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1-50 of 437
- Actor
- Director
A grand, stoic presence of the silent screen, George Fawcett was an immensely popular stage thespian both here and in London at the turn of the century. During his heyday his eloquence rivaled that of both Lionel Barrymore and John Barrymore.
Born on August 25, 1860, in Alexandria Virginia, Fawcett was a graduate of the University of Virginia. His early acting career began in 1887, when he appeared in a production of "Baron Rudolph." Maintaining on the stage, he married actress wife, Percy Haswell, in 1895. She later formed the Percy Haswell (Stock) Company in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901, with George managing. The name was later changed to the George Fawcett Stock Company. The Company continued to stage shows until 1908.
Fawcett eventually became a formidable fixture under the Broadway lights, appearing in such classic plays as "The Little Minister (1897, his debut), as well as "Peter Stuyvesent" (1899), "Caleb West" (1900), "Ghosts" (1903), "The Squaw Man" (1905, 1911), "The Silver Girl" (1907), "The Great John Ganton" (1909), "Getting a Polish" (1910), "A Gentleman of Leisure" (1911), "The Law of the Land" (1914), "The Mountain Man" (1921) and "Peacock" (1932).
Fawcett came very late to films (age 55) but soon became a steadfast favorite of D.W. Griffith, who used him in his silent masterpieces Intolerance (1916), A Romance of Happy Valley (1919), True Heart Susie (1919), Scarlet Days (1919) and The Greatest Question (1919), as well as Lady of the Pavements (1929). Affectionately dubbed "The Grand Old Man of Films", Fawcett appeared in over 100 movies within a relatively short span of time (15 years), playing to great effect various ports of authority -- often grim, often stubborn and often bigoted. Other grand silent feature film appearances included The Cinderella Man (1917), The Beloved Traitor (1918), Turning the Tables (1919), Sentimental Tommy (1921), Polly of the Follies (1922), Java Head (1923), Pied Piper Malone (1924), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924), The Price of Pleasure (1925), The Merry Widow (1925), The Son of the Sheik (1926), Flesh and the Devil (1926), Tillie the Toiler (1927) and The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927).
The elderly veteran moved into talking pictures with ease and scored several picture parts before retiring a few years into the era. Among those talking pictures, he supported Barbara Stanwyck in Ladies of Leisure (1930); Warner Oland in The Drums of Jeopardy (1931); Helen Twelvetrees in A Woman of Experience (1931); and Nancy Carroll in Personal Maid (1931), his final film.
George's wife, Percy Haswell, who frequently billed herself as "Mrs. George Fawcett," appeared with him in the Broadway plays "Peter Stuyvesent" and "Peacock", the latter which he produced in 1932. Fawcett died on June 6, 1939, in Nantucket, Massachusetts of heart problems. He was 78.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Konstadinos Kavafis was born on 29 April 1863 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Cuéntame cómo pasó (2001), I nyhta (1970) and Ap tes ennia (1979). He died on 29 April 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt.- C.P. Cavafy was born on 29 April 1863 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Love's Presentation (1968), Preámbulo a un silencio (1986) and Reviens et prends-moi (2005). He died on 29 April 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
E.H. Calvert was born on 27 June 1863 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Wizard (1927), The Love Parade (1929) and Vultures of Society (1916). He was married to Lillian Drew and Thelma M. (actress). He died on 5 October 1941 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Homer Lind was born on 30 January 1869 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Floodgates (1924) and Let Not Man Put Asunder (1924). He was married to Adah May Currie. He died on 11 November 1931.
- Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was born on 22 December 1876 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was married to Benedetta Cappa. He died on 2 December 1944 in Bellagio, Italy.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Giuseppe Guarino was born on 27 January 1885 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for An Obvious Situation (1931), Downstream (1929) and L'ospite di una notte (1939). He died on 12 February 1963 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Giuseppe Ungaretti was born on 8 February 1888 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Fedra (1957), Spoleto 1967 (1967) and Love Meetings (1964). He was married to Jeanne Dupoix. He died on 3 June 1970 in Milan, Italy.- Casson Ferguson was born on 29 May 1891 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Secret Service (1919), Grumpy (1923) and Her Reputation (1923). He was married to Inez Geraldine Griffin and Catherine Mallon. He died on 12 February 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
Sayed Darwish was born on 17 March 1892 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a composer, known for Bayn el kasrain (1964), Chafika el Keptia (1963) and Hiba Tawaji - Tolaet Ya Mahla Norha (2020). He died on 10 September 1923 in Alexandria, Egypt.- Composer
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Sholom Secunda was born on 14 August 1893 in Alexandria, Russia. He was a composer and writer, known for Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Papillon (2017) and Sabrina (1995). He died on 13 January 1974 in New York City, New York, USA.- Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom during World War II. He was taken prisoner and eventually convicted of crimes against peace. He was still serving his life sentence at the time of his suicide in 1987.
- Composer
- Music Department
Vittorio Rieti was born on 28 January 1898 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a composer, known for O la borsa o la vita (1932), Amore (1935) and Ritorno alla terra (1934). He died on 19 February 1994 in Manhattan, New York, USA.- Tawfiq Al-Hakim was born on 9 October 1898 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for The Butterfly (TV short) (1971), El robat el mukadass (1960) and A Bullet in the Heart (play) (1964). He died on 26 July 1987 in Cairo, Egypt.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Walter Karig was born on 13 November 1898 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He was a writer, known for Suspense (1949), The Ford Theatre Hour (1948) and Zotz! (1962). He was married to Eleanor Karig. He died on 30 September 1956 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.- Demetrius Alexis was born on 1 December 1899 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an actor, known for The Red Dance (1928), The Red Sword (1929) and Torture Ship (1939). He died on 12 March 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Blackshear M. Bryan was born on 8 February 1900 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was married to Catherine DeArmond. He died on 2 March 1977 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Togo Mizrahi was born on 2 June 1901 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for Doctor Epaminondas (1937), Nureddine wa bahhara el talata (1944) and El sa'a saba (1937). He died on 5 June 1986 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ann Greenway was born on 15 August 1902 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Half Marriage (1929), And How (1930) and The No Man (1933). She died on 27 June 1977 in Van Nuys, California, USA.- Arna Bontemps was born on 12 October 1902 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. She was a writer, known for Tuesday Morning Ride (1995). She died on 4 June 1973 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Handsome Claude Hopkins was one of the top bandleaders and had one of the top bands of the 1930s and 1940s. Claude Hopkins music was like him- irrestible, smooth and easy to like. Claude Hopkins music could take
Claude Hopkins was a grand arranger and composer. Claude could make any song his own, whether it be mellow or hot, he always added a touch of sweetness and classiness to it. Claude Hopkins was a superb, excellent piano player. His nickname was "Crazy Fingers" because of his fast fingers when he played piano. He performed all over the world at the top theaters, cabarets, and clubs in the U.S. and Europe such as the Roseland Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom, Cotton Club, and Club Zanzibar. Hopkins also was the first to perform in many first-class white clubs and theaters.
If you couldn't get to the clubs and theaters, Claude Hopkins and his Orchestra had a nationwide radio hook-ups so the whole world could hear. His contribution to Jazz has been overlooked and his music should be considered with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. Till this day people are still becoming fans, his music leaves an impression and that's saying something.
Claude and his band appeared in a few musical shorts and films Dance Team, Waywawrd, Barber Shop Blues, By Request, Broadway Highlights, which are available.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean Dessès was born on 6 August 1904 in Alexandria, Egypt. Jean was a costume designer, known for Mademoiselle from Paris (1955), Bedevilled (1955) and The Room Upstairs (1946). Jean died on 2 August 1970 in Athens, Greece.- He had graduated from Alabassiya high school in Alexandria, Egypt in 1924; then he traveled to USA to work in Hollywood studios . In 1938 he came back to Egypt to make " Lachine, the People's Hope " then he traveled back to USA,to be the first known Egyptian actor to work in Hollywood.
- Georges Schéhadé was born on 2 November 1905 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Goha (1958), The Year of Living Locked Up (2020) and Estudio 1 (1965). He was married to Brigitte Collerais and Alice-Marie Collerais. He died on 17 January 1989 in Paris, France.
- Farid Sumaika was born on 18 June 1907 in Alexandria, Egypt. He is known for Double Diving (1939) and Water Sports (1941). He died in 1944 in New Guinea.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Robert Hakim was born on 19 December 1907 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a producer, known for Belle de Jour (1967), Purple Noon (1960) and The Good Time Girls (1960). He died on 9 February 1992 in Paris, France.- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Riccardo Freda was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Italian parents. Educated in Milan, he became a sculptor, then a newspaper art critic. He began a career in film in 1937 as a screenwriter and production supervisor. He moved into directing in 1942, beginning a career that lasted some 40 years. Resisting the strong neo-realism trend in postwar Italy, Freda (with Vittorio Cottafavi) continued to make "historical spectacles", at which he became somewhat of a master. He was a pioneer in Italy of horror-fantasy films, especially with Lust of the Vampire (1957) and The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962). From there he went to melodrama and spy films, and even made one western.
Strong on visual style, Freda's films had popular appeal and were usually commercial successes, several being French or other European co-productions. Freda used a number of aliases during his career, including "Robert Hampton", "Dick Jordan", "George Lincoln" and "Robert Davidson", among others. Some critics have praised him as an exploitation "stylist", and to this day his films have somewhat of a cult following.- Producer
- Additional Crew
Raymond Hakim was born on 23 August 1909 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a producer, known for Belle de Jour (1967), Purple Noon (1960) and The Good Time Girls (1960). He died on 14 August 1980 in Deauville, Calvados, France.- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Set Decorator
Nersès Bartau was born on 6 November 1909 in Alexandria, Egypt. Nersès was a production designer and set decorator, known for Criminal Brigade (1947), Mission spéciale (1946) and Toâ (1949). Nersès died on 10 January 2006 in Étretat, Seine-Maritime, France.- Joan White was born on 3 December 1909 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for As You Like It (1936), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Tons of Money (1947). She was married to A.P. Moore, Robert Grose and J.V. Beanes. She died on 8 June 1999 in Denville Hall, Northwood, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
Robert Favart was born on 19 February 1911 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an actor and writer, known for The Red Circle (1970), The Samurai (1967) and Les quatre Charlots mousquetaires (1974). He was married to Jenny Carré. He died on 26 July 2003 in Nogent-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, France.- Jean Iris Ross was a war correspondent, thespian, and cabaret singer who inspired Christopher Isherwood's famous character of Sally Bowles. In addition to inspiring the character of Bowles, Ross also was the muse for composer Eric Maschwitz who wrote his haunting jazz standard "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" after their affair ended.
Born in Egypt, Ross was the child of a Scottish cotton classifier for the Bank of Egypt. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Caudwell, an affluent industrialist. As a young girl, Jean returned to England for her education at Leatherhead Court in Surrey. A brilliant pupil, she completed all the required curricula by age sixteen yet was informed she must attend school for another year. Seeking expulsion, she feigned a pregnancy whereupon she was confined to a sanatorium least she "contaminate" the other young girls. She next was enrolled in the Pensionnat Mistral, an elite Swiss finishing school, from which she later fled or was expelled.
Returning to England, Ross enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She soon garnered a coveted acting prize which entitled her to choose whichever role she wished in the forthcoming production. When she chose the part of Phèdre, however, her teachers broke their promise and told her that she lacked the necessary life experience to play the character. Hurt by this betrayal, Ross departed the school. She next appeared in Why Sailors Leave Home (1930) where she was cast as a harem houri due to her dark eyes, olive complexion, and partial fluency in Arabic.
While in London, Ross heard that UFA, the German motion picture company in Weimar Republic, was seeking young actresses. Despite not speaking a word of German, Ross journeyed to Berlin where she worked by day as a fashion model and by night as a chanteuse in gay cabarets. In 1931, she met gay English novelist Christopher Isherwood. Eventually, Isherwood and Ross and shared lodgings at Nollendorfstrasse 17. They soon became intimate friends. During this time, both Ross and Isherwood were sexually pursued by John Blomshield, a wealthy bisexual aristocrat upon whom the character of Maximilian von Heune was based in the film Cabaret (1972). Blomshield abruptly dumped both Isherwood and Ross when he lost interest.
While in Berlin, Ross had an affair in 1931 with jazz pianist Peter van Eyck, later star of The Wages of Fear (1953). When their affair ended, Ross realized she was pregnant. She prevailed upon gay writer Christopher Isherwood to help in obtaining an abortion. Ross nearly died after the abortion went awry, and Isherwood frequently visited Ross in the hospital. Wrongly assuming that Isherwood was the father, the hospital staff belittled the gay author for impregnating Ross and then callously forcing her to have abortion. This tragicomic scenario later inspired Isherwood's 1937 short story, "Sally Bowles."
Isherwood's story was included in his later work "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939) which was adapted into a play, a musical, and multiple motion pictures including I Am a Camera (1955) and Cabaret (1972). Although Ross insisted that she was completely unlike Sally Bowles, Isherwood based much of his fictionalized portrait upon Ross including her distinctive conversational style, her attire, her casual liaisons, her ill-fated romances with Blomshield and Eyck, and her near-fatal abortion.
When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, Ross had already fled to England where she officially joined Harry Pollitt's British Communist Party. During this time, she purportedly became romantically and sexually involved with English poet John Cornford who was the first British volunteer to die in the Spanish Civil War. Ross also began a relationship with English journalist Claud Cockburn.
When the Spanish Civil War began, Ross served as a war correspondent for both "The Daily Express" and "The Daily Worker." She was embedded with Republican troops on the front lines and endured aerial bombings by the German Junkers (Ju 52s) of the Condor Legion. She traveled at the Southern front where she survived machine gun fire and numerous other near-death encounters. She later reported from besieged Madrid and was bombarded each day by enemy artillery and aircraft. By the time the besieged city fell to Francisco Franco's forces in March 1939, a pregnant Ross had escaped to England. Sixty days after the fall of Madrid, Ross gave birth to a daughter by Claud Cockburn. Their child, Sarah Caudwell, was the only offspring of their unhappy union. In August 1939, three months after the birth of their daughter, Cockburn deserted Ross and their newly born child to co-habitate with a new lover.
After her abandonment by Cockburn, Ross devoted her life to raising her daughter as a single mother. However, after the widespread success of Cabaret (1972), Claud Cockburn leaked to the tabloids that Ross had inspired the character of Sally Bowles. Consequently, tabloids persistently hounded Ross for interviews. Such encounters were often hostile as the tabloid reporters only wanted to talk about sex while Ross only wanted to talk about socialism. Throughout her later years, Ross was a devout Marxist, and she continued to be politically active in a number of causes ranging from protesting nuclear weapons to boycotting apartheid South Africa to opposing the Vietnam War. She died of cancer on 27 April 1973 at her flat in London. - Fernand Lumbroso was born on 30 August 1911 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a producer, known for Nutty, Naughty Chateau (1963) and La nuit des Molières (1987). He died on 20 April 1994 in Paris, France.
- David Ahdar was born on 20 April 1912 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an actor, known for The Dick Powell Theatre (1961) and Gruen Guild Theater (1951). He died on 30 November 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Zinat Sidqi was born on 4 May 1912 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Sallem al Habayeb (1958), Warra el setar (1937) and Shi min la shi (1939). She died on 2 March 1978 in Cairo, Egypt.
- Aileen Marson was born on 13 September 1912 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Someone at the Door (1936), A Song for You (1934) and Ten Minute Alibi (1935). She was married to Jack Scott. She died on 4 May 1939 in London, England, UK.
- Actress-musician Jeanne Sorel was the wife of late film producer Albert J. Cohen and mother to both actress Louise Sorel and Mishka Michon, who was Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation fundraiser at one time. Jeanne was born in Alexandria, Egypt but later moved to London for a time.
In Hollywood from the 1930s, she was signed by Samuel Goldwyn to a film contract and groomed to become an exotic Greta Garbo-type but her film career never went any further than bit roles in a couple of films. Excelling as both a pianist and painter, she instead focused on raising a family, but returned to acting in later years.
She established the Oxford Theater in Los Angeles and taught and performed on numerous occasions there. She also was glimpsed occasionally in films and on TV over the decades, including a small role in the movie B.S. I Love You (1971), that also featured daughter, Louise Sorel.
She appeared on such TV shows as Medical Center (1969), Bewitched (1964) and The Monkees (1965). Her husband, Albert, was noted for producing such durable "B" action films as Remember Pearl Harbor (1942), The Fighting Seabees (1944), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953), Sign of the Pagan (1954), The Naked Brigade (1965) and Prehistoric Women (1950), the last of which featured Jeanne as a Stone Age mother.
Jeanne Sorel died on January 27, 2003 of natural causes in Los Angeles, three days after her 90th birthday. - Actor
Jerry Baulch was born on 14 July 1913 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor. He died on 7 February 1985 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.- Music Department
Richard Bales was born on 3 February 1915 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He is known for Your National Gallery (1945).- Actor
- Soundtrack
When we hear songs like "Rambino" and " Ciao Ciao Bambino" the name of Georges Guétary cames to one's mind. But also as a producer of " Bless the bride", "Latin Quartier" in London and "Arms and the girl" on Broadway, he added light and charm to show business. The last show to celebrate 50 years of perfomances was staged at the Robino's in Paris. He returns to ashes in an orthodox church at Cannes where he was cremated.- Elkamshoushy Mahmoud was an Egyptian poet. Born and raised in Alexandria. Mahmoud received his education at schools in Alexandria, Egypt. He was writing the traditional zajal . In addition to zajal, of which Elkamshoushy Mahmoud was considered a master, he was proficient with writing radio series. He also wrote a lot of Movies songs.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
André Hakim was born on 5 December 1915 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a producer, known for Paris Precinct (1955), O. Henry's Full House (1952) and Sea Wife (1957). He was married to Susan Marie Zanuck. He died on 19 October 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Additional Crew
- Script and Continuity Department
Eric Hobsbawm was born on 9 June 1917 in Alexandria, Egypt. He is known for Alle origini della mafia (1976), Jazz (2001) and Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun (1999). He was married to Marlene Schwarz and Muriel Seaman. He died on 1 October 2012 in London, England, UK.- Louis Polliman Brown was born on 1 February 1918 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Ramar of the Jungle (1952), Adventures in Paradise (1959) and The Royal African Rifles (1953). He died on 9 September 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Alex Joffé was born on 18 November 1918 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer and director, known for Riff Raff Girls (1959), La grosse caisse (1965) and A Bomb for a Dictator (1957). He was married to Renée Asseo. He died on 18 August 1995 in Paris, France.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Bruno Vailati was born on 2 September 1919 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer and director, known for The Giant of Marathon (1959), Andrea Doria -74 (1970) and The Thief of Baghdad (1961). He died on 26 February 1990 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Camelia was born on 13 December 1919 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Shari al-bahlawan (1949), Akher kedba (1950) and Waladi (1949). She died on 31 August 1950 in El Buhayra, Egypt.
- Al Keller was born on 11 April 1920 in Alexandria Bay, New York, USA. He died on 19 November 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
- Jean-Pierre Grédy was born on 16 August 1920 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Just Go with It (2011), Cactus Flower (1969) and Trophy Wife. He died on 6 February 2022 in France.
- Nazim Shaarawy was born on 7 January 1921 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an actor, known for Ana el hareb (1962), The Monster (1954) and Watani wa hubbi (1960). He died on 30 June 2010 in Cairo, Egypt.