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- Actor
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A small-town guy with a big heart, William Fichtner has been captivating the hearts of Western New Yorkers for decades. Bill was born in 1956 on Long Island, New York, to Patricia A. (Steitz) and William E. Fichtner. He is of German, Irish, and English descent.
Fichtner was raised in Cheektowaga, and graduated from Maryvale High School in 1974. His first roles were in soap operas such as As the World Turns (1956) and sitcoms like Grace Under Fire (1993). He has also been in films such as Armageddon (1998), Empire Falls (2005), as The Marriage Counselor, uncredited, in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and in The Dark Knight (2008). A fan of the Buffalo Sabres, Bill always stays true to his roots. He is married to actress Kymberly Kalil.- Actress
- Soundtrack
She was truly one mother of a mom...on stage, on film and on TV. A favorite firecracker on 80s and 90s television, tiny character player Estelle Getty became best known for her carping, meddlesome moms -- complete with bemused, cynical looks, irreverent digs and dead-pan Henny Youngman-like one-liners. Blunt and down-to-earth off-stage as she was on-, she scored big points with both the young and the old...and all those who fell in between. The middle-class masses and society's underdogs deemed Estelle one of their own. The star who had a hard time playing the star card also taught an earnest lesson to the millions of actor wannabes that it was never too late to get into the big leagues, pursue your dream and come out a winner. After nearly five decades of stage work, she achieved "overnight" stardom at age 62. Ill health forced her retirement in 2000 after only a decade and a half of celebrity. Yet even something as sinister as Lewy body dementia, a degenerative brain disease, couldn't take away her indomitable spirit and feistiness. The affliction, which slowly clouds then erases the memory banks, should have claimed her a couple of years after its detection, but she proved the doctors wrong and lived nearly eight years from its onset, dying peacefully in her Hollywood home on July 22, 2008.
Getty was born Estelle Scher on July 25, 1923, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, the daughter of Sarah (Lacher) and Charles Scher, Polish Jewish immigrants who worked in the glass business. Starry-eyed as a very young child when her father first took her to see a vaudeville show at the New York Academy of Music, Estelle already had a mindset about her future. She almost immediately started taking singing, dancing and acting lessons and, following her graduation from Seward Park High School, she began building up experience in the Yiddish theater. She even attempted the stand-up comedy stage on the Catskills "borscht belt" circuit in upstate New York, but it was a time of rampant sexism and women comics were a rarity and seldom successful. She wasn't. Her young life took an abrupt, post-World War II turn when she married New York businessman Arthur Gettleman at age 24 in December of 1947 (she went on to use a derivative of her married last name for the stage). Not your typical domesticated wife by any stretch of the imagination, Estelle nevertheless raised two children, sons Barry and Carl, and worked as a secretary for various companies.
Determined as ever to be an actress, she found moderate compensation performing in community theatre plays. Adept at playing abrasive, insinuating types, she had an innate gift for comedy and stole many scenes in such light-hearted plays as "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Blithe Spirit," "6 Rms Riv Vu," "Light Up the Sky" and "Lovers and Other Strangers". On the flip side, Estelle demonstrated surprising dramatic stamina in such classics as "All My Sons," "The Glass Menaqerie" and "Death of a Salesman." Following decades of obscurity, it was her connection to the actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein that turned the tide and started the ball rolling. Forging a deep friendship in the late 70s after appearing in small New York theaters together, and after considerable prodding by Estelle, Harvey wrote a part for his diminutive friend in the ground-breaking, autobiographical "Torch Song Trilogy". Playing Harvey's recalcitrant mother, the show eventually made it to Broadway and Estelle's big debut was a resounding success. Winning the Helen Hayes Award for her performance, she played the feisty foil to Fierstein's raspy-voiced drag queen for five years.
While on tour with the play in Los Angeles, Estelle secured an audition for and won the role of viper-tongued Sicilian mama Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls (1985). She nearly lost out on the part when it was thought that she appeared too young to play Bea Arthur's mother. In truth, Estelle was 14 months younger than Bea. Given another go-around, and this time donning a grey wig, age makeup and frumpy apparel, Estelle fully convinced the powers-that-be that she WAS Sophia and the rest is history. The role was a breath of fresh air during an era of strong political correctness. A seven-time consecutive Emmy Award nominee for "Best Supporting Actress Award," she took home the trophy in 1988. In both 1991 and 1992 Estelle won the American Comedy Award for "Best Supporting Actress" in a series. The Sophia character was so popular she even went on to play the impish octogenarian in several other shows, including two "Golden Girls" spin-offs -- the short-lived The Golden Palace (1992) and "Empty Nest". Estelle went on to mother other stars on the big screen as well, including Cher in Mask (1985) and Sylvester Stallone in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), in the latter of which she received second billing. The one maternal film role she wanted more than anything did not come her way. When Torch Song Trilogy (1988) was made into a film, actor Fierstein needed star power surrounding him. Anne Bancroft replaced Estelle in the part and she was heartbroken. The movie itself lost much of its impact in its transition from the stage. At the peak of her TV fame, Estelle wrote a 1988 autobiography entitled "If I Knew Then, What I Know Now... So What?" with Steve Delsohn.
The diminutive dynamo (4'10") with a big heart was an outspoken activist for gay rights and she regularly involved herself in AIDS causes, part of it propelled by a nephew who was diagnosed and later succumbed to the disease. She also became a spokesperson for Alternative Living for the Aging, a nonprofit organization that locates cooperative housing for senior citizens. In 2000, Getty stopped making public appearances after her health and mind began its slow decline. One of her last sightings was in the L.A. audience of "The Vagina Monologues," which starred "Golden Girls" co-star Rue McClanahan. Misdiagnosed as having both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, it was later learned she was suffering from advanced dementia. Estelle died of complications from her disease just three days before her 85th birthday. Long-time husband Arthur, who was only 5'3" tall himself, never adjusted to Estelle's meteoric rise and the media attention that had accompanied it. He quietly maintained her parents' glass business far from the Hollywood glitz...in Florida. He died in 2004. Lifetime television hosted a "Golden Girls" reunion, but by this time Estelle was too ill to appear. Shortly after her death on July 22, 2008, and in tribute to Ms. Getty, Lifetime, which shows reruns of "The Golden Girls" almost on a daily basis, announced that it would air ten episodes of the series featuring the "best of Sophia". A simple, unadorned service was conducted, as she would have wanted, and she was interred at Hollywood Forever Memorial Park in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Walter Matthau was best known for starring in many films which included Charade (1963), The Odd Couple (1968), Grumpy Old Men (1993), and Dennis the Menace (1993). He often worked with Jack Lemmon and the two were Hollywood's craziest stars.
He was born Walter Jake Matthow in New York City, New York on October 1, 1920. His mother was an immigrant from Lithuania and his father was a Russian Jewish peddler and electrician from Kiev, Ukraine. As a young boy, Matthau attended a Jewish non-profit sleep-away camp. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school was Seward Park High School.
During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in Britain as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He was based at RAF Old Buckenham, Norfolk during this time. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting.
Matthau appeared in the pilot of Mister Peepers (1952) alongside Wally Cox. He later appeared in the Elia Kazan classic, A Face in the Crowd (1957), opposite Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith, and then appeared in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), with Kirk Douglas, a film Douglas has often described as his personal favorite. Matthau then appeared in Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. In 1968, Matthau made his big screen appearance as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple (1968) alongside Jack Lemmon. The two were also in the sequel (The Odd Couple II (1998)) as well as Grumpy Old Men (1993) and Grumpier Old Men (1995). Matthau was in Dennis the Menace (1993), alongside Mason Gamble. On July 1, 2000, Matthau died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. He was 79 years old.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Tom Kenny grew up in East Syracuse, New York. When Tom was young he was into comic books, drawing funny pictures and collecting records. Tom turned to stand-up comedy in Boston and San Francisco. This led to appearances on every cable show spawned by the stand-up epidemic of the '80s and '90s as well as stints on The Dennis Miller Show (1992), The Pat Sajak Show (1989), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) and [error]. Tom was a regular on Fox TV's The Edge (1992) and spent a year as the host of NBC's Friday Night (1983). His mainstream television appearances include Brotherly Love (1995) and David Alan Grier's sitcom debacle, The Preston Episodes (1995). Tom supplies the voice for "Heffer" the cow on Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life (1993) and Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), as well as regular performances on The Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory (1996), Justice League (2001), The Powerpuff Girls (1998), and Johnny Bravo (1997). Tom joined the cast of Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995) where he met his future wife Jill Talley. Together they've teamed up on Comedy Central's The Mark Thomas Comedy Product (1996), the stage show "The Show With Two Heads", HBO's Not Necessarily the Election (1996), the The Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" video and Travis "Sing" video.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Music Department
Born in New York City, Tupac grew up primarily in Harlem. In 1984, his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he became good friends with Jada Pinkett Smith. His family moved again in 1988 to Oakland, California. His first breakthrough in music came in 1991 as a member of the group Digital Underground. In the same year he received individual recognition for his album "2Pacalypse Now," but this album was also the beginning of his notoriety as a leading figure of the gangster permutation of hip-hop, with references to cop killing and sexual violence. His solo movie career also began in this year with Juice (1992), and in 1992 he co-starred with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice (1993).
However, law confrontations were soon to come: A 15-day jail term in 1994 for assault and battery and, in 1995, a conviction for sexual assault of a female fan. After serving 8 months pending an appeal, Shakur was released from jail.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Kathrine Narducci was born on 22 November 1960 in East Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Bronx Tale (1993), The Irishman (2019) and Bad Education (2019).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Joan Hackett was never one of your conventional leading ladies. Directors sometimes found her difficult to work with. Yet this strong-minded perfectionist had an unquenchable individuality that came through in her performances, and she never hesitated to appear unglamorous whenever the role demanded. Born of an Italian mother and an Irish-American father in East Harlem on March 1, 1934, teenage Joan left school during twelfth grade to become a model. On the cover of Harper's Junior Bazaar in 1952, the attractive brunette turned down the resulting offer of a contract with 20th Century-Fox and opted instead for acting classes at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio.
Joan made her Broadway debut in the John Gielgud production of "Much Ado About Nothing" in 1959 and also appeared in her first television episode that year. In 1961, she had her first success in an off-Broadway play, "Call Me By My Rightful Name", winning three awards, including an Obie. A later stage performance, "Night Watch" (1972), based on a play by Lucille Fletcher, saw her playing an emotionally disturbed woman with such intensity that Clive Barnes of The New York Times described her performance as "beautifully judged". From 1961 to 1962, Joan had regular work in the CBS courtroom drama series The Defenders (1961) (starring E.G. Marshall), playing social worker "Joan Miller", fiance of one of the partners in the law firm. During the remainder of the decade, she guest-starred in many top-rated TV shows, from The Twilight Zone (1959) to Bonanza (1959) and Ben Casey (1961) (an Emmy-nominated performance). She also played the second "Mrs. de Winter" in a television version of Daphne Du Maurier's classic "Rebecca".
Joan's off-beat personality likely limited her career in films. She was first featured as one of eight Vassar graduates making up The Group (1966), a 150-minute Sidney Lumet-directed part-satire, part-soap-opera film examining the lives and loves of the protagonists over the years. Her next motion pictures allowed Joan considerably more screen time: She co-starred with Charlton Heston in the moody, idiosyncratic western Will Penny (1967). She gave a decidedly understated, subtle performance as the down-to-earth frontier woman who befriends the hero, shares in his ordeals, and then is left by him when he realizes that there is no future in their relationship. In stark contrast was her role in the western comedy Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). She was very much in her element as feisty, accident-prone mayor's daughter "Prudy Perkins". In this film, she displayed a talent for visual comedy reminiscent of Lucille Ball, but otherwise rarely seen since silent films. There was also great chemistry and clever verbal interaction between her and co-star James Garner, as the newly appointed sheriff who catches her character in various embarrassing situations.
She was also featured in the spy film Assignment to Kill (1968), followed by the predictable "Baby Jane" look-alike TV thriller How Awful About Allan (1970). Joan then gave assured performances in two subsequent thrillers, the stylish The Last of Sheila (1973) and the made-for-TV disguised remake of Diabolique (1955), Reflections of Murder (1974) with Sam Waterston. Joan gave a spectacular performance in the Michael Crichton book adaption of The Terminal Man (1974) where she plays a compassionate psychiatrist who is tormented by her patient. There were to be few roles of interest until Only When I Laugh (1981). The film, based on Neil Simon's play "The Gingerbread Lady", won Joan a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. By that time, she was already so ill with cancer that she had to travel to the award ceremony in a wheelchair.
Joan Hackett was well known as a social activist, embracing solar energy and losing causes such as the preservation of the old Morosco Theatre in Times Square with equal fervor. According to personal friends, she accepted her fate with equanimity and dignity, dying at the age of just 49 in a hospital in Encino, California, in October 1983.- Director
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Cukor was an American film director of Hungarian-Jewish descent, better known for directing comedies and literary adaptations. He once won the Academy Award for Best Director, and was nominated other four times for the same Award.
In 1899, George Dewey Cukor was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. His parents were assistant district attorney Viktor Cukor and Helén Ilona Gross. His middle name "Dewey" honored Admiral George Dewey who was considered a war hero for his victory in the Battle of Manila Bay, in 1898.
As a child, Cukor received dancing lessons, and soon fell in love with the theater, appearing in several amateur plays. In 1906, he performed in a recital with David O. Selznick (1902-1965), who would later become a close friend.
As a teenager, Cukor often visited the New York Hippodrome, a well-known Manhattan theater. He often cut classes while attending high school, in order to attend afternoon matinees. He later took a job as a supernumerary with the Metropolitan Opera, and at times performed there in black-face.
Cukor graduated from the DeWitt Clinton High School in 1917. His father wanted him to follow a legal career, and had his son enrolled City College of New York. Cukor lost interest in his studies and dropped out of college in 1918. He then took a job as an assistant stage manager and bit player for a touring production of the British musical "The Better 'Ole". The musical was an adaptation of the then-popular British comic strip "Old Bill" by Bruce Bairnsfather (1887-1959).
In 1920, Cukor became the stage manager of the Knickerbocker Players, a theatrical troupe. In 1921, Cukor became the general manager of the Lyceum Players, a summer stock company. In 1925, Cukor was one of the co-founders the C.F. and Z. Production Company. With this theatrical company, Cukor started working as a theatrical director. He made his Broadway debut as a director with the play "Antonia" by Melchior Lengyel (1880-1974).
The C.F. and Z. Production Company was eventually renamed the Cukor-Kondolf Stock Company, and started recruiting up-and-coming theatrical talents. Cukor's theatrical troupe included at various times Louis Calhern, Ilka Chase, Bette Davis, Douglass Montgomery, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Elizabeth Patterson, and Phyllis Povah.
Cukor attained great critical acclaim in 1926 for directing "The Great Gatsby", an adaptation of a then-popular novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). He directed six more Broadway productions until 1929. At the time, Hollywood film studios were recruiting New York theater talent for sound films, and Cukor was hired by Paramount Pictures. He started as an apprentice director before the studio lent him to Universal Pictures. His first notable film work was serving as a dialogue director for "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930).
After returning to Paramount Pictures, he worked as aco-director. His first solo directorial effort was "Tarnished Lady" (1931), and at that time he earned a weekly salary of $1500. Cukor co-directed the film "One Hour with You" (1932) with Ernst Lubitsch, but Lubitsch demanded sole directorial credit. Cukor filed a legal suit but eventually had to settle for a credit as the film's assistant director. He left Paramount in protest, and took a new job with RKO Studios.
During the 1930s, Cukor was entrusted with directing films for RKO's leading actresses. He worked often with Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), although not always with box-office success. He did direct such box office hits as "Little Women" (1933) and "Holiday" (1938), but also notable flops such as "Sylvia Scarlett" (1935).
In 1936, Cukor was assigned to work on the film adaptation of the blockbuster novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. He spent the next two years preoccupied with the film's pre-production, and with supervising screen tests for actresses seeking to play leading character Scarlett O'Hara. Cukor reportedly favored casting either Katharine Hepburn or Paulette Goddard for the role. Producer David O. Selznick refused to cast either one, since Hepburn was coming off a string of flops and was viewed as "box office poison," while Goddard was rumored to have had a scandalous affair with Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) and her reputation suffered for it.
Cukor did not get to direct "Gone with the Wind", as Selznick decided to assign the directing duties to Victor Fleming (1889-1949). Cukor's involvement with the film was limited to coaching actresses Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) and Olivia de Havilland (1916-). Similarly, the very same year, Cukor also failed to receive a directing credit for "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), though he was responsible for several casting and costuming decisions for this iconic classic.
In this same period, Cukor did direct an all-female cast in "The Women" (1939), as well as Greta Garbo's final motion picture performance in "Two-Faced Woman" (1941). Then his film career was interrupted by World War II, as he joined the Signal Corps in 1942. Given his experience as a film director, Cukor was soon assigned to producing training and instructional films for army personnel. He wanted to gain an officer's commission, but was denied promotion above the rank of private. Cukor suspected that rumors of his homosexuality were the reason he never received the promotion.
During the 1940s, Cukor had a number of box-office hits, such "A Woman's Face" (1941) and "Gaslight" (1944). He forged a working alliance with screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, and the trio collaborated on seven films between 1947-1954.
Until the early 1950s, most of his Cukor's films were in black-and-white, and his first film in Technicolor was "A Star Is Born" (1954), with Judy Garland as the leading actress. Casting the male lead for the film proved difficult, as several major stars were either not interested in the role or were considered unsuitable by the studio. Cukor had to settle for James Mason as the male lead, but the film was highly successful and received 6 Academy Award nominations. But Cukor was not nominated for directing.
He had a handful of critical successes over the following years, such as Les Girls (1957) and "Wild Is the Wind" (1957), and also helmed the unfinished "Something's Got to Give" (1962), which had a troubled production and went at least $2 million over budget before it was terminated.
Cukor had a comeback with the critically and commercially successful "My Fair Lady," one of the highlights of his career., for which he won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, along with the Directors Guild of America Award. However, his career very quickly slowed down, and the aging Cukor was infrequently involved with new projects.
Cukor's most notable film in the 1970s was the fantasy The Blue Bird (1976) , which was the first joint Soviet-American production. It was a box-office flop, though it received a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and was groundbreaking for its time. Cukor's swan song was "Rich and Famous" (1981), depicting the relationship of two women over a period of several decades., played by co-stars Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen, Cukor's final pair of leading ladies.
He retired as a director at the age of 82, and died a year later of a heart attack in 1983. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated to be $2,377,720. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA. Cukor was buried next to his long-time platonic friend Frances Howard (1903-1976), the wife of legendary studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Jennifer Lynn "Jenni" Farley was born on February 27, 1985 in East Greenbush, New York. She is best known as JWoww on Jersey Shore and its spin-off series Snooki & JWoww. Before "Jersey Shore", she attended Columbia High School and New York Institute of Technology. She then worked as a nanny or with small children. She has two children, Meilani and Greyson Mathews.- Actor
- Director
- Music Department
Attended the East Meadow Public School System. In High School he stole the leads of all the plays. He was in Theatre Guild. Graduating in 1996, he was voted Most-Dramatic in the Senior Superlatives although he spent much of senior year in Florida filming The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo (1996). He also plays in a folk band originally named 28 Orange Street, later renamed 'Common Rotation'.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Joey Bada$$ was born on 20 January 1995 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Creed (2015), Two Distant Strangers (2020) and Mr. Robot (2015).- Carol Grace was born on 11 September 1924 in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Gangster Story (1959), Mikey and Nicky (1976) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). She was married to Walter Matthau and William Saroyan. She died on 20 July 2003 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Charnele Brown was born on 30 October 1965 in East Hampton, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Different World (1987), Coffee Pot and Martin (1992).- Actor
- Producer
Frank Pellegrino was born on 19 May 1944 in East Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Goodfellas (1990), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). He was married to Josephine Nicita. He died on 31 January 2017 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Animation Department
Jack "The King" Kirby was an influential comic book writer and artist, particularly famous for creating or co-creating some of the most famous characters for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
In 1917, Kirby was born under the name "Jacob Kurtzberg" on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He was a son of garment factory worker Benjamin Kurtzberg and his wife Rose Bernstein. Both his parents were Austrian-Jewish immigrants.
He developed an interest in drawing at an early age. He was mostly self-taught as an artist, having started by studying newspaper artwork from comic strip artists and political cartoonists. He cited among his main influences comic strip artists Milton Caniff (1907-1988), Hal Foster (1892-1982), and Alex Raymond (1909-1956), who were all pioneers of the adventure genre in comic strips. His professional name "Jack Kirby" was possibly chosen in reference to Rollin Kirby (1875-1952), an influential political cartoonist, who had won three Pulitzer Prizes in the 1920s.
At age 14, Kirby enrolled in Pratt Institute, a prestigious school for illustrators. He dropped out early. According to Kirby, his personal philosophy did not agree with that of the school. He was interested in producing quantities of artwork at a rapid rate and "get things done", while the Institute taught students to devote large amounts of time to a single piece of artwork.
After publishing a few works in outlets for amateur artists, Kirby entered the world of professional cartooning in 1936. He was hired by the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate to work on comic strips and advice cartoons. He stayed there until 1939. He then briefly joined the field of animation and was hired by the Fleischer Studios. He worked as an in-betweener in animated shorts, drawing intermediate frames between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image. He quit after a short period, feeling dissatisfied with the factory-like conditions at Fleischer.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the comic book medium was taking off and there were many available positions for writers and artists interested in working in the medium. Kirby soon joined the staff at the Eisner and Iger Studio, working under co-founders Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. The Studio was one of a number of pioneering companies selling completed comic book stories and artwork to the fledgling publishing companies of the time. Under various pseudonyms, Kirby contributed artwork to series in various genres, including humor, science fiction, swashbucklers, and Westerns.
The Eisner and Iger Studio dissolved for uncertain reasons by 1940. By that time comic book publishing companies were starting to hire writers and artists directly, instead of simply buying stories. Kirby found work at one of the publishers of the time, Fox Features Syndicate. Kirby's first superhero stories were Blue Beetle stories. He was not credited as an artist, the credit going to the non-existent "Charles Nicholas".
While working at Fox, Kirby was acquainted with Joe Simon. Simon was producing stories for various publishers and had recently created a superhero called Blue Bolt for Novelty Press. He had seeking for a partner to work on the second issue of Blue Bolt and was impressed enough with Kirby's work to offer him the partnership. Kirby accepted and the duo ended up working together for the following decades.
Simon was soon hired as an editor for Timely Comics (later renamed to Marvel Comics) and was also interested in contributing stories. He had the idea for a new patriotic superhero and managed to convince Timely publisher Martin Goodman that the new hero would work as the star of a solo comic book. This was at the time rare, since most comic book characters were featured in anthology titles. Once securing a publisher, Simon asked Kirby to join him in working on the character. The new character was called Captain America and debuted in 1941. Despite its strong similarities to an earlier MLJ Comics character called The Shield, Captain America became the most successful of the two characters and the fist two issues of his title were major best sellers of the comic book medium. This helped establish co-creators Simon and Kirby among the most famous comic creators of the time.
Despite the commercial success of Captain America, Kirby was not paid more than the average comic book artist of the time: 75 dollars per week. He and Simon continued working on the Captain America series until issue #10 while secretly negotiating a deal with another publisher. An early incarnation of DC Comics was offering them a combined weekly salary of 500 dollars if they switched publishers. The switch was formalized by 1942.
At first DC was uncertain on what work to assign Simon and Kirby. After a few minor assignments, they were asked to contribute their own story ideas. The duo soon took over the already established Sandman series featured in Adventure Comics and revamped the character. They also created a new version of the Manhunter, this time as a superhero. Kirby and Simon wanted to name the character "Rick Nelson", but the editor changed the name to "Paul Kirk", essentially naming him after an earlier character called Paul Kirk, Manhunter.
Simon and Kirby found more success with a non-superhero idea. They created the Boy Commandos, a combination of the "kid gang" concept that was already established in comic books, this time with a then-modern war setting. The Commandos soon became one of the most popular DC series of their time, graduated to their own title, and reportedly sold "over a million copies each month". In their heyday, the commandos were the third highest selling characters DC had in its stable. Only Superman and Batman actually sold more.
Besides the Boy Commandos, Simon and Kirby co-created another "kid gang" for DC: the Newsboy Legion. While never as popular as the Commandos, they became the feature characters of Star-Spangled Comics and were considered a hit in their own right.
Kirby's comic book career had to be put in hiatus in 1943, when he was drafted into the United States Army. While he never took part in any major battle, he was deployed in the European theatre of World War II in 1944. Following the Invasion of Normandy, Kirby was tasked with drawing reconnaissance maps and images of areas which the Army was considering to occupy. He was effectively a military scout and reconnaissance agent, and his work put him at risk. A case of severe frostbite in the winter of 1944-1945 resulted in his hospitalization. There were fears that his feet would have to be amputated for him to survive, though he managed to recover with no amputation necessary. He was discharged from the Army in July, 1945, having been awarded medals for his service.
Following his discharge from the Army, Kirby was reunited with Simon. Simon had spend the majority of the War serving in the United States Coast Guard. They were both looking for a way to return to comic book work, though their old jobs at DC had been taken by other creators. They spend the next several years working for Harvey Comics. For Harvey, the duo created some original characters such, as the superheroes Stuntman (1946) and Captain 3-D (1953). However, these characters were not as popular as their earlier creations.
Besides their relatively steady work for Harvey, Simon and Kirby freelanced for other publishers. Their employers of the time included publishers such as Crestwood Publications and Hillman Periodicals. For Crestwood, Simon and Kirby created one of their greatest hits: Young Romance, the first of the romance comics. At the time traditional comic book genres such as superheroes were in decline and publishers and creators were looking for new ideas. Simon and Kirby noticed that romance magazines of the 1940s sold well and had the idea of adapting the genre to comic books. It worked far better than expected. Young Romance and its spin-off series Young Love continued to sell millions of copies for years.
Due to the "follow the leader" mentality of comic book publishers of the time, other publishers soon published their own romance comics. Though few managed to successfully compete with the Simon and Kirby created titles, who were considered better in quality than most of their imitators. The success had an effect in the lives of the duo. Simon and Kirby had negotiated a contract which earned them a large percentage from the profits. Kirby earned more money than ever before and was able to purchase a new home for his family.
In 1953-1954, Simon and Kirby were annoyed to find out that Atlas Comics (the then-current name of Marvel Comics) was reviving Captain America. They had never asked for any input from Simon and Kirby to do this, nor offered to rehire them. Seeking for a way to outdo their old creation, the duo created a new superhero called Fighting American (1954) for Crestwood Publications. At first conceived as a serious 1950s take on the old patriotic hero concept, Fighting American's series soon became largely satirical. It never sold well and did not last long, though it has left enough of a mark in the comic book medium to be constantly reprinted and occasionally revived from a relatively high number of publishers.
In late 1953-1954, Simon and Kirby founded their own comic book publishing company: Mainline Publications. At the time the comic book industry was under attack by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham (1895-1981) and politician Estes Kefauver (1903-1963). Many of the older comic book publishers were affected by the controversy and the resulting drop in sales, either getting out of the business or reducing their output. There was still a high demand for new material and Mainline Publications hoped to fill the void left by the demise of the older publishers.
Simon and Kirby's plans for their company turned out to be too optimistic. They published only four titles, all in established genres. They were "Bullseye: Western Scout" (a Western), "Foxhole" (a war comic), "In Love" (a romance comic), and "Police Trap" (a crime comic). None of them was a great success in sales, but they were noticed by Wertham, who used them as exhibits of comic book "filth". At the same time, Simon and Kirby entered into a complex legal battle with Crestwood Publications. They claimed their former employer owed them at least 130,000 dollars, but the case was settled out of court with the payment of only 10,000 dollars. It was not not enough to solve ongoing financial problems for Mainline Publications, which closed in 1956.
The partnership of Simon and Kirby did not survive the demise of their company. Simon was considering leaving the comic book medium altogether and seeking employment as an advertising artist, but Kirby wanted to keep working in his original medium. They parted amiably. Several of the unpublished material for Mainline Publications was sold to Charlton Comics. Kirby was left with an unused idea for a new team of adventurers. He would continue developing the idea over the following year, and eventually sell it to DC Comics. It was the the earliest incarnation of Challengers of the Unknown, though Kirby did not stay with DC long enough to further develop it.
From 1956 to 1958, Kirby was producing freelance work for DC Comics and Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics), mostly as a writer and penciller, and occasionally as an inker. He contributed stories for characters such as the Green Arrow and the Yellow Claw, though he did not create any major characters of his own. His take on Green Arrow was considered controversial, as Kirby included more science-fiction themes in the stories and was trying to revamp the character. Green Arrow co-creator Mort Weisinger reportedly hated Kirby's concept for the character.
In addition to comic books, Kirby co-created a comic strip called "Sky Masters of the Space Force" (1958). It was a science fiction comic book set in the near-future. It was a minor hit but got Kirby in a legal dispute with Jack Schiff, editor of DC. Schiff had helped bring Kirby in contact with his collaborators for the comic strip. He claimed that Kirby owed him a share of the strip's profits. The matter was settled in court and Schiff won the trial. This helped severe Kirby's relations with DC, and he soon quit the comic strip as well.
In late 1958, Kirby started producing more work for Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics). For various reasons Atlas had lost much of its creative personnel and there was a need for the remaining staff to increase its productivity. Kirby decided he could use some extra money and started mass producing art for Atlas. He became arguably the most prolific artist of the company, with his artwork appearing in almost any ongoing title. His best-remembered production from this time involved anthology stories for Atlas' series of supernatural-fantasy and science fiction titles. They were minor hits of their time and considered classics by later Marvel artists and readers. Most of his creations were supposed to be one-shot characters, but some of his characters have been revived and have made appearances in several works by other creators. They include characters such as Fin Fang Foom, Groot, and Grottu.
Kirby still did not work exclusively for Atlas. He collaborated with Joe Simon to create two more superheroes for Archie Comics. They were the Fly (1959) and a new incarnation of the Shield, called Lancelot Strong (1959). He also worked for the "Classics Illustrated" comic book series by The Gilberton Company, Inc.
In 1961, Atlas/Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee wanted to create a new superhero team to compete with DC's Justice League of America, which was turning out to be a hit. He decided to collaborate with Kirby in creating the team, the result being the Fantastic Four. For the first story of the new team, Lee created a synopsis of what he wanted the story to be like. Kirby then incorporated his own ideas and drew the whole story. Then Lee added his own dialogue to the finished artwork and narrative captions. The finished story was then offered for further inking, coloring, and eventual publication. This was the so-called "Marvel Method" of producing stories, where both co-creators had considerable influence on what was being created.
In later years, both Kirby and Lee would argue over who was the true creator of the Fantastic Four and the driving force behind the series. They both claimed that they came up with most of the concepts and that their collaborator only added relatively insignificant details. A number of comic book historians have tried to determine which version was true, though no definite evidence can be produced. Historian Mark Evanier, who has written a biography of Kirby, has argued that none of the two versions were true. He has argued that the two men were equal collaborators and that the credit for the series belongs to both of them.
The Fantastic Four title became a commercial hit and Kirby was its main artist for the first 102 issues (November, 1961-September, 1970). Atlas/Marvel soon launched a new line of titles, with Kirby serving as an artist for most of them. Besides contributing artwork and plots, Kirby was asked to train other Marvel artists in how to draw the characters. He provided "breakdown" layouts and the other artists would learn to draw based on them. Before long, Kirby's style had become Marvel's new house style. This did not prevent his personal style from further evolving, by incorporating new drawing techniques and other experiments.
In the 1960s, Kirby created or co-created hundreds of major and minor characters for Marvel Comics. Among his major creations were Doctor Doom (1962), the Hulk (1962), Thor (1962), Iron Man (1963), Magneto (1963), Uatu the Watcher (1963), the original X-Men (1963), the Inhumans (1965), the Black Panther (1966), Ego the Living Planet (1966), Galactus (1966), and the Silver Surfer (1966). For some of them Kirby only contributed their debut stories, for others entire runs of featured stories. He also helped revive older characters, such as Captain America, Namor, and Ka-Zar (who was given an entirely different setting and backstory).
By the early 1970s, Kirby felt increasingly dissatisfied with his working relationship with Marvel. He was paid much better than before, earning about 35,000 dollars per year. But he felt that he was not given adequate credit for his own creations, that his plot contributions went mostly uncredited, and that Marvel was earning much more money from characters that he had created. He consequently left Marvel. He was hired by DC Comics, as the result of a deal with editorial director Carmine Infantino.
Kirby's contract with DC, produced in 1970, gave him essentially a free reign as writer and penciller in whatever title he worked on. He soon worked in four inter-connected titles. They were the already established (but low-selling) title Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (which had no one assigned to it so Kirby could take it over without having someone lose their job) and the new titles New Gods, Mister Miracle, and the Forever People. The concept of the titles became known as Jack Kirby's Fourth World.
The idea for the so-called New Gods had reportedly come to Kirby a few years earlier, while he was working on the "Tales of Asgard" sub-series for Marvel's "Thor" title. He wanted to produce a story about two planets at war with each other and the grand finale would be the Ragnarok ("Twilight of the Gods"), the battle that ends the gods at the finale of Norse mythology. Marvel never allowed him to work on such a story, DC on the other hand did. Kirby came up with the idea of the New Gods born out of the death of the old ones. He soon developed an entirely new mythology for his creations, combining disparate ideas from multiple sources. The scope was epic.
Kirby at first intended to tell a finite story about the New Gods. It would have a start, several chapters, and a definite conclusion. But the titles initially sold too well and DC argued against the idea, wanting the tales to continue indefinitely. Kirby was forced to compromise and the story continued, though sales soon dropped. "New Gods" and the Forever people were canceled in 1972. Mister Miracle continued under Kirby until 1974, though the stories became a bit more conventional.
Though Kirby's take on the New Gods and associated characters was considered a bit too weird for mainstream comics, DC never completely lost interest in the characters. They were revived by later creators, reused for decades, and a few (like Darkseid) went on to play prominent roles in the wider DC multiverse. Meanwhile Kirby went on to work in other series.
The other 1970s DC characters created or co-created by Kirby included Etrigan the Demon (1972), Kamandi (1972), OMAC (1974), a new version of Sandman (1974), Atlas (1975), a new version of Manhunter (1975), the Dingbats of Danger Street (1975) and Kobra (1976). All these characters were considered as series protagonists, and some of them did receive their own title. However, none of them enjoyed long-term success.
In 1975, Marvel Comics announced that Kirby would return to work with them. He was soon producing new runs as sole writer and penciller of "Black Panther" and "Captain America". His most enduring work, however, was in the creation of new series and characters. His best known work was "The Eternals" (1976-1978), a 19-issue series about immortal gods active on modern Earth. It was very similar in concept to the New Gods. The human-looking gods were called Eternals, their demonic looking counterparts were the Deviants, and they were both inferior to the mysterious space gods called the Celestials. The series was never a best-seller but has its dedicated fans. The characters and concepts have been incorporated to the wider Marvel multiverse, with several other creators adding to them over the decades.
Somewhat less ambitious were the rest of the Kirby creations of the 1970s for Marvel. They included Machine Man (1977) and Devil Dinosaur (1978). Each held its own short-lived series, but enduring success eludes them. They still have enough fans to warrant several revivals over the following decades.
Kirby left Marvel in 1978 to return to the field of animation, after an absence of nearly 40 years. He spend much of the late 1970s and 1980s working on television animated series such as "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "The Centurions". Futhermore, Kirby found the experience much more satisfying, considering he was in a senior creative post as production designer and worked with young employees who did the more laborious work of animation. They treated him with far more respect than the people in the comic book industry.
Never satisfied with his lack of creative control over his older creations, Kirby briefly returned to comic books with the creator-owned series "Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers" (1981-1984). It was intended as his own sequel to the New Gods. The title character, Captain Victory, was implied to be the son and heir of Orion. His supposed grandfather "Blackmaas" was a look-alike of Darkseid.
In the mid-1980s, when the Kenner toy company judged his New Gods villains, like Darkseid, ideal antagonists for the Super Powers Collection toy-line, DC asked Kirby to design the action figure versions for character. He received royalties for the use of his character designs, the only time he was so compensated. He also returned to his characters in the DC graphic novel called The Hunger Dogs!.
In the early 1990s, Kirby licensed his creator owned-characters to Topps Comics. Existing characters and unused Kirby-produced concepts from earlier decades were used for the so-called Kirbyverse line of comic books. Kirby himself did not contribute new work to Topps. He attempted to make a comeback to the comic book medium with a comic book series called "Phantom Force", but died in 1994 before its publication.
Some of Kirby's unpublished work has seen posthumous publication. His creator-owned characters were inherited by his family and have continued to appear in new works by various publishers. The Kirby family has repeatedly attempted to claim partial ownership over Jack Kirby's Marvel creations, though their legal efforts have so far been unsuccessful. The Kirby family has not disputed the ownership of his DC creations.- Betsy Aidem was born on 28 October 1957 in East Meadow, Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Irrational Man (2015), Margaret (2011) and The Americans (2013). She was previously married to William Fichtner.
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Jan Rabson was born on 14 June 1954 in East Meadow, Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Akira (1988), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Pet Sematary (1989). He was married to Cindy Akers. He died on 13 October 2022 in British Columbia, Canada.- Wavy Gravy was born on 15 May 1936 in East Greenbush, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Cisco Pike (1971), The Fat Black Pussycat (1963) and Twister: A Musical Catastrophe (2000). He has been married to Bonnie Beecher since 1965. They have one child. He was previously married to Elizabeth.
- James DiStefano is a respected professional actor and acting teacher with over 30 years of experience in the business.
James has been directed by Kathryn Bigelow (first female to win an Oscar for Best Director), Mark Rydell, Albert Brooks (Oscar- nominee), Thomas Shlamme (Emmy-winner), and Danny Cannon (Emmy-nominee). He has acted for Oscar-winner Robert Altman. He is grateful to have been directed by the brilliant Oscar-winner, director of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola.
James has studied with co-artistic director of The Actors Studio Mark Rydell (Oscar-nominee for best director, On Golden Pond), Martin Landau (Oscar-winner for Best Actor, Ed Wood), Shelley Winters (two-time Oscar-winner for Best Supporting Actress, including Diary of Anne Frank, Emmy-winner), and Barbara Bain (three-time Emmy-winner).
James has taught both adult and teen classes at the Lee Strasberg Institute, The New York Film Academy, and East L.A. Classic Theatre. He created the first Cold Reading class at the Actor's Studio, which he taught for eight years.
James is a lifelong member of The Actors Studio and actively participates in the Playwrights Unit and Directors Unit.
In his private classes, James uses a variety of techniques to suit each individual actor, so that they can explore their needs, be vulnerable, and take chances to tap into their most creative selves.
James lives in Los Angeles. - Perry Moore was born on 20 July 1971 in East Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for NYPD Blue (1993), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) and Class of '96 (1993).
- Nilaja Sun is an actor, playwright and teaching artist most known for her Obie award winning solo piece "No Child..." which had its initial off Broadway run at the Barrow Street Theatre from July 2006-June 2007 and was recently revived there in an extended run. For her creation and performance of No Child... and its subsequent national tour, Nilaja garnered 21 awards including: an Obie Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Outer Critics Circle Awards including the John Gassner Playwriting Award for Outstanding New American Play, a Theatre World Award, the Helen Hayes Award, two NAACP Theatre Awards, and was named the Best One-Person Show at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. "No Child..." is published and has been licensed out to over 45 theatres nationally since 2008. In 2010, Nilaja was awarded the soloNOVA Award for Artist of the Year by terraNOVA Collective. She has also been seen on 30 Rock, Law & Order: SVU, Unforgettable, Louie, The International, Rubicon and in 2012, she will be seen in the independent films Nature Calls and Hairbrained. A native of the Lower East Side, she is a Princess Grace Award winner and has worked proudly as a teaching artist in New York City since 1998.
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Louis Sachar was born on 20 March 1954 in East Meadow, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Holes (2003), Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Holes (2003). He has been married to Carla Jean Askew since 26 May 1985. They have one child.- Visual Effects
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Kevin M. O'Neill is known for his groundbreaking Visual Effects work on numerous film and television productions.. In the early 1980s, Kevin attended Ithaca College Park School of Photography and Cinema Studies. His time at the institution allowed him to explore his creative interests and hone his skills in photography and cinema. In 1983, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Photography and Cinema Studies.
After completing his education, Kevin made his way to Manhattan, where he landed a role as a Production Coordinator on the film "Deathmask," starring Farley Granger and Danny Aiello and produced by Lou Scher.
In July 1984, Kevin moved to Hollywood, California, and joined Visual Concept Engineering (VCE), a cutting-edge Visual Effects Facility founded by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Kuran. At VCE, Kevin received training in various aspects of traditional Photo Optical Visual Effects production. His early work included contributions to films like "Beetlejuice," directed by Tim Burton.
In 1987, Kevin was presented with an opportunity to expand the Optical Department at Consolidated Film Industries (CFI), adding Visual Effects services to the studio's impressive roster of Motion Picture and Television clientele. During his time at CFI, he earned his first Visual Effects Supervision credits, working on several films, including "FEAR," produced by award-winning producer Richard Kobritz. It was also during this time that he collaborated with producer Rob Tapert and director Sam Raimi on projects like "Army of Darkness" and "Darkman."
Kevin's expertise in visual effects production led to an invitation to join Apogee, a VFX studio founded by John Dykstra. He became part of the newly formed team responsible for expanding into CGI VFX Production. During his tenure at Apogee, Kevin and his team integrated Desktop CGI into various commercial and television productions, leaving a mark in the industry.
In 1992, Kevin made a significant career move by becoming an independent VFX Supervisor. He collaborated with notable figures such as Rafaela DeLaurentis and Rob Cohen on "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" and contributed to several VFX sequences in Francis Coppola's "Dracula."
After a brief period of independence, Kevin rejoined Visual Concept Engineering (VCE) as a studio VFX Supervisor. He worked on a series of successful productions, including "Addam's Family Values," "Last Action Hero," and Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." During this time, Kevin teamed up with Rob Tapert and Renaissance Pictures to work on the popular "Hercules" movies for Universal Studios. His dedication and expertise earned him the role of series VFX Supervisor when Universal Studios green-lit "Hercules, the Legendary Journeys."
Founding Flat Earth Productions
In 1995, Kevin co-founded Flat Earth Productions, Inc., an award-winning VFX studio that quickly gained a reputation for its innovative work. The studio handled a wide range of visual effects for television shows like "Hercules" and "Xena Warrior Princess," feature films such as "Blade" and "Piranha 3D," as well as large format productions like "Voyage in Time" and "Soarin' Over Tokyo" for Disney Imagineering.
Venturing into Directing
In 2003, Kevin was presented with the opportunity to direct "Dinocroc," a film that kick-started a series of popular creature features on the SyFy Channel. His directing career has flourished alongside his continued efforts in guiding the development of Flat Earth Productions, Inc.
With more than two decades of experience in the industry, Kevin M. O'Neill has left an indelible mark on the world of visual effects and filmmaking. In 2021, he retired Flat Earth Productions, Inc., leaving behind a thriving studio that paved the way for bleeding-edge visual effects.
In 2022 he joined the VFX team on the SkyDance Television show "Fubar," which garnered significant attention and was picked up for a second season on Netflix.
With extensive experience designing, creating and producing VFX projects as a Facility manager and Studio Supervisor, Kevin is available to manage and oversee VFX Projects across the entire spectrum of Visual Effects Production.- Actress
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Julia Migenes was born on 13 March 1949 in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Carmen (1984), No Way Out (1987) and Mack the Knife (1989).- Actress
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Melinda Sullivan was born on 30 September 1987 in East Meadow, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for La La Land (2016), Being the Ricardos (2021) and Spirited (2022).- Gwendolyn Shepherd was born in East Meadowbrook, New York, USA. She is known for Easy Money (1983), Seinfeld (1989) and Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989).
- John Palumbo was born and raised in the Lower Eastside of Manhattan, NYC. He was one of the New York Knicks ball boys in the 1980's and attended the Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC in the mid 1990's. His debut in the motion picture was for a small role in the comedy My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception (1999) directed by Martin Guigui. Later he had a recurring role on HBO's prison drama "OZ" playing the role of Don Zanghi. His father was the President of Off-Track Betting (OTB) in the 1990's.
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Murray Schisgal was born on 25 November 1926 in East New York, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Tootsie (1982), ABC Stage 67 (1966) and Boys and Girls (2000). He was married to Reene Schisgal. He died on 1 October 2020 in Port Chester, New York, USA.- Actor
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Born in Queens, NY, Thunders is best known as the lead guitarist for the New York Dolls in the early 1970s and unintentionally helped inspire the Punk movements in New York City and London. He later formed The Heartbreakers and went on to a solo career. His career was often interrupted by issues related to drug addiction, and he died under suspicious circumstances in a New Orleans, LA, hotel room at 38 years old.- Irene Windust was born on 6 July 1921 in East Hampton, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), Roadracers (1959) and Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960). She was married to George Latimer Maxwell and Bretaigne Windust. She died on 15 December 1999 in East Hampton, New York, USA.
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Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Business People," one of Forbes's "Names You Need to Know," and one of Fortune's "40 under 40." He is an early-stage technology investor/advisor (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of three #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. The Observer and other media have called Tim "the Oprah of audio" due to the influence of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which has exceeded 100 million downloads and was selected for "Best of iTunes" in 2015. His latest book is Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.- Actress
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Phyllis Gehrig was born on 4 April 1923 in East Williston, New York, USA. She was an actress and costume designer, known for The Jack Benny Program (1950), The Real McCoys (1957) and My Three Sons (1960). She was married to Norman Pincus and Alan Sues. She died on 3 October 2021 in West Hollywood, California, USA.- Actress
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Blossom Dearie was born on 28 April 1924 in East Durham, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Squid and the Whale (2005), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). She was married to Bobby Jaspar. She died on 7 February 2009 in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
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Io Tillett Wright was born on 2 September 1985 in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Trees Lounge (1996), Henry Hill (1999) and Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987).- Actor
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Steve Warky Nunez is an award winning Jack-of-all-trades in the entertainment industry.
Hailing from New York, he started out narrating audio books for the blind and from there he branched out into all facets of media. He is widely known for his work on, "The Yaoi Xmas Carols", "Sonic The Hedgehog", "Ishida and Asakura", "Venom: Let There Be Carnage", "The Titan's Bride", "Ant-Man", "Yandere Simulator", "Aphmau", "Henkei Shoujo", "Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger Ix-2", "Camp Buddy", "Fire in His Fingertips", "Everything for Demon King Evelogia", and "Anima: Gates of Memories".
Warky looks forward to what the future has in store for him and hopes there will be singing and dancing along the way!- Howard Dean was born on 17 November 1948 in East Hampton, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for The Situation Room (2005), The Daily Show (1996) and Real Time with Bill Maher (2003). He has been married to Judith Steinberg since 31 January 1981. They have two children.
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Born in East Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Sig Shore earned a basketball scholarship to George Washington University. During World War II he served as a navigator in the Army Air Corps where he became a first lieutenant. After the war he was the advertising director for Dance magazine and later started advertising agencies in San Francisco and New York. During the height of the Cold War Mr. Shore imported a number of Russian films. In addition he distributed films like Francois Truffaut's 400 Blows, Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour and Valerio Zurlini's Black Jesus. He was married to his wife Barbara for more than 50 years and had five children (Lindsay, Steven, Michael, Richard and Suzy) along with nine grandchildren.- Casting Department
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- Actress
Felicia Tassone was born on 5 March 1989 in East Meadow, Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Trinity (2008), The Corrupt Half (2017) and Framework (2007).- Additional Crew
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- Transportation Department
Dan Levy was born on 23 September 1983 in East Meadow, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an assistant director, known for I Am Legend (2007), Doctor Strange (2016) and Run All Night (2015).- Patricia Bright was born on 5 April 1922 in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Edge of Night (1956), It's Always Jan (1955) and The Borden Show (1947). She was married to Steve Blumberg. She died on 10 October 2009 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
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Son of combat cameraman Wilmot Gibson and cardiac surgeon Henrietta Gibson, Devin Gibson is a film producer and director, author, and brand adviser. He attended Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts. Gibson also enrolled in two film schools. For one year he attended The New York Film Academy and continued his film studies at USC School of the cinematic arts, graduating with a master's degree in film. Gibson began his career directing music videos for local indie bands.
Gibson is noted for a public dispute with record labels in contract with him, particularly Universal Music Group, involving the announcing of his book on artist branding. The book was claimed to violate confidentiality agreements made with the accusing parties. Soon after the cancellation of his release, Gibson followed with the self-publication of an indie artist's guidebook April 1st, 2014.
In addition to his contributions to indie music and production for action thriller and Horror film markets, Devin is an accomplished image & branding adviser, who's strategies have been utilized for clients of major record labels and corporations including, Universal, Sony, Coca Cola, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Since the budding age of 24, Gibson has held increasingly higher amounts of clientele, managing the images of many well established artists and influential corporate campaigns working closely with the Leo Burnett Agency of Toronto, A&B Services, and The Film Concierge. Following the presentation of his acclaimed brand management solution in January 2014, Gibson was named president of Clarity Image Works.
Apart from his career Devin has pursued philanthropy and active community improvement with the US government beginning with directing a short in 2011, It Affects Us All (2011), for an NYC community board of education campaign targeting AIDS and HIV awareness, and most recently accepting the United Philanthropic Achievement Award for a "commitment to humanitarian pursuits through foreign affairs, as well as ethical observations of social infrastructure within the United States." from Progress for America In 2014.- Jason Ruiz was born on 8 November 1979 in East Patchogue, New York, USA. Jason is a producer, known for Smile of April (2009).
- Matt Serra was born on 2 June 1974 in East Meadow, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Marvel Super Heroes: What the--?! (2009), UFC 292 (2023) and Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight (2015).
- Actor
- Stunts
Drew Renkewitz was born on 4 October 1964 in East Northport, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Scary Movie 2 (2001), Crazy for Love (2005) and Fighting Irish (2003).- Carmine Galante was born on 21 February 1910 in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Elena Ninfa Marulli. He died on 12 July 1979 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
Frederic Kimball was born on 29 July 1933 in East Hampton, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Author! Author! (1982), Blind Alleys (1985) and No Room for Opal (1993). He was married to Ellen Graff and Lisa Blake Richards. He died on 4 October 2008 in New York City, New York, USA.- Margo McKenna was born on 6 January 1951 in East Hampton, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Love of Life (1951), The Edge of Night (1956) and As the World Turns (1956).
- Kimmi Kappenberg was born on 11 November 1972 in East Setauket, Long Island, New York, USA. She has been married to Kevin Caminske since August 2004. They have two children.
- Born September 27, 1968, Rob Moore is one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL today. Originally from Long Island, Moore played wide receiver for Syracuse University. He was drafted in the first round of the 1990 supplemental draft by the New York Jets. In 1994, he was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 1995. In 1996, he made his big screen debut portraying himself in the hit Jerry Maguire (1996). He is currently still a receiver for the Cardinals.
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Felipe Luciano was born in 1948 in East Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for It Could Happen to You (1994), Panther (1995) and D'Curse (2013).