the late 1960s and 1970s on such series as "Tarzan," "The Rat Patrol," "Mannix," "Felony Squad," "Owen Marshall," "Toma," "The F.B.I.," "Medical Center," "Cannon," "Barney Jones," "McMillan & Wife," "Kojak," "Law and Order" and "Murder, She Wrote." He also played a recurring suitor of Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970).
Known to have a well-modulated voice, he narrated the successful miniseries The Adams Chronicles (1976). Although his acting load has tapered off into the 1980s, he can still be seen from time to time in guest parts. He ended his on-camera career playing a judge in the film Perfect Stranger (2007). Divorced twice and the father of three daughters, he was once briefly married to actress Rosemary Forsyth. He died on January 31, 2011, at the age of 85.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in Drogheda (Ireland) to Wilson (a violist) and Eugenia Ravasio (a housekeeper). Attended Trinity College in Dublin. Debuted in 1970 at theatre with Jean Louis Barrault (Rabelais) in France, then England and Italy (Spoleto fest among others). Is a well known actor, director and writer in the Italian Theatre, also working in Television and Cinema all around Europe. Acts both in English and Italian.- Stanislaw Michalski was born on 3 September 1932 in Wilno, Wilenskie, Poland [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for The Tin Drum (1979), Lalka (1978) and Mokry szmal (1986). He died on 1 February 2011 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland.
- Tamara Sovchi was born on 18 June 1941 in Simferopol, Crimean ASSR, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Crimea, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Karmen (2003), Zhazhda nad ruchyom (1968) and Afonya (1975). She died on 1 February 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Margaret John was born on 14 December 1926 in Swansea, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Run Fatboy Run (2007), Game of Thrones (2011) and High Hopes (2002). She was married to Ben Thomas. She died on 2 February 2011 in Swansea, Wales, UK.- Syra Marty was born on 21 June 1921 in Goldau, Schwyz, Switzerland. She was an actress, known for Edge of Hell (1956), Fingerprints Don't Lie (1951) and Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill (1964). She was married to Elmer A. Frick. She died on 3 February 2011 in Florida, USA.
- Lidiya Savchenko was born on 8 November 1941. She was an actress, known for Vozvrashchenie chuvstv (1980), Four Winds of Heaven (1962) and The Thief (1997). She died on 3 February 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Maria Schneider was a French actress. At age 19 she became famous for Bernardo Bertolucci's film Last Tango in Paris (1972), and The Passenger (1975).
As a teenager, she adored films, going to the cinema up to four times a week. She left home at 15 after an argument with her mother and went to Paris, where she made her stage acting debut that same year.
Her film debut was an uncredited role in The Christmas Tree (1969).
In Last Tango in Paris she performed several nude scenes. After the film release she decided never to work nude again.
In early 1976, she abandoned the film set of Caligula and was replaced by Teresa Ann Savoy.
She and Brando remained friends until his death.
Schneider died of breast cancer on 3 February 2011 at age 58.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Tatyana Shmyga was born on 31 December 1928 in Moscow, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Gusarskaya ballada (1962), Eksperiment (1970) and Novogodnee pokhishcheniye (1970). She died on 3 February 2011 in Moscow, Russia.- Machan Varghese was born in 1960 in Elamakkara, Kochi, Kerala, India. He was an actor. He died on 3 February 2011 in Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Michael Habeck was born on 23 April 1944 in Grönenbach, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Name of the Rose (1986), Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999) and The Bourne Identity (1988). He died on 4 February 2011 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Lena Nyman was born on 23 May 1944 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress and writer, known for Ronia: The Robber's Daughter (1984), I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) and Autumn Sonata (1978). She was married to Jan Lundström. She died on 4 February 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Tura Satana started exotic dancing when she was only 13 years old. She integrated acrobatics, humor, and sensual beauty to her dancing art form. As a dancer, she started doing guest appearances in films such as Our Man Flint (1966) and Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) and made several films with low-budget auteur Ted V. Mikels. Her skills as a martial artist landed her small roles in TV shows such as Hawaiian Eye (1959), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), The Greatest Show on Earth (1963) and Burke's Law (1963).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Donald Peterman was born on 3 January 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a cinematographer, known for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Flashdance (1983) and Men in Black (1997). He was married to Sally. He died on 5 February 2011 in Palos Verdes Estates, California, USA.- Actress
- Casting Director
- Casting Department
Peggy Rea was born on 31 March 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress and casting director, known for Grace Under Fire (1993), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) and Love Field (1992). She died on 5 February 2011 in Toluca Lake, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Pavel Vondruska was born on 15 November 1925 in Ceské Budejovice, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor and composer, known for Jára Cimrman lezící, spící (1983), Ferat Vampire (1982) and Tanková brigáda (1955). He died on 5 February 2011 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Born in 1939, Isabel Corey started modeling in Paris in her teens for such magazines as Jardin des Modes, Elle and Madame Figaro, until she was discovered in the Latin Quarter were she lived with her parents by Jean Pierre Melville and offered the lead in his classic film noir, Bob le Flambeur. Following parts in such films as And God Created Woman (directed by Roger Vadim and with Brigitte Bardot), she continued her film career in Italy where she settled in Rome, to work with producers, directors and actors like Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio de Sica, Marcello Mastroianni, Alberto Sordi, Dino de Laurentis, Roberto Rossellini, Martine Carol and many more.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Per Grundén was born on 23 May 1922 in Eskilstuna, Södermanlands län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Sköna Helena (1951), The Jonsson Gang & Dynamite Harry (1982) and Beware of the Jonsson Gang! (1981). He was married to Susanne Gneiser. He died on 6 February 2011 in Trosa, Södermanlands län, Sweden.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
A brilliant blues and rock guitarist and successful singer-songwriter, Gary Moore has nevertheless always been rather underrated, especially in the United States, where he was never a major artist and rarely gets ranked highly in the usual "best guitarist" lists. He was born and raised in Belfast and played in the line-ups of several local bands during his teenage years, before moving to Dublin, Ireland, after being asked to join Skid Row. Moore later played with Phil Lynott in Thin Lizzy and joined the British jazz-rock band Colosseum II. He also had a successful solo career with eleven UK Top 40 single releases, which included the top ten songs "Parisienne Walkways" and "Out in the Fields" (a collaboration with Lynott), and he peaked in popularity with his best-selling album "Still Got the Blues" in 1990, which was on the UK album chart for 26 weeks.
Moore tragically died aged just 58 in 2011. He was never one of the biggest rock stars in the world but he was revered by many British and Irish guitarists and guitar fans, frequently written about in the British guitar press and magazines such as Classic Rock, and left a tremendous legacy of music ranging from blues to hard rock to ballads.- Olga Markina was born on 24 January 1926. She was an actress, known for Esli ty prav... (1964), Put k prichalu (1962) and Inoplanetyanka (1985). She died on 8 February 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Patrick Ezerzer was born on 25 August 1962 in Casablanca, Morocco. He was an actor, known for New Jersey Turnpikes (1999), Moving Target (1996) and Gotti (1996). He died on 10 February 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Director
- Writer
Antoni Halor was born on 12 July 1937 in Siemianowice Slaskie, Slaskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for Notatnik 14-ty (1973), Czarne - zielone (1971) and Czlowiek z laska (1979). He died on 10 February 2011 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.- Animation Department
- Director
- Additional Crew
Bill Justice graduated as a portrait painter from the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis in 1935. He joined the Disney Organisation two years later, after moving to California. Highlights of his 42-year long career with Walt Disney as director/animator include bringing to life the characters of Thumper ('Bambi') and Chip'n'Dale, as well as animating the title sequence ('Mickey Mouse Club March') from the 1950's TV series The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). He also directed a number of animated short films, three of which received Academy Award nominations: The Truth About Mother Goose (1957) (with Wolfgang Reitherman), explaining the background of classic nursery rhymes, Noah's Ark (1959), and a 'new twist on the old ragtime' theme, A Symposium on Popular Songs (1962).
After 1965, Bill became part of the imagineering/programming team for Disney's Audio-Animatronics figures at Disneyland, specifically involved with the Hall of Presidents, Mission to Mars, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. He was also noted as an expert in the use of stop motion animation technique in conjunction with live action films, such as Mary Poppins (1964), usually in collaboration with T. Hee and Xavier Atencio. Bill retired in 1979 and was pronounced a Disney Legend in 1996.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Marilyn Adele Dunlap was born on March 5, 1924 (for her stage name she took her nickname, Myrna, and shortened her middle name, Adele, to "Dell", which she used as her last name). She started her career as a showgirl in the famous Earl Carroll Revue in New York, and made her film debut in A Night at Earl Carroll's (1940). Signed by MGM, she appeared in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), but MGM didn't pick up her option and she returned to Earl Carroll's. She soon was appearing at the Billy Rose Nightclub, then spent a season in the "George White's Scandals" revue. However, the taste of Hollywood never left her, and she went back in 1943 and appeared in a string of westerns with such cowboy icons as Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson. She had a small part in the classic Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), and shortly afterwards signed a contract with RKO Pictures. RKO kept her busy, putting her in more than 20 films over the next few years, even appearing with future US President Ronald Reagan in the 1949 comedy The Girl from Jones Beach (1949). She gave a good performance in an atypical role as the ambitious, murderous daughter of a powerful rancher in the offbeat western The Bushwhackers (1951). She worked steadily over the years, not only in films but on TV as well, and had a recurring role in the Dan Duryea adventure series China Smith (1952). At one point she wrote a gossip column, "Hollywood: Then and Now".- Roger Gosselin was born on 28 January 1936. He was an actor, known for Bingo (1974), Taureau (1973) and Les Brillant (1979). He died on 11 February 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- Irina Kiritschenko was born on 29 January 1931 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. She was an actress, known for Suse, liebe Suse (1975), Senit zon (1990) and Strannye vzroslye (1974). She was married to Lev Durov. She died on 11 February 2011 in Moscow, Russia.
- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
To paraphrase the Beatles, one could say that, like Michelle and Ma Belle, Peter Alexander and Music are words that go together well, for the Austrian entertainer (musician, singer and actor) was associated with music from cradle to tomb. Born in Vienna in 1926, the son of a banker and his wife, Peter Alexander Neumayer (his full name) entered the world of music courtesy of his grandfather who owned a music store in Pilsen. The boy was only five when he joined the Vienna Boys' Choir. And as Peter Alexander had another passion, acting, it is no wonder that he became a... singing actor ! But all in due time: In his early twenties, the young man first started studying medicine. Naturally he soon realized he was on the wrong track and changed for drama studies at the Reinhard-Seminar in Vienna. After graduating he appeared in several plays and even played in a cabaret. At the same period, Peter Alexander's love for music resurfaced and he recorded his first songs in 1951. Success was on the cards as several of his songs became big hits. He even won the German Song Contest in Munich in 1952. From then on, Peter Alexander, who had played in the theater, but never in films, started working for the big screen. Actually, his first appearances were brief and he was always billed as a singer, a dancer, a musician or himself. But his being a star of song gradually implied a star actor status. As a matter of fact, Peter Alexander soon got top-billed, and in dozens of light comedies, which attracted millions of German-speaking spectators. In such films as Ich bin kein Casanova (1959), Die Abenteuer des Grafen Bobby (1961) and nearly all the others, Alexander was not what can be called a character actor embodying a a different role in each of those films, but he was invariably the charming, well-bred, joyful man, fond of "Festlicher Stimmung" (festive mood) and Lust (good laughs), often named Peter, in short, close to the kind of guy he was in real life. Of course, all this had nothing much to do with art and if Peter Alexander's name is still remembered fondly by the older generation in Austria and Germany, it must be recognized that he has not left any imprint in film history. Peter Alexander was synonymous with a joyful time meant for immediate consumption and that was that. An exception though: 'Wolfgang Liebeneiner' qv)'s Schweik's Years of Indiscretion (1964), in which for once he did not play a nice guy close to who he was, but 'Jaroslav Hasek''s well-known "hero", the prototype of the dumb soldier who drives his superiors crazy. Peter Alexander 's portrayal of this archetypal character was just excellent and it makes you regret that the comedian was not offered more demanding roles during the two decades when he was at the top of his career. After 1972, as commercial German cinema was spiraling down into the abyss, Peter Alexander left his film career to devote himself to TV shows and, of course, to songs, songs, songs . He died in early 2011 at the age of 84. History does not record whether.. he sang his last words!- Actress
- Soundtrack
A sunny singer, dancer and comic actress, Betty Garrett starred in several Hollywood musicals and stage roles. She was at the top of her game when the Communist scare in the 1950s brought her career to a screeching, ugly halt. She and her husband Larry Parks, an Oscar-nominated actor, were summoned by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and questioned about their involvement.
As the drama played out, a very pregnant Garrett was never called to testify, but her husband was. With his admission of Communist Party membership from 1941-1945 and refusal to name names, he made it to the Hollywood Blacklist. After the incident, Garrett and Parks worked up nightclub singing/comedy acts along with appearing in legit plays. Although Parks never quite shook off the blacklist incident, he did win a role in John Huston's film, Freud (1962). Garrett went on to appear in roles in many television series.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Kenneth Mars was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in The Producers (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in Young Frankenstein (1974). He also appeared in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1972), and Woody Allen's Radio Days (1987), and Shadows and Fog (1991).- Best known in New Zealand for playing the Senile Grandfather Ted West on Outrageous Fortune. This role won him a best supporting actor award at the Air NZ Screen Awards in 2007. He also appeared in Vigil and many other New Zealand and Australian Productions. He died of Cancer on Febuary 13th 2011
- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Prolific multi award-winning Mexican composer of over 900 songs (many of which have become standards of Latin music) and 500 soundtracks. He was hand-picked by Walt Disney to write most of the Mexican musical segment for The Three Caballeros (1944), alongside Agustin Lara, Ary Barroso and his frequent collaborator, Ernesto Cortázar. Apart from 'Ay Jalisco, No Te Rajes', his other famous compositions, include 'No Volvere', 'Cantaclaro' and 'Cuando Me Vaya'. The last two were winners of Silver Ariel Awards in 1947 and 1955, respectively. The son of a civil engineer father and a concert pianist mother, Esperon completed his musical education in Mexico, then became an accompanist to silent films. He worked as an arranger/orchestrator until 1933, when he composed his first film score.
Esperon was notable for integrating mariachi music into many of his screen compositions and had noted collaborations with many of the best-known interpreters of contemporary Mexican music, such as Jorge Negrete and 'Lola Beltran'. In 1990, he received the highest award bestowed in his native country, the National Prize of Arts and Sciences, for his contribution to culture.- Dona Hardy was born on 3 December 1912 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Superbad (2007), The Running Man (1987) and Universal Soldier (1992). She died on 13 February 2011 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Larry Holden was born on 15 May 1961 in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Memento (2000), Batman Begins (2005) and My Father's House (2002). He was married to Hanne Kristiansen and Leigh Ann Pope. He died on 13 February 2011 in Orange, Massachusetts, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Character actor Thomas Patrick McKenna was born in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, in 1929. A prolific theatre actor throughout his career, he made his stage debut in "Summer and Smoke" by Tennessee Williams at the Pike Theatre in Dublin in 1954.
He made his film debut in the IRA-Nazi drama The Night Fighters (1960) and from this uncredited beginning he moved up to tenth billing in The Siege of Sidney Street (1960). His next major movie was in 1964's Girl with Green Eyes (1964), by which time he had started a successful television career.
He made his TV debut in Espionage (1963) and over the next few years appeared in several more TV shows. His versatility enabled him to play three characters in The Avengers (1961). He was also featured in such well-regarded shows as Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), Dixon of Dock Green (1955) and The Saint (1962).
Meanwhile, his film career was developing along literary lines, and he was featured in Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow (1962), the Sean O'Casey biopic Young Cassidy (1965) and James Joyce's Ulysses (1967). He took smaller parts in such epics as The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).
British films such as Perfect Friday (1970) and Villain (1971) allowed him to showcase his suave, urbane persona before trying something different in the controversial Straw Dogs (1971). He appeared alongside a young Anthony Hopkins in All Creatures Great and Small (1975) before starring with John Gielgud for the second time, this time in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977). Over the next few years his co-stars were as diverse as Leonard Rossiter (Britannia Hospital (1982)), Timothy Dalton (The Doctor and the Devils (1985)), Ben Kingsley (Pascali's Island (1988)) and Dolph Lundgren (Red Scorpion (1988)). Not all of these films were successes, but McKenna always gave good value for the money and developed themes of his, such as an interest in Irish issues, in The Outsider (1979). His last released film was Valmont (1989), which was unfortunately completely overshadowed by Dangerous Liaisons (1988), which was based on the same novel.
Over the years he made numerous guest appearances in TV series such as Minder (1979), Casualty (1986), Lovejoy (1986), Inspector Morse (1987), Heartbeat (1992) and Ballykissangel (1996). McKenna has also been prominent in TV movies and series, featuring in Charles Dickens' Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House (1985), Stendhal's Scarlet and Black (1993) and most recently an adaptation of Henry James' The American (1998).
McKenna is up there with the greats of character acting such as Lionel Jeffries, Dennis Price, Richard Wattis, Wilfrid Hyde-White and John Le Mesurier.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
George Shearing was born on 13 August 1919 in Battersea, London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Bedtime Stories (2008), Green Book (2018) and The Muppets (2011). He was married to Eleanor Geffert and Beatrice Bayes. He died on 14 February 2011 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Karin Stanek was born on 18 August 1946 in Bytom, Slaskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Dwa zebra Adama (1964), O rany, nic sie nie stalo (1987) and Disco (1971). She died on 15 February 2011 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dorian Gray was born on 2 February 1931 in Bolzano, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. She was an actress, known for Nights of Cabiria (1957), Mogli pericolose (1958) and Totò, Peppino e la... malafemmina (1956). She died on 15 February 2011 in Torcegno, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Len Lesser was an American character actor, from the Bronx, New York City. His most famous role was that of Uncle Leo, the maternal uncle of protagonist Jerry Seinfeld in the sitcom "Seinfield". Lesser played this role from 1991 to the series finale in 1998.
Lesser was the son of a Polish-Jewish immigrant, who worked as a grocer in New York City. Lesser was educated at the City College of New York. He graduated in 1942 with a bachelor's degree, at the age of 19. Shortly after, Lesser enlisted in the United States Army which was mobilizing for World War II. He served in the China Burma India Theater of the War.
Lesser was primarily a theatrical actor until the mid-1950s. From 1955 onward, he appeared regularly on television series in minor or guest star roles. He also appeared as a character actor in films such as "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962), "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965), and "Kelly's Heroes" (1970).
Lesser did not achieve a regular role until cast as Uncle Leo in "Seinfeld", at the age of 69. Afterwards he was cast in the recurring role of Garvin in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996-2005). Both Uncle Leo and Garvin were friendly and overly enthusiastic acquaintances of the respective protagonists of each sitcom. For the first time in his career, Lesser became a household name with these sitcom roles.
In his last years, Lesser was struggling with cancer. He died of cancer-related pneumonia in 2011, at the age of 88. His former cast-mate Jerry Seinfield mourned his death and described Lesser as "a very sweet guy".- Dave Duerson was born on 28 November 1960 in Muncie, Indiana, USA. He was married to Alicia Cooper. He died on 17 February 2011 in Miami, Florida, USA.
- Actress
- Music Department
Catherine Jourdan was born on 12 October 1948 in Azay-le-Rideau, Indre-et-Loire, France. She was an actress, known for The Samurai (1967), The Leatherstocking Tales (1969) and Vortex (1976). She died on 18 February 2011 in Paris, France.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
Wlodzimierz Olszewski was born on 25 January 1936 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an assistant director and director, known for Przemytnicy (1985), Próba ognia i wody (1979) and Haslo Korn (1968). He died on 18 February 2011 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.