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In 1960, a young 7-year-old named Patrick Lilley went on an Amos Carr photo shoot with his little sister. She was the subject but it was "Butch's" head shot that would wind up in the Hollywood Blvd. window! Utilizing his nickname and real first name, his agent Mary Grady and his mom Patti created the stage name, Butch Patrick, which he still uses 50 plus years later. Butch started out, quick, with landing his first three auditions. First was a very cool B movie, starring Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt, called The Two Little Bears (1961). Also starring Soupy Sales and a 15-year-old Brenda Lee! A series came next in the form of GH. That's right, General Hospital (1963)'s first year had Butch mixing with John Beradino. To round out the group, a Kellogg's award-winning Corn Flakes commercial. Butch continually worked in the early 60s on the most popular TV programs of the time: Mister Ed (1961), My Favorite Martian (1963), The Untouchables (1959), The Detectives (1959), Ben Casey (1961), Rawhide (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), Bonanza (1959) and many, many more. A second series came his way with the reboot of the classic The Real McCoys (1957). Working with Oscar winner Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna was a huge treat for Butch. All this time, he was working in over 20 commercials and a dozen movies. Starring the likes of Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Jo Van Fleet, Sal Mineo, Don Murray, Edward G. Robinson, to name a few. Now, we enter to 1964. The Beatles are all the rage and Butch gets a call to fly from Illinois and go to CBS Studio Center for a screen test. Very hush hush as they have a part in mind for him. It will become a life-changing day for sure!! His screen test is with the famous movie star Yvonne De Carlo and his character is "Edward Wolfgang Munster". From that day on, Butch would always be known, worldwide, as the iconic TV character, "Eddie Munster". The third series for Butch was the charm for sure. The Munsters (1964) are still one of the most popular series in history. Merchandised still and a huge family favorite, 50 years later! His character's hairline is the most recognizable, ever, and the Munster address is the most famous on TV, bar none. "1313 Mockingbird Lane" still is a favorite trivia question for the masses, worldwide. After a two-year stint, Butch set off to Disney for a few "World of Colors". The Young Loner (1968), with Edward Andrews and Kim Hunter, was a gem. Way Down Cellar another two part special was shot the same summer. A few features followed and then he became a semi-regular on My Three Sons (1960), doing 10 episodes. In between, Butch was busy with Adam 12's, the pilot episode of Marcus Welby M.D. Ironside, more westerns and movies too. In the summer of 1969, Butch left the country to film in Brazil for three months. A feature based on an award-winning novel, The Sandpit Generals (1971). Then, in 1971, Sid Krofft took Butch to lunch and convinced him to star in their new show for Sid and Marty's World Lidsville. He worked with Charles Nelson Reilly and Billie Hayes of Puf n Stuff fame. What a trip that summer turned out to be. Afterwards, Metromedia Records signed Butch to a contract and American Bandstand and the Dating Game were the new high-profile shows Butch was seen on. Not to mention the teen heartthrob tears from 1971 to 1973. After Butch turned 19, he decided this career really wasn't he yearned for and left Hollywood to drive fast cars and catch up on his surfing. In 1983, with MTV on the air, Butch formed a band, "Eddie and the Monsters", on Rocshire records and aired a video on the upstart cable powerhouse. They were actually the first unsigned act ever to be seen. This led to the show the basement tapes that led to the discovery of many new unsigned bands with videos. So there you have his older accomplishments. Today, Butch receives scripts and works the indie movie circuit, giving back to the industry that served him well. He's a cancer survivor and works with people with addiction issues, as well. He had his own issues with his life and, after 40 years of alcohol and drug abuse, he's been clean and sober nearly 10 years. He married Leila Murray in 2016.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Larry Thor was born on 27 August 1916 in Lundar, Manitoba, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Zero Hour! (1957) and The Fast and the Furious (1954). He was married to Jean Howell. He died on 15 March 1976 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
One of America's most heard men back in the day with thousands of radio programs to his credit and the possessor of one of the most prominent male voices of that medium's war-era "Golden Age," veteran actor Les Tremayne was considered to have the third most distinctive tones on the airwaves, only behind Bing Crosby and Franklin D. Roosevelt!
Born Lester Tremayne Henning in London, England, on April 16, 1913, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois when the boy was only four. Wanting to bury his British accent growing up in the States, Tremayne took an an eager interest in community theatre. He began his professional career as a dancer in vaudeville, supplementing his income on the side as a barker in various amusement parks.
Tremayne received his first radio job in Chicago when he was 17 years old. While gaining experience, he attended Northwestern University where he studied Greek drama and also took up anthropology at Columbia University and UCLA. During the 1930s and 1940s, Tremayne was usually heard in more than one show per week. Growing in leaps and bounds as a voice that could handle many types, ages and accents, his first big break occurred in 1934 as the leading man on the soap drama "The Romance of Helen Trent." He then replaced actor Don Ameche as the leading man on the popular weekly radio drama "The First Nighter," a stint that lasted six years. During that time, his more popular series work included that of super-sleuth Nick Charles in "The Adventures of the Thin Man." He also became the announcer on "The Bob Crosby Show."
Searching for bigger opportunities, Tremayne transplanted himself to both Los Angeles New York in 1943, and continued to find radio work as the title role in "The Falcon," played detective Pat Abbott in "The Abbott Mysteries," appeared on Bob Crosby's programs "The Old Gold Show" and "The Bob Crosby Show," and co-starred as the straight man alongside "The Great One" on "The Jackie Gleason/Les Tremayne Show" when Crosby enlisted for WWII service. Other shows would include a breakfast talk format, "The Tremaynes," with second wife Alice Reinheart, as well as the programs "Cavalcade of America," "Ford Theatre," "Inner Sanctum Mysteries," "Kraft Music Hall," "Lux Radio Theatre" and "The Whistle," among so many others.
In the 1950s, Tremayne took on films and the new medium of TV. Typically playing military types, erudite professionals, shifty execs and errant husbands, his more officious roles included playing a police commission chief in The Racket (1951); a colonel in Francis Goes to West Point (1952); a lawyer in Susan Slept Here (1954); a senator in A Man Called Peter (1955) and another colonel in The Perfect Furlough (1958). Best remembered for his characters in cult 1950s sci-fiers, he co-starred or was featured in The War of the Worlds (1953), The Monolith Monsters (1957), The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959) and The Angry Red Planet (1959). His mellifluous voice was also utilized in films (Forbidden Planet (1956)), in film trailers (The Iron Petticoat (1956)) and for narrating documentaries (Adventures in the Red Sea (1951)).
On TV, Tremayne earned frequent appearances on such established programs as "The Danny Thomas Show," "Mr. Adams and Eve," "The Thin Man," "Bachelor Father," "77 Sunset Strip," "The Jack Benny Program," "The Rifleman," "State Trooper," "M Squad," "Thriller," "Perry Mason," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Checkmate" and "The Andy Griffith Show." He also had a recurring TV role as Major Stone on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954) and co-starred as Inspector Richard Queen, the father of the famed mystery writer (played by George Nader on the series The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1958).
A flurry of unworthy low-budget films came Tremayne's way in later years including Shootout at Big Sag (1962), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963), The Slime People (1963), Creature of Destruction (1968), Strawberries Need Rain (1971) and Fangs (1974). He also found work with the CBS Mystery Radio Theatre, and also provided voices for "Mr. Magoo," "Johnny Quest," "The Smurfs," "Go-Bots," "Scooby Doo" and "Rikki Tiki Tavi."
Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995, Tremayne would take his final bow in the comedy film horror The Naked Monster (2005) which featured several other cult actors of '50s sci-fi/horror including Kenneth Tobey, John Agar, Robert Clarke, Robert Cornthwaite, Jeanne Carmen, Lori Nelson, Ann Robinson and Gloria Talbott.
Tremayne died of heart failure in Santa Monica, California, on December 19, 2003, at the age of 90, and was survived by his fourth wife, Joan Hertz.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Hans Conried was born in Baltimore and raised both there and in New York City. He studied acting at Columbia University, and played many major classical roles onstage. After having been a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Company, he was heard as Prof. Kropotkin on the radio show "My Friend Irma" and had various roles on the "Edgar Bergen - Charlie McCarthy Show". He was in the original cast of Cole Porter's 1953 Broadway hit "Can-Can" and stayed with the show for more than a year. Known for his sharp wit, Conried was in demand as an actor, panelist and narrator, appearing frequently in television series and movies throughout the 1960s and 1970s.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mel Blanc, known as "The Man of Thousand Voices" is regarded as the most prolific actor to ever work in Hollywood with over a thousand screen credits. He developed and performed nearly 400 distinct character voices with precision and a uniquely expressive vocal range. The legendary specialist from radio programs, television series, cartoon shorts and movie was rarely seen by his audience but his voice characterizations were famous around the world.
Blanc under exclusive contract until 1960 to Warner Brothers voiced virtually every major character in the Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon pantheon. Characters including Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Wile E. Coyote,The Roadrunner, Yosemite Sam, Sam the Sheepdog, Taz the Tazmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé la Pew, Charlie the Dog, Blacque Jacque Shellacque, Pussyfoot, Private Snafu among others were voiced by Blanc.
After 1960, Blanc continued to work for Warner Brothers but began to work for other companies once his exclusive contract ended. He worked for Hanna-Barbera voicing characters including Barney Rubble, Dino the Dinosaur, Cosmo Spacely, Secret Squirrel, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy, Wally Gator among others. He provided vocal effects for Tom & Jerry in the mid 1960's working with fellow Warner Bros. alum, Chuck Jones at what would become MGM Animation. In the mid 1960's, Blanc originated and voiced Toucan Sam for the Kellogg's Fruit Loops commercials. He would later go to originate and voice Twiki for Buck Rogers and Heathcliff in the late 1970's and early 1980's.- Actor
- Writer
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Daws Butler spent the greater part of his career as one of the premier voice-over actors in Hollywood- providing the voices for such well- known characters as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick-Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Jinks the cat, Dixie the mouse, Augie Doggie, Peter Potamus, Wally Gator, Hokey Wolf, Super Snooper, Blabber Mouse, Cogswell Cogs, Elroy Jetson and many others. He also provided the voices for such long-running commercial characters as Snap, diminutive companion of Crackle and Pop of noisy cereal fame, as well as Cap'n Crunch, spokesman for a somewhat quieter breakfast treat.
Butler was born in Toledo, Ohio and spent his formative years in Oak Park, Illinois. Although his initial ambition was to be a cartoonist, he had a talent for vocal humor and mimicry as well. Paradoxically, he was also quite shy. As a sort of self- imposed therapy, he forced himself to address large audiences by entering local amateur contests and performing impersonations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rudy Vallee and a Model T Ford starting on a cold morning (an audience favorite). He found that the laughter and applause he got in response was well worth the effort and it clinched his decision to pursue an acting and performing career. Eschewing the last few months of his senior year in high school, he began appearing in Chicago theaters and nightclubs along with two other impersonators he had met along the way. Because they all maxed out at around five feet, two inches in height and primarily did impressions of radio personalities, they billed themselves as "The Three Short Waves."
After two years in the Navy during World War II, during which he met and married Myrtis Martin of Albemarle, N.C. (whose next-door neighbor provided the inspiration for what would later become the southern drawl of Huckleberry Hound), Butler ferried his wife and son out to Hollywood. He finally broke into radio, performing in dramatic as well as comedy programs and specializing in dialects and a wide range of vocal characterizations.
In 1949, Butler and Stan Freberg were featured in a new television puppet show called "Time for Beany." Butler was the voice of a propeller-capped kid named Beany while Freberg voiced his best pal, Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent. During five years of five shows a week, they were honored with two Emmy awards.
At Capitol Records in the early 1950s, Butler and Freberg co-wrote and co-voiced a comedy record takeoff on the TV show "Dragnet," called "St. George and the Dragonet." Not only was Jack Webb flattered and amused by the record, but it was the first comedy record to sell more than a million copies. Butler's and Freberg's partnership produced several other comedy platters beloved by disc jockeys across the country, even today. Butler was also a part of Freberg's comedy ensemble on the Stan Freberg Radio Show in the summer of 1957 and on a later and very popular comedy single called "Christmas Dragnet."
After lengthy and very productive collaborations with famed animators/directors Tex Avery and Walter Lantz, Butler embarked on yet another inspired partnership, with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at Hanna-Barbera Productions. There, beginning in the late 50s, Butler created his most famous cartoon characterizations, aided and abetted by another gifted voice actor, Don Messick-Boo Boo and Ranger Smith to Butler's Yogi Bear and Pixie the Mouse to his Dixie, among others.
For legendary cartoon producer Jay Ward, Butler, along with fellow actors and friends June Foray and Bill Scott, performed in two animated series, "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son." His long-running Cap'n Crunch character was also a Jay Ward creation.
In his later years, Butler established a popular and respected actors' workshop in his home, training talented students not only in voice- over techniques, but in all areas of acting, including the physical. On that subject, especially, one had only to witness Butler's histrionic physicality when voicing Yogi Bear or his laid- back, sleepy-eyed mien as he became Huckleberry Hound to understand why he considered facial expression and physical movement as essential as sound in producing a living, breathing character. One of Butler's star workshop students was Nancy Cartwright, later the voice of Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons." Daws Butler passed away on May 19, 1988 of a heart attack, having just completed three Yogi Bear films and 15 new half-hour Yogi Bear cartoon shows. He also lived to see the rebirth of The Jetsons for a new generation, voicing 30 of the new shows along with all the members of the original cast. During his longest- standing creative collaboration, the 30-odd years with Hanna-Barbara Productions, Daws Butler performed in the neighborhood of 40 different characters. In the years that followed his death, seven actors were required to replace them all.- Actress
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Legendary voice actress June Foray was born June Lucille Forer on September 18, 1917 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Maurice Forer and Ida Edith Robinson, who wed in Hampden, Massachusetts. Her father, who was Jewish, emigrated from Novgorod, Imperial Russia, while her Massachusetts-born mother was of Lithuanian Jewish and French-Canadian descent. Her mother converted to Judaism to marry, and took the name Sarah.
At age 12, young June was already doing "old lady" voices. She had the good fortune of having a speech teacher who also had a radio program in the Springfield area. This teacher became her mentor, and added June to the cast of her show. Eventually her family moved to Los Angeles, where she continued in radio. By age fifteen, she was writing her own show for children, "Lady Makebelieve", in which she also provided voices. June dabbled in both on-camera acting and voice work, but was particularly talented in voice characterizations, dialects and accents. Just like Daws Butler, one of her later co-stars, she was a "voice magician" and worked steadily in radio from the 1930s into the 1950s.
June branched out from radio and began providing voices for cartoon characters. In the 1940s, she provided the voices for a live-action series of shorts, "Speaking of Animals", in which she dubbed in voices for real on-screen animals, a task she was to repeat many years later in an episode of The Magical World of Disney (1954). In the late 1940s June, Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, Pinto Colvig and many others recorded hundreds of children's and adult albums for Capitol Records. Her female characterizations on these records ran the entire gamut from little girls to middle-aged women, old ladies, dowagers and witches. No one seemed to be able to do these same voices with the warmth, energy and sparkle that June did.
In the 1950s June's star in animation not only began to rise but soared when Walt Disney sought her out and hired her to do the voice of Lucifer the cat in Cinderella (1950). The Disney organization continued to use June many times over, well into the 21st century. Warner Brothers also hired her to replace Bea Benaderet and do all of its "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons. June has done many incidental characters for Warners, but her most famous voice has been that of Granny (in the "Tweety and Sylvester" series). Unfortunately, since Mel Blanc's contract called for exclusive voice credit on these cartoons, June never received credit for all the voices she did. During this time she also appeared on [error].
In 1957, Jay Ward met with June to discuss her voicing the characters of "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" and "Natasha Fatale" in a cartoon series. On November 19, 1959, the show debuted as The Bullwinkle Show (1959), later changing its name to The Bullwinkle Show (1959). June provided many other voices for this show, especially its "side shows" such as "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son". She did fewer voices for the "Peabody's Improbable History" segment, but she did appear in at least three of those episodes. After the show had been successful for a few years, Ward added one of its most popular segments, "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties". June was a regular in this side show as Dudley's girlfriend Nell Fenwick.
Since Ward used June exclusively for nearly all his female voices, he showcased her talents as no other producer had before. June missed out on doing voices for three of the show's "Fractured Fairy Tales" because she could not reschedule some bookings to do recording work with Stan Freberg, so Julie Bennett filled in for her on those occasions. Dorothy Scott--co-producer Bill Scott's wife--also filled in for June a few times for "Peabody's Improbable History". Her collaboration with Ward made her incredibly famous, and "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" became her signature voice. To this day June regularly wears a necklace with the figure of Rocky sculpted by her niece Lauren Marems.
Ward later produced two other cartoon series, Hoppity Hooper (1964) and George of the Jungle (1967). June's appearances on "Hoppity Hooper" were limited to the segments of "Fractured Fairy Tales", "Dudley Do-Right" and "Peabody" that aired during its run. On "Fractured Fairy Tales" June did a whole montage of voices similar to those from her Capitol Records days. Her witch voices were so incredibly funny and magnificently done that Disney and Warner Brothers tapped her to provide that same voice for the character of Witch Hazel. She was once again the lone female voice artist, this time on "George of the Jungle". Included on that show were the "Super Chicken" and "Tom Slick" side shows.
In the 1960s, June lost out to Bea Benaderet when she auditioned for the voice of "Betty Rubble" on The Flintstones (1960). June appeared numerous times during the decade in holiday specials such as Frosty the Snowman (1969) and The Little Drummer Boy (1968)). In the 1960s and 1970s, June dubbed in voices for full-length live-action feature films many times. Jay Ward and Bill Scott also had her dub in dialogue for silent movies in their non-animated series Fractured Flickers (1963).
In the early 1970s, June tried her hand at puppetry. She became the voice of an elephant, an aardvark and a giraffe on Curiosity Shop (1971). Around this time she also recorded various voices for the road shows of "Disney on Parade", which toured the US and Europe for several years.
She acted on-camera occasionally over the years, primarily on talk shows, game shows and documentaries; in the early years of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), she performed a 13-week stint as a little Mexican girl. However, June had said that she prefers to record behind the scenes because she jokingly said "She can earn more money in less time."
June Foray died on July 26, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. She was ninety nine years old.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Shepard Menken was born on 2 November 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Killers from Space (1954), Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1975) and I Spy (1965). He died on 2 January 1999 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Cliff Norton was born on 21 March 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Harry and Tonto (1974) and That Girl (1966). He died on 25 January 2003 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Candy Candido was born on 25 December 1913 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Peter Pan (1953) and The French Dispatch (2021). He was married to Anita Bivona. He died on 19 May 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Patti Gilbert was born on 14 May 1931 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Get Smart (1965), The Phantom Tollbooth (1970) and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs (1988). She was married to Henry Gilbert, Henry G. Saperstein and Charles Schleussner. She died on 15 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Born in 1914, raised in Norfolk, Nebraska, Thurl Ravenscroft served as a navigator in the US Army Air Transport Command in World War II before settling in Hollywood. An accomplished singer, he performed with The Sportsmen Quartet, The Mellowmen Quartet, The Johnny Mann Singers, The Norman Luboff Choir, and many major stars, including Jim Nabors and Elvis Presley. He was best known, however, for his mellifluous voice-overs, and he voiced Tony the Tiger in countless advertisements for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes in both English and Spanish. In 1996 he and his wife June retired to southern California, although he still did occasional work as Tony. He died in 2005 of prostate cancer.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
The son of Alexander Sim JP and Isabella McIntyre, Alastair Sim was educated in Edinburgh. Always interested in language (especially the spoken word) he became the Fulton Lecturer in Elocution at New College, Edinburgh University from 1925 until 1930. He was invited back and became the Rector of Edinburgh University (1948 - 1951). His first stage appearance was as Messenger in Othello at the Savoy Theatre, London. He went on to create some of the most memorable (usually comedic) roles in British films from 1936 until his death in 1976.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
David Tate was an actor, known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) and Going All the Way (1997). He died in 1996.- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Melvyn Hayes was born on 11 January 1935 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Here Come the Double Deckers! (1970). He has been married to Jayne Male since 2010. They have one child. He was previously married to Wendy Padbury and Rosalind Allan.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Some of Hordern's finest work was not in films or television but on radio: His performance as Gandalf in the BBC's radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was arguably the definitive portrayal of that character (contrast Hordern's Gandalf with that of Ian McKellen in the 3-part film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson).- Actress
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- Producer
Eclectic, spade-jawed, auburn-haired British classical stage actress Diana Quick, of Anglo-Indian descent, specialized in aristocratic ladies and played various members of royalty (queens, baronesses, etc.) throughout her career. Having worked with most of the prominent British theatre companies (RSC, Royal Court, National, Old Vic, etc.), her extensive resume has included "Troilus and Cressida," "The Threepenny Opera," "Billy," "Mother Teresa Is Dead," "Ghosts," "The Old Neighbourhood," "The Sea," "King Lear," "Hamlet," "The Changeling, "The Women Pirates," "A Map of the World, "Tamburlaine," "Plunder," Phaedra Brittanica," "Mother Christmas," "Electra," "ANNA," "The Big Meal," "You Never Can Tell" and the one-woman play Midnight Your Time. More recently she appeared in "The Model Apartment (2018).
Diana was born in London on November 23, 1946, the third of four children. Her parents were amateur theatre players. She took an interest in acting too while attending Dartford Grammar School for Girls in Kent and appeared in school plays ("Arms and the Man"). She became a member of an amateur dramatic society in and earned her first isolated film credit in an unbilled teen role with The Brothers Karamazov (1958). In 1964, Diana attended Oxford University where she dedicated herself to extensive training. She subsequently became the first female president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.
The 70's began with a recurring role as Gloria in the TV comedy series The Best Things in Life (1969), and a small role in the elegant film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). She continued on TV with guest appearances on such shows as "Six Days of Justice," "The Protectors," "Bedtime Stories," 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "Private Afffairs." She returned to film in the latter half of the decade with support/featured roles in The Duellists (1977), The Big Sleep (1978), The Odd Job (1978), Ordeal by Innocence (1984), Nineteen Nineteen (1985), Max My Love (1986), Vroom (1990), Nostradamus (1994), The Leading Man (1996) and Vigo (1998).
Diana enjoyed her finest TV hour with her portrayal of Lady Julia Flyte in the critically-acclaimed mini-series Brideshead Revisited (1981), and received a BAFTA TV Award nomination for her efforts. She then continued with TV roles in The Woman in White (1982), as well as "The Phantom of the Opera" (as Madame Bianchi), and the TV series "Network 7," "Screenplay," "Minder," "The Justic Game" and "Alas Smith and Jones."
The millennium provided her a number of elegant character roles on the large and small screen, including the film comedy crimer Saving Grace (2000); the dramatic fantasy The Discovery of Heaven (2001); the historical romancer The Affair of the Necklace (2001); a co-star role in the romance drama AKA (2002); the heavier dramas Revengers Tragedy (2002), Mother's Milk (2011); Love/Loss (2010) and Side by Side (2013); and the historical dramedy The Death of Stalin (2017). She also has written and directed for TV.
Once briefly wed (1974-1978) to Scots-born actor Kenneth Cranham, whom she met at the National Youth Theatre, Diana once had a long-standing relationship (1971-2008) with actor Bill Nighy and, with him, had one child, actress/daughter Mary Nighy. Quick spent a number of years researching her paternal family's life in India, which was published in 2009 entitled A Tug on the Thread: From the British Raj to the British Stage.- Going through old copies of the Radio Times and scanning the cast lists of vintage television productions, some names keep turning up, over and over again. Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence, prior to their horror stardom; Yvonne Mitchell, Andre Morell, Roger Delgado, Barry Letts, Patrick Troughton, John Robinson; and Paul Whitsun-Jones was another example of this breed. Corpulent, with thick black hair and often seen as appropriately solid authority figures, whether comically pompous or threatening in an oily manner, Whitsun-Jones facially resembled a heftier and rather bad-tempered version of Peter Bowles; his Avengers appearances are pretty representative of his work, respectively taking in Government man, fat villain and eccentric innocent bystander. Given the bluff, very old-school image he often projected, it's slightly surprising to find he was actually born in Wales, in 1923, though less surprisingly this was in Monmouthshire, near the border with England.
One of his early TV credits was a ground-breaking one for the medium; The Quatermass Experiment (1953) (BBC), the first adventure for Nigel Kneale's scientist hero, who after masterminding an early space mission has to take action when one of the astronauts (played by Duncan Lamont from "Stay Tuned") comes under the control of an alien, mutating creature. In typical 50s gear of trilby and trenchcoat, Whitsun-Jones was a regular in the series (or serial as it would have been called then), playing James Fullalove, an ironically named, cynical newspaper columnist who complicates matters by attempting to get to the unfortunate astronaut. (In Kneale's work, journalists are always bad news.) Only the first two episodes of this - "Contact Has Been Established" and "Persons Reported Missing" - exist today, the BBC at the time deciding against recording the last four; whether this was because they were not satisfied with the poorly lit, distinctly indistinct picture quality of the first two, or if the still-new process of telerecording was simply too expensive, is debatable. Famously, its prefacing continuity announcement contained the warning that the programme was not suitable for "those of you who may have a nervous disposition", or children. By contrast, The Gordon Honour (BBC, 1956), was a children's series, hovering somewhere between drama and comedy, about two feuding families called the Gordons and the Fitzwilliams, their rivalry centring around a candlestick, with the Fitzwilliams generally on the losing side. It ran for two series, from which no episodes exist now; each episode took place at a different point in history, but with the same actors playing the various family members, among them Roger Delgado, in a tailor-made role as a sword-wielding Spaniard, and Whitsun-Jones as a family butler. Occasional guest stars included the great Arthur Lowe from "Dead Man's Treasure" and Dad's Army.
In the first of several roles opposite Roger Moore, Ivanhoe, "The Gentle Jester" (Screen Gems, 1958) saw Whitsun-Jones as Sir Maverick, a fellow supporter of King Richard who seeks a replacement jester, after which it was a real switch for a deeply unusual entry in Sydney Newman's normally realistic Armchair Theatre, "Death of Satan" (ABC, 1958), set in Hell, in which he played Oscar Wilde, who along with Lord Byron was found to be rather enjoying himself there.
In the theatre, Whitsun-Jones was in the original West End production of Oliver!, by Lionel Bart out of Charles Dickens, in 1960, with Ron Moody (seen in "Honey for the Prince" and "The Bird Who Knew Too Much") giving it 100% as Fagin, as he would in the film, which Whitsun-Jones wasn't in. The latter's next TV series was Bonehead (1957) (BBC), a children's sitcom which went out in the same early Saturday evening slot (around 5.30) later filled by Doctor Who. Colin Douglas, a heavily built actor who later starred on the early 70s WW2 series A Family At War, had the title role of a dim Cockney villain in a bowler hat, Whitsun-Jones was The Boss, and each week their gang's criminal plottings ended in slapstick disaster. Unlike the career of its writer-producer, Shaun Sutton, who ended up becoming Head of Drama at the BBC, then oversaw the Corporation's 80s televising of all Shakespeare's plays.
Getting into the ITC series, where he was more often than not cast as foreigners of some kind, Whitsun-Jones was in the now obscure Man Of The World, "A Family Affair" (ATV/ITC, 1962), set in Paris, in which he was some way down the cast list as "A Midwesterner"; then, again with Roger Moore, he had three turns alone in the first batch of (black and white) episodes of The Saint. "The Golden Journey" (ATV/ITC, 1962), also with Roger Delgado (again) and Richard Montez, had Whitsun-Jones as a stereotyped lumberjack in a check shirt, who in one, deeply non-PC scene gives spoilt heroine Erica Rogers (seen in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much") a spanking; "Starring the Saint", which kept the budget down by involving Templar with the film industry, and had two Avengers spymasters-cum-villains, Whitsun-Jones and Ronald Radd, in similar roles as showbiz chancers; and "Teresa", which like the previous episode featured Alexander Davion, who with Whitsun-Jones, Richard Montez (again) and Coronation Street regular Alan Browning (seen in "Intercrime" and "Who Was That Man I Saw You With?"), here had to pretend to be Mexican. Paul Whitsun-Jones' film appearances were generally minor, and as easily defined types like policemen, stuffy gents, and pub customers (one suspects he probably liked a glass in real life).
The Moonraker (1958) was a costume swashbuckler set in the English Civil War and decidedly on the side of the Royalists, with Peter Arne doing well as a villain, although John LeMesurier as Oliver Cromwell required some suspension of disbelief. Whitsun-Jones was in both the minor classic Room at the Top (1958), detailing the climb of Laurence Harvey and his phoney Northern accent, with Ian Hendry also among the bit-parters, and its less well remembered sequel Life at the Top (1965), which featured Honor Blackman as a journalist; intriguingly, as this was just after Goldfinger, Harvey and director Ted Kotcheff were compelled to cast Honor with the box office in mind, when they had actually wanted Vanessa Redgrave. The intense, Scottish-set military drama Tunes of Glory (1960), starring Alec Guinness and 'John Mills', had strong support from 'Dennis Price', Gordon Jackson, Duncan Macrae, Gerald Harper, and Whitsun-Jones as the Mess President. The latter also did a couple of the fondly recalled, British series of Edgar Wallace B-movies; Candidate for Murder (1962), with the splendid Michael Gough from "The Cybernauts" and "The Correct Way to Kill," and The £20,000 Kiss (1963), plus that king of the American B-movie Roger Corman's The Masque of the Red Death (1964), with Vincent Price and Nigel Green. The Wild Affair (1965), a forgotten comedy-drama written and directed by Season Five director John Krish, with Whitsun-Jones as a party guest, is perhaps noteworthy as the only film in which the great Terry-Thomas appeared without his trademark moustache.
Whitsun-Jones was also a stooge for the annoying, later bewilderingly knighted Norman Wisdom in There Was a Crooked Man (1960), having the bad luck to turn up later in What's Good for the Goose (1969), which killed off Wisdom's film career by having him leching after girls a third his age; strangely, the director was the notorious Menahem Golan, who with his lowest common denominator Cannon Group would try to take over Hollywood in the 80s (after pretty well destroying what was left of the industry in Britain). Remaining very busy on television, Whitsun-Jones guested in the highly successful Maigret, "The Crime At Lock 14" (BBC, 1963), with Rupert Davies as the French detective, plus Isa Miranda from "Epic"; and in The Odd Man, "A Pattern Of Little Silver Devils" (Granada, 1963), a moody, noir-ish crime series, here also guest-starring Donald Sutherland as a drummer in a jazz band, and secret drug addict. He was next one of a regular repertory company, also including former stand-up Alfred Marks and Welsh loon Kenneth Griffith, in Paris 1900 (Granada, 1964), vigorously performing six stage farces from that time by Georges Feydeau, adapted and produced by Philip Mackie, an unfairly overlooked TV hero of the 60s whose literary adaptations were always good value.
The next two guest shots both saw Whitsun-Jones working with Patrick Macnee's then wife Catherine Woodville, killed off in "Hot Snow," and stuntman-director Ray Austin; G.S.5, "Scorpion Rock" (ATV, 1964) starred Ray Barrett and Neil Hallett as agents, with Whitsun-Jones (as a Mediterranean dictator called Emilio Zafra) and Woodville guesting, Austin as stunt arranger and Brian Clemens as script editor, while yet another episode of The Saint, "The Damsel in Distress" (ATV/ITC, 1964), directed by Peter Yates, had Whitsun-Jones and John Bluthal as members of a slightly dodgy Italian family, with Woodville and Austin also in the cast, again. Miss Adventure, "Journey to Copenhagen" (ABC, 1964) was, as the title suggests, a light comedy thriller which starred, of all people, Hattie Jacques (Eric Sykes' sister on TV, and a Carry On-er in films), and the producer was Ernest Maxin, later noted for his work with Morecambe and Wise; Whitsun-Jones guested here as a Russian, along with Eric Flynn, who died recently and was in "Murdersville."
Whitsun-Jones occasionally turned up on the successful P.G . Wodehouse adaptation The World of Wooster (1965) (BBC), as the fearsome Sir Roderick Glossop, father of the drippy Honoria, and generally causing complications for Ian Carmichael as Bertie, to be sorted out by Dennis Price as Jeeves. Going back to children's programmes, he was in Doctor Who, "The Smugglers" (BBC, 1966), a Tale of Old Dartmoor with Whitsun-Jones as a local squire, later revealed to be in league with the nominal ruffians. It was the penultimate story of the visibly ailing (and frankly, having trouble with his lines) William Hartnell; later, in "The Mutants" (1972) with Jon Pertwee, Whitsun-Jones' character of the Marshal, treating the inhabitants of an Earth colony shabbily, was intended by writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin as a critique of British imperialism, although this rather got lost in the usual juvenile runaround. Returning to successful stage musicals, he was in the West End production of Fiddler On The Roof, in 1967, with Topol (and later, Alfie Bass) taking centre stage as Tevye; Whitsun-Jones would, again, miss out on the later film version. On TV, Mr. Rose, "The Jolly Swagman" (Granada, 1967), a spin-off from the aforementioned The Odd Man, starred bald-domed comedy actor William Mervyn as the retired Scotland Yard man of the title, here taking a cruise on which Whitsun-Jones, John LeMesurier, and Derek Farr (seen in "Man-Eater of Surrey Green" and "The Eagle's Nest") were also present.
The first week of 1969 saw Whitsun-Jones as a regular in Wild, Wild Women (1968) (BBC), a vehicle for Barbara Windsor in between Carry Ons; it was written by Ronnie Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who had earlier created The Rag Trade, and similarly this was set in a clothing factory with a truculent female workforce, the difference being it was set in 1902. Despite Windsor's (continuing) popularity, it only ran for one season; Whitsun-Jones played her pompous and somewhat lascivious employer, while his gormless assistant was forgotten stand-up Ken Platt, whose allegedly hilarious catchphrase was "I won't take me coat off, I'm not stopping". The pilot in 1968, unsurprisingly an episode of Comedy Playhouse, had Derek Francis (later in "House of Cards") in Whitsun-Jones' eventual role, similarly Penelope Keith (a very different type of comic actress from Windsor!) had been in this, but not the series. Then, two episodes, as different characters, of Department S; "A Cellar Full of Silence" (ATV/ITC, 1969), directed by former Hammer man John Gilling, with Peter Wyngarde and chums delving into the case of four corpses in fancy dress turning up in a cellar, and the later "Death on Reflection", involving killings somehow connected to a much sought-after mirror. The latter featured 40s leading man Guy Rolfe (who'd actually been in Dennis Spooner's mind when he created Jason King) as chief villain, and Whitsun-Jones, just as "Fog" did at around the same time. In a busy year, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm (1969) (Thames) was another children's series, from a series of books, published for over half a century, by one-time magician Norman Hunter. Jack Woolgar, seen in "The Living Dead" and a specialist in old codgers, played the other-worldly, multiple-spectacle-wearing professor, with Whitsun-Jones in what seems like a perfect bit of casting as his militaristic chum Colonel Dedshott.
Next, he was in the then hugely popular, now deeply rickety Up Pompeii!, "Exodus" (BBC, 1970), with Frankie Howerd as slave Lurcio here put up for auction, and Whitsun-Jones and Gainsborough film star Jean Kent among the bidders; this was actually the last episode in the series, although Frankie carried on Up in three films and two belated TV specials (decades apart and for different networks, but both called Further Up Pompeii). Staying in comedy, Whitsun-Jones was in an early episode of another success of the 70s that many feel has not aged well, The Goodies, "Give Police A Chance" (BBC, 1970); its defenders point out it had some anti-Establishment elements, notably portraying the police as thuggish and corrupt, and certainly Whitsun-Jones, in an unrestrained performance as Commissioner Butcher, did much yelling and threatening towards the trio (especially Tim Brooke-Taylor), after being unamused by their attempts to give the force a "nice" image. He was then one of a team of regular performers, including the much-mourned young comedy actor Richard Beckinsale, in Elephant's Eggs In A Rhubarb Tree (Thames, 1971), yet another children's series and the kind of charmingly old-fashioned amalgam of poetry, prose and songs that sadly just isn't done any more.
On the big screen, Simon Simon (1970) was a short oddity directed by character actor Graham Stark in which various names, including Michael Caine, Peter Sellers and David Hemmings, put in unbilled cameos for free, as favours to Stark (in Sellers' case, shot during his lunch break); Whitsun-Jones, along with John Junkin, was among the credited (and presumably paid) cast members. One review, in the Monthly Film Bulletin, commented that the next time Stark tried to make a film, he must realise it involves more than just sticking a load of well-known people in front of the camera; however, he clearly hadn't learned this by the time of the sketch-film The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), with Whitsun-Jones in the segment on Avarice. He was a police sergeant in the intriguing but rather disappointing Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), written by Brian Clemens and produced by him and Albert Fennell for Hammer. Then he had the colossal misfortune of being in the very smutty Keep It Up, Jack (1974), described by Verina Glaessner in Time Out as "defining a whole new low in British comedy", and with detachable naughty bits filmed for the continental version, without the knowledge of some of the cast; Whitsun-Jones and Frank Thornton (who deserved better than this, or Are You Being Served) played lawyers.
His last film was Assassin (1973), a routine spy effort benefiting from Ian Hendry in the title role, plus various familiar faces including Frank Windsor; it was written by Michael Sloan, whose later revivals of old shows on American TV usually found space for Patrick Macnee, i.e. The Return Of The Man From Uncle (1983). Returning to TV episodes, Whitsun-Jones was a French police inspector in The Persuaders!, "Powerswitch" (ATV/ITC, 1971), yet again with Roger Moore, plus Annette Andre as a showgirl in trouble and, unbelievably, a cameo from deeply camp dancer and professional celebrity Lionel Blair; this episode was later stuck together with another, "The Gold Napoleon" and released in cinemas (and later on video) in some countries as Mission: Monte Carlo. And Whitsun-Jones' role was virtually identical in Jason King, "Chapter One: The Company I Keep" (ATV/ITC, 1972), his investigator was Italian this time but in a similar scenario, seen quizzing Ronald Radd in another teaming, with Stephanie Beacham as, yes, a showgirl in trouble. He was an innkeeper in The Adventures Of Don Quixote (BBC/Universal, 1972), filmed in Spain and shown in the prestige Play Of The Month strand, with a very rare TV role for Rex Harrison as Quixote, accompanied by Frank Finlay as Sancho Panza; Alexander Walker's biography of Harrison (Fatal Charm) claims this is one of the best things the star ever did, in which he really did act rather than just play himself (or Professor Higgins), and regrets how it remains virtually unseen since its premiere.
One of the last sightings of Whitsun-Jones was in Bowler, "Members Only" (LWT, 1973), a forgotten sitcom about a would-be refined Cockney gangster, played by the normally serious and upright George Baker. Whitsun-Jones died, shamefully young, very early in 1974, a small obituary of him appearing in The Times on the 18th January of that year. - Production Manager
- Producer
Annie West is known for The Deed: Chicago (2017), Doubling Down with the Derricos (2020) and 90 Day Diaries (2021).- Felix Felton was born on 12 August 1911 in Hastings, Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The 2nd Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World (1965) and Doctor Knock (1961). He died on 21 October 1972 in Paddington, London, England, UK.
- Actress
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Joan Sims, the "First Lady of Carry On", was born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930. The daughter of an Essex railway station master, Joan was interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions. In 1946, Joan first applied to RADA, her audition was unsuccessful. She did succeed in being admitted to the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, trained at RADA. She graduated in 1950 at the age of nineteen.
A cameo appearance in Doctor in the House (1954) as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis led to Joan being first spotted by Peter Rogers; Rogers' wife Betty E. Box was the producer of the Doctor series, in which Joan herself became a regular.
A few years later, in 1958, Joan received another script from Peter Rogers, it was Carry on Nurse (1959). The film had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year Rogers and Gerald Thomas began planning a follow up. She went on to appear in 24 of the films, making her the longest serving female member of the team.
She first starred in the following three Carry On films: Carry on Teacher (1959), Carry on Constable (1960) and Carry on Regardless (1961), before taking a break from the next four films to concentrate on stage work. She rejoined the team with Carry on Cleo (1964) and remained all the way through to Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) in 1978.
Ironically, she was never proclaimed Queen of Carry On. This title went to saucy Barbara Windsor, even though she had only appeared in nine Carry On films.
One could argue that her final performances in the Carry On films were rather sentimental, as though she knew that the series was coming to an end and two scenes come to mind. The scene in which she plays cards with Peter Butterworth in Carry on Behind (1975) in his caravan late at night, and also in the launderette where she dances with an early Carry Oner Victor Maddern in Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). Both of these are memorable sentimental film scene stealers.
With the end of the Carry On series in 1978, Joan went on to become a familiar face on TV screens, with ongoing roles in a number of highly successful sitcoms On the Up (1990) and As Time Goes By (1992) and the BBC's prestigious classic drama adaptations such as Martin Chuzzlewit (1994).
Joan's autobiography, High Spirits, was released in 2000. She complains in the last few pages of her book at the lack of information on her on the IMDB trivia page, something that was only significantly expanded after her death.
In her later years she became a cult figure and something of a British National Institution as the only surviving major Carry On star from early days. However, years of heavy drinking took their toll and she suffered in her later years with ill health. She was admitted to Hospital in Chelsea in London in mid 2001 and slipped into a coma. She died on 28 June 2001, with her lifelong friend and Carry On Norah Holland holding her hand.
Following her death, surviving Carry On stars celebrated her achievement in the Carry On films. Barbara Windsor, said at the time of her death, "To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons, she was there at the beginning. Her talent was wonderful, she could do any accent, dialect, she could dance, sing, play dowdy and glam. We laughed all the time and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her." That quote is so true, throughout her whole Carry On career she alone stands apart as the most versatile actress in the whole series. She was never typecast in the films like the other actors and actresses.
Others also paid tribute, even ex-Government Cabinet Ministers. Her agent Richard Hatton said, "It's wonderful to be able to say that she really did have all the qualities that her many fans would have wished. A great sense of humour, a sympathetic and endearing personality, terrific talent and consideration for others.
"Over and above this, she discovered a new side of herself when she wrote her autobiography last year, which was untypical for the genre - honest, frank and intelligent. Everyone who knew her is going to remember her forever."- Animation Department
- Producer
- Visual Effects
Alexander Williams is a film animator and cartoonist, born in London, England in 1967. He was educated at Westminster School, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and Merton College, Oxford, where he took a first in Modern History.
He is the creator of the Queens Counsel comic strip, a satire on law and lawyers, which has appeared in the law pages of The Times since 1993, under the pseudonym Steuart and Francis. A number of collections of the cartoons have been published, by Robson Books and Harper Collins.
He was briefly a barrister at 12 King's Bench Walk Chambers in London before embarking on a full-time career in film animation.
His work as an animator includes Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), The Lion King (1993), The Iron Giant (1999), and Robots (2005).- Mary Ellen Ray was born on 3 January 1931 in Springfield, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Sender (1982), The Lords of Discipline (1983) and Some Kind of Hero (1972). She died on 10 September 2004 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
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Sir Michael Redgrave was of the generation of English actors that gave the world the legendary John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, Britain three fabled "Theatrical Knights" back in the days when a knighthood for thespian was far more rare than it is today. A superb actor, Redgrave himself was a charter member of the post-Great War English acting pantheon and was the sire of an acting dynasty. He and his wife, Rachel Kempson, were the parents of Vanessa Redgrave, Corin Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave and the grandparents of Natasha Richardson, Joely Richardson and Jemma Redgrave.- Animation Department
- Visual Effects
- Art Department
Claire Williams was born on 13 May 1969 in London, England, UK. She is known for Enchanted (2007), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and The Princess and the Frog (2009).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Joe Raposo was born on 8 February 1937 in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Sesame Street (1969), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and The Incredible Hulk (2008). He was married to Pat Collins. He died on 5 February 1989 in Bronxville, New York, USA.- Actress
- Producer
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Didi Conn was born Edith Bernstein, July 13, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York, she is memorable for her role as "Frenchy" in Grease. With over 40 film and television credits, we should acknowledge Didi's work in The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (1980), Grease 2 (1982), Benson, Shining Time Station (1989), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999). Since her son Daniel had been diagnosed with the disorder, on November 13, 2008, she was named "national celebrity spokesperson" for Autism Speaks. She has made several appearances, educating the masses on the disorder.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Mark Baker was born on 2 October 1946 in Cumberland, Maryland, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1976), The Equalizer (1985) and Swashbuckler (1976). He was married to Patricia Britton. He died on 13 August 2018 in Cumberland, Maryland, USA.- Actor
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Fred Stuthman was born on 27 June 1919 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Marathon Man (1976) and Network (1976). He died on 7 July 1982 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Niki Flacks was born on 7 April 1943 in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. She is an actress, known for Dallas (1978), Semi-Tough (1977) and Trilogy (1969).- Actor
- Soundtrack
George S. Irving was born on 1 November 1922 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Pinocchio's Christmas (1980) and Live from Lincoln Center (1976). He was married to Maria Karnilova. He died on 26 December 2016 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
A show-stopping comic for decades, the inimitable Arnold Stang, with the trademark Runyonesque voice and thick, black glasses, started out famously on radio before branching out to include Broadway, films and especially TV. Born on September 28, 1918, in New York City (for decades he himself perpetuated the myth of being born in 1925 in Chelsea, Massachusetts), he was the son of a lawyer. Following the 1929 stock market crash, his father was forced to look elsewhere for work and managed a living as a salesman. The scrawny kid from Manhattan grew up in Brooklyn and attended New Utrecht High School.
During his teen years (early 1930s) he auditioned for and won roles on radio's "Horn and Hardart's Children's Hour," a variety show, and the kiddie program "Let's Pretend," which set off a two-decade stint as one of radio's most popular vocal personalities. His squawky, unmistakable voice was heard as Jughead in the "Archie Andrews" series and as neighbor Seymour Fingerhood on the beloved, Bronx-styled Gertrude Berg classic "The Goldbergs," among others. He even appeared in radio soap operas and mysteries on occasion, often providing comedy relief. A reliable and feisty second banana, he traded quips with the best of them: Eddie Cantor; Jack Benny; Fred Allen; Fanny Brice; Milton Berle, you name it.
In between radio work Stang could sometimes be seen on the stage, his first legitimate play being on Broadway with the short-lived "All In Favour" (1942). This was followed by "You'll See Stars" at the end of that same year. He subsequently moved from radio to TV with the help of Milton Berle in the late 1940s and eventually found a very comfortable niche in comedy as a foil to the big stars. On the satirical Henry Morgan's Great Talent Hunt (1951), he was a regular member of Henry Morgan's stock company as a nerdy teen named Gerard. Plain, plucky but rather sad-sack, his puny-looking nerd types (5'3" and not much over 100 pounds) seemed to beg to have sand kicked in their faces. Yet, as much as they could be pushed around, they often displayed stubborn, delinquent-like streaks and could be mighty pesky in nature and irritating to the nth degree.
Stang also lent his vocal talents quite successfully to cartoon voiceovers beginning with Popeye the Sailor's pal Shorty. He later moved into a lengthy hitch as "Hoiman" the mouse in Paramount's popular "Herman and Katnip" series, but his best known animal character, of course, came later with the title role in Joseph Barbera - William Hanna 1961 classic cartoon series Top Cat (1961). His playing of "T.C", the slick, smart-alecky, Brooklynesque mastermind behind a gang of alley cats, was very reminiscent of Phil Silvers' Sgt. Bilko character from The Phil Silvers Show (1955).
Film work for Stang would be very sporadic over the years providing secondary but stalwart support in such escapism as Seven Days' Leave (1942), My Sister Eileen (1942), Let's Go Steady (1945), Two Gals and a Guy (1951) and the all-star epic It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). Stang's best featured part was a rare dramatic role opposite Frank Sinatra in the then-daring topical movie about drug addiction entitled The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Here he played Frank Sinatra's seedy but loyal pal Sparrow, a role that easily could have influenced Dustin Hoffman when he created his Ratso Rizzo character a decade and a half later in Midnight Cowboy (1969).
From the 1950s, the bespectacled comedian would be a steadfast TV commercial spokesman pitching such products as Delco, Chunky candy ("Chunky...what a chunk o' chocolate!") and Orkin ("Stop squawkin', call Orkin!") using his own, unique style. As for the stage, a few of his later stints included the 1969 Broadway remake of "The Front Page," the role of Hysterium in a production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and a part in Woody Allen's "Play It Again, Sam". The owlish comedian continued acting into the 90s with small roles in such movies as Ghost Dad (1990) and Dennis the Menace (1993).
Long married (since 1949) to wife JoAnn Taggart, a writer, Stang died of pneumonia at age 91 in Newton, Massachusetts, just before Christmas in 2009. He was also survived by his two children, David Donald and Deborah Jane.- Actor
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Broadway, motion picture, television, and voice actor from the 1950s to the 1980s, distinguished by a deep, resonant voice. He started his acting career on stage at age 20 in "Tobacco Road," and on CBS TV's "Mr. I. Magination." He was a character actor and puppeteer for "Space Funnies" (in the role of Captain Jett) from 1955 to 1960. Probably more famous for playing Michael Caine's agent in the movie Deathtrap (1982) and the junk dealer Mr. Farber in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), opposite a then-new talent, Richard Dreyfuss.
Although his movie, television, and voice work career were extensive, his heart and soul belonged to Broadway and the theater, and he eventually received a Tony nomination for the 1972-73 production of "Lenny" for his multiple characterizations (he played nine different roles). Other works include "Shivers" (1975), "You Light Up My Life" (1977), "Diary of a Bachelor" (1964), and a guest-starring role as a villain in an episode of the Bloodhound Gang segment on the first season of 3-2-1 Contact (1980)- Actor
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Alan Sues was born on 7 March 1926 in Ross, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967), The Americanization of Emily (1964) and The Twilight Zone (1959). He was married to Phyllis Gehrig. He died on 1 December 2011 in West Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Marty Brill was born on 6 May 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Soupy Sales Show (1976), One in a Million (1980) and What's Happening!! (1976). He died on 23 January 2021.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Dooley was a keen cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at college. Moving to New York, he soon found success as a regular on the stage. Also having an interest in comedy, Dooley was a stand-up comedian for five years, as well as having brief stints as a magician and as a clown. Unafraid of trying different areas of entertainment, he was also a writer. After appearing in many movies, including most notably Popeye (1980), Dooley has appeared as recurrent characters on various shows, including My So-Called Life (1994), Dream On (1990), Grace Under Fire (1993), and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Mason Adams was well known for playing Pepper Young on the popular radio soap opera series Pepper Young's Family throughout the 1940 and 1950s. He was also heard on most of the successful radio programs during radio's "Golden Age." In the 1970s, Adams was frequently heard on Himan Brown's CBS Mystery Theater radio series. He had a regular running role on the Lou Grant TV series for several seasons and appeared in hundreds of other television series throughout the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s and '90s and can still can be seen playing featured roles in films and on TV.- Actor
- Writer
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Allen Swift was born on 16 January 1924 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Mad Monster Party? (1967), Underdog (1964) and King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (1960). He was married to Lenore. He died on 18 April 2010 in New York, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Hetty Galen was born on 29 December 1929 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Night They Robbed Big Bertha's (1975), Simon (1980) and Roseland (1977). She died on 31 July 1984.- Music Department
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- Composer
Sheldon Harnick was born on 30 April 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and composer, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Election (1999) and Beautiful Boy (2018). He was married to Margery Gray, Elaine May and Mary Elizabeth Boatner. He died on 23 June 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ardyth Kaiser was born on 20 December 1938 in Evansville, Indiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Witness (1985), Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1976) and Ladies Who Lunch (2004).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Margery Gray was born on 21 July 1934 in Bronx, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Heidi's Song (1982), The Elgin Hour (1954) and The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1991). She was previously married to Sheldon Harnick.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Lynne Stuart was born on 30 September 1930 in Lakeland, Florida, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for The Crucifer of Blood (1991), Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1976) and California Dreams (1992). She was married to Richard Horner. She died on 4 September 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.- Animation Department
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The son of commercial artists, Richard Williams studied at the Ontario College of Art and first worked in animation for Disney Studios in Burbank. His tenure there had a strong influence on his later work but proved somewhat stifling to his own creative flair. In 1955, aged 22, Williams moved to England and joined fellow Canadian George Dunning's company T.V. Cartoons Ltd., working primarily on television commercials. At the same time, Williams created his first animated short feature, The Little Island (1958), which won him the 1959 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. Though a critical success it received a mixed response at the box office. Consequently, his next venture was aimed at the mainstream market. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me (1962) turned out to be a commercial success and generated enough revenue for Williams to set up his own animation studio. In addition to producing commercials, Williams went on to create memorable title sequences for motion pictures, including What's New Pussycat (1965), The Liquidator (1965), The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976). He also produced several animated features, notably A Christmas Carol (1971) and The Thief and the Cobbler (1993). The latter project underwent numerous rewrites and re-edits and took 31 years to complete. In 1995, it was eventually released by Miramax in the U.S. as Arabian Knight.
Possibly the high point of his career was as animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), for which Williams won two Academy Awards: one for Best Visual Effects and the other for animation direction and (CGI) creation of cartoon characters. An occasional voice-over actor, he also provided the voice for the Tex Avery character Droopy Dog. In 2001, Williams published a text book, entitled The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles, and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion, and Internet Animators.- Stephen Thorne was born on 2 March 1935 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Death of an Expert Witness (1983), Doctor Who (1963) and Runaway (1984). He was married to Barbara Sykes. He died on 26 May 2019 in the UK.
- Rachel Warren is known for The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979) and Her Ladyship the Judge (1978) (1978).
- Susan Sokol is known for The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979).
- Reg Williams is known for The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979) and 7.30 (2011).
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First professional appearance at age 12 in touring company; studied at Stratford Connecticut Shakespeare Festival; member of original Obie-Award winning NY LaMaMa Troupe under director Tom O'Horgan [Hair] where she starred in play and film of "Futz" and featured in Tom Paine, and Melodrama Play Sam Shepard. Founded London LaMaMa, and became its administrative and artistic director, touring all over Europe. Featured in plays Little Mother, Groupjuice, Hump. US television includes guest spots in Baretta and Kojak. UK television roles include costarring in Rock Follies and Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy; tv films included Blue Money with Tim Curry, and Pleasure, part of the Alan Bleasdale Presents series. Feature films include The Great Gatsby, Reds, Love and Death, and Yentl [in which she worked as Barbra Streisand's understudy and played Sophie, Amy Irving's maid, uncredited]. Beth then trained as a television script editor and producer at the BBC. She produced The Husband, The Wife and The Stranger, starring Adam Faith and Derrick O'Connor, and Unusual Ground Floor Conversion, a short film directed by Mark Herman [Little Voice], before joining BBC Television Drama as a development executive for new drama series. She's written several plays and film scripts, and became a film critic in 1988, serving for 10 years as London Editor for Film Journal International. A new career as a Web Producer led to the publication of Beth's book The Net Effect, to which David Puttnam contributed the foreword. 2006 was her ninth year as a nominating judge for the International Webby Awards and she has served as a contributor to policy advisers on eDemocracy issues.- Actor
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Comic eccentric and gifted raconteur Victor Spinetti was born in Wales on September 2, 1929, the son of Giuseppe Spinetti and Lily (Watson) Spinetti. Educated at Monmouth School, he was initially interested in a teaching degree but turned to acting instead and studied for the stage at the College of Music and Drama in the capital city of Cardiff.
A familiar stage presence in London's West End, his roles included "Expresso Bongo" with Paul Scofield and Leonard Bernstein's "Candide". He also spent six years with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. Becoming noticed in some of his more important theater pieces such as "The Hostage," "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be," "Henry IV, Parts I & II" and "Every Man in His Humour," Victor's triumphant West End performance in the musical "Oh! What a Lovely War" led to the Broadway stage and both "supporting actor" Tony and Theatre World awards.
In the late 1960s, Victor co-starred in "The Odd Couple" with Jack Klugman when it toured London. A noted performer with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he proved equally adept in theatre musicals, providing delicious villainy as Fagin in "Oliver!" and Captain Hook in "Peter Pan". A theatre director of both legit and musical plays as well, Victor's one man show "A Very Private Diary" played all over the world. At age 70+, Victor remained active under the theatre lights playing Baron Bomburst in the musical version of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" in 2003, and Baron Zeta in the operetta "The Merry Widow" in 2004.
Making his film debut with an uncredited bit in the British Behind the Mask (1958), Victor was featured in such films as Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) and The Gentle Terror (1963) before becoming a vital part of the cult "Beatlemania" phenomenon adding to the insanity in three of The Beatles' cinematic vehicles: A Hard Day's Night (1964), Help! (1965) and their hour-long Magical Mystery Tour (1967). While he could be quite dramatic when called upon, it was his comedic character diversions that showed up in such 1960's and 70's films as The Wild Affair (1965), the Burton/Taylor take on The Taming of The Shrew (1967) (as Hortensio), The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968), Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969), Start the Revolution Without Me (1970), offbeat leads in both the comedy A Promise of Bed (1969) and the crimer Scacco alla mafia (1970), another Taylor/Burton effort Under Milk Wood (1971), Digby: The Biggest Dog in the World (1973), The Little Prince (1974), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Meeting Resistance (2007), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Some Like It Cool (1977) and Fiona (1977).
A TV favorite in England, he starred or co-starred in the comedy series Two in Clover (1969) opposite "Carry On" star Sidney James and Take My Wife... (1979). He focused more and more on the small screen into the 1980's with guest spots on such series as "Time of Your Life," "Sweet Sixteen," "Kelly Monteith" and "Bad Boyes," and a third regular TV series role in the comedy An Actor's Life for Me (1991) playing the inept agent of a struggling actor.
An excellent conversationalist and storyteller who briefly extended his talents into writing, Victor's later acting credits included the films Under the Cherry Moon (1986), The Krays (1990) and Julie and the Cadillacs (1999), the TV movies Mistral's Daughter (1984), The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988) (as Van Daan), The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen (1995) and as a voiceover actor (the animated TV series (SuperTed (1983) and The Further Adventures of SuperTed (1989)).
Last seen in a couple of short films in 2006, Victor died on June 18, 2012, age 82, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the year before. He survived (by 15 years) his longtime partner, actor Graham Curnow, who died in 1997.- Don Parker is known for Strangers Kiss (1983), Hart to Hart (1979) and The French Atlantic Affair (1979).
- Liz Proud is known for The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979) and The Water Babies (1978).
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Dick Vosburgh was born on 27 August 1929 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Stanley Baxter Show (1963), Tommy Cooper (1969) and Planet Patrol (1963). He was married to Beryl Roques. He died on 18 April 2007 in London, England, UK.- Actress
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Gilda Radner was one of the great comic geniuses of the 20th century, ranked with Lucille Ball and other comedy legends of the highest caliber. She was born on June 28, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan, the younger of two children of Henrietta (Dworkin), a legal secretary, and Herman Radner, a businessman.
She had an older brother, Michael. Her family were Jewish immigrants (from Russia, Poland, and Lithuania). Radner grew up with a nanny she always called Dibby, on whom she based her famous Saturday Night Live (1975) character, hard-of-hearing news correspondent Emily Litella.
She was very close to her father, not as close to her mother, and tragically, her father died when she was 14, leaving her heartbroken. She was very overweight as a child, and because of this, she suffered from anorexia and bulimia and became very thin. She overcame these disorders by 16 and was normal weight, yet if you watch some of her episodes of Saturday Night Live (1975) you can see that her weight sometimes goes down very low and she looks anorexic again.
She graduated from the Liggett school for Girls and enrolled at the University of Michigan but dropped out and followed a boyfriend to Canada, where she made her stage debut in Godspell. In 1975, Gilda was the first person ever cast for Saturday Night Live (1975), the show that would make her famous.
She stayed on SNL for 5 years, from 1975 to 1980 and had a brief marriage to the SNL band guitarist G.E. Smith. On this show, she created characters like Emily Litella, loudmouthed Roseanne Roseannadanna, nerd Lisa Loopner, and Baba Wawa, a talk show host with a speech impediment.
Gilda left the show in 1980 and married actor Gene Wilder, whom she met on a movie set and fell in love with nearly on the spot. A short while after, Gilda started having pains in her upper legs, and she was eventually diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
She went through lots of chemotherapy and treatment, and finally her doctors told her that she was in remission. In this period of time, Gilda wrote her autobiography, called "It's Always Something," about her battles with cancer.
However, cancer was found in her liver and her lungs after a more comprehensive check a while later. Now it was too late to do anything. Gilda died in her sleep on May 20, 1989.- Actor
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Harry Shearer was born in 1943 in Los Angeles, California. His film debut was with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), followed by The Robe (1953). Probably best known for his Saturday Night Live (1975) gigs, his NPR satire program "Le Show" and The Simpsons (1989), where he plays 21 characters. His best film may be This Is Spinal Tap (1984), where he played bass player Derek Smalls. There was also an episode on The Simpsons (1989) where he reprised this role. His film work includes Godzilla (1998), in which "Simpsons" cast members Hank Azaria and Nancy Cartwright also appeared. Shearer has also directed a film, Teddy Bears' Picnic (2001), in which he also stars.- Actor
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Billy Crystal was born on March 14, 1948 in Manhattan, New York, and was raised on Long Island. He is the youngest of three sons born to Helen (Gabler) and Jack Crystal. His father was a well-known concert promoter who co-founded Commodore Records and his mother was a homemaker. His family were Jewish emigrants from Russia, Austria, and Lithuania. With his father in the music business, Billy was no stranger to some of the top performers of the time. Legends such as Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell, and Eddie Condon regularly stopped by the Crystal household. At age 15, Billy faced a personal tragedy when his father died of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 54. This gave Billy a real appreciation of what his dad was able to accomplish while alive and what his mother did to keep the family together. Despite this tragedy, Billy was very upbeat and likable as a kid. He had a unique talent for making people laugh.
With television becoming a new medium, Billy got his influence from shows like The Honeymooners (1955), and "The Ed Sullivan Show" and performers like Alan King, Ernie Kovacs and Jonathan Winters. He started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 16. However, his real dream was to be a professional baseball player. His idol growing up was Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle. He spent long hours in the summers playing softball in the middle of Park Avenue with his brothers and his father, a former pitcher at St. John's University . At Long Beach High, Billy played second base and was varsity captain in his senior year. This earned him a baseball scholarship from Marshall University in West Virginia which he accepted. However, he would never end up playing a game as the baseball program was suspended during his freshman year. This would lead him to leave the university and move back to New York. He then enrolled at nearby Nassau Community College, majoring in theater. It was there that he met and fell in love with a dancer named Janice Goldfinger. They would get married in 1970 and have two daughters. Shortly after, Billy got accepted in New York University, where he majored in Film and TV Direction. While at NYU, he studied under legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He also worked as house manager and usher on a production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown."
After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NYU in 1970, Billy temporarily worked as a substitute teacher until he was able to get gigs as a stand-up comic. He formed his own improv group, 3's Company, and opened for musicians like Barry Manilow. His impression of Howard Cosell interviewing Muhammad Ali became a huge hit with the audience. He left Long Beach for Hollywood in August of 1976 in the hopes of trying to land a role on a television series. It only took a year before he got his big break when he was chosen for the role of gay character Jodie Dallas on the controversial ABC sitcom Soap (1977). This would be the first time that an American TV show would feature an openly gay character as a regular. The show ran successfully for four seasons and helped to jump-start Billy's previously stagnant career. After Soap (1977) ended in 1981, Billy continued to do his stand-up routine, which was now attracting a larger audience with his growing celebrity status. During this time, he made many TV guest appearances and even hosted his own short-lived variety show, The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour (1982).
He became a regular on Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1984 where his Fernando Lamas impression with the catchphrase "You Look Mahvellous" was a huge hit with viewers. This would lead to appearances in feature-length films such as Running Scared (1986) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987). In 1986, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams, he started Comic Relief, an annual stand-up comedy show which helped to raise money for housing and medical care for the homeless. The show has since grown substantially with the continued support of all three comics. Billy's career would peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His roles in the blockbuster movies When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and City Slickers (1991) helped to establish himself as one of Hollwood's top movie stars. This star status was further validated when he was chosen to host the annual Oscars in 1990, an honor in which he would repeat seven more times. He made his big screen directorial debut in the 1992 film Mr. Saturday Night (1992), which was about a washed-up stand-up comic who refuses to retire. He also wrote, produced and starred in the film. Although the film was not a huge hit, it proved that Billy was much more than an actor and comedian. In the following years, Billy continued to act in, produce, and direct several films.
He had his share of hits (Analyze This (1999), America's Sweethearts (2001)) and some flops (Fathers' Day (1997), My Giant (1998)). His role in as a therapist to mobster Robert De Niro in Analyze This (1999) earned him critical praise. In 2001, Billy parlayed his childhood love of baseball and Mickey Mantle into a feature film. The movie, 61* (2001), which premiered on HBO, centered on the relationship between Mantle and Roger Maris and their 1961 pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. The film for which Billy served as director and executive producer, garnered 12 Emmy nominations in all.
Offscreen, Billy remains married to Janice Crystal and they have homes in California and New York. Both of his daughters are involved in the film business. Jennifer Crystal Foley is an aspiring actress, appearing in 61* (2001), while Lindsay Crystal is an aspiring filmmaker, creating and directing the documentary My Uncle Berns (2003).- Actor
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Michael Fremer is known for Tron (1982), Animalympics (1980) and Felix the Cat: The Movie (1988). He has been married to Sharon Faath Fremer since 8 October 1988.- Actor
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Years ago, Tallulah Bankhead's credited with having created the dictum, 'never work/appeared with small children or animals', as they have a built-in 'advantage'; the 'awww, look at how cute..'
Though it is true, there's been many young actors who actually had skills to back up that advantage.
One off them - who was part of the mid/late-70's group was a child actor, who worked under the stage name of 'Sparky Marcus'.
Sparky, - who's real name is Marcus Issoglio, was born in Hollywood, CA.
After being a being a familiar face of the late-70's, appearing in everything from Freaky Friday (1976), and Benji (1974), to TV shows like The Bob Newhart Show (1972), and the adult soap/comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) seemed to disappear.
One thing many child actors can't control is growing up, and aside from a very few, most former child actors will try to push against preconceived ideas, such as they're 'too old', or 'have no acting skills', but even when they do, it can be like trying to swim upstream. No matter how much, nor how hard they try, the entertainment business - which is already a very difficult business for any adult to try and enter, can seem to be much harder for someone who was once the 'go-to' face.
Marcus did continue to work through the mid 80s, segueing into doing voice-overs for animated shows and films.
One of his last on-camera appearances was in The Man with Two Brains (1983), Marcus has since retired from the business.- Additional Crew
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Tony O'Dell was born on 30 January 1960 in Pasadena, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Karate Kid (1984), Head of the Class (1986) and The Karate Kid Part II (1986).- Actress
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Nancy McKeon was born in Westbury, New York, on Monday, April 4th, 1966, to Don & Barbara McKeon, began modeling baby clothes for the Sears & Roebuck catalog at the age of two and she and her brother did over sixty-five commercials in seven years. When her brother, Philip McKeon, won a role on the TV series, Alice (1976), the family then moved to Los Angeles.
Her first real acting break came when she did the short-lived TV series, Stone (1979), and occasionally guested on Starsky and Hutch (1975). The producers of The Facts of Life (1979) were so impressed by Nancy's personality & acting performances as the street-wise girl in a pilot called "Dusty", they decided to sign her & add her, as a new character to play "Jo" on "The Facts of Life". Nancy has starred in the television movies, High School U.S.A. (1983), Poison Ivy (1985), This Child Is Mine (1985) and Firefighter (1986). She provided the off-screen voices for animated shows like The Puppy's Great Adventure (1979).- Actor
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Frank Welker was born in Colorado. He followed his dream to California, and started a voice acting career which has spanned over five decades and hundreds of credits. Frank has worked with fellow voice actors Casey Kasem, Nicole Jaffe, Don Messick, Heather North, and Stefanianna Christopherson on Hanna-Barbera's iconic Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969), voicing Fred Jones, among other Scooby credits over the years. He has also worked with Kurt Russell, Peter Cullen, and Michael Bay.- Actor
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A 1941 graduate of Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha, where he served on the student council and participated in forensics under dramatic coach John Davies, he took second place in the National Forensics League national contest in Lexington, Kentucky in dramatic declaration and oratorical declamation. (The Kenosha team won the meet that year over 800-plus contestants.) By 1948, he was working in radio and joined television in its infancy, becoming the commercial announcer for "I Love Lucy" in 1951. He was married for sixty years.- Actor
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Alan Young was born in Northern England in 1919, but his Scots father moved the family to Edinburgh, Scotland, when Young was a toddler and then to Canada when Young was about 6 years old. As a boy, he suffered from severe asthma, which kept him bedridden for long periods of time but encouraged his love of radio. By age 13, Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York, initiating Young's career as an "All-American boy," despite his non-American origins and a vestigial Scots accent. He became popular on American radio from 1944 to 1949 with his "Alan Young Radio Show," but when radio began to lose its popularity and his show was canceled, Young decided to put together a comedy act and tour the U.S. theater circuit. After this experience, he wrote a television pilot for CBS in 1950, which resulted in The Alan Young Show (1950). The show was a well-received live revue that ran for 3 years, earned a couple of Emmy Awards, and garnered Young a star on the "Walk of Fame." However, the strain of writing and performing a weekly show got to Young, and the quality of the show declined, leading to his departure from the show and its cancellation. In the meantime, based on his popularity on radio and television, Young had established a film career, starting with his debut in Margie (1946) followed by Chicken Every Sunday (1949), Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), Androcles and the Lion (1952), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), Tom Thumb (1958), and The Time Machine (1960).
In the early 1960s, Young landed his best-known role, Wilbur Post, in the popular television series Mister Ed (1961), which ran for 5 years. Since then, Young has made a number of television and film appearances but is known primarily for his voice characterizations in cartoons, especially as Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales (1987).- Actor
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Alan Dinehart was born on 12 March 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Battle of the Planets (1978), The Alan Young Show (1950) and Jonny Quest (1964). He was married to Collette Lyons. He died on 14 March 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
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Janet Waldo provided the quintessential voice of the swooning, overly dramatic teenager for numerous generations -- from the 1940s swinging babysitters to the 1960s groovy chick. A bouncy, perennially-youthful brunette, Janet Marie Waldo was born on February 4, 1919, in Grandview, Washington, and began entertaining in church plays as a youth. Urged on by her singer mother, she studied at the University of Washington and performed in plays. She was discovered by none other than Paramount star Bing Crosby, when he and his talent scouts conducted a contest and invited her to try out for it, which she won. Crosby next invited Janet (accompanied by her mother) to California and the rest is history.
Janet met a Paramount talent scout that signed her up for small roles in movies, including the Crosby films, Sing, You Sinners (1938) and The Star Maker (1939). Unable to completely break out of her bit-part cycle as assorted hat-check girls, receptionists, and telephone operators, she did manage a few co-starring roles in such Tim Holt westerns, such as The Bandit Trail (1941) and Land of the Open Range (1942) before setting her career sights on radio in 1943.
It was Crosby himself who introduced her to radio and she fell in love with the medium and its possibilities. As the eternal teen in "Meet Corliss Archer", her voice became a household sound and it was obvious that. her vocal talents would become her biggest moneymaker. She also performed on radio's "One Man's Family", "The Gallant Heart", and "Star Playhouse". She played the cigarette girl on both Red Skelton and Art Linkletter's programs, and teenager Emmy Lou on Ozzie Nelson on both his radio and TV shows. In 1952, she filmed one classic I Love Lucy (1951) episode, The Young Fans (1952) playing an extremely lovesick teenaged girl, who fell for Ricky Ricardo, although she was past 30 at the time.
In 1948 Janet married writer-director-producer Robert E. Lee of "Inherit the Wind" and "Auntie Mame" fame. She curtailed her career activities sharply for some time in order to raise her two children. She even turned down the opportunity to return to her popular role of Corliss Archer when the radio series was revamped for TV in 1951, and Lugene Sanders from the "Life of Riley" series took on the part instead. After sporadic appearances on stage, Janet established herself as one of the top female voice artists in the early 1960s when she gave vocal life to hip high schooler Judy Jetson in the prime-time Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Jetsons (1962), a role that she would go on to play well past the age of 70. Her vocal range led her to become a Hanna-Barbera staple for over three decades, providing hundreds and hundreds of voices, old and young, to both Saturday morning and feature film cartoons. Some of her better known characters include Granny Sweet, Penelope Pitstop, Superman's Lana Lang, the Addams Family's Morticia Addams, the title role in Josie and the Pussycats (1970) and Princess on Sandy Frank's Battle of the Planets (1978).
Janet was a member of the California Artists Radio Theatre (CART) and performed frequently on the smaller L.A. stages over the years. The woman with a thousand voices continued doing radio shows and commercial voice-overs (Electrosol), and making personal appearances. Long married to playwright/TV writer Robert E. Lee until his death in 1994, the couple had two children (Jonathan, Lucy). Diagnosed with a benign but inoperable brain tumor in 2011, she died five years later, age 97, on June 12, 2016, in Encino, California. She is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.- Actress
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Linda Gary was an American voice actress from Los Angeles, California. She was in the prime of her career in the 1980s. She voiced four major female characters in "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (1983-1985): the benevolent Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, the heroic Teela (the Captain of the Royal Guard), Queen Marlena (He-Man's mother), and the ambitious villainess Evil-Lyn. In the spin-off series "She-Ra: Princess of Power" (1985-1986), Gary voiced the evil sorceress Shadow Weaver, the animal-themed super-villainess Scorpia, the rebel leader Glimmer, the benevolent witch Madame Razz, and the inventor Entrapta (sidekick and only friend to the villainess Catra).
In 1944, Gary was born in Los Angeles California. In 1967, Gary married the actor Charles Howerton. She became the stepmother to his daughter from a previous wedding, and later had two daughters of her own. In the early 1970s, she and her husband were living in Italy. She was hired to perform voice work, dubbing Italian films into English.
Gary returned to the United States in 1974, and was interested in starting a professional career as a voice actor. She received acting lessons from veteran voice actor Daws Butler (1916 - 1988). Among her earliest performances was voicing various female characters in the animated series "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle" (1980), the first adaptation of Tarzan for television animation. She even voiced Tarzan's original love interest, Jane Porter, but only for a single episode.
Gary voiced numerous characters for Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Marvel Productions, and Disney Television Animation over the following decades. She also worked in dubbing Japanese anime films, such as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984). For "Ghostbusters" (1986), Gary voiced the only two major female villains in the series: the mist-controlling ghost Mysteria and the vamp-like sorceress Apparitia.
Gary's last major role in television was playing May Parker in several early episodes of the animated series "Spider-Man" (1994-1998). Her character was Spider-Man/Peter Parker's aunt and surrogate mother. On October 5, 1995, Gary died at her home in North Hollywood, California. Her death was caused by brain cancer, a disease with which she had been struggling for a while. She died a month before her 51st birthday. Despite her relatively short career, Gary is fondly remembered for her roles in animation.- Actor
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David Jason was born in Edmonton, London, in 1940. He has become one of Britain's most famous, versatile and respected actors, who is most famous for his role in Only Fools and Horses (1981) as Del Boy. He made his debut in the series in 1981 and was still playing the same role up to the Christmas special in 2002. His big break came in the 1967 children's comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967) starring alongside members of the Monty Python team: Terry Jones; Eric Idle, and Michael Palin.
Sadly, in 1990, he spent time away from work to nurse Myfanwy Talog, the Welsh actress who was his long time partner, before she died of cancer at the age of 49. He has come a long way from his days as an electrician and has won numerous awards for his work. He has managed to combine the comedy aspect of his career with rather more serious roles, such as that of Jack Frost in the highly-rated detective series A Touch of Frost (1992) and has proved that he is a man of many talents. In the mid 1970s, he performed as Blanco, an elderly prisoner, in episodes of Porridge (1974) with Ronnie Barker. He has also done voice work in children's TV.
He has not really concentrated on films, although he was very impressive in the TV film All the King's Men (1999), playing Frank Beck, the Commander of the Sandringham Company who mysteriously disappeared whilst in action in The Great War campaign in Gallipoli in 1915.
He lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, Gill Hinchcliffe and their daughter, Sophie Mae, who was born in 2001. His hobbies are a little DIY and gardening. He was knighted in 2005, becoming Sir David Jason.- Actor
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A brilliant comic actor Terry Scott was one of the most familiar faces on British television in the 1960s and 70s. At the height of his popularity his classic comedy series, Terry and June, (in which he co-starred with June Whitfield) was watched by 15 million viewers weekly.
Born Owen John Scott in Watford he began his theatrical career in his teens at the Watford Amateur Dramatic Society playing small comic roles. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Navy and in 1945 he used his demobilisation gratuity to enter show-business as a manager of seaside shows around Britain.
In 1949 he was contracted by the BBC to appear on a radio show with comic Bob Monkhouse which was not successful. Later he teamed up with another comic Bill Maynard which led to the popular TV series Great Scott, It's Maynard.
On stage in the late 50s he worked in farces with comedians such as Brian Rix before going on to star in another popular TV comedy Hugh and I (with Hugh Lloyd) which regularly topped the ratings during the 60s. In 1969 he joined up with comic actress June Whitfield in the series Happy Ever After which later evolved into Terry and June and ran for a record breaking 14 years. In 1978 the Scott and Whitfield were named by the Variety Club of Great Britain as Join Personalities of the Year.
On the London stage he starred he proved hugely popular in shows such as A Bed Full of Foreigners, The Mating Game and Run For Your Wife which he also toured in the Middle East. He was also one of Britain's most famous pantomime 'dames'.
Scott was dogged by ill-health for many years and in 1979 his life was saved by a four hour brain operation after a haemorrage. By 1985 he was suffering from creeping paralysis and often had to wear a neck brace on stage and TV. When his TV series Terry and June was axed in 1988 he suffered a nervous breakdown partly brought on by his public confession that he had indulged in a series of affairs during his marriage to former dancer Margaret Peden (whom he wed in 1957) and that he was suffering from cancer.- Edward Kelsey was born on 4 June 1930 in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Danger Mouse (1981) and Doctor Who (1963). He was married to Birgit Johansson. He died on 23 April 2019 in England, UK.
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Brian Trueman began his acting career in BBC radio, where his best known work was as a semi-regular member of the cast of the situation comedy 'The Clitheroe Kid'. He first appeared in the show in two broadcasts during the 1957 pilot series, and continued making appearances until the 16th series in 1972. Beginning in one-off roles, after 1965 he was cast as Liverpudlian neighbour Harry Whittle, in which recurring role he continued for the following 7 years. He also became the show's Announcer during its final years on the air.
Prior to 1975 he was principally a radio actor, accumulating 20 years experience of voice acting, which he would put to good use in his subsequent television career between 1976 and 2015, specialising as a voice actor. He gradually moved into television after 1975, initially in acting roles, specialising in character parts and accents, and spending most of his television career in children's television, doing voice acting in cartoons.
He gradually became a scriptwriter for the shows he worked on, writing some of the scripts whilst doing the voices in other episodes of the same show, beginning in the mid 1970s with 'Chorlton and the Wheelies' and 'Jamie and the Magic Torch'; then writing all 43 episodes of 'Wind in the Willows' during the 1980s; and in the 1980s and 1990s writing and performing in 'Count Duckula' and - in his most famous role - 'Danger Mouse', for which he wrote fully 79 of the episodes.
He has written for and voiced many other cartoons since 1980, including 'Budgie the Little Helicopter', and 'Thomas and Friends' (based on the Thomas the Tank-engine stories. In all, he has written over two hundred scripts, for 23 different TV shows, over the period 1976 to 2015, frequently both performing the voices and writing the scripts.- Actor
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Jimmy Hibbert was born on July 15, 1949 in Windsor, Berkshire, England as James Christian Hibbert. He is an actor and writer, known for Count Duckula (1988), The BFG (1989), Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992), Frankenstein's Cat (2007) and Little Red Tractor (2003).
James Christian Hibbert was born as the eldest of three children of author Christopher Hibbert and Susan Hibbert, with all three of them growing up in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. His younger brother was the late music journalist Tom Hibbert. After studying drama at the University of Manchester, he met CP Lee and Bob Harding, and the three of them formed the band Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias in 1972, with Hibbert on vocals and bass. The band called it a day in 1982, and Hibbert got his first voice acting role for the Milk Marketing Board, doing an impression of Ian Dury.
As well as voice acting for animation, he has made a few on-screen acting appearances on British TV programmes and films such as Coronation Street, What the Papers Say, Cold Feet, The Grand, Medics, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Prime Suspect, Children's Ward, Wipe Out, Floodtide, Room at the Bottom, The Practice, Teach Yourself Gibberish and Bloody Kids.
In 1977, he appeared on stage at London's Royal Court Theatre and Roundhouse as part of the Albertos' musical play Sleak, playing the lead role of Norman Sleak.- Actor
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Born in Wellesley, MA, USA, Buxton grew up in Larchmont, NY, USA, graduated from Northwestern University (BS) and Syracuse University (MS). After service in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he worked in local television as a producer-director in Buffalo, N.Y. and Chicago, IL and then began his performing career as a stand-up comedian, TV host (Discovery '70 (1962), Get the Message (1964)), and stage performer ("Brigadoon", "Bye Bye Birdie", "The Tender Trap", etc.). His television writing, producing and directing work included The Odd Couple (1970), Happy Days (1974), Mork & Mindy (1978), among many others, and he created the Peabody Award-winning series Hot Dog (1970) for NBC which starred Woody Allen and Jonathan Winters. As a film and TV actor, he has appeared in Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Face of a Stranger (1991), With a Vengeance (1992) and Roommates (1994), as well as many series and specials. He wrote and created voices for Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) and has done cartoon and commercial voices for innumerable projects.- Actor
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Although versatile character actor and voice extraordinary Henry Corden will forever be associated with, and fondly remembered for, providing the bellicose, gravel-toned rasp of cartoon immortal Fred Flintstone, he enjoyed a long and varied career prior to this distinction, which took up most of his later years.
Born in Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, January 6, 1920, his family moved to New York while he was still a child. Henry received his start on stage and radio before heading off to Hollywood in the 1940s. He made his film debut as a minor heavy in the Danny Kaye vehicle, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), as Boris Karloff's bestial henchman, and continued on along those same lines, often in uncredited/unbilled parts. A master at dialects, he was consistently employed as either an ethnic Middle Eastern villain or some sort of streetwise character (club manager, salesman) in 1950s costumed adventures and crime yarns, both broad and serious.
He seldom made it into the prime support ranks, however, with somewhat insignificant parts in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Viva Zapata! (1952), Scaramouche (1952), I Confess (1953), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Jupiter's Darling (1955) and The Ten Commandments (1956). On TV, he could regularly be found on both drama ("Perry Mason", "The Untouchables") and light comedy ("My Little Margie," "Mister Ed"). A heightened visibility on TV included playing Barbara Eden's genie father on "I Dream of Jeannie" and as the contentious landlord "Mr. Babbitt" on "The Monkees".
Henry made a highly lucrative move into animation in the 1960s supplying a host of brutish voices on such cartoons as "Johnny Quest", "The Jetsons", "Secret Squirrel", "Atom Ant", "Josie and the Pussycats", and "The Harlem Globetrotters". He inherited the voice of Fred Flintstone after the show's original vocal owner, Alan Reed, passed away in 1977. He went on to give life to Flintstone for nearly three decades on various revamped cartoon series, animated specials and cereal commercials. He was performing as Flintstone, in fact, until about three months prior to his death of emphysema at the age of 85 on Wednesday, May 19, 2005.
Married four times, he was survived by wife Angelina; two daughters (from his first marriage), and three stepchildren (from his last union).- Art Metrano was born on 22 September 1936 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and History of the World: Part I (1981). He was married to Rebecca Elizabeth Chute and Jamie Susan Golder. He died on 8 September 2021 in Aventura, Florida, USA.
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Hal Smith was born on 24 August 1916 in Petoskey, Michigan, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Great Race (1965), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) and The Andy Griffith Show (1960). He was married to Vivian M. Angstadt. He died on 28 January 1994 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Chanin Hale was a small-town girl from Dayton, Ohio, who moved to New York in 1955, right out of high school to pursue a career on the stage. In New York, she toured in the High Time revue, performed onstage in The Gazebo, Come Blow Your Horn, Bus Stop, and Little Mary Sunshine.
In 1963, while appearing in a production at UCLA, she was discovered by Jack Albertson who introduced her to Red Skelton. He appreciated her excellent pantomime skills and she became a regular on the show for the next seven years. Other television work includes appearances on Death Valley Days, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Hondo, The Donna Reed Show, The Danny Kaye Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and several episodes of Dragnet. Her film appearances include Gunn, Will Penny, and The Night They Raided Minsky's. She also had a small role in Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley.
Chanin went on several USO tours, becoming a favorite of the soldiers when a photo of her posing as Eve in a homemade costume appeared in the New York Daily News.
In 1986 she married Richard Bradshaw, who shared her love of exotic travel and who had a sense of humor to match hers. They spent more than 35 wonderful years together, traveling extensively to exotic locales, entertaining friends, and enjoying each other's company. Eventually, Chanin declared that "if you've seen one rain forest you've seen them all" and they traveled to more civilized locations. The two of them started a great conversation that didn't end until she passed away. Her beloved Richard followed her two weeks later on what would have been their 34th wedding anniversary. She is survived by her stepdaughters, Linda, Barbara, and Victoria Bradshaw. - Barney Phillips was an American actor of German descent. He was born in 1913 in St. Louis, Missouri, under the name "Bernard Philip Ofner". His father was Harry Nathan Ofner, a salesman employed in the leather industry. His mother was Leona "Lonnie" Frank, a German emigrant who became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
In 1935, Phillips moved to Los Angeles, California, in hopes of working in the film industry. His film debut was the Western film "Black Aces" (1937), a B-movie produced by Universal Pictures. He had no other credited role in films for several years, though he had several theatrical credits.
In 1941, Phillips enlisted in the United States Army. He served in the signal corps during World War II. Following the war, he returned to the film industry, working mostly as an extra.
The first notable role of his career was the recurring character Sergeant Ed Jacob in the police procedural television series "Dragnet" (1951-1959). He voiced the recurring character of police sergeant Hamilton J. Finger in the radio series "Rocky Fortune" (1953-1954). The main character of the series was amateur sleuth Rocco "Rocky Fortune" Fortunato (played by Frank Sinatra).
Phillips was a prolific character on film and television for the following decades, though he was often typecast as a police officer in these roles. In the early 1960s, Phillips appeared in several episodes of the anthology television series "The Twilight Zone": "The Purple Testament" (1960), "A Thing about Machines" (1960) , "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" (1961), and "Miniature" (1963). He is most remembered for the "Real Martian" episode, where he played the cook Haley. In the episode, Haley helps thwart an invasion of Earth from Martians. But reveals that he is an agent from planet Venus, and that he is preparing the Earth for colonization by his own planet.
Phillips was cast in the war-themed series" Twelve O'Clock High" (1964-1967) as one of the main characters, Doc Kaiser. The series featured the missions of the fictional 918th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) in World War II.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Phillips often worked as a voice actor for animated series. He voiced the powerful genie Shazzan in "Shazzan" (1967-1969), he voiced the strongman Porthos in the "The Three Musketeers" (1968-1969), and provided additional voices in "The Funky Phantom" (1971-1972).
In the late 1970s, Phillips was part of the main cast in the short-lived sitcom "The Betty White Show" (1978-1979). He played the character Fletcher Huff, a struggling actor co-starring in a police-procedural show-within-a-show, Phillips also played the recurring character of Judge Buford Potts in the action comedy "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979-1985).
Phillips died in 1982, due to cancer, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A few years following his death, Phillips received his final film credit, as the character Dr. Batt in the psychological drama "Beyond Reason". The film had been produced in 1977, but was not released until 1985. The film was mainly notable as a rare directing credit for actor Telly Savalas (1922-1994). - Actor
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Short (5'7"), chunky-framed, crevice-faced, gravel-voiced comedian Joe E. Ross typically played loveable buffoons and good-natured slobs while his "ooh, ooh!" character sounds would become a beloved catchphrase over time on TV and the night club stage. He was born Joseph Roszawikz to Jewish immigrants in Manhattan on March 15, 1914, and began his career, ironically enough, as a singing waiter/tenor in gangster-filled speakeasy clubs after dropping out of high school. His chosen path of comedy was taken when he was quickly elevated there to announcing and telling off-colored jokes. After a comic break at the Queens Terrace in 1938, he steadily built up his notorious image as a 'blue comedy" entertainer and impressionist performing and emceeing at burlesque clubs and various niteries around and about the Schuster circuit out of Chicago. WWII military service with the Army Air Corps briefly interrupted his career.
Following his military discharge, Ross headed for Hollywood to pursue standup work. At one point he teamed with equally vulgar comedian Dave Starr ("Starr & Ross"). Together they made an inauspicious film debut in the hotsy-totsy girlie show Teaserama (1955), which featured strippers Bettie Page and Tempest Storm along with female impersonator Vicki Lynn. The underground flick had Starr & Ross doing their familiar lowbrow, baggy-pants vaudeville schtick. Another failed "break" for Ross came with the "B" film comedy Hear Me Good (1957), co-starring Hal March, which went nowhere and resulted in no other offers. The funnyman's greatest claim to fame would happen after cleaning up his "blue" act for TV.
Joe, whose characters possessed an intriguing Runyonesque ambiance, hit strong notice playing third banana to Phil Silvers on his popular late 1950s series (The Phil Silvers Show (1955) (aka "You'll Never Get Rich"/"Sgt. Bilko"). He then moved on to co-star on the cult comedy series Car 54, Where Are You? (1961) as dim-bulbed police officer Gunther Toody, opposite tall, lugubrious Fred Gwynne (as Officer Francis Muldoon). Silvers discovered Ross working at a Miami Beach club, and he and producer/partner Nat Hiken thought Ross was perfect for the role of dunderhead Master Sgt. Rupert Ritzik on the "Bilko" show. It was Hiken who later gave the green light for Ross to co-star with Gwynne in "Car 54." Notorious for forgetting his lines, Ross's trademark "ooh, ooh" was nervously developed as a way of giving him time to remember his next line! The catchphrase would follow him for the rest of his career. "Car 54" only lasted two seasons but became a cult classic in years to come.
Ross' last regular TV role was as caveman "Gronk" in the comedy series It's About Time (1966) produced by Sherwood Schwartz, in which he co-starred with cavegirl Imogene Coca. The ludicrous plot had two present-time astronauts, Jack Mullaney and Frank Aletter, accidentally rocketing through a time vortex back to the Cro-Magnon Age. When the series took an immediate dive in ratings, producers decided to change the setting and bring the starring cast back to present day surroundings. It didn't help. The series met with a swift cancellation.
Ross, a very crude, boorish, temperamental fellow off stage, more or less fell out of favor in Hollywood after this. He returned to the comforts of the nightclub scene and even recorded a novelty song album ("Love Songs from a Cop"). He appeared in bits now and then in obscure features with such tasteless and exploitative titles as How to Seduce a Woman (1974), Linda Lovelace for President (1975), Slumber Party '57 (1976), Gas Pump Girls (1979) and The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977). His last movie role was another cameo in Pennies from Heaven (1981).
In 1968, Ross briefly teamed on the standup comedy stage with singing straight man Steve Rossi ("Rossi & Ross") after Rossi broke up with busy-haired partner Marty Allen. It lasted mere months. Joe did find some steady voice work in animated cartoons during the 1970s. Once quoted as saying, "I'd like to die making people laugh," the comic got his wish. The often-married ("His love life was centered around dating strippers!" Rossi once said), 68-year-old comic suffered a fatal heart attack on August 13, 1982, while appearing on the clubhouse stage at his own Van Nuys, CA apartment complex. He was survived by his last wife Arlene and was buried at nearby Forest Lawn Cemetery.- Composer
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Desirée Goyette was born on 10 September 1956 in San Jose, California, USA. She is a composer and actress, known for Renfield (2023), Garfield in Paradise (1986) and Soulcalibur II (2003). She is married to Ed Bogas. They have two children.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Deacon was the bald, bespectacled character actor most famous for playing television producer Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) from 1961 to 1966. In the first season of that show he also continued to appear on the series he was already appearing on, Leave It to Beaver (1957), playing Lumpy Rutherford's father Fred.
Born on May 14, 1922, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the tall, bass-voiced Deacon took to the boards as a stage actor. At the beginning of his career, stage legend Helen Hayes told Deacon that he would never become a leading man but encouraged him to become a character actor. It was good advice, as Deacon's show business career lasted decades and only was terminated by his death.
Because of his looks and authoritative voice, Deacon usually was typecast as a humorless or foul-tempered authority figure. He became a highly regarded supporting player in films, complimented by many of the leading actors he played opposite, including Jack Benny, Lou Costello and Cary Grant. However, it was in television that Deacon really thrived.
It was his five-year gig on "The Dick Van Dyke Show", where he earned television immortality playing the long-suffering brother-in-law of Alan Brady (the faux-TV star for whom Dick Van Dyke and his companion writers, Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie, wrote). Deacon's character was constantly harassed by Amsterdam's diminutive wisecracking character Buddy Sorrell. After the show ceased production (still at the top of the ratings; Carl Reiner had terminated the series in order to go out while the show was on top), Deacon co-starred on the TV sitcom The Mothers-In-Law (1967) with Kaye Ballard and Eve Arden (Deacon replaced original series co-star Roger C. Carmel as Ballard's husband in the second season after Carmel was fired from the series by producer Desi Arnaz for refusing to accept a pay cut). After the show was canceled, Deacon returned to work as a freelance actor. Back on the boards, he appeared in the long-running Broadway production of "Hello Dolly" as Horace Vandergelder, opposite Phyllis Diller as the eponymous heroine in the 1969-70 season. Deacon continued appearing on television and in the movies until his death.
In real life, Deacon was a gourmet chef. In the 1980s he hosted a Canadian TV program on microwave cookery, and even wrote a companion book on the subject
On the night of August 8, 1984, he was stricken by a heart attack in his Beverly Hills home. He was rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he died later that night. He was 62 years old.- Actor
- Music Department
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Roger Miller was born on 2 January 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Robin Hood (1973), Superman III (1983) and Into the Wild (2007). He was married to Mary Miller, Leah Kendrick and Barbara Louise Crow. He died on 25 October 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Paul Soles was born on 11 August 1930 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for The Score (2001), The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). He was married to Jean Allan . He died on 26 May 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actor
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Len Carlson was born on 2 September 1937 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was an actor, known for Cypher (2002), The Raccoons: Let's Dance! (1984) and Mighty Thor (1966). He was married to Judy Carlson. He died on 26 January 2006 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Billie Mae Richards was born on 21 November 1921 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress, known for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), The Care Bears Movie (1985) and Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986). She was married to Bill Richards. She died on 10 September 2010 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.- Carl Banas was born on 23 January 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), The Raccoons: Let's Dance! (1984) and Prince Planet (1965).
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Jack Carter was born on 24 June 1922 in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for History of the World: Part I (1981), Alligator (1980) and Amazing Stories (1985). He was married to Roxanne Wander, Paula Stewart and Joan Mann. He died on 28 June 2015 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Actor
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- Director
Comedic actor Howard ("Howie") Jerome Morris, of Jewish heritage, was born in The Bronx, New York, on September 4, 1919. This short, quicksilver comic of TV's "Golden Age" also went on to possess one of the finest vocal instruments for animation. Classically trained on the Shakespearean stage, he forged his own destiny in an entirely different direction after a chance meeting with Carl Reiner in a radio workshop. Following military service in World War II, in which the two entertained troops together (they appeared in Army productions of "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" directed by none other than Maurice Evans, they returned to the professional entertainment fold and appeared together in a 1946 road company of the stage musical "Call Me Mister." Howie also went on to be featured on Broadway as Rosencrantz in "Hamlet" and in the original production of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." He and Reiner would reconnect when asked to come aboard as part of the acting repertory team on Your Show of Shows (1950) and its successor Caesar's Hour (1954), the classic sketch TV show of the 1950s that starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. After years of "second banana" TV success, Howie wished for "top banana" stardom and sought work as such with varying degrees of success.
On the New York stage he co-starred as the leprechaun Og in a 1960 revival of "Finian's Rainbow" and, from the early 1960s on, his mastery of dialects and vocal versatility made him an important staple at the Hanna-Barbera animation studio, offering hundreds upon hundreds of voices for The Flintstones (1960), The Jetsons (1962), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971), and other such classic Saturday morning cartoon shows as well as the popular voices of Adam Ant, Gerald McBoing-Boing, Beetle Bailey and Jughead Jones. He would intersperse this work with some catchy offbeat characterizations in front of the camera, usually comedic but occasionally dramatic, on both the big and small screens. He added zest to a host of standard comedy films including Boys' Night Out (1962) with Kim Novak, The Nutty Professor (1963) and Way... Way Out (1966), both with Jerry Lewis, and Mel Brooks' spoofs High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981). As for television, Howie directed Danny Thomas and Andy Griffith in their respective sitcoms, and made a wonderfully eccentric impression on-camera as the grizzled, bucolic, rock-tossing Ernest T. Bass on Griffith's 60's show. The role became such a popular character that Howie was invited to play it sporadically for three seasons.
Morris also turned to film directing and helmed such fluff as Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) and Don't Drink the Water (1969), the last-mentioned written by Woody Allen. Seen more than heard during his twilight career, he continued on with directing commercials and popped up here and there well into the 1990s in comic cameos and as a vocal artist. Married five times (twice to one woman) with four children in all, Howie suffered from poor health in later years and died of congestive heart failure at age 84, on May 21, 2005. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles.- Pat Petersen was born on 9 August 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Little Dragons (1979), Knots Landing (1979) and Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac (1997).
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- Additional Crew
Eric Taslitz was born on 14 June 1966 in Whittier, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Crossroads (2002), Midnight Witness (1993) and The Rockford Files (1974).- Actor
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Philip Tanzini was born on 9 January 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Night of the Demons (1988), She's the Man (2006) and General Hospital (1963).- Actor
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- Stunts
Talented, prolific and versatile voice and character actor Walker Edmiston had a remarkable career in radio, movies and television that spanned over five decades. Walker was born on February 6, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston discovered at an early age that he could perfectly mimic other people's voices; he used to entertain his family with his vocal impression of Lionel Barrymore. After World War II ended Walker went to Los Angeles to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Edmiston was introduced to animation producer Walter Lantz while performing in a play. This in turn lead to his first steady job doing various incidental voices on the children's show "Time for Beany." In the 50s and 60s he hosted "The Walker Edmiston Show," a children's TV program broadcast in Los Angeles which featured puppets of Edmiston's own creation that included Kingsley the Lion and Ravenswood the Buzzard. Walker worked often for Saturday morning TV series creators Sid and Marty Krofft; he supplied the voices of Sparky the Firefly on "The Bugaloos," Dr. Blinkey and Orson the Vulture on "H.R. Puffnstuf," and Big Daddy Ooze on "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." Moreover, Edmiston portrayed a crazy old Civil War prospector on "Land of the Lost" and had a recurring role as token benevolent and intelligent Sleestak Enik. He provided the scary grunts and growls for the ferocious Zuni fetish doll in the final and most frightening segment of the made-for-TV horror anthology "Trilogy of Terror." Walker did the voice of Inferno for the "Transformers" cartoon show. For twenty years Edmiston was the voice of both beloved "nice guy" Tom Riley and the notorious Bart Rathbone on the popular radio program "Adventures in Odyssey." In addition, Walker was the voice of Ernie the Keebler Elf in countless TV commercials for ten years. Among the TV shows he had guest spots on are "Maverick," "Thriller," "The Virginian," "Green Acres," "Get Smart," "Star Trek," "The Wild, Wild West," "Bonanza," "Mission: Impossible," "Gunsmoke," "Fantasy Island," "The Waltons," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Falcon Crest," and "Knots Landing." He appeared on several records with Spike Jones, looped actor's voices on numerous films (one of these jobs was doing the off-camera lines for Orson Welles in "Start the Revolution Without Me"), and even supplied many different voices on all five "Planet of the Apes" pictures (he's the voice of the talking baby chimp in "Escape from the Planet of the Apes"). Walker Edmiston died from complications from cancer at age 81 on February 15, 2007.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Sound Department
Actress, writer, producer, and director Anne Lockhart can look back over 100 years to trace her theatrical roots.
She was born Anne Kathleen Maloney on September 6, 1953 in New York City and grew up in Brentwood, California. Born to one of theatre's leading families, she is the fourth generation of performers in her family to carry the Lockhart name, as the daughter of actress June Lockhart, granddaughter of Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart, and great-granddaughter of John Coates Lockhart. Her mother is known for her years on the television series Lassie (1954) and Lost in Space (1965).
Anne's professional career has spanned over 50 years. She has appeared in over 60 television series from the 1970s to the present, including Magnum, P.I. (1980), The Fall Guy (1981), Simon & Simon (1981), Knight Rider (1982), Murder, She Wrote (1984), and Diagnosis Murder (1993). Her first film appearance was in the Oscar-nominated T Is for Tumbleweed (1958). In 1979 she appeared as the groundbreaking "Lieutenant Sheba" in eleven episodes of Battlestar Galactica (1978) and the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) episode.
In addition to her long list of film and television credits, Anne has had a prolific career as a voice actress since 1975. Mostly uncredited, she remains one of the most "in-demand" voices in Hollywood. As writer, among other stage and film work, Anne has performed her original one-woman piece on "Frenchy McCormick" across the country, since 1999. An accomplished stage actress, Anne's work "on the boards" continues. Her stage debut at age 18 in New York ("40 Carats") was followed by multiple national tours of other theatrical productions. As well as appearing in contemporary as well as classical works, Anne is an accomplished Shakespearean actress, having appeared in many productions of the Bard's work. Anne founded and continues to serve on the Board of the "Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival" in California.
Single mother to daughter Carlyle Taylor and son Zane Taylor since 1994, she keeps a busy working schedule and divides her time among homes in California, Texas, and Montana.- Actor
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Preeminent British classical actor of the first post-Olivier generation, Derek Jacobi was knighted in 1994 for his services to the theatre, and, in fact, is only the second to enjoy the honor of holding TWO knighthoods, Danish and English (Olivier was the other). Modest and unassuming in nature, Jacobi's firm place in theatre history centers around his fearless display of his characters' more unappealing aspects, their great flaws, eccentricities and, more often than not, their primal torment.
Jacobi was born in Leytonstone, London, England, the only child of Alfred George Jacobi, a department store manager, and Daisy Gertrude (Masters) Jacobi, a secretary. His paternal great-grandfather was German (from Hoxter, Germany). His interest in drama began while quite young. He made his debut at age six in the local library drama group production of "The Prince and the Swineherd" in which he appeared as both the title characters. In his teens he attended Leyton County High School and eventually joined the school's drama club ("The Players of Leyton").
Derek portrayed Hamlet at the English National Youth Theatre prior to receiving his high school diploma, and earned a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he initially studied history before focusing completely on the stage. A standout role as Edward II at Cambridge led to an invite by the Birmingham Repertory in 1960 following college graduation. He made an immediate impression wherein his Henry VIII (both in 1960) just happened to catch the interest of Olivier himself, who took him the talented actor under his wing. Derek became one of the eight founding members of Olivier's National Theatre Company and gradually rose in stature with performances in "The Royal Hunt of the Sun," "Othello" (as Cassio) and in "Hay Fever", among others. He also made appearances at the Chichester Festival and the Old Vic.
It was Olivier who provided Derek his film debut, recreating his stage role of Cassio in Olivier's acclaimed cinematic version of Othello (1965). Olivier subsequently cast Derek in his own filmed presentation of Chekhov's Three Sisters (1970). On TV Derek was in celebrated company playing Don John in Much Ado About Nothing (1967) alongside Maggie Smith and then-husband Robert Stephens; Derek had played the role earlier at the Chichester Festival in 1965. After eight eventful years at the National Theatre, which included such sterling roles as Touchstone in "As You Like It", Jacobi left the company in 1971 in order to attract other mediums. He continued his dominance on stage as Ivanov, Richard III, Pericles and Orestes (in "Electra"), but his huge breakthrough would occur on TV. Coming into his own with quality support work in Man of Straw (1972), The Strauss Family (1972) and especially the series The Pallisers (1974) in which he played the ineffectual Lord Fawn, Derek's magnificence was presented front and center in the epic BBC series I, Claudius (1976). His stammering, weak-minded Emperor Claudius was considered a work of genius and won, among other honors, the BAFTA award.
Although he was accomplished in The Day of the Jackal (1973) and The Odessa File (1974), films would place a distant third throughout his career. Stage and TV, however, would continue to illustrate his classical icon status. Derek took his Hamlet on a successful world tour throughout England, Egypt, Sweden, Australia, Japan and China; in some of the afore-mentioned countries he was the first actor to perform the role in English. TV audiences relished his performances as Richard II (1978) and, of course Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980).
After making his Broadway bow in "The Suicide" in 1980, Derek suffered from an alarming two-year spell of stage fright. He returned, however, and toured as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company (1982-1985) with award-winning results. During this period he collected Broadway's Tony Award for his Benedick in "Much Ado about Nothing"; earned the coveted Olivier, Drama League and Helen Hayes awards for his Cyrano de Bergerac; and earned equal acclaim for his Prospero in "The Tempest" and Peer Gynt. In 1986, he finally made his West End debut in "Breaking the Code" for which he won another Helen Hayes trophy; the play was then brought to Broadway.
For the rest of the 80s and 90s, he laid stage claim to such historical figures as Lord Byron, Edmund Kean and Thomas Becket. On TV he found resounding success (and an Emmy nomination) as Adolf Hitler in Inside the Third Reich (1982), and finally took home the coveted Emmy opposite Anthony Hopkins in the WWII drama The Tenth Man (1988). He won a second Emmy in an unlikely fashion by spoofing his classical prowess on an episode of "Frasier" (his first guest performance on American TV), in which he played the unsubtle and resoundingly bad Shakespearean actor Jackson Hedley.
Kenneth Branagh was greatly influenced by mentor Jacobi and their own association would include Branagh's films Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Hamlet (1996), the latter playing Claudius to Branagh's Great Dane. Derek also directed Branagh in the actor's Renaissance Theatre Company's production of "Hamlet". In the 1990s Derek returned to the Chichester Festival, this time as artistic director, and made a fine showing in the title role of Uncle Vanya (1996).
More heralded work of late include profound portrayals of the anguished titular painter in Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), the role of Gracchus in the popular, Oscar-winning film Gladiator (2000), and sterling performances in such films as Two Men Went to War (2002), Bye Bye Blackbird (2005), The Riddle (2007), Endgame (2009), The King's Speech (2010), Jail Caesar (2012), and as the King in Cinderella (2015). Continuing to mesmerize on the stage, he has turned in superb performances in "Uncle Vanya" (2000), Friedrich Schiller's "Don Carlos" (2005), _A Voyage 'Round My Father (2006), "Twelfth Night" (2009) and the title role in "King Lear" (2010). On the British TV series front, he has commanded more recent attention in the title role of a crusading monk in the mystery series Mystery!: Cadfael (1994), as Lord Pirrie in Titanic: Blood and Steel (2012), as Alan in Last Tango in Halifax (2012), and as Stuart Bixby in Vicious (2013).
He and his life-time companion of three decades, Richard Clifford, filed as domestic partners in England in 2006. Clifford, a fine classical actor and producer in his own right, has shared movie time with Jacobi in Little Dorrit (1987), Henry V (1989), and the TV version of Cyrano de Bergerac (1985).- Actress
- Writer
A slender, striking, red-haired, freckle-faced American leading lady, Mary Elizabeth Hartman was born in Boardman, Ohio on December 23, 1943, as the middle of three children born to building contractor Bill C. Hartman (May 7, 1914, Ohio - October 26, 1964, Youngstown, Ohio) and housewife Claire Mullaly (October 13, 1918, Youngstown, Ohio - October 28, 1997, Youngstown, Ohio). Hartman had an older sister named Janet and a younger brother named William. Hartman grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and appeared in the play "A Clearing in the Woods" in the Youngstown Playhouse.
After graduating from Boardman High School in 1959, Hartman took a job at a Brooks Brothers store in Cleveland, and then attended Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh in 1961, where she met her future husband Gill Dennis two years later. While in summer school in 1963, Hartman participated in "Bus Stop" with Ann B. Davis, who suggested that Hartman try Broadway. In 1964, Hartman left for New York, where she starred in the play "Everybody Out, the Castle is Sinking". While in New York, she landed the role of Selina D'Arcy, a blind, abused, uneducated white girl who falls in love with a compassionate black man played by Sidney Poitier in the racially charged drama "A Patch of Blue (1965)". For this role, she was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe award. A week after she finished that film, Hartman began six months on location in New York as an upperclass collegiate in "The Group (1966)". Hartman married Dennis in 1968.
Other roles followed, such as a go-go dancer in Francis Ford Coppola's film "You're a Big Boy Now (1966)", a lonely, unmarried, handicapped woman in "The Fixer (1968)", a nurse who tends to Clint Eastwood in "The Beguiled (1971), "Intermission (1973)" and Pauline Pusser, the wife of sheriff Buford Pusser in "Walking Tall (1973)". Hartman also appeared in a television pilot of "Willow B: Women in Prison (1980)" (aka "Cages" ) and made numerous television appearances. She appeared in more plays, such as "Our Town" in 1969, also appearing in "The Glass Menagerie", "The Madwoman of Chaillot", "Bus Stop" and "Beckett". She also completed a road tour of the play, "Morning's at Seven".
Hartman's life was plagued by acute depression and insecurity; Hartman spent a year at the Institute of Living in Hartford in 1978. After her role as Mrs. Brisby in "The Secret of NIMH (1982)", Hartman retired from acting, and divorced her husband in 1984. Hartman was also frequently a patient at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, where her sister Janet took care of her.
On June 10, 1987, Hartman called her doctor and told him that she had been feeling despondent. Just before noon that same day, Hartman committed suicide by throwing herself out of her fifth-floor studio flat window at the King Edward Apartments in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland. She was 43 years old.- Actor
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Arthur Malet was born on 24 September 1927 in Lee-on-Solent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Mary Poppins (1964), Halloween (1978) and The Secret of NIMH (1982). He died on 18 May 2013 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
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As might be said for the late and great comedians Harvey Korman and Madeline Kahn, it seems that Mel Brooks was the only director on the planet who knew how to best utilize this funnyman's talents on film. Brooks once remarked that, whenever he cast Dom in one of his films he'd add an extra two days to the shooting schedule because of delays between takes due to the constant laughter from cast and crew at Dom's improvisations.
The lovable, butterball comedian was a mainstay on 1960s and '70s TV variety as a "second banana," or comic-relief player. While his harsher critics believed his schtick would be better served in smaller doses, Dom nevertheless went on to find some range in a few moving, more restrained projects. Those few glimpses behind all the mirth and merriment revealed a dramatic actor waiting to be unleashed. As they say, behind every clown's smile, one finds tears.
He was born Dominick DeLuise on August 1, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents John, a sanitation engineer, and Vicenza (DeStefano) DeLuise, both Italian immigrants. A natural school-class clown, his irrepressible sense of humor helped Dom fit in at school, and he started drawing belly laughs fairly young in his very first school play that had him portraying an inert copper penny! He later attended New York's High School of Performing Arts, but when it came to college, he decided to major in biology at Tufts University, outside Boston. That decision failed to expunge the idea of being a comedian from his head and heart, however, and that determination finally prevailed.
Dom's formative years as an actor were spent apprenticing at the Cleveland Playhouse, where which he gamely played roles in everything from contemporary shows like "Guys and Dolls" and "Stalag 17" to classics like "The School for Scandal" and even "Hamlet." He earned his first professional paycheck playing the titular Bernie the dog in "Bernie's Last Wish." Dom also got a taste of what it was like in front of the camera in Cleveland, appearing on the local TV kiddie's show "Tip Top Clubhouse."
Back in NYC, he took over the lead role of Tinker the toymaker in another children's local program, Tinker's Workshop (1954), for one season in 1958. He also started making noise on the off-Broadway scene. Appearing in the plays "The Jackass" and "All in Love," he became part of the featured ensemble of the 1961 musical revue "An Evening with Harry Stoones," which included 19-year-old Barbra Streisand. More outlandish musical roles came his way in the early 1960s with "Little Mary Sunshine" (as Corporal Billy Jester) and "The Student Gypsy, or the Prince of Liederkrantz" (his Broadway debut as Muffin T. Raggamuffin). While appearing in the lighthearted summer stock spoof "Summer & Smirk" in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Dom met fellow performer Carol Arthur (née Carol Arata). They married on November 23, 1965. Their three sons, Peter DeLuise, Michael DeLuise and David DeLuise all eventually found their way into show business. In 1971, Dom returned successfully to Broadway in a perfectly-suited Neil Simon vehicle, "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers."
Dom was first noticed on the smaller screen, creating the sketch character of Dominick the Great, a magician who tries in vain to mask his inept prestidigitations with feigned dignity on Garry Moore's popular show. The comedian truly thrived in this TV variety atmosphere and soon began popping up seemingly everywhere: (The Hollywood Palace (1964), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967), The Jackie Gleason Show (1966)). Balding, blushing, dimpled and moon-faced (comparisons to a ripe tomato were not wide of the mark), he was readily equipped with a high-wattage, Cheshire Cat smile that became his trademark. At his best, looking embarrassed or agitated, the laughs usually came at his own expense, whether playing a panic-stricken klutz or squirming nervous-Nelly type. Dom took his magician character to the ensemble comedy show The Entertainers (1964), which also showcased Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart, and found more regular employment as a bumbling private eye in puppeteer Shari Lewis' daytime children's program, and as a foil for Dean Martin on the entertainer's regular and summer replacement shows. Dom again repeated his Dominick the Great character on Martin's show and received great reception. He later found himself part of Martin's "in-crowd" of comedians on his "celebrity roasts."
Dom's obvious comic genius was more readily evident, and succeeded better, in tandem with other performers than it was on its own. Hosting duties for his very first comedy/variety program The Dom DeLuise Show (1968), which featured wife Carol as part of the regular roster, lasted only one summer. The sitcom Lotsa Luck! (1973), which showcased Dom as bachelor Stanley Belmont having to contend with a live-in mother (a harping Kathleen Freeman) and sister (an ungainly Beverly Sanders), was canceled after its first season. He gave it a rest for awhile before trying once again with the sketch-like sitcom The Dom DeLuise Show (1987), but it, too, quickly faded. Another brief stint was as host of a revamped Candid Camera (1991).
While Dom made an unlikely film debut as a high-strung Air Force technician in the gripping nuclear drama Fail Safe (1964) starring Henry Fonda, it was in zany, irreverent comedy that he found his true calling. Appearing in support of others such as Sid Caesar and Mary Tyler Moore, respectively, in the so-so comedies The Busy Body (1967) and What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), he proved a delight as an inept, dim-witted spy in the Doris Day caper The Glass Bottom Boat (1966).
Mel Brooks first cast Dom as the miserly Russian Orthodox priest, Father Fyodor, in his film The Twelve Chairs (1970), and found plenty of room for the comedian after that -- as campy director Buddy Bizarre in Blazing Saddles (1974), the silly-ass director's assistant in Silent Movie (1976), Emperor Nero in History of the World: Part I (1981), the voice of the cheese-oozing Pizza the Hutt in the "Star Wars" parody Spaceballs (1987), and as Sherwood Forest's very own puffy-cheeked Godfather, Don Giovanni, in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
A very close friend of action star Burt Reynolds, Dom romped through a number of Reynolds' freewheeling films as well, including Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). One of his finest scene-stealing film roles, in fact, was as Reynolds' schizo pal in The End (1978). Dom went on to direct a number of stage productions for his close friend at the Burt Reynolds Theatre in Jupiter, Florida -- among them "Butterflies Are Free," "Same Time, Next Year" (starring Burt and Carol Burnett), "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (starring son Peter), and the musical "Jump" (featuring wife Carol). Still another comic buddy, Gene Wilder, handed Dom the roles of the indulgent opera star in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) and harassed movie mogul Adolf Zitz in The World's Greatest Lover (1977). Dom later joined Wilder once again, along with Wilder's wife Gilda Radner, in the leaden comedy Haunted Honeymoon (1986), a clumsy haunted-house spoof that even Dom, in full drag, could not salvage.
Change-of-pace roles were few and far between. One that did come Dom's way was the compulsive-eating protagonist in Fatso (1980). Directed by and co-starring Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft, Dom managed to mix comedy with pathos. Obesity was also a chronic, real-life problem for the comedian and, at one point in 1999, it was reported that he had tipped the scales at 325 lbs. On a positive note, this passion for food actually fed into a more lucrative sideline -- as a respected chef and culinary author ("Eat This" and "Eat This Too") in which he appeared all over the tube cooking and demonstrating his favorite recipes. He also found time to write children's books on the side.
Dom tackled broad comedy films with great abandon -- a wallflower he was not -- but they were hit-or-miss. Some of his biggest misses were the Mae West disaster Sextette (1977), the Dudley Moore showcase Wholly Moses! (1980) (although Dom was arguably the best thing in it), Loose Cannons (1990), in which he appeared as portly pornographer Harry "The Hippo" Gutterman, Driving Me Crazy (1991), which filmed far away in Germany, and The Silence of the Hams (1994), a parody on the horror genre in which he played Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza.
Films could also be a family affair. True to life, Dom played a sympathetic kiddie show host in the moving TV-movie Happy (1983). Also the executive producer, he was joined by wife Carol and all three sons in the cast. In addition, Dom offered a cameo in Between the Sheets (2003), a film written by Peter, directed, edited and executive-produced by Michael, and featuring roles for the rest of the family.
Dom's voiceover skills did not go untapped, either, in films including the animated features The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986) and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), plus all of their offshoots. The heavily-bearded DeLuise even displayed scene-stealing antics on the operatic scene, once playing the speaking part of Frosch the Jailer in Johann Srauss II's operetta "Die ," at the Metropolitan Opera.
Suffering from various physical ailments in later years, some of which were exacerbated by his chronic obesity and diabetes, Dom's health declined, and he died in 2009 at age 75. His wife and three children survive him, as do three grandchildren.- Actress
- Soundtrack
A brash character actress who specialized in cinema, television, and theater, Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley was born on November 13, 1906 in Broseley, Shropshire. She was the youngest of four sisters - including Angela Baddeley, also an actress - and her half-brother, Very Rev William Baddeley, was a Church of England Minister.
Not much is known about Baddeley's early life. She made her stage debut in 1918, and became popular in London stage comedies and revues prior to World War II, known for her dancing talent and natural comic ability. She memorably performed several times with Hermione Gingold. Baddeley made her film debut in 1927, with a role in the extremely obscure silent comedy A Daughter in Revolt (1927), but didn't come to attention until twenty years later, when she portrayed the affable but blowzy Ida in the film noir Brighton Rock (1948).
Known for her memorable character roles, Baddeley dabbled in such movies as Passport to Pimlico (1949), A Christmas Carol (1951), Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951), The Pickwick Papers (1952), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her acid-tongued performance in Room at the Top (1958). At two minutes and thirty-two seconds, it is the shortest performance to ever be nominated for the award.
Baddeley became a household favorite for her role as irritable cockney housekeeper Mrs. Naugatuck on the '70s comedy series Maude (1972). She landed guest spots on multiple other shows, including but not limited to Hancock's Half Hour (1956), The Patty Duke Show (1963), Bewitched (1964), Night Gallery (1969), The Bionic Woman (1976), The Love Boat (1977), Charlie's Angels (1976), Wonder Woman (1975), Fantasy Island (1977), and Magnum, P.I. (1980).
Baddeley's two marriages failed, and she had a daughter, Pauline Tennant, from her first. She was in a long-term relationship with actor Laurence Harvey until he left her for Margaret Leighton, and died on August 19, 1986 at the age of 79 following a series of strokes.- Actress
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Shannen Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on April 12, 1971, to Rosa Doherty (Wright) and Tom Doherty. Her father worked in a bank, while her mother owned a beauty parlor. She has an older brother, Sean B. Doherty. Her ancestry includes Irish, English, Scottish, and French. In 1978, at the tender age of seven, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, where her father started a West Coast branch of the family transportation business. She knew she wanted to pursue an acting career when she made her acting debut at age ten, with a role on the series Father Murphy (1981).
Shannen was a confident student, involving herself in school performances and working hard in school, making sure she always had exceptional grades. Despite her confidence she isolated herself from large crowds and preferred to few close friends. She made a name for herself as a child actress at just 11-years-old, starring in Little House on the Prairie (1974) as Jenny Wilder. It was Michael Landon who noticed her performance in an episode of Father Murphy (1981) that he decided to cast her. She then went on to appear in Our House (1986) with Deidre Hall and Wilford Brimley. She also starred alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985) and then in Heathers (1988), a teen comedy also starring Winona Ryder.
Her real success came in 1990, at the age of 19, when she was cast in Aaron Spelling's long-running hit series, Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as Brenda Walsh, the twin sister of Brandon Walsh, played by Jason Priestley. She attracted media attention from the press and eventually made her a household name. The success of the popular teen drama appealed to young teenage girls who could relate to her character. After four years she left the show in 1994. Afterward, she continued her work in movies, starring in the thriller Almost Dead (1994) and the comedy Mallrats (1995).
During the fall of 1998, she reunited with long-time producer Aaron Spelling, when she was cast as Prue Halliwell on Charmed (1998), a show about three ordinary women who happen to be witches. She starred alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. After three years she left the show to find work in movies. Before her departure from the show she directed three of the last episodes in which she starred. She continued her work in movies by starring in Another Day (2001), The Rendering (2002), Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002), and View of Terror (2003). In 2003, she hosted season one of Scare Tactics (2003) as well as season two with only 8 episodes and then left to pursue other endeavors.
In the fall of 2004, Shannen made her return to television on Fox's drama series North Shore (2004), where she played Alexandra Hudson, the long-lost sister of Nicole Booth, played by Brooke Burns. The show was canceled after one season. Then in 2005 she landed the role of Denise Johnson on the UPN series Love, Inc. (2005); however, after the pilot episode she was dropped from the sitcom. From there she has ventured into new projects and in 2006 she starred in her own reality series, Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty (2006).- Actor
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Wil Wheaton was born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972 in Burbank, California. He first gained international attention by starring in the Rob Reiner comedy-drama film Stand by Me (1986). He then played Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) for three and one-quarter seasons. Wheaton left the Hollywood scene for 18 months to pursue personal video production. He did return to "Star Trek" every now and then for an occasional episode, however. He then returned to Los Angeles, California, attended acting school for five years and now works on many projects. He lives in Arcadia, California with his wife Anne and her two sons.