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1-8 of 8
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Writer
Walden Robert Cassotto, nicknamed "Bobby", was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1936. Severe rheumatic fever as a child scarred his heart and led to an overprotected and pampered childhood. He was the focal point of a family that fostered and encouraged his love of music. His music career started out with writing songs and taking demos around to different music producers. In 1958 he performed the song "Splish, Splash" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand (1952). It was a huge hit and eventually would sell over one million copies. The next year was a big one - he won two Grammies, for Best Record ("Mack the Knife") and Best New Artist. "Mack the Knife" stayed in the top ten for 52 weeks, nine of those at #1. This was Bobby's fourth gold record. His next goal was to make a movie, and that opportunity came in 1960 with the film Come September (1961), for which he also wrote the title song. The movie was filmed in Rome and that's where he met Sandra Dee. She was 16 years old and at the top of her career. They were engaged two months after they met and their son, Dodd Darin, was born a year later. Bobby continued to perform in night clubs and make movies. In 1964 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). Despite very good reviews, he lost the Oscar to Melvyn Douglas. In 1967 he asked for and was granted a divorce. Sandra was quoted as saying, "He just woke up one morning and didn't want to be married anymore". More realistically, their careers had kept them apart more often than not, and they had struggled with the marriage practically from the beginning. He went in for heart surgery in 1971 and from that point on he had bouts of ill health. After his recovery he continued to do nightclub acts and the next year he did a popular summer variety show called The Bobby Darin Show (1973). The last year of his life was spent dealing with health problems related to his heart, yet he continued to work when he could. He died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on December 20, 1973, following open heart surgery.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
"Want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." If you have not heard of Brooke Shields before, this tagline from her Calvin Klein Jeans ad had to grab your attention. Not that she has not had a previously noteworthy resume. She was born on May 31, 1965 in New York City, to Teri (Schmon) and Frank Shields. At age 12, she starred as a child prostitute in Pretty Baby (1978). Could this movie even be made today? It was considered risky and controversial in 1978. It was followed by another blockbuster, the romance adventure drama The Blue Lagoon (1980). Brooke has proved herself to be so much more than her early films. Her broad range of work as an adult would be quite an achievement for anyone, especially given how difficult transitioning from child actor to adult often is.
She has never stopped working, whether it be a Bob Hope Christmas special, her own sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996) or as an author. She also managed to work on a degree from Princeton University. She has received a number of awards during her career, most notably The People's Choice award for 1981 through 1984 in the category of Favorite Young Performer. In 1997, she was honored again with The People's Choice award for Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series in 1997 for her work in Suddenly Susan (1996). In her personal life, she was married in 1997 to tennis player Andre Agassi and was devastated when they divorced two years later. She married for the second time in 2001 to Chris Henchy. She has been open about using fertility treatments to become pregnant with their daughter, Rowan, born in 2003.
When suffering debilitating depression after the birth of her daughter, she made the decision to put her feelings down on paper. Her book, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," takes a hard, honest look at what she and many other women experience after childbirth. She still lives in New York City, and is still sought after for work in movies, television, and on stage. Pretty nice list of achievements for the once Calvin Klein jeans girl.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 9, 1953. He was one of five children and the only son. His father was a doctor who hoped to have Ciarán follow in his footsteps, but that was not to be. It was his mother Moya, an amateur actress, who was the real influence behind his decision to become an actor. Though he did enroll in Law at Queens' University of Belfast, he left that in order to train in acting at RADA. He began his stage career at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre as a pantomime horse in the production of "Cinderella". Staying with the company for several years, he starred in a number of productions, including playing the lead roles in "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "Faust". His stage career has included working with The Field Day Company and a number of world tours. He has starred in a number of productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including a world tour in the title role of "Richard III". Hinds' film career began in 1981 in the movie Excalibur (1981), which boasted a cast rich in talented actors including Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Patrick Stewart. In-between his movie work, he's amassed a large number of television credits. Playing such classic characters as "Mr. Rochester" in Jane Eyre (1997), and "Captain Wentworth" in Persuasion (1995) has increased his popularity and most definitely given him much increased recognition. As for his personal life, you won't be likely to see his name in the weekly tabloids. He likes to keep his private life private. It is known that he is in a long-term, committed relationship with a French-Vietnamese actress named Hélène Patarot and they have a daughter together and live in Paris. He is in very high demand and his reputation as a quality, professional actor is sure to keep him busy for as long as he chooses.- Writer
- Music Department
- Actress
Dorothy Rothschild was born on August 22, 1893 into a family of comfortable financial means. Raised by her father and Stepmother after her mother's death, she was given an excellent education for the times. Highly intelligent, she pursued a career after her formal education and proved herself to be one of the early feminists. She started writing poems early and her witty remarks are still alive today. In 1917 she was asked to join the staff at Vanity Fair magazine and to marry Edward Pond Parker II, both of which she agreed to gladly. Eddie Parker soon was stationed overseas and Dorothy became one of the founding members of the Algonquin Hotel "Round Table". Eddie arrived back from the war with an unfortunate drinking problem, and Dorothy decided she loved her new life more than she did him. They were separated far more than together and divorced in 1928. She spent a very dramatic period of time in New York City, doing theater reviews, spending time with her Algonquin friends, drinking far too much. She published poems and short stories and in 1929 won the national O. Henry Prize for the short story "Big Blonde". This established her as a serious writer. She married Alan Campbell when she was forty and he was twenty-nine. He encouraged her to go Hollywood where they became a very successful screenwriting team. Beginning in 1933 they received screen credits for fifteen films, most notably A Star Is Born (1937) which was nominated for an Academy Award. The time spent in Hollywood were the most lucrative years of her career, yet she spent every dime of it. She divorced and remarried Alan Campbell and in 1963 he died. She spent her last years in New York City, in very poor health due to heavy drinking and making do on very little money. Often, she would have to call on friends like Lillian Hellman to help her financially. Dorothy Parker died in 1967 at seventy-three years old in her New York hotel room, all alone. Time magazine devoted an entire page to her obituary, which was considered an amazing tribute. Her estate was left in full to Martin Luther King and the NAACP.- Actor
- Soundtrack
In 1953 Eddie Fisher was given his own fifteen-minute TV show called Coke Time (1953), sponsored by the Coca-Cola company. This show proved to be so popular that Coke then offered Eddie a $1 million contract to be their national spokesperson. A deal of that magnitude was almost unheard of at this time and helped push Fisher towards being one of the most popular singers by 1954. In 1955 Eddie married Debbie Reynolds and daughter Carrie Fisher was born a year later, followed by son Todd Fisher in l958. Later that year, the scandal of the decade broke when stories of Eddie's affair with Elizabeth Taylor were made public. She had been widowed earlier that year when her husband Mike Todd, Eddie's best friend, died in a plane crash. The bad publicity that followed did a great deal of damage to Eddie's career, while it actually increased the amount of money Elizabeth was offered for films. He and Liz did the movie BUtterfield 8 (1960), which actually earned Taylor an Academy Award, though it was received with mixed reviews. From there Liz went on to star in Cleopatra (1963), with Richard Burton, another scandal and divorce for Liz. With his TV show long gone and hit records a thing of the past, his career in the sixties consisted mainly of stage shows in Las Vegas, New York, and smaller venues as time went on. For a few years he was married to Connie Stevens and they had two daughters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher before divorcing in 1968. Eddie Fisher has written two autobiographies, the latest "Been There, Done That" published with great controversy. It seems some of the women in his past, including Debbie Reynolds, did not care for his portrayal of them. He must be given credit, however, for owning up to his own actions, which led to the degradation of his career. His fifth wife, Betty Lin, passed away from lung cancer on April 15, 2001.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gary Merrill was born August 2, 1915, in Hartford, Connecticut. He began his career acting in summer stock plays. He married Barbara Leeds, an actress, and then served a brief stint in the army. After the army, he landed in New York, where he was chosen to join the already popular play "Born Yesterday". In 1950 he was cast in the part of Bill Sampson in All About Eve (1950). It would be his first time meeting Bette Davis and they became an instant couple. After their respective divorces, they were married in Mexico. She was 42 and he was 35. During their marriage they adopted two children, Margot and Michael, and after ten years of fighting and financial problems they divorced. Merrill did not marry again, though he was involved with Rita Hayworth for a time. Later in his career Merrill made a lucrative living doing voice-overs for radio and television commercials. In 1988 he published his autobiography, "Bette, Rita, And The Rest Of My Life". He died of lung cancer at the age of 74.- Writer
- Actress
- Music Department
During the 1930s, it was fashionable to be a part of the radical political movement in Hollywood. Lillian Hellman devoted herself to the cause along with other writers and actors in their zeal to reform. Her independence set her apart from all but a few women of the day, and gave her writing an edge that broke the rules. Born in New Orleans in 1905, but raised in New York after the age of five, she studied at Columbia. She married Arthur Kober in 1925, did some work in publishing and wrote for the Herald Tribune. When her husband, also a writer, got a job with Paramount, they moved out to California. It was there that she met Dashiell Hammett and subsequently divorced Kober. Their relationship lasted, in one form or another, for 30 years. Her first important work was the play "The Children's Hour," which was based on a true incident in Scotland. This was an amazingly successful play, and gave Lillian a definite standing in the literary community. Her next venture, a play called "Days To Come," was a complete failure so off she went to Europe. There, she took in the Spanish Civil War and traveled around with Ernest Hemingway. When back in the States, she wrote "The Little Foxes," which opened in 1939 and was a financial windfall for her. She also followed Dorothy Parker and other highly esteemed writers to Hollywood where she was well compensated for her screenwriting efforts. While it may have been fun and daring to be part of a radical political group in the 1930s, with the '40s came the Un-American Activities Committee. She was forced to testify in government hearings, and there was the threat of black lists and tax problems. She remained a visible force and became almost an icon in her later years. Despite an assortment of health issues, including being practically blind, she traveled, lectured, and promoted her political beliefs. She was 79 when she died in 1984, and yet she is still very much with us. It's been over 60 years since it originally opened, but "The Little Foxes," along with other works, is still being produced at all levels of the theater. What writer could ask for anything more?- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946, the daughter of Judy Garland and movie director Vincente Minnelli. She was practically raised at MGM studios while her parents worked long hours there and she made her film debut at 14 months of age in the movie In the Good Old Summertime (1949). Her parents divorced in 1951 and, in 1952, her mother married Sidney Luft, with sister Lorna Luft and brother Joey Luft subsequently being born. Her father, Vincente Minnelli, later married Georgette Magnani, mother of her half-sister Christiane Nina "Tina Nina" Minnelli.
At 16, Liza was on her own in New York City, struggling to begin her career in show business. Her first recognition came for the play "Best Foot Forward" which ran for seven months in 1963. The following year, Judy invited Liza to appear at a show with her at the London Palladium. This show sold out immediately and a second night was added to it. Liza's performance in London was a huge turning point in both her career and her relationship with her mother. The audience absolutely loved Liza and Judy realized that Liza was now an adult with her own career. It was at the Palladium where Liza met her first husband, Peter Allen, a friend of Judy's.
Liza won a Tony award at age 19 and was nominated for her first Academy Award at age 23 for the role of Pookie Adams in The Sterile Cuckoo (1969). Other dramatic roles followed and, in 1972, she won an Oscar for her performance as Sally Bowles in the movie Cabaret (1972). The 1970s were a busy time for Liza. She worked steadily in film, stage, and music. She and her good friend Halston were regulars at Studio 54, the trendiest disco club in the world. Marriages to filmmaker Jack Haley Jr. and Mark Gero, a sculptor who earned his living in the theater, followed. Each marriage ended in divorce.
Over the past years, her career has leaned more towards stage performances and she has a long list of musical albums to which she continues to add. She teamed with Frank Sinatra in his "Duets" CD, and Sammy Davis Jr. joined them for a series of concerts and TV shows that were extremely well-received.
She has had to deal with tabloid stories of drug abuse and ill-health and has had a number of high profile stays at drug-rehabilitation clinics. Her hectic schedule may have slowed down in recent years, but she still has a large following of immensely loyal fans who continue to cheer her on.