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 171
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Carl Weathers was born on January 14, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana. A famous and successful football star at San Diego State, he played with the Oakland Raiders and retired from the sport in 1974, in order to give full attention to his goal: to be a real actor.
Weathers first played small parts in two blaxploitation flicks, Friday Foster (1975) (in which he played "Yarbro") and Bucktown (1975) (playing "Hambone"), both made in 1975 and directed by Arthur Marks. However, his big break came the following year when producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff chose him to play "Apollo Creed" in the blockbuster "sleeper" Rocky (1976) (real-life boxing legend Ken Norton was originally signed for the part, but it eventually went to Weathers). He went on to play "Creed" in three other "Rocky" movies, and the characters' adversarial relationship eventually evolved into a warm friendship. After Creed's death in Rocky IV (1985), Weathers met with producer Joel Silver and agreed to play an important supporting role in Predator (1987), an action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The following year, Silver produced Action Jackson (1988), a first starring role for Weathers, but it performed poorly at the box office and was panned by the critics.
During the 1990s, Weathers starred in four In the Heat of the Night (1988) two-hour TV specials that were much better received by critics and viewers alike. In 1996, he played the part of "Chubbs Peterson" in the blockbuster Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore (1996). He returned to his "action roots" in two TV-movies with Hulk Hogan: Assault on Devil's Island (1997) and Assault on Death Mountain (1999).
In addition to his acting career, Weathers is also a member of the Big Brothers Association and the U.S. Olympic Committee, handling the career of athletes of various sports such as gymnastics, wrestling, swimming and judo.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Multi-talented and unconventional actor/director regarded by many as one of the true "enfant terribles" of Hollywood who led an amazing cinematic career for more than five decades, Dennis Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas. The young Hopper expressed interest in acting from a young age and first appeared in a slew of 1950s television shows, including Medic (1954), Cheyenne (1955) and Sugarfoot (1957). His first film role was in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), quickly followed by Giant (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Hopper actually became good friends with James Dean and was shattered when Dean was killed in a car crash in September 1955.
Hopper portrayed a young Napoléon Bonaparte (!) in the star-spangled The Story of Mankind (1957) and regularly appeared on screen throughout the 1960s, often in rather undemanding parts, usually as a villain in westerns such as True Grit (1969) and Hang 'Em High (1968). However, in early 1969, Hopper, fellow actor Peter Fonda and writer Terry Southern, wrote a counterculture road movie script and managed to scrape together $400,000 in financial backing. Hopper directed the low-budget film, titled Easy Rider (1969), starring Fonda, Hopper and a young Jack Nicholson. The film was a phenomenal box-office success, appealing to the anti-establishment youth culture of the times. It changed the Hollywood landscape almost overnight and major studios all jumped onto the anti-establishment bandwagon, pumping out low-budget films about rebellious hippies, bikers, draft dodgers and pot smokers. However, Hopper's next directorial effort, The Last Movie (1971), was a critical and financial failure, and he has admitted that during the 1970s he was seriously abusing various substances, both legal and illegal, which led to a downturn in the quality of his work. He appeared in a sparse collection of European-produced films over the next eight years, before cropping up in a memorable performance as a pot-smoking photographer alongside Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now (1979). He also received acclaim for his work in both acting and direction for Out of the Blue (1980).
With these two notable efforts, the beginning of the 1980s saw a renaissance of interest by Hollywood in the talents of Dennis Hopper and exorcising the demons of drugs and alcohol via a rehabilitation program meant a return to invigorating and provoking performances. He was superb in Rumble Fish (1983), co-starred in the tepid spy thriller The Osterman Weekend (1983), played a groovy school teacher in My Science Project (1985), was a despicable and deranged drug dealer in River's Edge (1986) and, most memorably, electrified audiences as foul-mouthed Frank Booth in the eerie and erotic David Lynch film Blue Velvet (1986). Interestingly, the offbeat Hopper was selected in the early 1980s to provide the voice of "The StoryTeller" in the animated series of "Rabbit Ears" children's films based upon the works of Hans Christian Andersen!
Hopper returned to film direction in the late 1980s and was at the helm of the controversial gang film Colors (1988), which was well received by both critics and audiences. He was back in front of the cameras for roles in Super Mario Bros. (1993), got on the wrong side of gangster Christopher Walken in True Romance (1993), led police officer Keanu Reeves and bus passenger Sandra Bullock on a deadly ride in Speed (1994) and challenged gill-man Kevin Costner for world supremacy in Waterworld (1995). The enigmatic Hopper continued to remain busy through the 1990s and into the new century with performances in All the Way (2003), The Keeper (2004) and Land of the Dead (2005).
As well as his acting/directing talents, Hopper was a skilled photographer and painter, having had his works displayed in galleries in both the United States and overseas. He was additionally a dedicated and knowledgeable collector of modern art and had one of the most extensive collections in the United States. Dennis died of prostate cancer on May 29, 2010, less than two weeks after his 74th birthday.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Orson Bean, the American actor, television personality and author, was born Dallas Frederick Burrows on July 22, 1928 in Burlington, Vermont to George Frederick Burrows, a policeman who later went on to become the chief of campus police at Harvard University, and the former Marion Ainsworth Pollard. He was of Irish, Scottish, and English descent. Through the latter, the newborn Dallas Burrows was a first cousin, twice removed, to Calvin Coolidge, who was President of the United States at the time of his birth. The young Dallas, an amateur magician with a taste for the limelight, graduated from Boston's prestigious Latin School in 1946. Too young to see military service during World War II, the future Orson Bean did a hitch in the U.S. Army (1946-47) in occupied Japan.
After the war, he launched himself onto the nightclub circuit with his new moniker, the "Orson" borrowed from reigning enfant terrible Orson Welles. His comedy act premiered at New York City's Blue Angel nightclub, and the momentum from his act launched him into the orbit of the legitimate theater. He made his Broadway debut on April 30, 1954 in Stalag 17 (1953) producer Richard Condon's only Broadway production as a playwright, "Men of Distinction", along with Robert Preston and Martin Ritt. The play flopped and ran only four appearances.
The following year was to prove kinder: he hosted a summer-replacement television series produced at the Blue Angel, and won a Theatre World Award for his work in the 1954 music revue "John Murray Anderson's Almanac", which co-starred Harry Belafonte, Polly Bergen, Hermione Gingold and Carleton Carpenter. It was a hit that ran for 229 performances. He followed this up with an even bigger hit, the leading role in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter". Next up was a succès d'estime as the leading man in Herman Wouk's comic play "Nature's Way", which co-starred Bea Arthur, Sorrell Booke and Godfrey Cambridge. Though the play lasted but 67 performances, Orson Bean had established himself on the Broadway stage.
He enjoyed his greatest personal success on Broadway in the 1961-62 season, in the Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical "Subways are for Sleeping", which was directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd and featured music by Jule Styne. Bean received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (his co-star Phyllis Newman won a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical). The following season, he was in a bigger hit, the comedy "Never Too Late", which would go on to play for 1,007 performances. After appearing in the flop comedy "I Was Dancing" in November 1964, Bean made his last Broadway appearance in the musical "Illya Darling" in 1967 with Melina Mercouri, directed by fellow blacklister Jules Dassin; it played 320 performances. He also toured in the Neil Simon-Burt Bacharach musical "Promises, Promises".
Bean made an impression as the Army psychiatrist in Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (1959). But it was as a television personality that he made his biggest inroads into the popular consciousness, as well as the popular culture. He appeared in numerous quiz and talk shows, becoming a familiar face in homes as a regular panelist on To Tell the Truth (1956). He also appeared on Norman Lear's cult favorite Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) and its sequel, Forever Fernwood (1977), as "Reverend Brim", and as store owner "Loren Bray" on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993). Much of his role as 105-year-old "Dr. Lester" in the cult film Being John Malkovich (1999) wound up the cutting room floor, but audiences and critics welcomed back his familiar presence.- Jana Taylor was born on 27 July 1943 in Far Rockaway, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Dreamscape (1984), Then Came Bronson (1969) and Get Smart (1965). She was married to Louis Michael Perretta and Michael Robert Sinclair. She died on 27 April 2004 in Venice, California, USA.
- At age 36, actress Barbara Colby was on the brink of TV-character stardom when the native New Yorker was senselessly shot and killed one evening on the streets of Los Angeles. The tall, toothy, husky-voiced, frizzy-haired actress equipped with a keen, Brooklyn-tough sensibility and dead-on comedy instincts had just started to make a name for herself on the West Coast when tragedy occurred. Hollywood lost a wonderful personality and promising talent that summer evening, someone who was proving to the TV masses that she was a bona fide contender.
Though born in New York City in 1939, Barbara was raised predominantly in New Orleans where her interest in acting grew while attending high school. After her graduation in 1957, she received a scholarship to Bard College on the Hudson back in New York, followed by a single semester at the Paris Sorbonne University in France.
While she tried to make a go of it professionally on the New York stage, her spiritual world also began to open and develop. In contrast to her tough, streetwise exterior, the gentle, deep-feeling lady avidly pursued a metaphysical way of life. She didn't touch alcohol, was a strict vegetarian, and meditated regularly as a devoted follower of the Indian Hindu guru Swami Muktananda. She also was a firm believer in reincarnation.
Following a solid stage performance in "Six Characters in Search of an Author" in 1964, Barbara took to the Broadway lights with a debut in "The Devils" the following year. Throughout the rest of the decade, she impressed in such plays as "Under Milk Wood", "Murder in the Cathedral" and "Dear Liar", and also garnered fine notices for her Portia in "Julius Caesar" in 1966 at the American Shakespeare Theatre Festival in Stratford, Connecticut.
Marking her first prime TV role on a Columbo (1971) episode in 1971, Barbara began a bi-coastal career and played a host of support/guest roles on such established shows as The Odd Couple (1968), McMillan & Wife (1971), The F.B.I. (1965), Medical Center (1969), Kung Fu (1972) and Gunsmoke (1955). But it was MTM Productions that took strongly to Barbara after she made a hilarious appearance as worldly prostitute Sherry opposite an impossibly naive Mary Tyler Moore in a now-classic 1974 jail-cell episode of the Moore comedy series. Producers were so impressed by Barbara's dead-pan comic timing and appealingly sharp, cynical edge that they brought her character back in a subsequent episode.
Never giving up her love for the stage, Barbara continued to gain in strength in such quirky '70s plays as "Aubrey Beardsley the Neophyte", "House of Blue Leaves", "Afternoon Tea" and "The Hot L. Baltimore". She also returned to the classics with an off-Broadway role as Elizabeth in "Richard III," and was back on Broadway with the plays "Murderous Angels" in 1971 and a revival of "A Doll's House" starring Liv Ullmann in the early part of 1975. Following the close of the latter show, Barbara returned to Los Angeles with a career-making offer. MTM had just cast her as a regular player on a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). The new sitcom, Phyllis (1975), starred actress Cloris Leachman who had played one of Mary's self-absorbed, scatterbrained friends to Emmy-winning effect. Barbara, who appeared earlier with Leachman in the TV-movie A Brand New Life (1973), was now in "second banana" position playing Cloris' boss, Julie Erskine, the owner of a commercial photography studio. The actress had officially paid her dues and broken into the top sitcom ranks. With two films also in the can, California Split (1974) and The Memory of Us (1974), Barbara seemed poised for bigger things.
On July 24, 1975, just weeks after her 36th birthday and only three episodes into the TV series, Barbara and her acting colleague/boyfriend, James Kiernan, were walking to their car following the teaching of an acting class in Venice, California, when they were deliberately shot by two gang members inside a parking garage area. Barbara, who was estranged at the time from Robert Levitt Jr., the son of legendary entertainer Ethel Merman, died instantly from her single gunshot wound; Mr. Kiernan, who had recently appeared in an episode of MTM's "Rhoda," was able to describe the shooting to police before he succumbed but could not recognize the two men who shot them, noting that the shooting had occurred without warning, reason or provocation. Police noted that there was no attempt to rob the pair and appeared to be a random act of violence. The killers were never caught and the homicide remains a "cold case". Barbara was later cremated and a memorial service held at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon. She was survived by her mother and younger sister Renee.
Following the tragedy, comedienne Liz Torres came on board to replace Barbara in the Julie Erskine part. The role itself lasted for only one season before they changed the sitcom's setting in order to try and improve the lackluster ratings. It didn't help. Despite a Golden Globe win for Leachman, the show was canceled after only one more season. In retrospect, one can't tell whether Barbara might have made a difference in the sitcom's ratings or outcome, but the fact remains that a single inexplicably brutal and senseless act snuffed out the life of a star comedienne in the making. - Actor
- Writer
Chaney Kley was born on 20 August 1972 in Manassas, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Darkness Falls (2003), Legally Blonde (2001) and The Shield (2002). He died on 24 July 2007 in Venice, California, USA.- Cork Hubbert was born on 3 July 1952 in Pendleton, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for Legend (1985), The Charmings (1987) and Caveman (1981). He died on 28 September 2003 in Venice, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Brian Aherne was an Oscar-nominated Anglo-American stage and screen actor who was one of the top cinema character actors in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Born on May 2, 1902, in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England, Aherne performed as an actor as a child. At age 18, he made his debut as an adult with the company that would evolve into the world-famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Three years later, he made his debut in London's West End, the English equivalent of Broadway. After his experience in Birmingham, Aherne studied architecture, but a life as an actor was too strong to resist, so he returned to the theater in 1923. For the next eight years, he toured the provinces and appeared in the West End in various productions. In 1931, he made his Broadway debut playing Robert Browning in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street." He alternated between the New York and London stage in the early 1930s. Aherne made his movie debut in 1924, and in the mid-1930s, he moved to Hollywood. In 1940, he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for Juarez (1939) for playing the Emperor Maximilian. Brian Aherne published his autobiography in 1969, and 10 years later, he published a biography of his friend George Sanders, entitled "A Dreadful Man." He died at age 83 of heart failure on February 10, 1986, in Venice, Florida.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Karen Landry was born on 4 December 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Peaceful Warrior (2006), Patti Rocks (1988) and JAG (1995). She was married to Chris Mulkey. She died on 31 December 2015 in Venice Beach, California, USA.- Danish-born Gwili Andre was a blonde beauty who had the talent and the looks necessary for the big time, but somehow just couldn't put everything together and was mired in B pictures (e.g., Secrets of the French Police (1932), Roar of the Dragon (1932)) for most of her career. After retiring from the screen, she died in an apartment fire in 1959.
- Actor
- Writer
Robert Wayne Grace was an American actor of prolific output, on screen from 1971. His career began with drama classes at Wayne State University and San Francisco State College. He then studied under Sanford Meisner in New York and first acted off-Broadway before relocating to the West Coast. After several appearances on the San Francisco stage, he eventually moved to L.A. to commence a four-decade long tenure in films and on TV. Balding and latterly bearded, Grace was first glimpsed on screen as a bartender in Robert Altman's moodily atmospheric western McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). Thereafter, he was most often cast in small supporting roles as lawmen, army officers or other authority figures with a certain amount of gravitas. His notable appearances have included Sheriff James Hamilton in the Humbug (1995) episode and General Ulysses S. Grant in The Lazarus Man (1996). During the later phase of Grace's screen career, he was much associated with the Star Trek franchise, having a predilection for playing Klingon characters (Governor Torak in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Fleet Admiral Krell in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)), as well as providing Klingon voices for several video games, including Star Trek: Starfleet Command (1999) and Star Trek: Klingon Academy (2000). He also essayed a Cardassian Legate in the Wrongs Darker than Death or Night (1998) episode, his costume subsequently being sold at e-bay. From the late 90's until his retirement in 2011, Grace focused increasingly on voicing video game characters.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Elizabeth Kemp has worked extensively in theatre, film and television. She has worked on and off Broadway, including "Once in a Lifetime" at Circle in the Square, "North Shore Fish" at WPA and "Heat" at the Public Theatre. She was in the original cast of "The Best Little Whorehouse" in Texas, which first opened at The Actors Studio. Highlights include playing opposite Christopher Reeve, Tom Hanks and Kevin Kline, as well as working with Tennessee Williams. At the recommendation of Elia Kazan, she was chosen to play the final incarnation of Baby Doll in the world première of "Tiger Tail". Regional credits include California Actors Theatre in San Francisco, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., Center Stage in Baltimore and Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Film credits include Sisters(2007)Eating (1990), The Clairvoyant (1982), Murderous Vision (1991), Animal Room (1995) and Challenger (1990). On television, in addition to numerous long-running and guest-starring roles, she received the GLAAD Award for her work on L.A. Law (1986). Directing and set design credits include productions in Paris, Stockholm and Rome, "The Glass Menagerie" at The Actors Studio and "Four to Four" at UBU Rep. A longtime Member of The Actors Studio, she recently starred in and designed the set for its productions of "The Wound of Love" and "Elektra". She has been a member of the Acting Faculty of The Actors StudioMFA Program since its inaugural year.She serves on the Board of Directors of the Actors Srudio.- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Richard Wagner was a German composer best known for his operas, primarily the monumental four-opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen". He was born Wilhelm Richard Wagner on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany. He was the ninth child in the family of Carl Wagner, a police clerk. Richard was only six months old when his father died, and he was brought up by his mother Johanna and stepfather Ludwig Geyer, an actor and playwright. Young Wagner studied piano from the age of 7 and soon developed ability to play by ear and improvise. At age 15 he wrote piano transcriptions of Ludwig van Beethoven's "9th Symphony" and orchestral overtures. He studied at the University of Leipzig, and also took composition and conducting lessons with the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
Wagner's early operas did not meet with success, leaving him in serious financial difficulties. From 1836-1839 he was a music director in Riga Opera, where his wife, Minna Planer, was a singer, and her extramarital escapades were the talk of the town. The Wagners amassed such significant debts that they had to escape from creditors and fled Riga. They spent 1840 and 1841 in London and Paris, where Richard worked as an arranger for other composers.
Giacomo Meyerbeer promoted Wagner's third opera, "Rienzi", to performance by the Dresden Court Theatre, where the opera was staged to considerable acclaim. In 1842 the Wagners moved to Dresden and lived there for six years. Eventually Richard was appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor. At that time he completed and staged "Der fliegende Hollander" (aka "The Flying Dutchman") and "Tannhauser".
Wagner was exposed to many conflicting political influences, ranging from Marxism and liberalism on the left to German nationalism on the right to the anarchism of Mikhail Bakunin. After the revolution of 1848-49, Wagner fled from Germany to Paris, then to Zurich, and found himself penniless, unemployed and depressed (he had also suffered from a severe skin infection for many years). At that time Wagner was unable to compose or perform music, and he expressed himself in writing essays: "The Art-Work of the Future", describing "Gesamtkunstwerk," or "total artwork" uniting opera, ballet, visual arts and stagecraft.
Wagner's four "Ring" operas gradually evolved, and he completed the libretto by 1852. Another year of suffering went by, until he began composing "Das Rheingold" (aka "The Rhine Gold") in November 1853, following it with "Die Walkure" (aka "The Valkyrie") in 1854. In 1856 he began work on "Siegfried", but put the unfinished opera aside and focused on his new idea: "Tristan und Isolde" (aka "Tristan and Isolde"), which was composed between 1857 and 1859. In 1861 Germany ended the political ban on Wagner, and in 1862 he ended his troubled marriage to Minna.
"Tristan and Isolde" was initially accepted for production in Vienna. The opera had over 70 rehearsals between 1861 and 1864, but remained unperformed and gained a reputation for being unplayable. The young Bavarian King Ludwig II, an admirer of Wagner's operas since his childhood, had settled the composer's debts and financed his opera productions. Finally "Tristan and Isolde" was produced in Munich, and premiered under the baton of Hans von Bulow in June 1865. It was the first Wagner premiere in 15 years.
Cosima von Bulow, the wife of the conductor, Hans von Bulow, and the eldest daughter of pianist/composer Franz Liszt, had an indiscreet affair with Wagner, and their illegitimate daughter, Isolde, was born in 1865. The affair scandalized Munich, and Wagner fell into disfavor among members of the court who were jealous of his friendship with the king. Ludwig was pressured to ask Wagner to leave Munich. However, from 1866 to 1872 the king placed Wagner and his family at Tribshen villa on Lake Luzern, Switzerland. There Richard married Cosime in August 1870. Inspired composer created one of his most beloved works, the "Siegfried Idyll" for 15 players, written as a gift to Cosima, and premiered on Christmas day, 1870.
In 1872 Wagner moved to Bayreuth with a plan that his "Ring" cycle to be performed in a new, specially designed opera house. King Ludwig supported the composer with another large grant in 1874, and the Wagners bought Villa Wahnfried and made permanent home in Bayreuth. In August 1876 the new opera "Festspielhaus" opened with the premiere of "The Ring" and has been the site of the Bayreuth Festival ever since.
Richard Wagner died of a heart attack on February 13, 1883, while wintering in Venice. He was laid to rest in the garden of his Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth. The Wagner Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland, is now a museum of period musical instruments and art collection of the Wagner family. One room is dedicated to the history of the Wagner Festivals in Lucerne. The Wagner Museum allows visitors to take photos of the documents about the Wagner family's help to the Jewish musicians and intellectuals who fled the Nazi regime in the 1930s.
Documents reveal that the Wagner family were assisting Jewish musicians and intellectuals who fled the Nazi regime in finding employment in Switzerland and other lands, such as the USA and Palestine. Documents, photographs and letters illustrate the bold activity of Arturo Toscanini with Vladimir Horowitz and the Wagner family members in getting funds from the government of Benito Mussolini and using those funds to accommodate Jewish musicians and intellectuals under the umbrella of the annual Wagner Festival in Lucerne. The Wagner Festival Symphony Orchestra employed many Jewish musicians who later joined the Israel Philarmonic Orchestra (then known as the "Palestine Orchestra").- James Kiernan was born on 6 November 1939 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Rhoda (1974). He died on 24 July 1975 in Venice, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Stunts
Shad Gaspard was born on January 13, 1981 in Brooklyn, New York, USA as Shad Chad Javier Romain Chittick Gaspard. He is a Professional wrestler, actor, and writer, known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, and films such as Get Hard (2015), WWE Raw (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (2014).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Bob Delegall was born on 24 July 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Gregory Hines Show (1997), The Presidio (1988) and Linc's (1998). He was married to Fran Saperstein. He died on 21 March 2006 in Venice, California, USA.- Ray Nitschke was born in Elmwood Park, Illinois. His Father passed away when he was 3, and his Mother passed away when he was 13. He grew up a Chicago Bears fan, but quickly learn to hate them after being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of 1958. He played for 15 seasons before retiring in 1972.
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Producer
Dan Kneece spent the first 18 years of life in Blackville, South Carolina, and attended public school there. In 7th grade, he won a medal at Edisto Conference in for playing Overture Eroica on the Oboe. Dan won the John Phillip Sousa Award in 1974 for being the best Senior musician at Blackville High School. He was awarded Associate of Arts (1976), Bachelor of Media Arts (1978), and Master of Media Arts (1980) degrees from the University of South Carolina, and a Certificate in Cinema from the University of Southern California (1976). His animated thesis film, Cera, 1980, received a regional nomination for a student Academy Award and a print was presented to Shanxi University in China as part of their permanent collection soon thereafter by the University of South Carolina. Cera was also shown at the first Internation Animation Celebration in Los Angeles. He began work as a professional Camera Operator in Columbia, South Carolina at WIS-TV in 1979. In 1982, Dan was taught Steadicam operation by the inventor, Garrett Brown, with the assistance of Randy Nolen and Toby Phillips. In 1988, Dan assisted Ted Churchill in teaching Steadicam for Cinema Products. From 1990 to 1994, Dan was the lead factory Steadicam Instructor for Cinema Products in the United States and abroad. During this time he taught many top operators in the business today.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Larry Nunn was born on 23 August 1925 in Marshfield, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for Born to Sing (1942), Strike Up the Band (1940) and Men of Boys Town (1941). He was married to Joyce Lorraine Downer. He died on 20 October 1974 in Venice, California, USA.- Writer
- Actor
Brian McConnachie was born on 23 December 1942 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Caddyshack (1980), Celebrity (1998) and Strange Brew (1983). He was married to Ann Crilly. He died on 5 January 2024 in Venice, Florida, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Andre Philippe was born on 3 November 1927 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), Hawaiian Eye (1959) and Harry and Tonto (1974). He died on 29 April 2007 in Venice, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth Larner was born on 29 October 1932 in Wigan, Lancashire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Comedy Playhouse (1961), Up Pompeii! (1969) and Song of Norway (1970). She was married to Charles D. Calhoun and Peter Page. She died on 11 March 2022 in Venice, Florida, USA.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Writer
Beginning his career at age 13 as a stagehand for D.W. Griffith, George W. Hill worked his way up through cinematography and screenwriting to finally begin directing films in the early 1920s. His later films took on a stark, brutally realistic atmosphere and were renowned for their effective use of shadows in the lighting as in The Big House (1930), considered to be his masterpiece. He was found dead in his beach house in 1934, victim of an apparent suicide.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Albinoni was a prolific composer, although little of his music has remained well known today. He was influential in the development of the instrumental concerto, especially for solo violin. He was the son of a wealthy paper merchant in Venice, and chose to lead life as a dilettante rather than seek employment with church or court.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Brian Reich was born on 5 April 1969 in West Orange, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Triumph's Election Watch 2016 (2016), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) and Just Shoot Me! (1997). He died on 12 September 2022 in Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Mario Del Monaco was born on 27 July 1915 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Untouchables (1987), Wall Street (1987) and The Warrior's Way (2010). He was married to Rina Filippini. He died on 16 October 1982 in Mestre, Venice, Veneto, Italy.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Gerry Davis was a British author, notably of science fiction teleplays, best remembered today for his contribution to Doctor Who (1963) in the 1960s and as the co-creator of another cult series, Doomwatch (1970). A former journalist and merchant seaman, Davis had a grounding in opera and had worked as a cinema translator in Italy. His first professional output as a writer was for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 1965, he was employed as story editor by the BBC and the following year began a long-standing association with Doctor Who (1963). Together with the series' scientific advisor Kit Pedler he is credited with inventing the Cybermen. Davis worked on more than seventy episodes, initially as story editor. Starting with The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 (1967), he also contributed original screenplays. Although he was offered the chance to take over as the producer of Doctor Who (1963) by Innes Lloyd, he declined, preferring to concentrate on his writing.
Davis subsequently collaborated with Pedler in creating the ecological drama series Doomwatch (1970), as well as working with him on several sci-fi novels. From 1976, he was based in Hollywood, writing primarily for episodic television (though also co-scripting one feature film, The Final Countdown (1980)). Davis latterly taught screenwriting at the UCLA film school. He died in August 1991, aged 61, in California.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
American/Neopolitan singer possessing a tenor voice. He was abandoned as child by his father after his mother died while giving birth to him. He was raised by his paternal grandfather until he enlisted in the army at the age of 17. Roselli received a Bronze Star for his participation in "The Battle Of The Bulge." Jimmy has recorded over 36 albums containing over 500 songs. He had three top 25 hits in the 60s during the era of rock and roll. Unbelievably all were Neopolitan songs. His American rendition of standard ballads gave him great notoriety not only in the U.S. but also in England. Roselli has played some of the most prestigious venues in the U.S. and in England, such as The Palace, The Copacabana and Carnegie Hall in New York. He was the only performer to sell out two shows on a Monday night at Carnegie Hall. He has starred at The Paladium and Royal Albert Hall in London and The Sands in Las Vegas. He performed to sell out crowds at both Trumps Casino and Cesars in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jimmy performed on the Ed Sullivan television Show three times during the 60s and was the first and only performer to walk off on Sullivan after a dispute. Roselli's falling out with Frank Sinatra cost him part of his career in the late 60s and early 70s. Jimmy grew up on the same street in Hoboken, N.J. as Sinatra. Roselli was well known by his peers in the music industry for his great voice and his professionalism. At the time of his retirement he was commanding and getting $65,000 to $125,000 for a single performance based on the venue. Roselli passed away in 2011.- Ray Dannis was born on 15 December 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966), The Undertaker and His Pals (1966) and Air Patrol (1962). He died on 27 December 2006 in Venice, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Lino Toffolo was born on 30 December 1934 in Venice, Veneto, Italy. He was an actor, known for Un'anguilla da 300 milioni (1971), When Women Had Tails (1970) and When Women Lost Their Tails (1972). He died on 16 May 2016 in Venice, Veneto, Italy.- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peter Jamison was born on 27 August 1944 in Oregon, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Howard the Duck (1986), Point Break (1991) and Mulholland Drive (2001). He died on 15 October 2010 in Venice, California, USA.- Jay Chiat was born in 1932 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. Jay was a producer, known for Apple Mac: 1984 (1983) and Pizza Hut Celebraty (1997). Jay died on 23 April 2002 in Venice Beach, California, USA.
- David Graeber was born on 12 February 1961 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Nika Dubrovsky. He died on 2 September 2020 in Venice, Veneto, Italy.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tom Forman was born on 22 February 1893 in Mitchell County, Texas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Broken Wing (1923), The Fighting American (1924) and To Have and to Hold (1916). He was married to Mary Mersch. He died on 7 November 1926 in Venice, California, USA.- Set Decorator
- Art Department
- Art Director
Leslie Pope was born on 2 June 1954 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. She was a set decorator and art director, known for Avengers: Endgame (2019), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Seabiscuit (2003). She was married to Doug Fischer. She died on 6 May 2020 in Venice, California, USA.- Bruce Michael Paine was born on 24 January 1947 in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Quantum Leap (1989), R.S.V.P. (2002) and Married... with Children (1987). He was married to Janin Caan. He died on 16 January 2009 in Venice, California, USA.
- Ed Whalen was born on 8 July 1927 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was an actor, known for Stampede Wrestling (1957), Miracle Story (2000) and Campbell Brown (2008). He was married to Nomi Whalen. He died on 4 December 2001 in Venice, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emilio Messina was born on 24 February 1936 in Casablanca, Morocco. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Orca (1977), SuperSeven Calling Cairo (1965) and Even Angels Eat Beans (1973). He died on 21 April 2007 in Venice, Florida, USA.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Editorial Department
- Actress
Hanne Kristiansen was a Norwegian fashion model, who ran a highly successful online clothing design business in the last 10 years of her short life. Ms. Kristiansen met character actor, Larry Holden. They married in January 2000 and were married until Mr. Holden's death from cancer in 2011. Ms. Kristiansen died tragically in July 2015 in Venice Beach, CA.- Actor
Jean Malin was born on 30 June 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Lucille Helman. He died on 10 August 1933 in Venice, California, USA.- Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was born on March 19, 1872, into a wealthy noble family in Novgorod, Russia. His father, Pavel Diaghilev, was a distinguished General to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. His mother died in childbirth but he grew up in a highly cultured environment. He studied piano and singing from the early age.
He also took lessons in painting at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and studied music with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. From 1891-96, Diaghilev studied law and graduated from the Law Department of the St. Petersburg University. There he developed a life-long friendship with his fellow law student Alexandre Benois. They formed a circle of artists and art connoisseurs known as 'Mir Iskusstva' (World of Art). From 1898-1904 he founded and edited the influential art magazine "Mir Iskusstva" (The World of Art). From 1899-1901, Diaghilev was a special artistic adviser to the Imperial Directorship of Theatres and to Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Diaghilev's first partners Alexandre Benois and Leon Bakst became his life-long collaborators. They produced the first international art show of contemporary artists from Scandinavian countries and Russia in St. Petersburg in 1900. In 1904, they organized the then-largest ever portrait show in Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg. That show also included a research of over 7 thousand portraits in various traditional and contemporary styles and involved art historians, restorers, and artists from many Russian cities. Alexandre Benois also collaborated with Diaghilev on publication of art catalogs, books and the 'Mir Iskusstva' art magazine, which promoted artistic innovations and challenged the existing order. Their book 'History of Russian Painting' (1904) became the first comprehensive work on the subject. In 1905 Diaghilev and Benois organized an important art exhibition of contemporary Russian artists in St. Petersburg and in 1906 he took a major exhibition of Russian art to the Petit Palais in Paris.
In 1906 Diaghilev settled in Paris and began the biggest Russian-European multicultural project in history which became known as the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet). In 1907, he produced the first series of concerts of Russian music in Paris. Sergei Rachmaninoff, Aleksandr Glazunov, Aleksandr Skryabin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted their own works, as well as the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Borodin and Mikhail Glinka. In 1908, in the Paris Opera, he produced 'Boris Godunov', an opera by Modest Mussorgsky, starring Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. In 1909, he secured support from Grand Prince Vladimir Romanov and took a company of top Russian dancers, including Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky to Paris. After several successful seasons in Paris, Diaghilev staged the "Russian Ballet" shows in Geneva, Madrid, Rome, London and New York. He later staged 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in London.
Diaghilev's ability to link talented people with generous patrons was legendary. He made connections for Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, as well, as other artists with important Russian art collectors, such as Shchukin, Morozov, Ryabushinsky and others. Diaghilev managed to organize sponsorship for his large-scale "Russian Seasons" ballet and opera productions. From 1908-12 he produced Russian operas in Paris and, from 1913-14, he produced opera in London. There Diaghilev produced and directed opera 'Boris Godunov' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. in the title role. In 1914, he transformed the opera 'Golden Cockerel' into an innovative cross-style ballet-opera and brought an updated 'Prince Igor' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. to London. His "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet in Russian Seasons) was founded with assistance of choreographer Mikhail Fokin and artists Léon Bakst and Alexandre Benois. Diaghilev was associated with the dancers of the first rank, such as Anna Pavlova, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine. Diaghilev's ballet traditions were later continued by George Balanchine in the United States, Anna Pavlova and her troupe in Europe, and Serge Lifar at the Paris Opera.
Diaghilev collaborated with the best talents of his time; composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev. From the circle of Gertrude Stein, Diaghilev engaged such authors as Jean Cocteau and André Gide. Distinguished artists, such as Pablo Picasso, André Derain, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Giorgio De Chirico, Alexandre Benois, Konstantin Korovin, Alexander Golovin and Pavel Tchelitchev worked with him as stage set and costume designers. One of Diaghilev's consultants was Guillaume Apollinaire, who also acted as writer and artistic adviser for "Ballets Russes" (Russian Seasons).
During WWI Diaghilev made transformations in his projects by bringing together a larger diversity of talents. He understood the changes of cultural paradigm after WWI and updated the format of his project from 1917-29. His 1917 production of ballet 'Parade' was the first collaboration of Satie and choreographer Léonide Massine with Pablo Picasso, who at that time married the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova. In the 1920s, he produced innovative ballets 'Lani' and 'Le train bleu' (Blue Express) with choreographer Bronislava Njinska and costume designer Coco Chanel with participation of Pablo Picasso. Later he introduced avant-garde ideas from Vsevolod Meyerhold in his production of 'Stalnoi Skok' by Sergei Prokofiev with choreographer Léonide Massine and designer Sergei Jakulov. In 1928 production of 'Apollon musagete', Diaghilev collaborated with Igor Stravinsky, George Balanchine, and Coco Chanel.
Diaghilev brought cultures together and challenged the existing cultural order in a highly productive way. By expanding his international activities into art exhibitions and stage shows, Diaghilev connected people and ideas in what became arguably the first continuous large-scale cross-cultural and cross-genre project in the 20th century. From 1905-14 his "Russian Seasons" employed mostly Russian and French performers and artists, whom he already knew. After WWI, from 1918-29, Diaghilev welcomed all talents from all backgrounds; the best Russian and International performers, composers, authors and artists all came to him. His talent and exquisite taste ensured the highest quality of his "Russian Seasons" productions during the 25 years of his leadership and after. His idea of showing the best parts instead of a full-length ballets became a success, and ensured the revival of classic ballet in the 20 century. His partners became leaders of their own projects and carried his innovative style. His apprentices worked in major cultural centers across the world.
Sergei Diaghilev died in Venice, Italy on August 19, 1929. His funeral cortège proceeded by gondola to the cemetery island of San Michele where he was laid to rest. His tomb is visited by his graceful followers who made a tradition to lay red roses and ballet shoes. - Pietro Aretino was born on 20 April 1492 in Arezzo, Republic of Florence [now Tuscany, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Der Kaufmann von Venedig (1923), Gli altri racconti di Canterbury (1972) and Beautiful Antonia, First a Nun Then a Demon (1972). He died on 21 October 1556 in Venice, Republic of Venice [now Veneto, Italy].
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Born Los Angeles California, grew up in Tucson Arizona. Served in US Navy, 1953-57. Educated at Columbia University, New York, University of Arizona, Tucson, and University of California, Berkeley. Program producer and station manager for Pacifica Radio, 1960-64; assistant to executive story editor of Columbia Pictures, 1964-66. Lived in Ireland, England, France, and Switzerland 1966-84. Fluent in French and German. Has directed documentary films and in the theater.- Composer
- Director
- Actor
Tom O'Horgan was named Theatrical Director of the Year in 1968 by "Newsweek" magazine. That watershed year was the apogee of his fame, when he brought "Hair" to Broadway after scoring with two other plays, "Tom Paine" (about the writer of the Revolutionary War-era tome "The Rights of Man") and "Futz!" (1969).
O'Horgan had made his name Off-Off Broadway directing plays at the experimental La Mama Café (to skirt New York City's cabaret licensing laws, the theatrical company called itself a café and accepted only donations) when he was called in to overhaul "Hair," the tribal-rock musical that had bowed at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and had moved from there into a disco. O'Horgan threw out most of the narrative (the play ostensibly was about a young man facing the draft) and replaced some of the songs (he himself was a composer) and added what was then a revolutionary ingredient - nudity.
"Hair," which premiered on Broadway on 1968, was the first production to hit the Great White Way to have actors sashaying around in the buff. Granted, showgirls had dropped their petticoats and starred in static tableaux vivant in the first part of the American Century, and the Minsky Brothers and Mike Todd had even brought burlesque to Broadway, but this was something else--it went beyond the stylized peekaboo bare-assedness of the Follies or a burly-cue show. This was shameless, frank, full-frontal nudity for the burghers who patronized Broadway to enjoy in the guise of being a subversion of the very bourgeoisie the audience epitomized. (Young people then as now were not dedicated theater-goers, not at Broadway prices!)
O'Horgan's directorial method was to encourage improvisation, and to create a sparse structure in which improvisation, or what passed for improvisation due to its spontaneous-seeming nature (due to a general overall sloppiness), could be encouraged. No one was forced to "drop trou" (in fact, one performer, Diane Keaton, refused to kick off her duds during her run of the play), but they were encouraged to express themselves, preferably without any recourse to that bourgeoisie mask that was clothing.
O'Horgan's critics derided his technique as a lack of craft and a kind of professional anarchy. Anarchy was "in" in 1968, and "Hair" was a huge success. The critic John Simon pinpointed the very popularity of O'Horgan as lying in his willingness to give the people what they wanted.
At the time the films Easy Rider (1969) and Midnight Cowboy (1969) were racking up big bucks at the box office and laying waste to the old Hollywood paradigm, no one in motion pictures knew what the hell to expect of the coming decade. O'Horgan was signed up to transfer "Futz" to film (Futz (1969)), and contemporaneous accounts forecasted a new kind of film culture in which the Tom O'Horgans of the world would take over from the Alfred Hitchcocks, the George Cukors and the William Wylers. Besides generating publicity with a black-and-white photo of a totally naked Sally Kirkland astride a Brobdingnagian-sized sow in Al Goldstein's "Screw" magazine, "Futz!" flopped. The era of Tom O'Horogan was through. Suddenly, the paragon of hip theater was as old-fashioned as button-down shoes. Nothing goes out of style faster than the fashionable.
O'Horgan had one last success up his sleeve in the mid-'70s, a can't-miss Broadway production based on The Beatles' iconic "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. O'Horgan gave the public want it wanted, and it came. The show was later made into an egregious movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)) starring Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees, but the closest O'Horgan came to it was a title card noting his contribution to creating the original show.- Producer
- Music Department
Cynthia Hargrave is an award-winning film-producer/writer working both in Independent film and with Hollywood studios.
As a filmmaker, Ms. Hargrave has a unique record. She is the first producer to leverage a Sundance short into a Hollywood studio feature ("Bottle Rocket"), and the first producer to win Sundance with triple-awards ("Hurricane Streets").
A pioneer in the production and strategy of new media/Internet digital story-telling, she produced the first broadcast-quality program to be shot on a cell phone -- the digital documentary series Africa Diary, a Sundance Channel production.
With an eye for talent, Ms. Hargrave has been instrumental in beginning the Hollywood careers of such award-winning talent as Director Wes Anderson, actor Owen Wilson, cinematographer Enrique Chediak and composer Jan Kaczmark.
As a writer/producer she has been awarded two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Among Ms. Hargrave's film awards are the LA Critics Award, the MTV-Movie Award, and the Pesaro Film Festival for "Bottle Rocket." She also won the Mannheim Film Festival NewComer Award for producing the short-film, "With It:" and the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for producing the short-film, "Mid-Summer."
Ms. Hargrave is co-founder of the New Media Story-Finders Workshops which, to date, have been held in multiple cities in the United States and Europe. She is also co-founder of the Nantucket Screen-Writers Colony. She has taught film-production and screenwriting at Columbia University, and frequently participates in guest-panels at film festivals and seminars.
Always on the cutting edge of the fast-evolving media technologies, Ms. Hargrave's talents in both the creative and business worlds of entertainment has made her a sought-after consultant for both production and financing.
She lives in Los Angeles and New York City.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 - 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humor, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. His early long poems Pauline (1833) and Paracelsus (1835) were acclaimed, but his reputation dwindled for a time - his 1840 poem Sordello was seen as willfully obscure - and took over a decade to recover, by which time he had moved from Shelleyan forms to a more personal style. In 1846 he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Italy. By her death in 1861 he had published the collection Men and Women (1855). His Dramatis Personae (1864) and book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book (1868-1869) made him a leading poet. By his death in 1889 he was seen as a sage and philosopher-poet who had fed into Victorian social and political discourse. Societies for studying his work survived in Britain and the US into the 20th century.- Actor
- Music Department
Stephan Ellis was born on 10 June 1951 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Survivor: High on You (1984), Survivor: Eye of the Tiger (1982) and Survivor: Children of the Night (1982). He was married to Angela Drozd. He died on 28 February 2019 in Venice, California, USA.- Patrice Walters was born on 26 September 1952 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for L.A. Confidential (1997), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and The Practice (1997). She died on 30 March 2016 in Venice, California, USA.
- Brian Laundrie was born on 18 November 1997 in North Port, Florida, USA. He died in September 2021 in Venice, Florida, USA.
- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Director
Ruth was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Hugh Hershey Kissane and Ruth Elizabeth (Forry) Kissane. She was a highly respected animator in Hollywood. She worked in all the major studios, including Disney, Playhouse Pictures, Bill Melendez Productions, Film Roman, and Chuck Jones Enterprises. Ruth was best known for her work on the Peanuts TV specials. She worked on design layout, animation, and even directed. In 1975 she was presented a Cannes Festival award for her work in WOW Women of the World. She died on January 23, 1990 in Venice, California.