A celebrity benefit for The Actors' Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy.
05-21-1990
3h 0m
THIS
HELLA
Doesn't have an image right now... sorry!has no image... sorry!
Main Cast
Movie Details
Production Info
Director:
Jeff Margolis
Writer:
Hildy Parks
Production:
Bentwood Television Production, Radio City Music Hall Television Productions
Key Crew
Original Music Composer:
Glen Roven
Associate Producer:
Glen Roven
Producer:
Hildy Parks
Producer:
Jeff Margolis
Executive Producer:
Alexander H. Cohen
Locations and Languages
Country:
US
Filming:
US
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power-hitting records. He broke the long-standing MLB record for home runs held by Babe Ruth and remained the career leader for 33 years. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973 and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Hank Aaron, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Moonstruck (1987), Harlem Nights (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ruby (1992), Léon: The Professional (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Dinner Rush (2000), and Lucky Number Slevin (2006). He had a pivotal role in the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing (1989) as Salvatore "Sal" Frangione, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played Don Domenico Clericuzio in the miniseries The Last Don (1997).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jane Alexander (born October 28, 1939) is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film, and has committed herself to a variety of charitable causes.
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X.
Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992).
She won several accolades throughout her career, beginning with the 1966 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Vera Charles in Mame. She won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1977 for Maude and 1988 for The Golden Girls. Arthur has received the third most nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series with nine; only Julia Louis-Dreyfus (11) and Mary Tyler Moore (10) have more. She was inducted into the academy's Television Hall of Fame in 2008.
Her film appearances include Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and the film version of Mame (1974). In 2002, she starred in the one-woman show Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. An obituary described Arthur as "the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star."
She served in the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve in World War II.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bea Arthur, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City. He has also had considerable fame in musical theater.
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 7, 2003, for his contributions to the television industry. He is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and elder brother of fellow actor Jeff Bridges.
In 1948, he had an uncredited role in Force of Evil, and No Minor Vices, while in 1949, he played in the film The Red Pony. In the 1962–1963 television season, he and his brother, Jeff, appeared on their father's series, The Lloyd Bridges Show. He appeared in other television series too, including National Velvet (1962), The Fugitive (1963), Bonanza (1967), Mr. Novak (1963), and The Loner (1966). He appeared in such feature films during that time as The Landlord (1970), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), Greased Lightning (1977), Norma Rae (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and The Hotel New Hampshire (1984).
In 1989, in perhaps his best-known role, he starred in The Fabulous Baker Boys. In the 1993–94 television season, he appeared with his father in the 15-episode series Harts of the West. In 1998, he starred as Judge Bob Gibbs in the one-season Maximum Bob on ABC. He had a recurring role in the Showtime series Beggars and Choosers (1999–2000).
In 2001, he guest-starred as Daniel McFarland, in two episodes in Will & Grace. From 2002 to 2003, he took on the role of Senator Tom Gage in The Agency. In January 2005, he was cast as Major General Hank Landry in Stargate SG-1. He also played the character in five episodes of the spin-off series Stargate Atlantis, as well as the two direct to DVD films Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum, both in 2008. In 2005, he guest-starred as Carl Hickey in My Name Is Earl; later, his character became recurring. He received a 2007 Emmy Award nomination for his performance. In 2009, he guest-starred as Eli Scruggs on the 100th episode of Desperate Housewives and received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance.
In 2011, he guest-starred in Brothers and Sisters, and in Franklin & Bash. In 2012, he took on the role of J.B. Biggley in the hit revival of the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In 2013, he became a major character on the CBS television show The Millers. He has had several roles in movies since then including Underdog Kids (2015), and Lawless Range (2016). He has also had guest roles on the shows Masters of Sex (2013–2016) and Code Black (2016).
Description above is from the Wikipedia article Beau Bridges, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Leslie Browne (born June 29, 1957) is an American prima ballerina and actress.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Leslie Browne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Raymond William Stacey Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain. He won two Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. His second hit series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations. He is also known for his role as Steve Martin in both Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and Godzilla 1985.
In addition to acting, Burr owned an orchid business and had begun to grow a vineyard. He was a collector of wines and art, and was very fond of cooking.
After his death from cancer in 1993, Burr's personal life came into question as details of his known biography appeared to be unverifiable. Gradually, it was revealed that Burr had possibly contrived a life story that hid his homosexuality.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Raymond Burr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Sir Michael Caine CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.; March 14, 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinctive South London accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film icon. As of February 2017, the films in which Caine has appeared have grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide.
Often playing a Cockney, Caine made his breakthrough in the 1960s with starring roles in British films such as Zulu (1964), The Ipcress File (1965), Alfie (1966), The Italian Job (1969), and Battle of Britain (1969). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Alfie. His roles in the 1970s included Get Carter (1971), The Last Valley (1971), Sleuth (1972), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Eagle Has Landed (1976) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). He earned his second Academy Award nomination for Sleuth and achieved some of his greatest critical success in the 1980s, with Educating Rita (1983) earning him the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) earning him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Caine is also known for his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and for his comedic roles in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Miss Congeniality (2000), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and Secondhand Lions (2003). He received his second Golden Globe Award for Little Voice (1998). In 1999, he received his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a sympathetic doctor in The Cider House Rules. He portrayed a British journalist in Vietnam in The Quiet American (2002), earning his sixth Oscar nomination, and appeared in Alfonso Cuaron's dystopian drama film Children of Men (2006). Caine portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012). He appeared in several other of Nolan's films including The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014) and Tenet (2020). He also appeared in the heist thriller film Now You See Me (2013), the action comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), the Italian drama Youth (2015) and the crime film King of Thieves (2018).
Caine officially confirmed his retirement from acting on 13 October 2023.
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader.
Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Cab Calloway, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Kitty Carlisle Hart (September 3, 1910 – April 17, 2007) was an American singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She served 20 years on the New York State Council on the Arts.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Kitty Carlisle, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Richard Alva Cavett (/ˈkævɪt/; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States for five decades, from the 1960s through the 2000s.
In later years, Cavett has written an online column for The New York Times, promoted DVDs of his former shows as well as a book of his Times columns, and hosted replays of his TV interviews with Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Salvador Dalí, Lee Marvin, Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Mitchum, John Lennon, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Kirk Douglas and others on Turner Classic Movies.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian. Known for starring in Broadway and film musicals, her characters typically radiated a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, whether singing or for comedic effect. Channing also studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.
She began as a Broadway musical actress, starring in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1949 and Hello, Dolly! in 1964, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the latter. She revived both roles several times throughout her career, most recently playing Dolly in 1995. Channing was nominated for her first Tony Award in 1956 for The Vamp followed by a nomination in 1961 for Show Girl. She received her fourth Tony Award nomination for the musical Lorelei in 1974.
As a film actress, she won the Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Her other film appearances include The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) and Skidoo (1968). On television, she appeared as an entertainer on variety shows, from The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s to Hollywood Squares. She had a standout performance as The White Queen in the TV production of Alice in Wonderland (1985), and had the first of many TV specials in 1966, An Evening with Carol Channing.
Channing was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981 and received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995. She continued to perform and make appearances well into her 90s, singing songs from her repertoire and sharing stories with fans, cabaret style. She released an autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess, in 2002, and Larger Than Life, a documentary film about her career, was released in 2012.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark was an American game-show host, radio andtelevision personality, and businessman. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he sold part of in recent years. Clark is best known for hosting long-running television shows such as American Bandstand, five versions of the game show Pyramid, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
Clark was long known for his departing catchphrase, "For now, Dick Clark...so long," delivered with a military salute, and for his youthful appearance, earning the moniker "America's Oldest Teenager."
Clark suffered a significant stroke in late 2004. With speech ability still impaired, Clark returned to his New Year's Rockin' Eve show on December 31, 2005/January 1, 2006. Subsequently, he appeared at the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, and every New Year's Rockin' Eve show through the 2011/2012 show.
On April 18, 2012, Clark died of a heart attack at the age of 82.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Dick Clark , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and performer. The daughter of Nat King Cole, Natalie rose to musical success in the mid–1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be", "Inseparable", and "Our Love". After a period of failing sales and performances due to a heavy drug addiction, Cole re-emerged as a pop artist with the 1987 album Everlasting and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac". In the 1990s, she re-recorded standards by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which sold over seven million copies and also won Cole numerous Grammy Awards. She sold over 30 million records worldwide.
On December 31, 2015, Cole died at the age of 65 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, due to congestive heart failure.
From Wikipedia
Joan Henrietta Collins, DBE (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author, and columnist. Flamboyant in her personal life, she is perhaps best known in the United States for the role of the equally flamboyant Alexis Colby in the long running television series Dynasty, as well as being a favorite of Star Trek fans for her appearance as Edith Keeler in the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".
Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Collins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing with the label in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world.
Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956), and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.
Robert Joseph Cousy is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969-70 season.
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Although he reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including bombing in World War II, the Nuremberg trials, combat in the Vietnam War, the death of President John F. Kennedy, the death of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr., Watergate, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, he was known for extensive TV coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle. He was the only non-NASA recipient of a Moon-rock award. Cronkite is well known for his departing catchphrase "And that's the way it is," followed by the date on which the appearance is aired.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Walter Cronkite, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Hume Cronyn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Cathy Lee Crosby (born December 2, 1944) is an American actress and former professional tennis player. She achieved TV and film success in the 1980s and was a co-host of the television series That's Incredible!
Ellen Tyne Daly ( born February 21, 1946) is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work and a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.
Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, and made her Broadway debut in the play That Summer – That Fall in 1967. She is best known for her television role as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in Cagney & Lacey, for which she is a four-time Emmy Award winner as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 1989, she starred in the Broadway revival of Gypsy and won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Her other TV roles include Alice Henderson in Christy, for which she won an Emmy in 1996 and Maxine Gray in Judging Amy, which won her a sixth Emmy in 2003. Her other Broadway credits include The Seagull, her Tony-nominated role in Rabbit Hole and her Tony-nominated role in Mothers and Sons. She played Maria Callas, both on Broadway and in London's West End, in the play Master Class. She portrayed Anne Marie Hoag in Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper", and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. He is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time and is best known for setting the record for the longest hitting streak in baseball (56 games from May 15 – July 16, 1941), which still stands today.
He was a three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award winner and an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons. During his tenure with the Yankees, the club won ten American League pennants and nine World Series championships. His nine career World Series rings are second only to fellow Yankee Yogi Berra, who won ten.
At the time of his retirement after the 1951 season, he ranked fifth in career home runs (361) and sixth in career slugging percentage (.579). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955 and was voted the sport's greatest living player in a poll taken during baseball's centennial year of 1969. His brothers Vince (1912–1986) and Dom (1917–2009) were also major league center fielders.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on February 17, 1943, rising to the rank of sergeant. He spent most of his military career playing for baseball teams and in exhibition games, and superiors gave him special privileges due to his prewar fame. Embarrassed by his lifestyle, he requested that he be given a combat assignment but was turned down. He was released on a medical discharge in September 1945, due to chronic stomach ulcers.
In January 1937, he met actress Dorothy Arnold on the set of Manhattan Merry-Go-Round. He announced their engagement on April 25, 1939, they married on November 19, 1939, and had a son, Joseph Paul DiMaggio Jr. (1941–1999). They divorced in 1944, while he was on leave from the Yankees during World War II.
He and actress Marilyn Monroe eloped on January 14, 1954. The union was troubled from the start by his jealousy and controlling attitude; he was also physically abusive. After returning from New York City to Hollywood in October 1954, she filed for divorce after only nine months of marriage. He underwent therapy, stopped drinking alcohol, and expanded his interests beyond baseball.
He reentered her life as her marriage to Arthur Miller was ending. On February 10, 1961, he secured her release from Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in Manhattan. She joined him in Florida where he was a batting coach for the Yankees. Their "just friends" claim did not stop remarriage rumors from flying. Bob Hope "dedicated" Best Song nominee "The Second Time Around" to them at the 33rd Academy Awards.
According to Maury Allen's biography, he was told that DiMaggio left his employ on August 1, 1962, because he had decided to ask Monroe to remarry him. Four days later, on August 5, she was found dead in her Brentwood home.
Devastated, he claimed her body and arranged for her funeral. He barred Hollywood's elite and members of the Kennedy family from attending, including President John F. Kennedy. He had a half-dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week for 20 years. He refused to talk about her publicly or otherwise exploit their relationship. He never married again.
David Norman Dinkins was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993, becoming the first African American to hold the office.
DJ Jazzy Jeff was born on January 15, 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA as Jeffrey Allen Townes. He is an actor, known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), Strange Days (1995) and Boyz n the Hood (1991).
Was the part of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince together with Will Smith, with whom he won two Grammy awards.
Legendary Philadelphia hip-hop DJ and serious turntablist who has won DJ competitions such as the New Music Seminar's 1986 DJ Battle For World Supremacy. Although he never competed in the DMC World Championship competitions, he is in the DMC hall of fame for contributions to the world of hip-hop and DJing.
First hip-hop artist (along with Will Smith) to win the first best rap performance Grammy for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988).
James "Buster" Douglas is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1981 and 1999. He reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1990 after defeating Mike Tyson to win the title. His victory over Tyson is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Douglas was a 42-to-1 underdog going into his 1990 fight against Tyson, who was undefeated and considered to be the best boxer in the world for his domination of the division over the previous three years. Defying expectations, Douglas knocked out Tyson in the 10th round to claim the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion for eight months until he was defeated by Evander Holyfield in his only title defense. Retiring shortly after the fight, Douglas engaged in a series of comeback fights between 1996 and 1999 before retiring a second and final time.
Keir Atwood Dullea (born May 30, 1936) is an American actor best known for the character of astronaut David Bowman, whom he portrayed in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984's 2010: The Year We Make Contact, as well as his roles in the films Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) and Black Christmas (1974).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gregory Ralph "Greg" Evigan (born October 14, 1953) is an American actor best known for the TV series B.J. and the Bear, My Two Dads, P.S. I Luv U and TekWar.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Greg Evigan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). The son of Douglas Fairbanks and stepson of Mary Pickford, his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
In 1969, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Best Dressed List.
The moving image collection of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., held at the Academy Film Archive, includes over 90 reels of home movies.
[biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]
Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She achieved prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series, in which she usually conveyed a glamorous image. Fairchild began her career in the CBS daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow as Jennifer Pace from 1973 to 1977. In 1978 she appeared on the primetime soap opera Dallas as the first actress to portray Jenna Wade, before taking a lead role in the NBC series Flamingo Road in 1980 (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama). In 1984, she co-starred in ABC's short-lived primetime soap Paper Dolls, and then appeared in Falcon Crest as attorney Jordan Roberts from 1985 to 1986. Fairchild has also performed in theater and played guest roles in television comedies, including Murphy Brown (for which she was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series), Roseanne,Cybill, and Friends. She is a board member of SAG-AFTRA.
Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of and an anthropologist and archivist for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. Feinstein is a multi-platinum-selling, five-time Grammy-nominated recording artist.
From Wikipedia.
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. She is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, the Honorary Palme d'Or, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Born to socialite Frances Ford Seymour and actor Henry Fonda, Fonda made her acting debut with the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and made her screen debut later the same year with the romantic comedy Tall Story. She rose to prominence during the 1960s with the comedies Period of Adjustment (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), and Barbarella (1968). Her first husband was Barbarella director Roger Vadim. A seven-time Academy Award nominee, she received her first nomination for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress twice in the 1970s, for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). Her other nominations were for Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), and The Morning After (1986). Consecutive hits Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), California Suite (1978), The Electric Horseman (1979), and 9 to 5 (1980) sustained Fonda's box-office drawing power, and she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film The Dollmaker (1984).
In 1982, she released her first exercise video, Jane Fonda's Workout, which became the highest-selling VHS of the 20th century. It would be the first of 22 such videos over the next 13 years, which would collectively sell over 17 million copies. Divorced from her second husband Tom Hayden, she married billionaire media mogul Ted Turner in 1991 and retired from acting, following a row of commercially unsuccessful films concluded by Stanley & Iris (1990). Fonda divorced Turner in 2001 and returned to the screen with the hit Monster-in-Law (2005). Although Georgia Rule (2007) was her only other movie during the 2000s, in the early 2010s she fully re-launched her career. Subsequent films have included The Butler (2013), This Is Where I Leave You (2014), Youth (2015), Our Souls at Night (2017), and Book Club (2018). In 2009, she returned to Broadway after a 49-year absence from the stage, in the play 33 Variations which earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, while her major recurring role in the HBO drama series The Newsroom (2012–14) earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also released another five exercise videos between 2009 and 2012. Fonda currently stars as Grace Hanson in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie, which debuted in 2015 and has earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Faith Alexis Ford (born September 14, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Corky Sherwood on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown, for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and as Hope Shanowski on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith.
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time. With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists.
As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While her career did not immediately flourish, Franklin found acclaim and commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers.
Franklin continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976), before experiencing problems with the record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. The singer appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album with the same name.
Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on the US Billboard charts, including 73 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles. Besides the foregoing, the singer's well-known hits also include "Ain't No Way", "Call Me", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady", "Day Dreaming", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who" and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards (out of 44 nominations), including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975), a Grammy Awards Living Legend honor and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2019, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded the songwriter a posthumous special citation "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades". In 2020, Franklin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. ..
Source: Article "Aretha Franklin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier, known as "Smokin" Joe, is a former Olympic and World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a brief comeback in 1981.
Frazier emerged as a contender in the mid-1960s, defeating Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali in the highly-anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He launched a comeback, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali, and beating Quarry and Ellis again.
Frazier's last world title challenge came in 1975, but he was beaten by Ali in their brutal rubbermatch. He retired in 1976 following a second loss to Foreman. He made a comeback in 1981, fighting just once, before retiring for good. The International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) rates Frazier among the ten greatest heavyweights of all time. He is an inductee of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Frazier's style was often compared to that of Henry Armstrong, dependent on bobbing, weaving and wearing down his opponents with relentless pressure. His best known punch was a powerful left hook, which accounted for most of his knockouts. Compared to Ali's style, he was close enough to the ideal bruiser that some in the press and media characterized the bouts as the answer to the classic question: "What happens when a boxer meets with a brawler?"
Since retiring Frazier has made cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, and two episodes of The Simpsons. His son Marvis also became a boxer - trained by Frazier himself - although was unable to emulate his father's success. Frazier continues to train fighters in his gym in Philadelphia. His later years have also seen the continuation of his bitter rivalry with Ali, in which the two periodically exchange insults, interspersed with brief reconciliations.
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. Noted for his distinctive deep voice, Freeman is known for his various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeman was raised in Mississippi where he began acting in school plays. He studied theatre arts in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions in his early career. He rose to fame in the 1970s for his role in the children's television series The Electric Company. Freeman then appeared in the Shakespearean plays Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, the former of which earned him an Obie Award. His breakout role was in Street Smart (1987), playing a hustler, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He achieved further stardom in Glory, the biographical drama Lean on Me, and comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy (all 1989), the latter of which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 1992, Freeman starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the western revenge film Unforgiven; this would be the first of several collaborations with Eastwood. In 1994, he starred in the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption for which he received another Academy Award nomination. Freeman also starred in David Fincher's crime thriller Se7en (1995), and Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad (1997). Freeman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Clint Eastwood's 2004 sports drama Million Dollar Baby. In 2009, he received his fifth Oscar nomination for playing former South African President Nelson Mandela in Eastwood's Invictus. Freeman is also known for his performance as Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012).
In addition to acting, Freeman has directed the drama Bopha! (1993). He also founded film production company Revelations Entertainment with business partner Lori McCreary. He is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. For his performances in theatrical productions, he has won three Obie Awards, one of the most prestigious honors for recognizing excellence in theatre.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Morgan Freeman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Richard Tiffany Gere (born August 31, 1949) is an American actor and producer. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and a starring role in Days of Heaven (1978). He came to prominence with his role in the film American Gigolo (1980), which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in many well-received films, including An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), The Cotton Club (1984), Pretty Woman (1990), Sommersby (1993), Primal Fear (1996), Runaway Bride (1999), I'm Not There (2007), Arbitrage (2012) and Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (2016). For portraying Billy Flynn in the Academy Award-winning musical Chicago (2002), he won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Gere, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Estelle Scher-Gettleman (July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, theatre and television. She is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992, which won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe, on The Golden Palace from 1992 to 1993 and on Empty Nest from 1993 to 1995. In her later years, after retiring from acting, she battled Lewy body dementia.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Estelle Getty, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Country western star Mickey Gilley was born on March 9, 1936 in Natchez, Mississippi, the cousin of future rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis and disgraced televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, and raised in Ferriday, Louisiana. In their childhood, all three would play the piano when they got together and sing gospel and boogie-woogie songs. After Lewis became a chart-topper in the 1950s, Mickey turned professional himself and cut some singles before becoming a session player in the Big Easy.
First married at age 17, Gilley had a minor hit, "Call Me Shorty", in 1958, but it would be years before he came out from under Jerry lee's shadow and established himself as a star. He didn't release his first album, "Down the Line", until 1967. The album yielded a minor hit, "Now I Can Live Again". Three years later, he became a nightclub owner when he opened Gilley's Club in Pasadena, Texas in 1971. The club, billed as the "world's biggest honky tonk", became famous when it was used as the setting for Urban Cowboy (1980), which boosted Gilley's national exposure. By the 1980s, Gilley was experiencing crossover success when he mellowed his C+W with a more pop orientation. He managed to put songs on the charts in each of 15 years, enjoying 17 #1 country hits.
Gilley and partner Sherwood Cryer had a falling out after Cryer became increasingly hostile about changes made to the club. Gilley eventually had to sue Cryer over their "50-50" deal, which Gilley argued favored Cryer much more heavily. Gilley won $17 million from Cryer, but it completely shattered their relationship and forced the closing of the club in 1989. Gilley opened another club in Dallas under the same name in 2006. There's a Gilley's in Las Vegas, and the town of LaPorte, Texas, approved a new Gilley's, not far from the original.
José Greco (né Costanzo Greco; December 23, 1918 – December 31, 2000) was an Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer known for popularizing Spanish dance on the stage and screen in America mostly in the 1950s and 1960s.
José Greco was born as Costanzo Greco in Montorio nei Frentani to Paolo Emilio and Maria Carmela (née Bucci) Greco. He would later legally change his name. When he was 10 years old, Greco and his family moved to New York City. He began dancing in Brooklyn with his sister Norina at a young age.
Greco made his professional dancing debut in 1937 at the Hippodrome Theatre in Manhattan. His most famous partners were La Argentinita (Encarnación López Júlvez) and, after her death, her sister Pilar López. In 1949, he formed the José Greco Dance Company, with which he toured extensively.
He also appeared in a number of films, including Sombrero (1953), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Holiday for Lovers (1959), Ship of Fools (1965), and The Proud and the Damned (1972).
In 1951 Greco made his first appearance in the UK at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. Later in the decade in 1954 and again in 1957 his troupe collaborated with Alfredo Antonini and members of the New York Philharmonic while performing during open air concerts at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City.
Greco received many honors and awards including being knighted by the Spanish government (Cruz Laureada del Caballero del Mérito Civil) and receiving four honorary doctorates.
José Greco started the José Greco Foundation for Hispanic Dance in 1972 and retired from the stage for the first time in 1974. He published an autobiography, Gypsy in My Soul: The Autobiography of José Greco, in 1977. He had six children, three boys and three girls. His sons José Luis and Paolo are composers; his son José Greco II is a dancer as are his three daughters, Alessandra, Carmela and Lola.
He came out of retirement in the late 1980s to form a company featuring his children. He appeared on stage for the last time in 1995, at the age of 77. Until his death he was Visiting professor of Dance at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
José Greco died of heart failure in his home in Lancaster, on the last day of the 20th century. In an obituary in the Los Angeles Times, dance critic Lewis Segal noted that Greco had been characterized as "the undisputed Spanish dance star of the '50s and '60s" and "the greatest of all dance stars until the advent of Rudolf Nureyev" in terms of box-office power.
Source: Article "José Greco" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joel Grey (born April 11, 1932) is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award. He also originated the role of the Wizard in the acclaimed musical Wicked. Grey is currently featured in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes as Moonface Martin.
Gregory Harrison was born on May 31, 1950 in Avalon, Catalina Island, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Picnic (1986) and Razorback (1984). He has been married to Randi Oakes since May 3, 1981. They have four children.
Helen Hayes was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986. In 1988 she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is the namesake of the annual Helen Hayes Awards, which have recognized excellence in professional theatre in the greater Washington, D.C. area since 1984. Perhaps the ultimate respect to be paid to any actor by a producer - of having a theater christened in their name - became a reality for Ms. Hayes in 1955 when the former Fulton Theatre on 46th Street in New York City's Broadway theater district was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre. When that venue was torn down in 1982 (along with five other neighboring theaters), the operators of the Little Theatre, another standing theater two blocks away on 44th Street, renamed that house in her name, which it has retained ever since.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Hayes, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. A recipient of a record four Academy Awards and an Emmy Award, she was ranked as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema by the American Film Institute. She was best known for her sophisticated, headstrong and outspoken screen persona that she cultivated through roles in a variety of film genres — from screwball comedies to literary dramas. Apart from her acclaimed acting and distinctive voice, her impact extended to fashion as well as she helped make wearing pants more socially acceptable for women.
Throughout her six-decade career, Hepburn's work in stage, film, and television brought her much acclaim — including twelve Academy Award nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, eight Golden Globe Award nominations, and two Tony Award nominations. She co-starred with screen legends like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier and Henry Fonda and performed in plays written and directed by notable playwrights and directors. Her most successful film pairing was with Spencer Tracy, with whom she made multiple hit pictures. The last of their 9 films together was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), which was completed shortly before Tracy's death. Her many performances on the stage included plays by Shakespeare and Shaw, and a Broadway musical. She passed away from cardiac arrest on 29 June 2003 at her family home in Connecticut and since then, has been honored with several memorials.
Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) in Washington, D.C., was an American television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt on television, to younger generations for his role as Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, as a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on the History Channel, and as the spokesperson for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.
Hermann died from brain cancer, Wednesday, December 31, 2014, in a hospital in New York City.
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad of African descent, Holder was an actor known for his towering 200-centimeter (6'6") height, heavily accented deep basso voice and hearty laugh. With that and his appearance in the 1970s 7 Up soft drink "uncola" advertising campaign, Holder's image quickly became recognizable. He was also in the 1967 movie Dr. Dolittle as William Shakespeare, "Willy," and played Baron Samedi, one of the main villain's henchmen, in the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. Though the 7 Up advertising campaign lasted only a short while in the early 1970s, the company revived the campaign in the early 1980s after Holder achieved a spike in popularity in the 1982 movie version of the musical Annie, in which he played the role of Punjab. He was a prolific painter, ardent art collector, and performer who had also authored books and composed music. As a choreographer, he created dance pieces for many companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Holder was married to dancer Carmen De Lavallade, whom he met when both were in the cast of Truman Capote's House of Flowers. .
Telma Hopkins was born on October 28, 1948 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA as Telma Louise Hopkins. She is an actress, known for Family Matters (1989), The Love Guru (2008) and Half & Half (2002). She was previously married to Donald B. Alen.
Telma Louise Hopkins is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety show Tony Orlando and Dawn from 1974 until 1976 along with Tony Orlando and Joyce Vincent Wilson.
Beverly Johnson was born on October 13, 1952 in Buffalo, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Martin (1992) and Crossroads (2002). She was previously married to Danny Sims and Billy Potter.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee a retired American track and field athlete. She won a total of six Olympic medals in heptathlon and long jump events throughout her career.
Walter Stacy Keach, Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy (particularly his role in the FOX sitcom Titus as Ken, the hard-drinking, chain-smoking, womanizing father of comedian Christopher Titus) and musical roles.
Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials including, A Child of the 50s (1973), Mind Over Matter (1974), New Teeth (1975), and Let's Not Make Love (1990). The first two albums received Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album nominations. Klein hosted Saturday Night Live in its first season in 1975 and again in 1978. Klein made his Broadway debut in the 1966 production of The Apple Tree opposite Alan Alda. He earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical nomination for his performance in Neil Simon's musical comedy They're Playing Our Song (1979).
He is known for his film roles in The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), Mixed Nuts (1994), One Fine Day (1996), Primary Colors (1998), Two Weeks Notice (2002), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), and Reign Over Me (2007). He is also known for his recurring television roles in Law & Order: SVU (2009-2012), The Good Wife (2013-2014), Madam Secretary (2014), Will & Grace (2018-2019). He has received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his specials, Child in his 50's (2001), and Unfair and Unbalanced (2010). He was profiled in the Starz documentary Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg (2016).
Swoosie Kurtz (born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters. She has also appeared somewhat sporadically in films from the late 1970s up until today, including prominent roles in such films as Dangerous Liaisons, Citizen Ruth, and Liar Liar among others. Throughout her career she has remained active in theater, earning five Tony Award nominations and winning two over the last three decades.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Swoosie Kurtz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Godmother of Soul". In a career which has spanned seven decades, LaBelle has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. She has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame. She was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers.
She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and frontwoman of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. After the group's name change to Labelle in the 1970s, they released the popular number-one hit "Lady Marmalade". As a result, after the group split in 1976, she began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, "You Are My Friend". She became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles "If Only You Knew", "Love, Need and Want You" (later sampled for 2002's "Dilemma"), "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up". Less than two years later in 1986, she scored a number-one album Winner in You and its number-one duet single, "On My Own", with Michael McDonald.
She won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album Burnin', an album that featured "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)", "Feels Like Another One", and "When You've Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)". She won a second Grammy for the live album Live! One Night Only.
She has also had success as an actress with a role in the Oscar-nominated film A Soldier's Story, and in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 1992, she starred in her own TV sitcom Out All Night.
In 2002, LaBelle hosted her own lifestyle TV show, Living It Up with Patti LaBelle on TV One. In 2015, LaBelle took part in the dance competition Dancing with the Stars at the age of 70.
She has also seen success launching her own brand of bedding, cookbooks, and food for various companies. In 2015 her Patti's Sweet Potato Pie sold millions when a YouTube video praising the product went viral. As a result, over a 72-hour period, Walmart sold one pie every second.
Around 1964, LaBelle was engaged to Otis Williams, founding member of The Temptations. The engagement lasted a year before Patti broke it off after fearing Williams would force her to move to Detroit and retire from the road.
On July 23, 1969, she married a longtime friend, Armstead Edwards, who was a schoolteacher. After she started her solo career, Edwards became her manager, a position he would remain in until 2000. That year, she and Edwards legally separated, with their divorce finalized in 2003. They have a son, Zuri Kye Edwards (born July 17, 1973), who is now her manager.
She said that because of her sisters and parents dying "before their time", she wrote in her autobiography that she feared she would not make it to 50.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
John Bernard Larroquette is an American film and television actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.
Linda Lavin (October 15, 1937 - December 29, 2024) was an American actress and singer. She was known for playing the title character in the sitcom "Alice" and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s. She began appearing on Broadway in the 1960s, earning notice in "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman" in 1966 and receiving her first Tony Award nomination for "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" in 1970. She moved to Hollywood in 1973 and began to work on television, making recurring appearances on the sitcom "Barney Miller" before landing the title role on the hit comedy "Alice," which ran from 1976 to 1985. She appeared in many telefilms and later she appeared in other TV works. She has also played roles in several feature films.
In 1987, she returned to Broadway, starring in "Broadway Bound" (winning a Tony Award), "Gypsy" (1990), "The Sisters Rosensweig" (1993), "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1997–1998) and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" (2000–2001), among others. In 2010, she appeared as Ruth Steiner in "Collected Stories," garnering her fifth Tony nomination. She starred in NBC's short-lived sitcom "Sean Saves the World" as Lorna and the CBS sitcom "9JKL." She also starred in the CBS sitcom "B Positive."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Linda Lavin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs.
In 1952 Lee starred in The Jazz Singer, a Technicolor remake of the early Al Jolson part-talkie 1927 film of the same name. In 1955, she played an alcoholic blues singer in Pete Kelly's Blues, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 1955 Lee did the speaking and singing voices for several characters in Disney's Lady and the Tramp: she played the human "Darling", the dog "Peg", and the two Siamese cats "Si and Am". In 1957, Lee guest starred on the short-lived ABC variety program, The Guy Mitchell Show.
Born in 1931, Bronx-born Hal Linden was the son of Charles Lipshitz and Frances Rosen and had an older brother who would become a future professor of music at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Similarly musical, Hal took up classical clarinet in his late teens and played regularly with symphony orchestras. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, he studied music at Queens College, moving later to City College to pursue business. Hal also played in dance bands and was asked to join Sammy Kaye on tour before being drafted into the Army, where he sang and provided entertainment for the troops. This sparked an interest in acting, and, upon receiving his discharge, he enrolled at New York's American Theatre Wing where he trained in voice and drama. In 1955, Hal met Frances Martin, a dancer. They married three years later, and she gave up her career to raise a family.
Hal's first Broadway show was in "Bells Are Ringing" where he understudied lead Jeff Moss. During the 1960s, Hal accumulated more musical credits in "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," "Subways Are for Sleeping," "The Apple Tree" and "The Pajama Game." He won the 1971 Tony award for his role in "The Rothschilds." This particular stage success led to a TV career that culminated in the title role on the popular Barney Miller (1974) sitcom. Emmy-nominated every year the program aired, Hal became a household name. Since that time, he has appeared in other lesser TV series including Blacke's Magic (1986), and Jack's Place (1992). He has held a secondary presence in such films as A New Life (1988) and Out to Sea (1997).
More musical leads such as "I Do! I Do!" and "The Pajama Game" came his way, along with dramatic pursuits in "I'm Not Rappaport" and "The Sisters Rosenzweig." Hal has also undertaken musical tours in his continuing role as clarinetist. He and wife Frances are avid golfers during their spare time.
Mark Linn-Baker is an American stage and screen actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Larry Appleton on the television sitcom "Perfect Strangers". He holds an MFA in Drama from the Yale School of Drama, New Haven, Connecticut.
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. Prolific in films, television and on stage, Lithgow is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Lithgow studied at Harvard University winning a Fulbright scholarship and getting a chance to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. From there he focused his training on the New York stage beginning a distinguished career on Broadway. In 1973, Lithgow received his first Tony Award for his performance in The Changing Room. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in three plays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, A Memory of Two Mondays and Secret Service. In the 1980s he continued to receive Tony Awards nominations for his performances in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985) and M. Butterfly (1988). In 2002, Lithgow received his second Tony Award, this time for a musical, The Sweet Smell of Success and another nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in Neil Bartlett's production of Twelfth Night. He has also appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed plays The Columnist (2012) and A Delicate Balance (2014). He portrayed Bill Clinton in Hillary and Clinton (2019) alongside Laurie Metcalf as Hillary Clinton.
Lithgow is also known for his television roles such as Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He also played Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. In 2004, Lithgow played Blake Edwards in the HBO television movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He has also appeared on 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Louie and Drunk History. Lithgow won great acclaim for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Peter Morgan's historical drama The Crown (2016–2019) on Netflix. For acting in The Crown he won a Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2020, he had a recurring role on the HBO period series Perry Mason.
He is also well known for his film roles. His early screen roles included Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his breakout performance in The World According to Garp (1982) and received a second Academy Award nomination for Terms of Endearment (1983). He then starred in the films Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Pelican Brief and Cliffhanger (1993), A Civil Action (1998), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Love Is Strange (2014), Miss Sloane (2016) and Beatriz at Dinner (2017). In 2019 he appeared in Mindy Kaling's comedy Late Night and portrayed Roger Ailes in Bombshell.
Born in Canada, Rich Little got his start just like almost every other comic of his time - night clubs. he was a very popular comic in these clubs, but if there was one thing Rich was best known for, it was impersonations. He studied the voices of many stars his whole life, stars like James Stewart, Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Dean Martin, Truman Capote and George Burns. In the late 1960s, Rich was dubbed "the best impressionist in the world." During the 1970s, however, a rivalry began between him and fellow impressionist Frank Gorshin, who is five years older. Ultimately, Rich overpowered Gorshin and remained the best impressionist in the world. In 1973 Rich became more associated with Dean Martin and made countless appearances on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts," honoring most of the people he impersonated. Besides impressions, Rich also had a successful career as a narrator in many stories, made many appearances in TV series, and hosted many TV shows. He also made his first movie, as Otterlake in The Other Side of the Wind (1972) in 1972. His acting career wasn't as successful as his impressions, but he did have a great talent. After the 1980s, Rich calmed down and moved away from the limelight. In 1998, Rich took a look back at his most remembered moments of his career: his appearances on the "Dean Martin Roasts," in an infomercial to promote the Roast videos. Rich says he will ALWAYS remember those moments.
Salvatore "Robert" Loggia (January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Big (1988).
In a career spanning over sixty years, Loggia performed in many films, including The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), three Pink Panther films, An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Scarface (1982), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Oliver & Company (1988), Innocent Blood (1992), Independence Day (1996), Lost Highway (1997), Return to Me (2000), and Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Loggia, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Gregory Efthimios "Greg" Louganis (/luːˈɡeɪnɪs/; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic diver, LGBT activist, and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, on both the springboard and platform. He is the only male and the second diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games. He has been called both "the greatest American diver" and "probably the greatest diver in history".
Louganis had been a theatre major in college, and in the late 1980s and 1990s, Louganis acted in several in movies, including Touch Me in 1997.
In 1993, he played the role of Darius in an Off-Broadway production of the play Jeffrey. In 1995, he starred for six weeks in the Off-Broadway production of Dan Butler's one-man-show about gay life, The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me, taking over from Butler himself. In the play, he portrayed 14 different characters.
In 2008 he appeared in the film Watercolors, in the role of Coach Brown, a swimming instructor in a high school.
In 2012, he appeared in the penultimate episode of the second season of IFC's comedy Portlandia, playing himself.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe (born January 15, 1968) is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again. One of his recent prominent roles was Deputy White House Chief of Staff Reed Pollock on the sixth season of 24.
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during the show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. Previously, she starred on the 60's soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing.
In 1996, TV Guide ranked Lucci number 37 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list. She was named one of VH1's 200 Top Icons of All Time and one of Barbara Walters's Ten Most Fascinating People.
During her run on All My Children, she was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won only once, in 1999, after the 19th nomination; beginning in the late 1980s her status as a perpetual nominee for the award attracted significant media attention. The character she portrayed, Erica Kane, is considered an icon, and Lucci was called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television.
Lucci has also acted in other TV series, as well as occasionally in film and on stage. She had multi-episode guest appearances on the series Dallas, Hot in Cleveland and Army Wives. She hosted Saturday Night Live in 1990.
After the cancellation of All My Children, she hosted the 2012-2014 true crime series Deadly Affairs and narrated its' offshoot Deadly Affairs: Betrayed by Love. She starred as Genevieve Delatour in the 2013-2016 Lifetime series Devious Maids.
Sidney Lumet (June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his name. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He did not win an individual Academy Award, although he did receive an Academy Honorary Award and 14 of his films were nominated for various Oscars, such as Network, which was nominated for 10, winning 4.
The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He was noted by Turner Classic Movies for his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work. Film critic Roger Ebert described him as having been "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors." Lumet was also known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director."
Lumet began his career as an Off-Broadway director, then became a highly efficient TV director. His first movie was typical of his best work: a well-acted, tightly written, deeply considered "problem picture," 12 Angry Men (1957). From that point on Lumet divided his energies among other idealistic problem pictures along with literate adaptations of plays and novels, big stylish pictures, New York-based black comedies, and realistic crime dramas, including Serpico and Prince of the City. As a result of directing 12 Angry Men, he was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made a successful transition from TV to movies. In 2005, Lumet received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his "brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture." Two years later, he concluded his career with the acclaimed drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sidney Lumet, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Loretta Lynn (née Webb; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as: "Hey Loretta", "The Pill", "Blue Kentucky Girl", "Love Is the Foundation", "You're Lookin' at Country", "You Ain't Woman Enough", "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", "One's on the Way", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life.
Lynn received many awards and other accolades for her groundbreaking role in country music, including awards from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music as a duet partner and an individual artist. She was nominated 18 times for a Grammy Award and won three times. As of 2022, Lynn was the most awarded female country recording artist and the only female ACM Artist of the Decade (the 1970s). Lynn scored 24 No. 1 hit singles and 11 number-one albums. She ended 57 years of touring on the road after she suffered a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip in 2018.
Lynn was born Loretta Webb in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, on April 14, 1932. She was the oldest daughter and second child born to Clara Marie "Clary" (née Ramey; May 5, 1912 – November 24, 1981) and Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb (June 6, 1906 – February 22, 1959). Ted was a coal miner and subsistence farmer. The family claims Cherokee heritage but they are not recognized by or members of a tribe. She was named after the film star Loretta Young. The other Webb children were: Melvin "Junior" Webb (December 4, 1929 – July 2, 1993); Herman Webb (September 3, 1934 – July 28, 2018); Willie "Jay" Lee Webb (February 12, 1937 – July 31, 1996); Donald Ray Webb (April 2, 1941 – October 13, 2017); Peggy Sue Wright (née Webb; born March 25, 1943); Betty Ruth Hopkins (née Webb; born January 5, 1946); Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951).
Loretta's father Ted died at the age of 52 from a stroke four years after relocating with her mother and younger siblings to Wabash, Indiana. He had also been battling black lung disease at the time of his death.
Through her matriline, Lynn was distant cousins with country singer Patty Loveless. ...
Source: Article "Loretta Lynn" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of the Oscar-winning All About Eve (1950). He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J. Mankiewicz who also won an Oscar for co-writing Citizen Kane (1941).
Christopher 'Play' Martin (born July 10, 1962) is an American rapper and actor, formerly the latter half of the late 1980s/early 1990s hip-hop/comedy duo Kid 'n Play.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A veteran television actress and Broadway star of the 50s, Rue McClanahan was an actress noticed by television executive, Norman Lear. Lear cast her in a number of television shows, including "All in the Family" (1971) with 'Carroll OConnor' and "Maude" (1972) with Bea Arthur. McClanahan next co-starred with Vicki Lawrence, Ken Berry, Betty White and Carol Burnett in "Mama's Family" (1983) for three years, and after it was canceled by NBC, McClanahan was probably best known for her role as the saucy, sharp southern belle, Blanche, in "The Golden Girls" (1985). She once again worked with Bea Arthur and Betty White, and with relative newcomer Estelle Getty. All four of the women won Emmy Awards for their roles. After Bea Arthur left the show after eight seasons, McClanahan, White and Getty returned for a brief spin-off in "The Golden Palace" (1992). In the mid-nineties, McClanahan was diagnosed with cancer, but was able to fight it successfully. In addition to lending her talents to a number of made for TV films, McClanahan has also appeared on the big screen in recent years co-starring with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the comedy Out to Sea (1997) and with Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers (1997). McClanahan also spends her time joining and helping organizations against cancer, AIDS, and cruelty against animals.
Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music television show Solid Gold.
Since 1969, McCoo has been married to singer Billy Davis Jr., the founder and a co-member of the 5th Dimension. She has a three-octave vocal range.
Marilyn McCoo was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, to Waymon and Mary McCoo, who were both physicians. Her grandfather was doctor Thomas Vivian McCoo of Eufaula, Alabama. She is African American. She spent her first seven years in Columbus, Georgia. At the age of seven, she moved with her parents, two sisters, and brother to Los Angeles, where she began singing, piano and dance lessons. At the age of 15, she made her television debut on Art Linkletter's Talent Show and began modelling. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, she enrolled in UCLA, where she earned a degree in business administration. In 1962, McCoo entered the Miss Bronze California beauty pageant where she won "Miss Grand Talent".
In the early and mid-1960s, McCoo was a member of the Hi-Fi's, who often opened for Ray Charles. She had been invited to join the group by photographer Lamonte McLemore, who would himself join McCoo in the 5th Dimension. Other Hi-Fi members included Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, who later formed the Friends of Distinction. She met Billy Davis Jr. in 1966 when he established the 5th Dimension, then called the Versatiles, which also included Ron Townson and Florence LaRue. The group's first big hit was with 1967's "Up, Up and Away", written by Jimmy Webb. The song won four 1968 Grammy Awards and was the title track to 5th Dimension's first hit LP. A year later, the group recorded Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic". A medley of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (from the musical Hair) reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April to May 1969 and won the Grammy for 'Record of the Year'. The group's recording of another Nyro composition, "Wedding Bell Blues", topped the Hot 100 in November 1969.
McCoo performing at Eastern Michigan University
By the early 1970s, McCoo began to sing lead on the group's remaining hits, "One Less Bell to Answer", "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All", and "If I Could Reach You". ...
Source: Article "Marilyn McCoo" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jayne Meadows (born Jane Meadows Cotter; September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015), also known as Jayne Meadows-Allen, was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards during her career and was the elder sister of actress and memoirist Audrey Meadows.
Meadows' most famous movies include: Undercurrent, Song of the Thin Man, David and Bathsheba, Lady in the Lake, Enchantment.
Among her earliest television appearances, Meadows played reporter Helen Brady in the 1953 Suspense episode F.O.B. Vienna. She was a regular panelist on the original version of I've Got a Secret and an occasional panelist on What's My Line?. She also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood. Prior to Allen's death in 2000, the couple made several television appearances together; in 1998 they played an argumentative elderly couple in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1999, the couple made their last joint TV appearance in the Diagnosis: Murder episode The Roast, which marked Steve Allen's final screen appearance. She also appeared in City Slickers.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jayne Meadows, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923 – May 22, 2017) was an American actress, heiress, socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Dina Merrill, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Liliane Montevecchi (October 13, 1932 – June 29, 2018) was a French-Italian actress, dancer, and singer.
Montevecchi took her first dance classes at 8 with Pierre Duprez, primo ballerino of the Opera in Paris, France. She entered the Conservatoire and completed her training of two years, with Jeanne Schwarz and Mathilde Kschessinska, on the stage of the Opéra Comique. She appeared for the first time on a stage at the Champs Elysées theater in a ballet by David Lichine. She then worked with Léonide Massine and danced in Monte Carlo for the coronation of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1949. She also danced her first steps at the Casino de Paris with Jean Guélis.
Montevecchi began her international career as a prima ballerina in Roland Petit's dance company. She appeared in The Glass Slipper with Michael Wilding and Daddy Long Legs (with Fred Astaire), in both of which she was acting with leading lady Leslie Caron. In the mid-1950s, she was signed to a contract by MGM, which cast her in various roles in such films as Moonfleet with Stewart Granger and Meet Me in Las Vegas with Cyd Charisse and John Brascia. She then played in the Jerry Lewis vehicle The Sad Sack, King Creole with Elvis Presley, and The Young Lions with Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin and Marlon Brando. She knew Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable, and she took classes at the Actors Studio in New York.
Montevecchi replaced Colette Brosset in the 1958 Broadway revue La Plume de Ma Tante. After some television work in series such as Playhouse 90 and Adventures in Paradise at the end of the decade, Montevecchi opted to leave Hollywood for a star spot in the Folies Bergère in Las Vegas, toured with the company for nine years before appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1972 to 1978. In 1982, she drew the attention of critics and audiences for her performance in Nine, with Raúl Juliá, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Seven years later, she starred in Grand Hotel, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
On TV, she guest–starred in more than 20 shows. Montevecchi also appeared in the films Wall Street and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey. She appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and toured internationally with her semi-autobiographical shows On the Boulevard and Back on the Boulevard. Her solo album On the Boulevard is available from Jay Records. She is featured in the recording of the 1985 concert version of Follies staged at Avery Fisher Hall, and she has starred in musicals such as Irma La Douce, Gigi and Hello Dolly!.
In 1998, she replaced Eartha Kitt as The Wicked Witch of the West in Radio City Entertainment's touring production of The Wizard of Oz, co-starring Mickey Rooney as The Wizard and Jessica Grové as Dorothy. She continued with the show until the spring of 1999 and was succeeded by Jo Anne Worley.
In 2001, Montevecchi appeared as Mistinguett at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique in Paris. ...
Source: Article "Liliane Montevecchi" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the role of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and as Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, in which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Robert Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor and singer best known as the star of both the 1961 original Broadway production, for which he won a Tony Award, and the 1967 film adaptation of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and as Bertram Cooper in the critically acclaimed AMC dramatic series Mad Men (2007–2015). He won his second Tony Award for playing Truman Capote in the 1989 production of the one-man play Tru. He reprised his role of Capote in an airing of the play for American Playhouse in 1992, winning him a Primetime Emmy Award.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Morse, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Joseph William "Joe" Namath (born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath was an American Football League icon and played for that league's New York Jets for most of his professional career but finished his career with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.
Namath retired after playing in 140 games 62 wins, 63 losses and 4 ties. In his career he threw 173 touchdowns, 220 interceptions, and completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards. During his thirteen years in the AFL and NFL he played for three division champions (the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West Champion Rams), earned one league championship (1968 AFL Championship), and one "world championship" (Super Bowl III).
In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. He was the only player on the list to have spent a majority of his career with the Jets.
He is known for brashly telling the media that he guaranteed that his team would upset Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, and then delivering on his promise.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Namath, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Barry Foster Newman is an American film, television, and stage actor, famous for his interpretation of Kowalski in the movie Vanishing Point. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Barry Newman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Dame Olivia Newton-John AC, DBE was an English-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated over 100 million albums worldwide.
In 1978, she co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grease, which became one of the most successful films and movie soundtracks in Hollywood history. It features two major hit duets with co-star John Travolta: "You're the One That I Want"—which is one of the best-selling singles of all time—and "Summer Nights".
She became the second woman (after Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles – "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights" – in the Billboard top 5 simultaneously. Her performance earned her a People's Choice Award for Favorite Film Actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted to You" at the 1979 Academy Awards.
In 1980, she starred with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck in the musical fantasy film Xanadu. Although it was a critical failure, its soundtrack was certified double platinum and scored five top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She charted with "Magic", "Suddenly" with Cliff Richard, and the title song "Xanadu" with the Electric Light Orchestra.
"Magic" was Newton-John's biggest pop hit to that point and still ranks as the biggest AC hit of her career. The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a Broadway show that ran for more than 500 performances beginning in 2007 and was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical.
She helped pioneer the music video industry by recording a video album for Physical, featuring videos of all the album's tracks and three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime-time special, Let's Get Physical, becoming a top-10 Nielsen hit.
She teamed up with Travolta again in 1983 for the critically and commercially unsuccessful movie Two of a Kind, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack featuring "Twist of Fate", and a new duet with Travolta, "Take a Chance"Iowa.
In 2002, she was inducted into Australia's ARIA Hall of Fame and, in 2015, she was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame. In recognition for "her work as an entertainer and philanthropist", she was bestowed Australia's highest honor, the Companion of the Order of Australia, in June 2019.
In 2008, she raised funds to help build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia. She led a three-week, 228 km walk along the Great Wall of China, joined by various celebrities and cancer survivors throughout her trek. The walk symbolised the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery.
She was a a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. She battled breast cancer three times and was an advocate for breast cancer research and health awareness. Her business ventures included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.
Gospel singer. A printer's mistake on her first album changed her last name from Patty to Patti, and the name stuck.
Attended San Diego State University and Anderson College in Indiana.
Is the highest paid Gospel entertainer in the world, averaging $75,000 for a two-hour performance.
Was briefly ostracized by the Christian music industry when she admitted to having an affair while married to her first husband.
Stefanie Powers (born Stefania Zofya Paul; November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series Hart to Hart (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Stefanie Powers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Edward Thomas "Eddie" Rabbitt was an American country music singer and songwriter. Beginning as a songwriter in the late 1960s, he began a solo career in the mid-70s, being among the first to make Country music in a Pop-crossover style. He is best known for his #1 crossover hit "I Love A Rainy Night", "Drivin' My Life Away" from the same album, and "Every Which Way But Loose", the title song to the Clint Eastwood movie. He also penned "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley and "Pure Love" for Ronnie Milsap.
Rabbitt died on May 7, 1998, in Nashville from lung cancer at the age of 56.
Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comedian, producer, and director. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play, The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, as well as it's updated series and movie. He starred in the sitcom Love, Sidney in which he portrayed the first ever gay lead of a show. He has also been in numerous movies over his long career including many voice roles. In a career spanning six decades, he received six Golden Globe Award nominations and six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one Emmy.
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia), known professionally as Raven-Symoné, or simply Raven, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, comedian, dancer, television producer and model. Symone launched her successful career in 1989 after appearing in the show A Different World as Olivia. She released her debut album, Here's to New Dreams in 1993; the single, "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" charted number sixty-eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Symoné appeared in several successful television series, such as The Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, on the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2003, Symone went on to star in the highly successful Disney Channel series, That's So Raven in which Symone starred as Raven Baxter, a psychic teenager who tried her best to keep her psychic powers a secret. Symone starred in the series from 2003 until 2007. Symone's co-stars of That's So Raven went onto appear in the follow up, Cory In the House; however, Symone did not feature permanently, as she only appeared as a guest in one episode. During her time on That's So Raven, Symone released her third studio album, This is My Time (2004) which was Symone's best selling solo album to date, charting at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200. In 2008, she followed up This Is My Time with the release of her fourth album, Raven-Symoné (2008), which charted at #159 on the Billboard charts.
She transitioned to a film career, starring in several films aimed at teenage audiences, including Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), College Road Trip (2008), and television movies successful, including The Cheetah Girls (2003), Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), Revenge of the Bridesmaids (2010). Raven has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, for the character Monique and films such as Disney‘s Tinker Bell. Raven-Symoné also owns a "how-to" video website, Raven-Symoné Presents.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Raven-Symoné, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic, occasional actor and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter and author. He achieved stardom for his acting achievements, including his notable motion picture portrayal of the fictional superhero Superman.
On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse in an equestrian competition in Virginia. He required a wheelchair and breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries, and for human embryonic stem cell research afterward. He founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.
Reeve married Dana Morosini in April 1992, and they had a son, William, born that June. Reeve had two children, Matthew (born 1979) and Alexandra (born 1983), from his previous relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Gae Exton.
Christopher Reid (born April 5, 1964), formerly known as Kid (shortened from his original MC name, Kid Coolout), is an American actor, comedian, and former rapper. He was half of the late 1980s/early 1990s hip-hop/comedy duo Kid 'n Play.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ann Reinking (November 10, 1949–December 12, 2020) was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ann Reinking, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is a former American football wide receiver who played 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver in NFL history and among the greatest NFL players overall. On November 4, 2010, Rice was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Chita Rivera (January 23, 1933 - January 30, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for creating roles in musical theatre hits such as Anita in "West Side Story," Rosie in "Bye Bye Birdie," Velma in "Chicago" and Aurora in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." She received 2 Tony Awards (from a record 10 nominations), a Kennedy Center Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Geraldo Rivera was born on July 4, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Contact (1997), All About Steve (2009) and Grumpier Old Men (1995).
Joan Alexandra Molinsky, known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and television host. She was noted for her often controversial comedic persona—heavily self-deprecating and sharply acerbic, especially towards celebrities and politicians.
Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He is one of 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jason Robards, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Eric Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a well-received performance in King of the Gypsies (1978), for which he earned his first Golden Globe Award nomination. His second Golden Globe nomination came for his portrayal of Paul Snider in Star 80 (1983), followed by Globe and Academy Award nominations for his supporting role in Runaway Train (1985). In a career spanning almost forty years, Roberts has performed in over 200 films, including Raggedy Man (1981), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), The Specialist (1994), Cecil B. Demented (2000), National Security (2003), The Dark Knight (2008), The Expendables (2010) and Inherent Vice (2014). His equally varied television work includes three seasons with the sitcom Less than Perfect, as well as recurring roles on the NBC drama Heroes and the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. His sisters Julia Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and daughter Emma Roberts, also have acting careers.
Oscar Palmer Robertson, nicknamed "the Big O," is an American former professional basketball player and Hall of Famer who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons, co-executive-produced.
In his first major foray back into the media since the finale of Seinfeld, he co-wrote and co-produced the film Bee Movie, also taking on the lead role of Barry B. Benson. In February 2010, Seinfeld premiered a reality TV series called The Marriage Ref on NBC. Seinfeld was more recently directing Colin Quinn in the Broadway show Long Story Short at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York which ran until January 8, 2011.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Seinfeld, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Paul Shaffer is a Canadian musician, composer, vocalist, and band leader, among the highlights being the de facto leader of the early Saturday Night Live house band, and serving for 33 years (1982-2015) as the leader of David Letterman's house band.
Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress, author and model. Some of her better known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and also Lipstick Jungle.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Brooke Shields, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Martin Hayter Short, CM (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, singer and producer. He is best known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live. He has also starred in many popular comedic films such as Three Amigos, Innerspace, Pure Luck, Jungle 2 Jungle, Mars Attacks!, Father of the Bride, and Father of the Bride Part 2.
Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow, August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She later gained attention for her role as Juno, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim Burton's film Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress. She also was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973).
Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and political activist.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ron Silver, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Betty Gleadle (December 11, 1921 – December 24, 2016), known by the stage name Liz Smith, was an English character actress, known for her roles in BBC sitcoms, including as Annie Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared (1975–1979), the sisters Bette and Belle in 2point4 Children (1991–1999), Letitia Cropley in The Vicar of Dibley (1994–1996) and Norma Speakman ("Nana") in The Royle Family (1998–2000, 2006). She also played Zillah in Lark Rise to Candleford (2008) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1984 film A Private Function.
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor and rapper. Known for variety of roles, Smith has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award and four Grammy Awards.
Smith began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996). He first gained recognition as part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums and the US Billboard Hot 100 top 20 singles "Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime", "Ring My Bell", and "Boom! Shake the Room" from 1984 to 1994. He released the solo albums Big Willie Style (1997), Willennium (1999), Born to Reign (2002), and Lost and Found (2005), which contained the US number-one singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and "Wild Wild West". He has received four Grammy Awards for his rap performances.
Smith achieved wider fame as a leading man in films such as the action film Bad Boys (1995), its sequels Bad Boys II (2003) and Bad Boys for Life (2020), and the sci-fi comedies Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), and Men in Black 3 (2012). After starring in the thrillers Independence Day (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998), he received Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his portrayal as Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001), and as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). He then starred in a range of commercially successful films, including I, Robot (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), Hancock (2008), Seven Pounds (2008), Suicide Squad (2016) and Aladdin (2019).
For his portrayal of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard (2021), Smith won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.
Paul Anthony Sorvino (/sɔːrˈviːnoʊ/, Italian: [sorˈviːno]; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor, opera singer, businessman, writer, and sculptor. He often portrayed authority figures on both sides of the law and was known for his roles as Paulie Cicero (based on Paul Vario) in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order. He took on supporting roles in A Touch of Class, Reds, The Rocketeer, Nixon, and Romeo + Juliet. He was the father of actors Mira Sorvino and Michael Sorvino.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Sorvino, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's 60 Minutes.
She is known for her news and television investigations and award-winning foreign reporting. For her body of work she has earned various journalism awards including a Lifetime Achievement News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2003 for overall excellence in reporting.
Sylvester Stallone (born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, he won his first critical acclaim as an actor for his co-starring role as Stanley Rosiello in The Lords of Flatbush.
He subsequently found gradual work as an extra or side character in films with a sizable budget until he achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as an actor and screenwriter, starting in 1976 with his role as boxer Rocky Balboa, in the first film of the successful Rocky series (1976–present), for which he also wrote the screenplays. In the films, Rocky is portrayed as an underdog boxer who fights numerous brutal opponents, and wins the world heavyweight championship twice.
In 1977, he was the third actor in cinema to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. His film Rocky was inducted into the National Film Registry, and had its props placed in the Smithsonian Museum. His use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Rocky series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps. Philadelphia has a statue of his Rocky placed permanently near the museum, and he was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Up until 1982, his films were not big box office successes unless they were Rocky sequels, and none received the critical acclaim achieved with the first Rocky. This changed with the successful action film First Blood in which he portrayed the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo. Originally an adaptation of the eponymous novel by David Morell, First Blood’s script was significantly altered by Stallone during the film’s production. He would play the role in a total of five Rambo films (1982–2019). From the mid-1980s through to the late 1990s, he would go on to become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors of that era by appearing in a slew of commercially successful action films which were however generally panned by critics. These include Cobra, Tango and Cash, Cliffhanger, the better received Demolition Man, and The Specialist.
He declined in popularity in the early 2000s but rebounded back to prominence in 2006 with a sixth installment in the Rocky series and 2008 with a fourth in the Rambo series. In the 2010s, he launched The Expendables films series (2010–2014), in which he played the lead as the mercenary Barney Ross. In 2013, he starred in the successful Escape Plan, and acted in its sequels. In 2015, he returned to the Rocky series with Creed, that serve as spin-off films focusing on Adonis "Donnie" Creed played by Michael B. Jordan, the son of the ill-fated boxer Apollo Creed, to whom the long-retired Rocky is a mentor. Reprising the role brought him praise, and his first Golden Globe award for the first Creed, as well as a third Oscar nomination, having been first nominated for the same role 40 years prior.
James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. He was a major MGM contract star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Throughout his seven decades in Hollywood, Stewart cultivated a versatile career and recognized screen image in such classics as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, It's a Wonderful Life, Shenandoah, Rear Window, Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo. He is the most represented leading actor on the AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) and AFI's 10 Top 10 lists. He is also the most represented leading actor on the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list presented by Entertainment Weekly. As of 2007, ten of his films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry.
Stewart left his mark on a wide range of film genres, including westerns, suspense thrillers, family films, biographies and screwball comedies. He worked for a number of renowned directors later in his career, most notably Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, George Cukor, and Anthony Mann. He won many of the industry's highest honors and earned Lifetime Achievement awards from every major film organization. He died at age 89, leaving behind a legacy of classic performances, and is considered one of the finest actors of the "Golden Age of Hollywood". He was named the third Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy (June 7 1909 – September 11 1994) was an English - American stage and film actress.
She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films. Following the end of her marriage to Jack Hawkins, she moved to New York, where she met Canadian actor Hume Cronyn. He became her second husband and frequent partner on stage and screen.
She won the Tony Award for her performance as Blanche Dubois in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948, sharing the prize with Katherine Cornell (who won for Antony and Cleopatra) and Judith Anderson (for the latter's portrayal of Medea). Over the following three decades, her career continued sporadically and included a substantial role in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Birds (1963), and a Tony Award-winning performance in The Gin Game (playing in the two-character play opposite her husband, Cronyn) in 1977. She, along with Cronyn was a member of the original acting company of The Guthrie Theater.
In the mid 1980s she enjoyed a career revival. She appeared opposite Hume Cronyn in the Broadway production of Foxfire in 1983 and its television adaptation four years later, winning both a Tony Award and an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Annie Nations. During these years, she appeared in films such as Cocoon (1985), also with Cronyn.
She became the oldest actress to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), for which she also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). At the height of her success, she was named as one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People". She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1990, and continued working until shortly before her death.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jessica Tandy, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Judy Lynn Tenuta (born November 7, 1949 but with a claimed birthdate of 1965) was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess," mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, and bawdy onstage antics. Throughout her career, Tenuta built a niche but devoted following, particularly among members of the LGBTQ community. Tenuta wrote two comedy books and received two Grammy nominations for "Best Comedy Album".
Description above from the Wikipedia article Judy Tenuta, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley "Joan" Isobel Marie (née Greer), a nurse, and William Jeffery, a stockbroker. They divorced in 1953. His mother remarried to Brian Thicke, a physician, and they moved to Elliot Lake.
Thicke graduated from Elliot Lake Secondary School in 1965, and was elected homecoming king. He went on to attend the University of Western Ontario, where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl (1966–1971). She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Marlo Thomas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards.
Turner became widely known during the 1980s, with roles in Body Heat (1981), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Crimes of Passion (1984), Romancing the Stone (1984), and Prizzi's Honor (1985), the latter two earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In the later 1980s and early 1990s, Turner had roles in The Accidental Tourist (1988), The War of the Roses (1989), and Serial Mom (1994).
She later had roles in The Virgin Suicides (1999), Baby Geniuses (1999), Beautiful (2000), and Marley & Me (2008). On TV she guest-starred on the NBC sitcom Friends as Chandler Bing's drag queen father Charles Bing, in the third season of Showtime's Californication as Sue Collini, the jaded, sex-crazed owner of a talent agency, and on the Netflix dramedy series The Kominsky Method as Michael Douglas's character's ex-wife Roz Volander. Turner's voice roles include Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Monster House (2006), and voicing characters on the television series The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill, and Rick and Morty.
In addition to film, Turner has worked in the theater, and has been nominated for the Tony Award twice for her Broadway roles as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Turner has also taught acting classes at New York University.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Kathleen Turner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Harold Lloyd Jenkins, better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American country music singer. He also had success in the rock and roll, rock, R&B, and pop genres. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. Although never a member of the Grand Ole Opry, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Conway Twitty, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and soulful pop-rock repertoire, including the worldwide hits "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "It's a Heartache".
Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses, Ullmann is known for her numerous acclaimed collaborations with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.
Ullmann won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama in 1972 for the film The Emigrants (1971), and has been nominated for another four. In 2000, she was nominated for the Palme d'Or for her second directorial feature film, Faithless. She has also received two BAFTA Award nominations, for her performances in Scenes from a Marriage (1973) and Face to Face (1976), and two Academy Award nominations, for The Emigrants and Face to Face. On March 25, 2022, Ullmann was presented with an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her "bravery and emotional transparency that has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals".
Description above from the Wikipedia article Liv Ullmann, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Joan Van Ark (born June 16, 1943) is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing, which she originated on the CBS hit series Dallas and continued for thirteen seasons on its long-running spin-off, Knots Landing. Van Ark has also received a Theatre World Award and been nominated for a Tony Award for her stage work.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Van Ark, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer, and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke is the recipient of multiple awards, including a Golden Globe, Tony, Grammy, a Daytime Emmy, and four Primetime Emmys. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. He was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021 and was recognized as a Disney Legend.
Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and television, in nightclubs, and on the Broadway stage. In 1961, he starred in the original production of Bye Bye Birdie, a role which earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Carl Reiner then cast him as Rob Petrie on the CBS television sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966, which made him a household name. He went on to star in the movie musicals Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and in the comedy-drama The Comic (1969).
Van Dyke also made guest appearances on television programs Columbo (1974) and The Carol Burnett Show (1977), and starred in The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–74), Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001), and Murder 101 (2006–08). Van Dyke has also made appearances in the films Dick Tracy (1990), Curious George (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Dick Van Dyke, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Designated the "heartbeat" of R&B during the 1980s and 1990s, Luther Vandross led a productive singing and song writing life.
At age 30, he finally recorded his first solo album with the No. 1 R&B and "Top 20" pop chart maker, "Never Too Much". He continued steadily with such albums as "Forever, for Always, for Love" in 1982 and "Give Me the Reasons" (1986), but it wasn't until 1989 that he had his first "Top 10" single with "Here and Now" (No. 6), which finally placed him securely on the love song pedestal. Such other No. 1 R&B singles would include "Stop to Love", "There's Nothing Better than Love" and "Any Love".
The 1990s seemed, career-wise, stronger than ever again with a Top 40 hit duetting with Mariah Carey in 1994 on "My Endless Love" and the release of his No. 1 R&B signature version of "Always and Forever" (1994).
On camera film and TV acting appearances include a cameo in Robert Townsend's motion picture The Meteor Man (1993) and episodes of "Beverly HIlls 90210 (as himself) and "Touched by an Angel." A documentary, Luther Vandross: Always and Forever (1994), is also available. Throughout his career, Luther continued to write and produce for other artists including Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Teddy Pendergrass, Cheryl Lynn and Aretha Franklin. Following his massive April 2003 stroke, he made a phantom return to the spotlight with the release of his 2003 CD "Dance With My Father", which was recorded prior to his illness. At the awards show, the absent Luther was rewarded with four Grammys, including song of the year. The success also gave him his first No. 1 album on the pop chart and four NAACP Image Awards.
The beloved 54-year-old musician died at JFK Medical Centre in Edison, New Jersey, of his lingering complications and was survived by his Evangelist mother, Mary Ida Vandross, who was instrumental in promoting her son's last work to Grammy glory following his severe debilitation.
Tall, dour-faced and slouch-shouldered character actor Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) proved himself in both gritty dramatic roles, and as an actor with wonderful comedic timing.
Vigoda was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Lena (Moses) and Samuel Vigoda, both Russian Jewish immigrants. His father was a tailor on the Lower East Side. He made his first stage appearance at the age of 17 and plodded away in small theater shows for over 20 years. For the majority of film-goers, Vigoda first came to prominence in The Godfather (1972) as the double-crossing Tessio, pleading with Robert Duvall to get him off the hook "for old times' sake." He also appeared in its sequel.
Vigoda had roles in a few nondescript TV films before landing the plum part of Sgt. Phil Fish on the brilliant sitcom Barney Miller (1974). Perhaps his best known role, Sgt. Fish proved popular enough to be spun off to his own (short-lived) series Fish (1977).
With his long face and unusual looks, Vigoda remained in high demand in mafioso-type roles, and for a while in the mid-1980s, he was mistakenly believed to have been dead, leading producers to remark, "I need an Abe Vigoda type actor," not realizing Vigoda was still alive and well. The 1990s and beyond became busy again for him, with appearances in North (1994), The Misery Brothers (1995), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), and Crime Spree (2003). He continued acting into his 90s, surprising audiences with his entertaining style.
Abe Vigoda died in his sleep on January 26, 2016 in Woodland Park, New Jersey.
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken, March 31, 1943) is an American actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television programs, including Annie Hall (1977), The Deer Hunter (1978), The Dogs of War (1980), The Dead Zone (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), Batman Returns (1992), True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Antz (1998), Vendetta (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Joe Dirt (2001), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Hairspray (2007), Seven Psychopaths (2012), the first three Prophecy films, The Jungle Book (2016), and Irreplaceable You (2018). He has received a number of awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Deer Hunter.
Myron Leon 'Mike' Wallace was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent news makers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspondents for CBS' 60 Minutes, which debuted in 1968. Wallace retired as a regular full-time correspondent in 2006, but still appeared occasionally on the series until 2008.
Barbara Jill Walters was an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. Walters was known for hosting a variety of television programs, including Today, The View, 20/20, and the ABC Evening News.
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy on the NBC television series Law & Order. He has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild-, BAFTA- and Emmy Awards, having starred in over eighty film and television productions during his forty-five year career. Allmovie has characterised Waterston as having "cultivated a loyal following with his quietly charismatic, unfailingly solid performances."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Waterston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress.
Welch first garnered attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although Welch had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became bestselling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol. She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Hannie Caulder (1971), Kansas City Bomber (1972), The Last of Sheila (1973), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Wild Party (1975), and Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976). She made several television variety specials.
Through her portrayal of strong female characters, helping her break the mold of the traditional sex symbol, Welch developed a unique film persona that made her an icon of the 1960s and 1970s. Her rise to stardom in the mid-1960s was partly credited with ending Hollywood's vigorous promotion of the blonde bombshell.[1][2][3] Her love scene with Jim Brown in 100 Rifles also made cinematic history with their portrayal of interracial intimacy.[4] She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 1974 for her performance as Constance Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers and reprised the role in its sequel the following year. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Television Film for her performance in Right to Die (1987). Her final film was How to Be a Latin Lover (2017). In 1995, Welch was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History". Playboy ranked Welch No. 3 on their "100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century" list.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Raquel Welch, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Betty Marion White Ludden (January 17, 1922 - December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian, with the longest television career of any entertainer, spanning 80 years. Regarded as a pioneer of television, she was one of the first women to have control both in front of and behind the camera and is recognized as the first woman to produce a sitcom (Life with Elizabeth), which contributed to her receiving the honorary title Mayor of Hollywood in 1955.
White was known for her award-winning roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–77) and Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985–92) – the Writers Guild of America has included both sitcoms in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time – and Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland (2010–15).
A staple guest of many American game shows such as Password, Match Game, Hollywood Squares and The $25,000 Pyramid, White was dubbed the 'First Lady of Game Shows' and became the first woman to receive an Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 1983 for the show Just Men! She was also known for her appearances on Boston Legal, Mama's Family, and Saturday Night Live.
White received eight Emmy Awards in various categories, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a Television Hall of Fame inductee.
Jesse White (January 4, 1917 – January 9, 1997) was an American television, film, and stage character actor. He is best remembered for portraying the Maytag repairman in television commercials, a role he played from 1967 to 1988.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Wilson is an American vocalist, best known as a founding member and longest member of the Supremes. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of other original members, Florence Ballard in 1967 and Diana Ross in 1970. She has made various film and TV appearances.
Henry "Henny" Youngman (16 March 1906 – 24 February 1998) was a British-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please".
Pia Zadora (born May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year.
When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned a measure of respect from critics who had previously written her off as an actress.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Pia Zadora, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.