Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 1,447
- Don Likes was born on 1 July 1895 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Sandy (1918), A Phantom Husband (1917) and Wooden Shoes (1917). He died on 22 December 1923 in California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ray Grey was born on 19 February 1890 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Down on the Farm (1920), Loose Change (1922) and Stand Pat (1922). He was married to Florence Anna Pauly. He died on 18 April 1925 in Glendale, California, USA.- Ethel Ritchie was born on 22 October 1890 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Understudy (1917), Who Is Number One? (1917) and The Weaker Vessel (1919). She died on 28 December 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Tall in the saddle, and dark and handsome to boot, he may be little remembered today when compared to a William S. Hart, Tom Mix or Hoot Gibson, but cowboy hero Roy Stewart was arguably one of the best known of the silent screen back then. While touring with the famous Floradora Girls, Stewart entered films in the early 1910s in support roles until signing with Triangle in 1916 and emerging as a star. Known for his engaging, dimpled grin, he proved a solid and rugged hero and churned out during the course of his career hundreds of two-fisted two-reelers such as The Learnin' of Jim Benton (1917), Cactus Crandall (1918), which he co-wrote, and The Sagebrusher (1920), not to mention reenacting a number of tales from the Old West and portraying such legendary figures as Buffalo Bill and Daniel Boone. Out of the saddle Stewart was quite at home in plush drama and served as a perfect leading man for the likes of Lillian Gish in __House Built Upon Sand, The (1916), Bessie Love in A Daughter of the Poor (1917) and Mary Pickford in her classic silent Sparrows (1926). Come the advent of sound, Stewart lost his footing and was relegated to support roles as a character actor. He continued working until his sudden death in 1933 of a heart attack in his Los Angeles home at the age of 49.
- Neal Pratt was born in 1889 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Woman Condemned (1934), The Road to Ruin (1934) and Trimmed in Furs (1934). He was married to Mary Reed Pratt. He died on 3 January 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Fred Behrle was born on 8 July 1891 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Midnight Alarm (1923), Through Thick and Thin (1926) and Big News (1929). He died on 20 May 1941 in San Fernando Valley, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
For the better part of his career, Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke lived up to his sobriquet "One-Take Woody" by steadfastly adhering to his credo of shooting each scene as quickly and efficiently as possible. Over his 25-year career, he economically directed over 90 diverse entertainments, which not only saved the studios vast amounts of money but turned out to be some of the most interesting motion pictures created during this period.
Van Dyke's father, a lawyer, died within days of his birth. By the time he was three Woody and his mother were forced to tread the boards of repertory theatre to make a living. When he hit his teens he had a succession of outdoor jobs, including lumberjack, gold prospector, railroad man and even mercenary. In 1916 he was hired by the legendary D.W. Griffith as one of a group of "assistants" (others included Erich von Stroheim and Tod Browning) to work on the picture Intolerance (1916). After that, his rise was truly meteoric. Within a year Woody was directing his own films, beginning with The Land of Long Shadows (1917). A later western, The Lady of the Dugout (1918), featured a 'genuine' former Wild West outlaw, the self-promoting teller of tall tales, Al J. Jennings. After enlistment in World War I, Woody returned to Hollywood in the 1920s to direct further westerns, beginning with some Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson features at Essanay and later Tim McCoy programmers (once, in 1926, he directed two features simultaneously). Woody was perhaps the first filmmaker to make westerns that strayed from the stereotypical jaundiced pro-white man view in favor of a more sympathetic portrayal of the American Indian on screen.
Woody's "One-Take" nickname came about as a result of filming world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey in Daredevil Jack (1920). Dempsey invariably flattened his opponents with the first punch, so it became imperative to have the scene "in the can" on the first take. As a result, Woody was much in demand throughout the decade for "quota quickie" westerns and serials. Under contract to MGM in 1928, he accompanied documentary filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty to Polynesia to collaborate on the feature White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), taking over direction entirely when Flaherty fell ill. The success of the picture led to the thematically similar The Pagan (1929), shot in Tahiti with Ramon Novarro. This was in turn followed by the epic Trader Horn (1931), filmed on location in remote parts of Kenya and Tanganyika. Driven to the point of physical exhaustion by the swashbuckling director, the 200-strong crew virtually transformed the wilderness, creating, as it were, a live set, replete with exotic animals and plant life to capture unprecedented footage. In fact, there was so much excess footage after release of "Trader Horn" that much of it was incorporated into Woody's next project, the seminal Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), which set the bar for later entries into the Edgar Rice Burroughs cycle. After another flirt with danger, filming Eskimo (1933) in the remote Bering Strait, Woody settled down to less life-threatening assignments.
During the next few years, Woody Van Dyke showed his remarkable flair and versatility. After being Oscar-nominated for The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933), he directed William Powell and Myrna Loy in their first outing together in Manhattan Melodrama (1934) (most famous as the film seen by infamous bank robber and killer John Dillinger just before he was shot to death by the FBIl). He followed this with the stylish and witty thriller The Thin Man (1934) (filmed in true Woody-style in 16 days) and its three sequels, teaming Powell and Loy in one of Hollywood's most successful partnerships. After these hugely popular movies, Woody proved to be equally adept at musicals, directing yet another dynamic duo, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, in the operettas Rose-Marie (1936), Sweethearts (1938) and Naughty Marietta (1935). Never turning down an assignment, he also handled family fare (Andy Hardy, Dr.Kildare), social (The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)) and historical dramas (the lavish Marie Antoinette (1938) with Norma Shearer).
Unquestionably, one of the highlights of Van Dyke's career as a director was the first true "disaster movie", San Francisco (1936), for which he elicited rich, natural characterizations from his cast for 97 minutes. He then re-created the 1906 earthquake in the remaining 20-minute finale, achieving a realism that has rarely been matched and never surpassed. He was nominated for Academy Awards for both "The Thin Man" and "San Francisco", but lost out on both occasions.
A colorful, larger-than-life character, his "shoot-from-the-hip" camera style was at times criticized by his peers. Conversely, he was much respected by actors, frequently giving breaks to unemployed performers by using them in his films, and appreciated by the studios by consistently coming in on or under budget. In addition, he was known as a "film doctor", who would be called upon to re-shoot individual scenes with which the studio was dissatisfied (a noted example being for The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)), or, alternatively, to shoot additional scenes that were deemed necessary for continuity.
Like some of his peers, Woody could be an autocrat who rarely brooked arguments and was known to greet the mighty Louis B. Mayer himself with "Hi, kid". He became ill during the filming of Dragon Seed (1944). Diagnosed with heart disease and cancer, he committed suicide in February 1943.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom O'Brien was born on 25 July 1890 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Big Parade (1925), Moby Dick (1930) and The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927). He was married to Ina Mae Morehouse. He died on 8 June 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Charles Howard was born in 1882 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Night Angel (1931), Home Struck (1927) and Auld Lang Syne (1937). He died on 28 June 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Charles Ray Howard was born in 1881 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Eternal Sin (1917). He died on 28 June 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.
- James Hagan was born on 25 June 1889 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a writer, known for The Strawberry Blonde (1941), One Sunday Afternoon (1933) and One Sunday Afternoon (1948). He was married to Sadie M.. He died on 1 September 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
- Bebe Eltinge was born on 17 April 1886 in San Diego, California, USA. She was married to Charley Chase. She died on 10 March 1948 in Riverside, California, USA.
- Stella LeSaint (born Stella Razeto) started on the stage with the Florence Roberts company in San Francisco. She then moved on to vaudeville in New York City and formed the "Stella Razeto and Company" group. Due to illness she left the stage, eventually joining the Majestic Company where she played with Mabel Trunnelle and Herbert Prior for many months. She then moved to the Selig Polyscope Company where she worked with her future husband, Edward LeSaint.
- Gene Marsh was born on 3 August 1893 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Luke, the Candy Cut-Up (1916), Giving Them Fits (1915) and Lonesome Luke Lolls in Luxury (1916). She died on 23 February 1957 in Singapore.
- Danny Williams was born on 20 July 1920 in San Diego, California, USA. He died on 6 March 1960 in the USA.
- Hank Gobble was born on 21 April 1923 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Westerner (1960). He died on 19 May 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- May Williams was born on 8 May 1891 in San Diego, Texas, USA. She was married to Samuel Williams. She died on 27 August 1961 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.
- Ivy Crosthwaite was born on 1 December 1897 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Surf Girl (1916), A Game Old Knight (1915) and The Beauty Bunglers (1915). She was married to Adolph Linkof. She died on 8 November 1962 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
H.W. Stroele was born on 28 April 1895 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 29 May 1964 in San Diego, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Trigger, Roy Rogers' beautiful Golden Palomino stallion, and co-star with Roy in many of his movies and Roy's TV show, was often billed as "the smartest horse in the movies".
The two of them appeared in dozens of westerns in the 1930s and 40s, always chasing and thwarting the bad guys, and working to serve peace and justice.
Trigger even shared the movie title with Roy on two occasions: My Pal Trigger (1946) and Trigger, Jr. (1950).
Trigger started life out as Golden Cloud (1934). His sire was a thoroughbred horse that had raced at Caliente Track, and his dam was a cold-blooded palomino. Trigger was foaled on a small ranch in the San Diego area which was partly owned by Bing Crosby. The manager of that ranch was Roy Cloud, a breeder originally from Noblesville, Indiana. At around 3 years of age, Golden Cloud was sold to the Hudkins Stables, which rented horses to the movie industry. Golden Cloud's first major appearance was in the movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) where he was ridden by Olivia de Havilland. When Gene Autry failed to report for work at Republic Pictures, Roy Rogers found himself cast in the lead role for Under Western Stars (1938). Before filming began on Under Western Stars (1938), Hudkins Stables brought their best lead horses to the studio so Roy could select a mount. As Roy recalled it, the third horse he got on was a beautiful golden palomino who handled smoothly and reacted quickly to whatever he asked it to do.
Roy said of Golden Cloud "He could turn on a dime and give you some change".
Smiley Burnette, who played Roy's sidekick in his first two films, was watching and mentioned how quick on the trigger this horse was. Roy agreed and decided that Trigger was the perfect name for the horse. Roy purchased the horse for $2,500 and eventually outfitted it with a $5,000 gold/silver saddle.
Roy was proud of the fact that throughout his more than 80 films, the 101 episodes of his television series, and countless personal appearances, Trigger never fell.
Roy once said that "he felt that Trigger seemed to know when people were watching him and that he recognized applause and just ate it up like a ham!"
Trigger won a Patsy award for the role in Son of Paleface (1952) & the 1958 Craven award winner. He was so popular that at one time, he even had his own fan club with members from all over the world. On July 3, 1965, at the Rogers ranch in Hidden Valley, California, Trigger, at age 30, passed away. Roy was reluctant to "put him in the ground", so Rogers had the horse mounted in a rearing position by Bishoff's Taxidermy of California. The rest of his remains are buried in Thousand Oaks, California on one of Roy's former ranches.- Charlotte Munier was born on 9 September 1919 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Forty Little Mothers (1940). She died on 19 April 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anthony Mann was born on 30 June 1906 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for El Cid (1961), Men in War (1957) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954). He was married to Anna, Sara Montiel and Mildred Mann. He died on 29 April 1967 in London, England.- Maureen Connolly was born on 17 September 1934 in San Diego, California, USA. She was married to Norman Brinker. She died on 21 June 1969 in Dallas, Texas, USA.
- Lawrence Goldtree Blochman was born on 17 February, 1900 in San Diego, California, the son of Lucien A. and Haidee Goldtree Blochman. His father, who was born in San Francisco in 1865, was a successful and well respected businessman in the San Diego area.
Remembered as a writer of around thirty mystery and detective novels, Lawrence Blochman also worked as a foreign correspondent and had authored several hundred short stories, novelettes, articles and a number of scripts for radio and television shows. He served as president of Mystery Writers of America and as an officer of the Overseas Press Club. In 1950 Blochman won the Edgar Allan Poe award for short story writing.
Lawrence Goldtree Blochman died on 22 January, 1975 at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. - Merle Weaver was born on 2 February 1915 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for I Led 3 Lives (1953). He died on 31 January 1975 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Joseph Kane's career as a professional cellist ended when he became a film editor in 1926. His directing career started with co-directing serials for Mascot and Republic, and he soon became Republic's top western director. He handled many of John Wayne's Republic westerns of the 1940s, and piloted numerous Roy Rogers and Gene Autry films (he was once asked in an interview why he did so many westerns. He replied, "I like the outdoors. The horses. The cowboys. I like that."). Unlike most Republic house directors, Kane was credited as associate producer on many of his films. He stayed at Republic until the studio's demise in 1959, and after freelancing for mostly independent production companies, he turned to directing TV series.- Actor
Joe Cabrillas was born on 28 December 1887 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 23 September 1975 in San Diego, California, USA.- Robert 'Buddy' Shaw was born on 29 March 1907 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Twisted Rails (1934), China Slaver (1929) and Old Age Handicap (1926). He died on 29 August 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Rick Stoner was born in 1937 in San Diego, California. Stoner grew up in Hermosa Beach, California. Rick first went to Hawaii in September, 1955 along with fellow surfers Bing Copeland, Sonny Vardeman, Mike Bright, and Steve Vorhees. After running out of money while living in Hawaii, Stoner and Copeland decided to sign up for a two year stint in the U.S. Coast Guard on board the cutter Bering Strait stationed in Honolulu. Following their discharge in late 1957, Rick and Bing returned to Southern California where they worked as lifeguards. However, the allure of riding waves in faraway places proved too hard to resist, so the pair soon found themselves on a 42-foot sailboat that was headed for the South Pacific. They sailed into the harbor at Auckland, New Zealand on November 27, 1958.
Stoner and Copeland immediately befriended members of the Piha Surf Club and spent two months surfing and paddle-boarding with them. Rick and Bing decided to compensate the club members for their hospitality by making eight surfboards made out of Styrofoam and epoxy; they were the first foam surfboards ever built in New Zealand. Stoner and Copeland returned to California in February, 1959. After initially working again as lifeguards, Rick and Bing opened their own business called Bing and Rick Surfboards in Hermosa Beach in October, 1959. However, Stoner eventually decided to leave the business and went back to being a lifeguard instead (he worked for the Los Angeles County Lifeguards organization and ultimately achieved the rank of lieutenant in said organization).
In 1961 Stoner started his own business called Rick Surfboards. Rick Surfboards launched two well-known signature model surfboards in 1966: The Dru Harrison Improvisor and the Barry Kanaiaupuni model. Rick Surfboards not only subsequently expanded their operations to both Hawaii and the East Coast, but also was the first name to export surfboards on a large scale to Peru. Stoner sold his business to the Hamilton brothers in 1974. Sadly, Rick's life was tragically cut short by a brain tumor in 1977. - Henry Amargo was born on 18 July 1933 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for I Spy (1965), Border Patrol (1959) and Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958). He died on 24 September 1978 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Colin Jacobs was born on 28 October 1975 in San Diego, California, USA. He died on 4 May 1979 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Harry Kerwin was born on 15 June 1930 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a director and actor, known for God's Bloody Acre (1975), Barracuda (1978) and Cheering Section (1977). He was married to Laura Wood. He died on 2 June 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
Carl Knowles was born on 24 February 1910 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 4 September 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Larger than life, Laughtonesque, and with an eloquent, king-sized appetite for maniacal merriment, a good portion of the work of actor Victor Buono was squandered on hokey villainy on both film and television. Ostensibly perceived as bizarre or demented, seldom did Hollywood give this cultivated cut-up the opportunity to rise above the deliciously hammy arrogance that flowed through so many of his cartoonish characters. He loved to make people laugh and while he could have approached his career with more serious attention, the real money was in his madness. In the end, the actor's chronic weight and accompanying health problems took their toll -- a fatal heart attack at the untimely age of 43 -- and a wonderful actor/writer/poet/chef had exited way before his time.
Born on February 3, 1938 in San Diego, California, the son of Victor Francis Buono and Myrtle Belle (née Keller), his interest in entertainment was originally encouraged by his grandmother, Myrtle Glied (1886-1969), who had once been a vaudevillian on the Orpheum Circuit. It was she who taught Victor how to sing and recite in front of company. His initial choice of career was somewhere in the direction of medicine but the pure joy he experienced from several high school performances (playing everything from Aladdin's evil genie to Hamlet himself) led him to dismiss such sensible thinking and take on the bohemian life style of an actor.
The already hefty-framed hopeful started appearing on local radio and television stations in San Diego. At age 18, he became a member of the Globe Theater Players where he was cast in Shakespeare and the classics ["Volpone", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Knight of the Burning Pestle", "The Man Who Came to Dinner", "Witness for the Prosecution", "Henry IV, Part I (as Falstaff)", "As You Like It", "Hamlet" (as Claudius)].
In 1959, a Warner Bros. agent happened to scope out the talent at the Globe Theatre and caught Victor's wonderfully robust portrayal of Falstaff (a role he would return to now and then) and gave him a screen test. Looking older than he was, the studio set upon using Victor in weird and wacky ways, such as his bearded poet Bongo Benny in an episode of 77 Sunset Strip (1958). His wry and witty demeanor, fixed stare, huge girth and goateed mug was guaranteed to put him in nearly every television crime story needing an off-the-wall character or outlandish villain.
Following an unbilled appearance in The Story of Ruth (1960), Victor was intriguingly cast by director Robert Aldrich to play Edwin Flagg, the creepy musical accompanist and opportunist who tries to use one-time child celebrity Bette Davis for his own piggy bank in the gothic horror classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). He held his own beautifully opposite the scenery-chewing Davis and was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his efforts. This role also set the tone for the increasingly deranged characters he would go on to play.
Cast as the title menace in The Strangler (1964), Victor delved wholeheartedly into the sick mind of a mother-obsessed murderer and offered a startling, tense portrayal of a child-like monster who gives new meaning to the art of "necking" with women. Director Aldrich used Victor again (albeit too briefly) for his Southern-baked "Grand Guignol" horror Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) this time as Ms. Davis' crazed father. Victor also showed up in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) starring Max von Sydow where he flamboyantly took on the High Priest Sorak role in this epic but criticized retelling of Jesus.
He enhanced a number of lightweight 1960s movies including 4 for Texas (1963), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), The Silencers (1966) and Who's Minding the Mint? (1967) with his clever banter and gleeful menace. The lurid title said it all when Victor gamely took on the horror movie The Mad Butcher (1971) [aka The Strangler of Vienna] wherein he played a former mental patient preying on women again. This deranged low-budget German/Italian co-production added a "Sweeney Todd" meatpie tie in.
Victor's hearty, scene-stealing antics dominated late 1960s television series. Recurring madmen included his Count Carlos Manzeppi on The Wild Wild West (1965) and King Tut who habitually wreaked havoc on Gotham City on Batman (1966). One could always find his unsympathetic presence somewhere on a prime-time channel (Perry Mason (1957), Get Smart (1965), I Spy (1965)) but his roles ended up more campy than challenging. However, one heartfelt, serious portrayal was his portrayal of President William Howard Taft in the epic miniseries Backstairs at the White House (1979). Elsewhere, he recorded a self-effacing comedy album ("Victor Buono: Heavy!") and even wrote comic poetry ("Victor Buono: It Could Be Verse". He was indeed a sought-after raconteur on daytime and nighttime talk shows.
Continuing with the theatre but on a more infrequent basis, his one-man stage shows included "Just We Three", "Remembrance of Things Past" and "This Would I Keep". He also appeared as Pellinore opposite Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence in a 1975 performance of "Camelot" and earned minor cult status for his memorable performance in the play "Last of the Marx Brothers' Writers" in a return to the Old Globe Theatre in 1977.
The never-married actor felt compelled to conceal his homosexuality. A well-regarded gourmet chef and an expert on Shakespeare, he died of a massive heart attack at his ranch in Apple Valley, California on January 1, 1982. Before his death was announced, Buono had just been cast in the Broadway-bound play "Whodunnit?" by Anthony Shaffer. The show finally arrived in New York without him and almost a year to his death (December 30, 1982). - Editor
- Actor
Cotton Warburton is the great great uncle of author and filmmaker Dustin Warburton. Irvine "Cotton" Warburton (born October 8, 1911 in San Diego and died April 21, 1982 in Culver City, CA) was an All-American college quarterback (1933) who became a film editor; he won an Academy Award for his work on Mary Poppins in 1964. Warburton attended San Diego High School, and won the California high school quarter mile in 1930. He brought his speed to the USC Trojans football team, and was chosen as an All-American quarterback in 1933. Cotton was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Robert Goodwin was born on 30 April 1927 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Black Chariot (1971), Love, American Style (1969) and Bonanza (1959). He died on 13 February 1983 in San Diego, California, USA.- Director
- Animation Department
- Writer
Born in San Diego, California, the young Robert Clampett was monumentally moved as a child by the film The Lost World (1925), inspiring him to create a sea-serpent sock-puppet that he used in puppet shows to entertain the neighborhood kids. This led him to create a stuffed Mickey Mouse toy, which became a prototype for the first mass-produced Mickey Mouse doll.
Between 1931 and 1947 Clampett was an animator and later director for the legendary Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Brothers Animation) where alongside his one time boss Tex Avery he became known as the wackiest and most archetypally cartoonish of all the directors.
During this time he also developed a test for a animated adaptation of 'John Carter of Mars' however, despite the support of the author Edgar Rice Burroughs it failed to materialize.
Amongst his famous fare was the Dalí inspired Porky in Wackyland (1938), his loving adaption of the Dr. Seuss book Horton Hatches the Egg (1942), the controversial all-black cast musical Snow White parody Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943), the Fantasia (1940) parody A Corny Concerto (1943) and John Kricfalusis's favorite cartoon The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946) featuring the acerbic irreverence of Daffy Duck -- easily the most Clampett-esque of all his characters.
Clampett, at the time the longest serving employee at the animation studio, finally left in 1947. After a brief stint at Columbia, and a one-off cartoon at Republic It's a Grand Old Nag (1947) he was inspired by the new innovation of television to resurrect his old sea-serpent puppet, and created the phenomenally successful Time for Beany (1949)_ puppet television show, which was acclaimed by the likes of Albert Einstein and Groucho Marx, and even inspired the AC/DC line "Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap".
Clampett later returned to animation as a supervising producer on a cartoon series based on the characters of his puppet show Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil (1959).- Sharyn Payne was born on 30 August 1945 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) and Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951). She died on 26 August 1986 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Jim Wilson was born on 20 February 1922 in San Diego, California, USA. He died on 2 September 1986 in Newport Beach, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
Bessie Learn was born on 30 August 1888 in San Diego, California, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for In the Shadow of Death (1915), Her Grandmother's Wedding Dress (1914) and The Ploughshare (1915). She was married to Art Robbins and J. Roy Prosser. She died on 5 February 1987 in Burbank, California, USA.- Writer
- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
Betty Burbridge was born on 7 December 1895 in San Diego, California, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for In the Clutches of the Gangsters (1914), Anybody's Blonde (1931) and Paradise Express (1937). She died on 19 September 1987 in Tarzana, California, USA.- Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in Santee, San Diego, California, to Kathleen, a seamstress, and Michael O'Rourke, a construction worker. She had German, Danish, English, and Irish ancestry.
Heather entered American cinematic pop-culture before first grade. She was sitting alone in the MGM Commissary waiting for her mother when a stranger approached her asking her name. "My name is Heather O'Rourke," she said. "But you're a stranger, and I can't talk to you". When her mother returned, the stranger introduced himself as Steven Spielberg. She failed her first audition when she laughed at a stuffed animal Spielberg presented her with. He thought she was just too young (she had just turned five), and he was actually looking for a girl at least 6 years old, but he saw something in her and asked her to come in a second time with a scary story book. He asked her to scream a lot. She screamed until she broke down in tears. The next day at the commissary, Spielberg told her and her family, "I don't know what it is about her, but she's got the job." She instantly became a star overnight and was easily recognized at her favorite theme park, Disneyland, and everywhere in California. In the years that followed, Heather was a familiar face on TV in Happy Days (1974) (1982-1983), Webster (1983) (1983-1984), and The New Leave It to Beaver (1983) (1986-1987), three shows in which she had recurring roles. In 1986, the highly anticipated sequel to her first movie, Poltergeist (1982), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) debuted in theaters; it was her riveting performance in this film that cemented her a place in Hollywood history. In January 1987, Heather began to have flu-like symptoms and her legs and feet swelled. She was taken to Kaiser Hospital, and they confirmed it was only the flu, but when symptoms continued, they diagnosed her as having Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammation of the intestine. She was on medication throughout the filming of her next project, Poltergeist III (1988), and her cheeks were puffy in some scenes. She never complained during filming and did not appear sick to fellow cast members.
When filming was completed in June, Heather and her family went on a road trip from Chicago, to New Orleans, to Orlando and all the way back to Lakeside where they lived at the time. Heather was well until January 31, 1988, Super Bowl Sunday. She was unable to keep anything in her stomach and crawled into bed with her parents that night, saying that she didn't feel well. The next morning, February 1, sitting at the breakfast table, she couldn't swallow her toast or Gatorade. Her mother noticed her fingers were blue and her hands were cold. Kathleen called the doctor's and was getting ready to put her clothes on when Heather fainted on the kitchen floor. When the paramedics came in, Heather insisted that she was "really okay" and was worried about missing school that day. In the ambulance, Heather suffered cardiac arrest and died on the operating table at 2:43 p.m. at the tender age of 12. Of all her achievements, Heather was proudest of being elected student body president of her 5th grade class in 1985. - Tom Dahms was born on 19 April 1927 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Crazylegs (1953) and The NFL on CBS (1956). He died on 30 November 1988 in Orange County, California, USA.
- Claude Woolman was born on 15 October 1933 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Outer Limits (1963) and The Swan Song (1971). He died on 5 July 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
Joe Preninger was born on 19 March 1913 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 21 August 1989 in Ventura, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Though character actor William Kerwin may be better known for Herschell Gordon Lewis horror movies. He has enjoyed a major stage, film and TV career. At a young age, William was trained on the stage and appeared in several plays and Broadway shows. During his acting career he has worked a lot on the stage with his wife Connie Mason, a former actress, whom he met in the horror movie Blood Feast (1963) and with his brother Harry Kerwin. The two brothers co-founded the San Diego Actor's Theatre in the 1950s and worked together in several movies too.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Casting Department
Jose De Vega was born on 4 January 1934 in San Diego, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for West Side Story (1961), The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and Island of the Lost (1967). He died on 8 April 1990 in Westwood, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Songwriter ("The Strawberry Roan," "When the Bloom Is on the Sage"), composer, author, singer, radio actor, writer, producer and director, educated in college and then an Army officer in World War I. He appeared in musical comedies and tab shows, and also directed and produced in Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Oakland; Long Beach; San Diego; and Honolulu. He toured in vaudeville and was a member of the radio and recording team The Happie Chappies, with Nat Vincent. Also he wrote for acts, including the original Beverly Hillbillies. For twelve years, he acted in the "Ma Perkins" radio series, as well as in many other radio shows. In addition, he wrote scripts for radio series ("Mystery Is My Hobby," "Deadline") and extras. Joining ASCAP in 1957, his chief musical collaborator was Nat Vincent, and other examples of his popular-song compositions include "Mellow Mountain Moon," "Little Girl Dressed in Blue," "At the End of the Lane," "Sitting on the Bank by the River," "It's Great to Love Someone Who Loves You Too," "My Pretty Quadroon," "Me and My Burro," "Old Black Mountain Trail," "My Dear Old Arizona Home," and "It's Time to Say Aloha."- Camera and Electrical Department
Leland W. Green was born on 8 December 1918 in San Diego, California, USA. Leland W. is known for Pieces of Dreams (1970). Leland W. died on 2 May 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Deron Johnson was born on 17 July 1938 in San Diego, California, USA. He was married to Lucy Ann. He died on 23 April 1992 in Poway, California, USA.