Advanced search

Born in 1914, raised in Norfolk, Nebraska, Thurl Ravenscroft served as a navigator in the US Army Air Transport Command in World War II before settling in Hollywood. An accomplished singer, he performed with The Sportsmen Quartet, The Mellowmen Quartet, The Johnny Mann Singers, The Norman Luboff Choir, and many major stars, including Jim Nabors and Elvis Presley. He was best known, however, for his mellifluous voice-overs, and he voiced Tony the Tiger in countless advertisements for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes in both English and Spanish. In 1996 he and his wife June retired to southern California, although he still did occasional work as Tony. He died in 2005 of prostate cancer.

Gene Collins was born on 23 April 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Kelly's Heroes (1970), The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and The People's Choice (1946). He died on 29 May 2015 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Tommy Lasorda was one of the best managers in baseball until his retirement in July 1996. He was involved with the Los Angeles Dodgers for over 50 years. He managed the team from 1976 to 1996. He retired due to a heart attack. He thought being a manager would be too stressful.

While best remembered as Ernest Borgnine's Japanese prisoner-of-war Fuji Kobiashi in the wartime sitcom McHale's Navy (1962), Yoshio Yoda came to acting reluctantly and purely by accident. Born in Tokyo, the only son of Honshu middle-class manufacturers, he initially studied law at the prestigious Keio University. However, he quickly realized that neither law nor industry suited his aspirations. A chance meeting with motion picture executive Edward Ugast (1900-1964), general manager in Asia for 20th Century Fox and Vice-President of Four Star Films, persuaded Yoda to study cinema technique in the United States with the prospect of becoming a producer. In 1958, Yoda arrived in California and enrolled at USC.

Three years into his studies, Yoda's faculty was contacted by producer Joe Pasternak at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who was casting for an Asian actor required to be fluent in both English and Japanese. Yoda naturally fitted the bill. Despite his initial misgivings, a mere ten minute interview led to the youngster being signed for the role of Sgt. Roy Tada in The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962), a comedy starring Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss. On the strength of his performance he was subsequently able to secure the gig on McHale's Navy. When that series had run its course, so did Yoda's acting career. After one more brief TV appearance in 1969, he returned to his roots to forge a career in the car manufacture business at Toyota. He lived in Hawaii for fifteen years, became a United States citizen under the name of James Yoda, and, by 1987, had risen to the position of assistant vice president of inventory and senior division manager. He later resided in Fullerton, California.

'Cecil Scott Forester' was born on 27th August, 1899 in Cairo, Egypt. He was educated in England at Alleyn's School and Dulwich College, at neither of which, he said, he made any particular impression except as an extremely naughty boy. He left Dulwich College and attempted to take up medicine but soon found that his real vocation was storytelling and writing. Always an enthusiastic reader as a child (he used to devour complete encyclopedias) he used his extensive and eclectic knowledge to make his stories very readable and popular. He is possibly most famous for the Hornblower series of novels which intersperse tales of great human understanding with a high level of technical expertise - even though he was never in the navy.

Steve Peck was born on 2 January 1929 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for I Spy (1965), Johnny Cool (1963) and Bells Are Ringing (1960). He was married to Cynthia. He died on 9 October 2005 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Matt Gogin was born on 28 May 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The New Guy (2002), Made for Each Other (2009) and Stalls (2019). He died on 13 December 2022 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Alberto Mariscal was born on 10 March 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Todo por nada (1969), La muerte va con las mariposas (1976) and Las tres tumbas (1980). He was married to María Luisa Rasgado del Castillo. He died on 24 April 2010 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Catharine Carson was born on 10 December 1923 in Shenandoah, Page County, Iowa, USA. She was married to Ralph Sotzing. She died on 24 November 2014 in Fullerton, California, USA.

For more than thirty years, A. D. Flowers worked his magic in movies and on TV and ended his career as one of Hollywood's most highly respected and sought-after special effects experts. His craft, however, predated the now-universally employed computerized high-tech FX that the movie and TV industry relies upon today. Explosives, flashbulbs, miniatures, water tanks, unique recipes for blood, and a lot of improvisation (not to mention chance) comprised Flowers' bag of tricks. Affirming that he used his bag of tricks to its best advantage, the Academy Awards presented Flowers with Oscars for his contributions as a "powder man" in the 1970 production of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and for his skillful creation of disaster in the 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure." He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work with Steven Spielberg in the 1979 movie "1941" -- one of Flowers last efforts in his field. He was born in Texas and raised in Sayre, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school in 1935, like so many others from Oklahoma in the '30s, he hitchhiked to California, the golden state, where he hoped to find work. Within three years he was married and, with the help of his father-in-law, a painter at MGM studios, had a job as a studio handyman. Starting right at the bottom, literally, Flowers spent his first 19 nights at his new job on his hands and knees polishing a dance floor that Mickey Rooney used. He eventually moved from floors to grounds and was given the "greenman" assignment wherein his responsibility included feeding and nursing and otherwise maintaining plants, flowers, and any turf on movie sets. By the mid-'40s, Flowers had worked his way into the studio property department and from there onto assignments working with special effects. Explosives became his forte, but anything mechanical proved his domain. Whether employing hydraulics, electronics, or pyrotechnics -- skills that he studied at trade schools while practicing them in movies -- Flowers helped create or re-create fires, floods, dog fights (the aerial kind), bombs bursting in air, etc. For many years he enjoyed the role of chief of mechanical special effects at 20th Century-Fox. And his specialties were not limited to movies. He also plied his trade in television on shows such as "Gunsmoke" and Combat!" for example. A. D. Flowers retired to Camarillo, California, in 1979.

Eustace Lycett was born on 21 December 1914 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. He is known for Mary Poppins (1964), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and The Black Hole (1979). He was married to Mary Ethel Lycett. He died on 16 November 2006 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Malcolm Mealey was born on 18 November 1920 in Ventura, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Adventures of Superman (1952) and My Little Margie (1952). He was married to Korla Mealey. He died on 2 November 1998 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Rhoderic Paul "Eric" Gray Cajiuat was born to Paul Cajiuat and Aura Gray in Manila, Philippines. He was a very happy boy, always smiling from the moment he woke up. He grew up in a world of music. As a baby, he practiced his elocution very early, as he was a non-stop chatterer. He kept talking and chewing the rails of his crib until the four sides were all chewed up. His mom and dad always sang to him, and at age 2 he was always dancing and singing in his playpen, every note in perfect pitch. He would sing songs like "Yellow Submarine" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - yes, a Filipino Beatles fan and country fan.

The family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada when Eric was 2½. Singing was a daily routine for Eric and his mom, and aside from Sunday School songs she taught him to sing the song "Birthday of a King", which he sang as his first solo performance in their church at age 3. At age 5, their minister would take him along to sing at senior centers and rehab facilities. He sang solos in church, standing on a stool to reach the microphone. That was the start of his music ministry in church and mastery of performance without any stage fright. Eric listened to Broadway musicals incessantly until he memorized all the songs and the speaking lines. His first musical theatre experience was "Anne of Green Gables: The Musical" followed by "Oliver!".

When he was 14, the family moved to Torrance, California, where he attended West Torrance High School (Class of 1987) and continued to sing with the Aristocracy Choir and the Barbershop Quartet. Outside school, he toured with Continental Singers. Eric attended college California State University, Los Angeles (Class of 1992) with a Vocal Performance and Theatre major. HE sang with the university choir, chamber singers, and jazz ensemble. His true passion was singing and performing on stage, performing in multiple musicals around southern California.

He worked for the city of Los Angeles and the state of California, but he was never happy behind a desk. He said God had given him a voice to sing and the ability to act, so that is what he was going to use. HE came to performance passionately because he was most happy when doing that.

In his later years, Eric worked and performed at Pirates Dinner Adventure (Buena Park, California), Titanic: The Experience (Buena Park, California), Disneyland (Anaheim, California), and Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, California). He can be seen in the movie "The Hit Girl", the upcoming film short, "Rabbit Season", and also in the 2014 CMA Music Video of the Year, Dierks Bentley: Drunk on a Plane (2014). Often, he referred to his "secret identity" as Eric Cajiuat, because he gained notoriety as Jedi Elvis.

"Jedi Elvis", an Elvis Tribute Artist who specializes in Elvis songs sung with Star Wars-themed parody lyrics. Backed by his high octane rock and roll band, the Rockin' Rebel Alliance, Jedi Elvis performs Elvis songs, rewritten with Star Wars-themed parody lyrics, to bring you an experience that echoes a live Elvis concert, with all the geekiness of a night watching Star Wars. Songs such as "Death Star Rock", "Viva Mos Eisley" and "In The Desert" are guaranteed to entertain the most die-hard Star Wars fan and the most scrutinizing Elvis fan at the same time.

His first concert was performed on November 20th, 2010 at "Nuke The Fridge" Con in the City of Industry, CA and was attended by approximately 100 people. The second concert on April 19th, 2011 raised $1400 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for Japan. His second Red Cross Benefit on June 15th, 2013 raised $1100 to benefit victims of the tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Since then, other places Jedi Elvis and the Rebel Alliance have performed are the world-famous House of Blues, Anaheim, the House of Blues, San Diego (during San Diego Comic Con 2011 and 2013), and twice at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, which is used as the interior for "Fangtasia" from the popular HBO series True Blood (2008).

Jedi Elvis has appeared in the movies ComicCosplay (2011), The People vs. George Lucas (2010), and Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011).

Jedi Elvis also made a brief appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), being interviewed by Cousin Sal during the Man on the Street segment, asking for people who knew the words to the National Anthem. Of all the people featured, Jedi Elvis was the only one who knew. The YouTube clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live! had over 20,000 hits and was chosen to play for 3 months New York City taxicabs.

He has also made appearances in the web series "Car Discussion With Sung Kang" (available on YouTube) and on an upcoming episode of the TV series "About A Boy".

Joycee Katz was an actress, known for Tales from the Crypt (1989), Let It Ride (1989) and Just Write (1997). She died on 29 September 2010 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Karen Kester was born on 14 November 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Christmas Carol (1949), The Baron of Arizona (1950) and Hollywood Opening Night (1951). She died on 21 April 1994 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Lorraine Grey was born on 13 August 1918 in California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Professionals (1977) and Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle (1935). She was married to Ray Heindorf. She died on 16 February 2008 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Gladys McConnell was born on 22 October 1905 in Oklahoma City, Indian Territory, USA [now Oklahoma, USA]. She was an actress, known for The Glorious Trail (1928), The Tiger's Shadow (1928) and The Fire Detective (1929). She was married to A. Ronald Button and Arthur Q. Hagerman. She died on 4 March 1979 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Waldon O. Watson was born on 20 January 1907 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Waldon O. is known for The Andromeda Strain (1971), Psycho (1960) and Marnie (1964). Waldon O. died on 15 August 1986 in Fullerton, California, USA.

William Shaw was born on 27 January 1918. He was an actor, known for Red Snow (1952), The Choppers (1961) and Stakeout on Dope Street (1958). He died on 20 October 2009 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Bill Brundige was born on 2 February 1915 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Crazylegs (1953), Perry Mason (1957) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962). He was married to Jane Cairns. He died on 23 April 2004 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Lon Nol was born on 13 November 1913 in Prey Veng, Cambodia. He was married to Sovanna Lon. He died on 17 November 1985 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Angelo Posito was born on 11 July 1913 in New York, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Batman (1966). He died on 20 January 2006 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Al Campanis was born on 2 November 1916 in Kos, Dodecanese Islands, Greece. He was an actor, known for Big Leaguer (1953), The Red Rowe Show (1959) and This Is Your Life (1970). He was married to Bess. He died on 21 June 1998 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Otto Fuerbringer was born on 27 September 1910 in St. Louis, Missouri. He died on 28 July 2008 in Fullerton, California, USA.

Billie Moore was born on 5 May 1943 in Humansville, Missouri, USA. She died on 14 December 2022 in Fullerton, California, USA.