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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jeanette Loff was born Janette Lov in Orofino, Idaho, on October 9, 1906. Her father Maurice was a successful violinist from Denmark who moved their family to Canada when Jeanette was a child. She loved to sing and she studied music at the Ellison-White Conservatory in Portland, Oregon. At age sixteen she had a starring role in the operetta Treasure Hunters. In Portland, Loff played the organ at local theaters. She made her acting debut in the 1927 film Uncle Tom's Cabin. Cecil B. Demille offered her a contract and she quickly became one of Hollywood busiest starlets. In 1928 she appeared in Annapolis, Love Over Night, and Hold 'Em Yale. After her parents divorced Jeanette's mother Inga and sisters Irene and Myrtle came to live with her in California. Jeanette married a salesman named Harry Rosenbloom but they divorced in 1929. She also had a love affairs with producer Paul Bern, song writer Walter O'Keefe, and actor Gilbert Roland. Jeanette got the chance to show off her soprano voice in films like King Of Jazz and Party Girl. By 1931 she was tired of playing ingénues and decided to take a break from making movies. She moved to New York city and starred in several Broadway shows. Jeanette tried to make a comeback with the 1934 drama St. Louis Woman but it was not a hit. After a few more small roles her career stalled. Her final film was the comedy Million Dollar Baby. She retired from acting and married producer and liquor salesman Bert E. Friedlob. Sadly she did not get to enjoy her new life for very long. On August 5, 1942 Jeanette died after ingesting ammonia. She was only thirty-five years old. Although many believe she committed suicide her death may have been accidental. Her family does not believe she took her own life. Jeanette is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.- Actress
Delia Garcés was born on 13 October 1919 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for El (1953), Casa de muñecas (1943) and El gran amor de Bécquer (1946). She was married to Alberto de Zavalía. She died on 7 November 2001 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- María Esther Podestá was born on 24 November 1896 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Madame Bovary (1947), Tu cuna fue un conventillo (1925) and La loba (1924). She was married to Carlos Goicoechea and Segundo Pomar. She died on 18 September 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Daphne Pollard was born on 19 October 1891 in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress, known for Thicker Than Water (1935), Our Relations (1936) and Loose Ankles (1930). She was married to Ellington Strother Bunch. She died on 22 February 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
La Jana was the stage name of the brunette Viennese-born actress and exotic dancer Henriette 'Henny' Hiebel. She was trained as a ballerina for ten years and first performed at the Frankfurt Kinderoper at the age of eight. Of boyishly slim build, she appeared on stage in cabaret in 1921. Soon after, she was reputedly discovered for the screen by the director Géza von Cziffra at the Chat Noir cabaret in Paris. She received good publicity from a successful tour of Britain, during which the press alternately touted her as being Spanish or Hungarian. The build-up continued with glamour photographs for Vogue magazine. Movies followed and La Jana hit the big time with Truxa (1937) (dancing on a giant tambourine) and The Stars Shine (1938). Propelled to instant stardom, she came to represent oriental or Latin mystery and allure as the scantily-clad heroines of The Tiger of Eschnapur (1938), Das indische Grabmal (1938) (as the high priestess of a cult) and Stern von Rio (1940).
Her life ended tragically young at the very peak of her popularity. She died of pneumonia at the age of 35, a fact which rather cemented her cult status. Since she left few personal notes, little of La Jana's life is known. This has given life to unverified rumours and scuttlebutt. One fanciful story has it that she aided in the escape from Nazi Germany of Jewish acting colleagues and was consequently murdered by the SS.
La Jana was married to the opera star Michael Bohnen and was said to have previously been romantically involved with Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the former German Empire.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Tilly Losch was born on 15 November 1903 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for The Garden of Allah (1936), Backstage (1937) and The Good Earth (1937). She was married to Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert 6th Earl of Carnarvon and Edward James. She died on 24 December 1975 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
She won a beauty contest at age fourteen. In 1920 her mother, Edith Shearer, took Norma and her sister Athole Shearer (Mrs. Howard Hawks) to New York. Ziegfeld rejected her for his "Follies," but she got work as an extra in several movies. She spent much money on eye doctor's services trying to correct her cross-eyed stare caused by a muscle weakness. Irving Thalberg had seen her early acting efforts and, when he joined Louis B. Mayer in 1923, gave her a five year contract. He thought she should retire after their marriage, but she wanted bigger parts. In 1927, she insisted on firing the director Viktor Tourjansky because he was unsure of her cross-eyed stare. Her first talkie was in The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929); four movies later, she won an Oscar in The Divorcee (1930). She intentionally cut down film exposure during the 1930s, relying on major roles in Thalberg's prestige projects: The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) and Romeo and Juliet (1936) (her fifth Oscar nomination). Thalberg died of a second heart attack in September, 1936, at age 37. Norma wanted to retire, but MGM more-or-less forced her into a six-picture contract. David O. Selznick offered her the part of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), but public objection to her cross-eyed stare killed the deal. She starred in The Women (1939), turned down the starring role in Mrs. Miniver (1942), and retired in 1942. Later that year she married Sun Valley ski instructor Martin Arrouge, eleven years younger than she (he waived community property rights). From then on, she shunned the limelight; she was in very poor health the last decade of her life.- Mace Greenleaf began as a stage actor starring and supporting in many popular plays, perhaps his best known roles was as Herbert, the King's Forrester in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' in the 1890's and in 1898 played Mr. Hunston in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play 'Trelawny of the Wells' at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, other Broadway performances was in 'The Pride of Jennico' with James K. Hackett at the Citerion Theatre in 1900 and played Myrtle May's lover in 'The Parish Priest'. Over the first decade of the new century played starring roles in stock companies all over America, he returned to Broadway in 1905 to play the Prince of Wales in the romantic musical 'Edmond Burke'. In 1911 he joined the film industry where he would star in at least 20 drama movies, making his debut in The Golden Rule (1911) co-starring James Kirkwood at the Reliance Film Co. He is perhaps best known as Dr. Earl Headley in Alice Guy Blache's Falling Leaves (1912) for the Solax Film Co in 1912. His last film before his sudden death from pneumonia age 38 was in The Girl in the Arm-Chair (1912) with Blanche Cornwall. In 1906 Mace married Lucy Banning in Santa Ana, California, Lucy came from a very wealthy family they owned Catalina Island, she left Mace in 1910 for the son of prominent judge, Mace divorced his beautiful wife on the ground of desertion, Lucy was known as something of a free spirit and often scandalized 'polite society' with the number of men in her life.
- Vedah Bertram born Adele Buck in Massachusetts into a prominent Boston family, her father Jerome Buck, a wealthy newspaper publisher. Film cowboy star G.M. Anderson saw her photograph in a Boston society column, he decided to contact her and asked her to be his co-star in his Broncho Billy western series, despite opposition by her family she did so, adopting the name Vedah Bertram in order to spare her family's feelings, she became an immediate success in the films as Broncho Billy's girl friend, making her debut in 'The Ranch Girl's Mistake' in 1912, she became hughly popular with cinema audience, starring in around 24 short westerns until her last movie 'Broncho Billy Outwitted', sadly in August 1912, she was admitted into an Oakland hospital with stomach pains and died of acute appendicitis, she was only 20 years old. One of the first film actresses to be mourned by the public, her death proved doubly shocking to her parents who reputedly had remained unaware of her film career.
- Actress
- Writer
Florence Barker was born on November 22, 1891 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Norman Barker, was a farmer and she had four siblings. When she was a teenager she began acting with stock companies. She fell in love with actor Joe De Grasse, who was 18 years her senior; they moved in together and he helped guide her career. In 1908 she made her film debut in D.W. Griffith's "An Awful Moment." Over the next three years she appeared in more than 50 films, including "The Course of True Love," "The Diamond Star," and "The Newlyweds" with Mary Pickford. She became one of the first American actresses to make films in Europe. About acting she said "I love the work and would advise any actress to make a try for the pictures. The work is arduous to be sure. No one ever attained success unless it was accomplished by close and concerted application." The talented young actress was signed by Powers Players in 1912. She was given leading roles in the comedies "Her Yesterday" and "The Petticoat Detective." Her performances got good reviews and her future seemed bright. She also wrote the script for her 1912 comedy "Priscilla's Comedy." While visiting her mother in early 1913 she became ill. Tragically, on February 15, 1913 she died from pneumonia at only 21 years old. She was cremated and her ashes were buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.- Page Peters was born in 1889. He was an actor, known for Madame la Presidente (1916), The Gentleman from Indiana (1915) and The Call of the Cumberlands (1916). He died on 22 June 1916 in Hermosa Beach, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
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Arthur V. Johnson was born on 2 February 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Beloved Adventurer (1914), Annie Rowley's Fortune (1913) and The Adventures of Dollie (1908). He was married to Maude Webb. He died on 17 January 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.- Actor
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Handsome, dark wavy-haired leading man who appeared on the New York stage, starred in early silent films (1-3 reelers) as well as directed and wrote scenarios. Worked for various studios including Edison, American, Powers, Rex, Big U (Universal), Laemmle, Nestor and Selig. Still working until the year of his death, he passed away at the age of 37 from paralysis associated with multiple sclerosis which affected his spinal cord. He left his wife Ann and their two year old daughter as well as his parents and two sisters.- Early information on Florence La Badie is sketchy. She is thought to have been born in New York City in 1888, and was either taken away from or given up for adoption by her birth mother. Florence was adopted by a married couple named LaBadie, who legally gave the child their last name. Her adoptive father, Joseph LaBadie, is believed to have been an attorney in Canada, and the family spent time in Montreal, where Florence grew up. She was educated in both Montreal and New York, and after graduation from high school she worked as a model for well-known illustrator (and, later, film director) Penrhyn Stanlaws.
She took up a career on the stage, first appearing there in 1908. She signed up with director Chauncey Olcott's theatrical company, and went on the road with them. In 1909 she went with a friend, Mary Pickford, to the American Biograph film studio in New York to watch Pickford at work in In the Window Recess (1909), and Pickford got her a bit part in the picture. La Badie didn't make any films for a year after that, though, at which time she signed a contract with Biograph.
In 1911 she left Biograph for Thanhouser. She met with great success in Thanhouser's pictures, and was gradually promoted to lead roles, working there from 1911-1917 (making her the player who worked at Thanhouser the longest). She became the best-known of all of Thanhouser's players and was wildly popular in fan magazines and trade journals.
Although she was engaged twice (to actor Val Hush and writer Daniel Carson Goodman), she never married. She was the "companion" of film mogul Marcus Loew for several years.
On August 28, 1917, while driving a car near Ossining, New York, with her fiancé Daniel Goodman, the car's brakes failed and it plunged down an embankment at high speed, rolling over when it hit the bottom. Goodman escaped with relatively minor injuries, but she was thrown from the car and incurred a compound fracture of the pelvis. She was taken to a hospital in Ossining, where her conditioned worsened. She died of septicemia (infection) on August 28. She was 29 years old. - True Boardman was born on 21 April 1880 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Tarzan of the Apes (1918), Stingaree (1915) and The Further Adventures of Stingaree (1917). He was married to Virginia True Boardman. He died on 28 September 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
A former salesman and vaudeville and stage actor, Harold Lockwood was one of the earliest romantic stars of American films. He was paired with Mary Pickford, Kathlyn Williams and Dorothy Davenport, among others, but his most popular films had him as the lover of May Allison, and they became one of the earliest screen romantic teams. Unfortunately, Lockwood contracted influenza during the worldwide flu epidemic of 1918, and was one of the millions who died from it.- Myrtle Gonzalez was born on 28 September 1891 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Level (1914), The Little Sheriff (1914) and The Chalice of Courage (1915). She was married to Allen Watt and J. Parks Jones. She died on 22 October 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Charles Gunn was born on 31 July 1883 in Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for An Even Break (1917), Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four (1913) and Framing Framers (1917). He was married to Nina. He died on 6 December 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Clifford Bruce born in Toronto, Canada in 1885, a well-built touch performer who supported in many American silent drama, westerns and action-serial's, first with the Selig Film Company in 1913, followed by Fox studios and later the Metro Film Company in the late 1910's, he's perhaps best remembered as the Gypsy Leader in Pearl White's action-adventure serial 'The Perils of Pauline' for the Pathe Film Company in 1914 and as Tom the Friend in Theda Bara's 'A Fool There Was' directed by Porter Emerson Browne at the Fox Film Company in 1915, he was last seen as Baron Demetrius Strakosch in 'Black Is White' in 1920 released a year after his death, he dead in New York aged only 34 in 1919.
- Actress
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- Writer
Bella Ramsey made their professional acting debut as fierce young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in Season 6 of HBO's 'Game of Thrones', a role that quickly became a fan favorite and saw Bella return for the next 2 seasons. Bella will be returning to HBO as the leading role of 'Ellie Williams' in their new flagship show 'The Last of Us' opposite Pedro Pascal. Bella is also known for playing the titular character Mildred Hubble in the newest adaptation of 'The Worst Witch' for which they won the Young Performer BAFTA in 2019. Bella lends their voice to 'Hilda', an award winning animation series for Netflix. Bella was recently on screens in the second season of BBC/HBO's adaptation of 'His Dark Materials'.
On the big screen, Bella was recently seen as the titular role in Lena Dunham's feature film 'Catherine, Called Birdy'. In 2020, Bella had a leading role alongside Jesse Eisenberg in the Marcel Marceau biopic 'Resistance'. In 2019, Bella starred opposite Renée Zellweger, playing her daughter Lorna Luft, in the biopic film 'Judy'. Other film work includes 'Two For Joy' opposite Samantha Morton and Billie Piper, and 'Holmes and Watson' with Will Ferrell. Bella's short films include 'Zero', 'On The Beaches', 'Three Minutes of Silence' and 'Requiem'.
Bella is an ambassador for Greenpeace and Young Minds, and a patron for Bamboozle Theatre Company.- Clarine Seymour born to Albert and Florence Seymour in Brooklyn, New York in 1898. Her father ran a ribbon manufacturing business, in 1917 her father became so ill that he had no choice but to close his successful business and so Clarine secured work through the Thanhouser Film Company, which was located in New Rochelle, as a result of her work through that company , she obtained work through Pathe in a Pearl White serial and also in 1917 she appeared opposite Mollie King in 'Mystery of the Double Cross', followed in Toto the Clown comedies for the Robin Film Co and also appeared in many Al Christie comedies, she excepted an offer from D.W. Griffith who directed her in 'The Girl Who Stayed at Home' (1919) and 'True Heart Susie' (1919) opposite Lillian Gish and in Scarlet Days (1919). In 1920 Clarine became famous after starring in 'The Idol Dancer' the public loved her, shortly after that film's release she signed a four year contract, her next role was 'Way Down East' However, half way through production Clarine suddenly died unexpectedly from an intestinal ailment following an operation at Misericordia Hospital in New York at the age of 21. Mary Hay took over her role and the film was a box office success.
- Actress
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The grand, highly flamboyant Russian star Alla Nazimova of Hollywood silent films lived an equally grand, flamboyant life off-camera, though her legendary status has not held up as firmly as that of a Rudolph Valentino today.
Alla Nazimova was born Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon in 1879, in Yalta, Crimea, in the Russian Empire, to Jewish parents, Sonya Horowitz and Yakov Leventon. She was the third child in an abusive, contentious household. Most of her sad childhood was spent in foster homes or in the care of other relatives and she showed a strong penchant for outrageous behavior to cope. Nazimova also showed a great aptitude for music at a young age and began violin lessons at age seven. She changed her name to Alla Nazimova when she began appearing on stage--her father insisted on it, as "performing" was not considered respectable at the time.
She began acting lessons at age 17 and joined Konstantin Stanislavski's company of actors as a pupil of his "method style" at the Moscow Art Theatre. During that time she supported herself by being kept by rich, older men. A failed love affair led to her only marriage, to an acting student named Sergei Golovin, but they separated quickly. She grew discontented with Stanislavsky and later performed in repertory. She met the legendary Pavel Orlenev, a close friend of Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky, and entered into both a personal and professional relationship with him. They toured internationally throughout Europe with great success and came to New York in 1905, where Nazimova was saluted on Broadway for her definitive interpretations of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House." Orlenev returned to Russia but Nazimova stayed.
She made her screen debut with War Brides (1916), which was initially a 35-minute play. By 1918 she was a box-office star for Metro Pictures and completed 11 films for the studio over a three-year period. A torrid, stylish and rather outré tragedienne who played exotic, liberal women confronted by great personal anguish, she earned personal successes as a reformed prostitute in Revelation (1918), a suicide in Toys of Fate (1918) and dual roles as half-sisters during the Boxer Rebellion in The Red Lantern (1919), not to mention the title role of Camille (1921) with Rudolph Valentino. At the same time she maintained a strong Broadway theatrical career.
In accordance with her rise in the film industry, she began producing her own efforts, which were bold and experimental--and monumental failures, although they are hailed as great artistic efforts today. Her Salomé (1922) was quite scandalous and deemed a failure at the time. The monetary losses she suffered as producer were astronomical. The Hays Code, which led to severe censorship in pictures, also led to her downfall, as did her outmoded acting style. She was forced to abandon films for the theater, scoring exceptionally well in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." She did return to films briefly in the 1940s in a variety of supporting roles, but she made these solely for the money.
Nazimova's private life has long been the subject of industry gossip. As a Hollywood cover to her well-known bisexual lifestyle, she coexisted in a "marriage" with gay actor Charles Bryant for well over a decade. Her "Garden of Allah" home was the centerpiece for many glamorous private parties. She died in 1945.- Actress
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Norma Talmadge was born on May 26, 1895, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The daughter of an unemployed alcoholic and his wife, Norma did not have the idyllic childhood that most of us yearn for. Her father left the family on Christmas Day and his wife and three daughters had to fend for themselves. Her mother, Peggy, took in laundry to help make ends meet. By the time Norma was 14 she took up modeling. She was successful enough that she attracted the attention of studio chiefs in New York City (where the Vitagraph studio was located at the time). Norma landed a small role in The Household Pest (1910). With her mother's prodding, she landed other small roles with the studio in 1910, such as Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910), Love of Chrysanthemum (1910), A Dixie Mother (1910) and A Broken Spell (1910). By 1911 she was improving as an actress, so much so that she landed a good part in A Tale of Two Cities (1911). By 1913 she was Vitagraph's most promising young actress. In August of 1915 Norma and her mother left for California and the promise of success in the fledgling film industry there. Her first film in Hollywood was Captivating Mary Carstairs (1915). The film was not only a flop but the studio that made it, National Pictures, went out of business.
During this time her sister, Constance Talmadge, was working for legendary director D.W. Griffith. Constance managed to get Norma a contract with Griffith's company. Over the following eight months Norma made seven feature films and a few shorts. After the contract ran out, the family returned to the East Coast. In 1916 she met and married producer and businessman Joseph M. Schenck. With his backing they formed their own production company and turned out a number of films, the first of which was Panthea (1917). It was a tremendous hit, as was Norma. In 1920 the production company moved to Hollywood, where the big hits of the day were being produced. Her company produced hits such as The Wonderful Thing (1921), The Eternal Flame (1922) and The Song of Love (1923).
By 1928 Norma's popularity had begun to fade. Her film The Woman Disputed (1928) was a flop at the box-office. Her final film was Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930). By that time "talkies" were all the rage, but Norma's voice did not lend itself to sound and she was out of work. She divorced Schenck and married George Jessel. Jessel had his own radio show and Norma was added to the cast to help its sagging ratings. She thought this might be the vehicle by which she would revive her stalled film career, but the show continued its decline and was ultimately canceled, and with it the hopes of rebuilding her shattered career. She was finished for good.
She divorced Jessel in 1939 and married Dr. Carvel James in 1946. She remained with him until she died of a stroke on Christmas Eve of 1957 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was 62 and had been in a phenomenal 250+ motion pictures.- Pina Menichelli was born on 10 January 1890 in Castroreale, Sicily, Italy. She was an actress, known for La dama de Chez Maxim's (1923), Il fuoco (la favilla - la vampa - la cenere) (1916) and The Rival Actresses (1913). She died on 29 August 1984 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
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Francesca Bertini was undoubtedly one of the first divas of cinema, a lady not only on screen but also in real life. She made her film debut in La dea del mare (1907) and after that producers fought for her services. In 1921 she married European nobleman and banker Alfred Cartier. She tried her hand at directing films as well as acting in them and turned out two well-received efforts, Assunta Spina (1915) and Tosca (1918)). She made the transition from silent films to talkies, although her output slowed down considerably. Her final role was in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976).
A "diva" to the end, she died in a "grand hotel" in Rome, Italy, in 1985, receiving friends and fans on her deathbed in a sumptuous salon.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Famed singer and author Geraldine Farrar was educated in public schools and then became a music student of Mrs. J.H. Long, Trabadello, Emma Thursby, Lilli Lehman and Graziani. Her 1901 debut was at the Royal Opera House in Berlin, in the role of Marguerite in "Faust". From 1906-22 she was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. During World War II she was active in the Red Cross and the AWVS, and also made many lecture tours. She wrote two autobiographies. Joining ASCAP in 1936, her songwriting credits include "Ecstasy of Spring", "Here Beauty Dwells", "The Tryst", "The Alder Tree", "The Mirage", "Oh, Thou Field of Waving Corn", "Morning", "The Fountain", "The Dream", and "Love Comes and Goes" (all based on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff), "The Whole World Knows", "Dear Homeland", "Fair Rosemarin" (all based on Fritz Kreisler themes") and "Tears" (based on a theme by Modest Mussorgsky).- Actor
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Tom was born in Chenaultt, Kentucky in the 1930s. He grew up in Hammond, Indiana. His grade school was Lafayette on Calumet Av. He moved to Andyville, Kentucky at age 14 and dropped out of high school.
Tom helped with the family farm which also had a poolroom and beer bar. He enjoyed listening to the country and popular music radio stations and enjoyed singing along with the songs. As rock and Roll began to evolve from the Country and Rhythm and Blues, Tom became a big fan.
At age 16, the family moved to Louisville. Tom was hired at a service station, pumping gas into the cars of those days. Gas was priced at 22 cents per gallon in 1955. A new Chevy would set one back about $1600. Tom saved up $400 and moved to Los Angeles at age 17. He aspired on the idea of getting into the movies.
23 years later, Tom appeared as an extra in his first movie Players (1979)with Dean Paul Martin. Soon after that, beginning 1979, Tom had appeared in more than 100 feature films as an extra. Then he got his big break.
Dear John (1988) became a successful TV series (actor/extra?) and worked as a cast member for the entire 4 year run on NBC TV.
Tom has also enjoyed success as a radio announcer, musician, songwriter and stand up comic.- Actor
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Adrien Nicholas Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the only child of retired history professor Elliot Brody and Hungarian-born photographer Sylvia Plachy. He accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice, and credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the camera. Adrien attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York.
Despite a strong performance in The Thin Red Line (1998), time constraints forced the director to edit out much of Adrien's part. In spite of his later work with Spike Lee and Barry Levinson, he never became the star many expected he would become until Roman Polanski called on him to play a celebrated Jewish pianist in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. He pulled off a brilliant performance in The Pianist (2002), drawing on the heritage and rare dialect of his Polish-born grandmother, as well as his father, who lost family members during the Holocaust, and his mother, who fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 uprising against the Soviet Union.- Actor
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Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport to Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in high school theatrics, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in 1989.
He made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991) as Phil Hoffman, and his first role in a major release came the next year in My New Gun (1992). While he had supporting roles in some other major productions like Scent of a Woman (1992) and Twister (1996), his breakthrough role came in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997).
He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Flawless (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), Almost Famous (2000) and State and Main (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Red Dragon (2002), Cold Mountain (2003) and Mission: Impossible III (2006).
Hoffman was also quite active on the stage. On Broadway, he has earned two Tony nominations, as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West" and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill (I)'s "Long Day's Journey into Night". His other acting credits in the New York theater include "The Seagull" (directed by Mike Nichols for The New York Shakespeare Festival), "Defying Gravity", "The Merchant of Venice" (directed by Peter Sellars), "Shopping and F*@%ing" and "The Author's Voice" (Drama Desk nomination).
He was the Co-Artistic Director of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York, for which he directed "Our Lady of 121st Street" by Stephen Adly Guirgis. He also directed "In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings" and "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Guirgis for LAByrinth, and "The Glory of Living" by Rebecca Gilman at the Manhattan Class Company.
Hoffman consolidated his reputation as one of the finest actors under the age of 40 with his turn in the title role of Capote (2005), for which he won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award as Best Actor. In 2006, he was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for the same role.
On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in an apartment in Greenwich village, New York. Investigators found Hoffman with a syringe in his arm and two open envelopes of heroin next to him. Mr. Hoffman was long known to struggle with addiction. In 2006, he said in an interview with "60 Minutes" that he had given up drugs and alcohol many years earlier, when he was age 22. In 2013, he checked into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days after a reliance on prescription pills resulted in his briefly turning again to heroin.