Oldest living screen stars

Caren Marsh was born in Los Angeles. Her sister, actress Dorothy Morris, was born Feb. 23, 1922. Getting into show business in 1937, Caren changed her name to Marsh because "there were too many people named Morris at the time." Caren's parents wanted her to go to college but she wanted to be a dancer. Learning of an audition for dancers at MGM she tried out and was cast in Eleanor Powell's "Rosalie" in '37. This led to more and more pictures as a dancer. "Being tiny (Caren is 5 ft.), I was a 'pony'. The tall girls are called showgirls." While working with great choreographers such as Busby Berkerley, Nick Castle and Hermes Pan, she was spotted at Metro and cast as Judy Garland's stand-in in "The Wizard of Oz" ('39). Her first real acting part was in an Army Signal Corps Hygiene film, "Pickup Girl" in '44. After gaining a foothold in Hollywood, Caren went to New York in '49 to work with ventriloquist Paul Winchell at the Capitol Theatre. Flying home to visit her parents, the plane went too low and crashed into a mountain.The aircraft was in level flight on its initial approach to Burbank, with its landing gear extended, when it descended below the officially prescribed altitude of 5,000 feet while flying in patchy fog. As a result, the plane's right wingtip struck a mountain ridge near Box Canyon in the northwest corner of the San Fernando Valley, near Santa Susana Pass and the Los Angeles County-Ventura County border. The Curtiss C-46E-1-C airliner (N79978) spun 90 degrees, struck the ground, bounced back into the air and then crashed on a rugged hillside of the Simi Hills at an altitude of about 1,890 feet just north of the Chatsworth Reservoir. Both pilots, a flight attendant, and 32 passengers died in the crash, including two young children. The remaining flight attendant and 12 passengers escaped with moderate to serious injuries. Fortunately, Caren was one of those 12. In 1950 Caren married Bill Doll, producer Mike Todd's press agent, and traveled all over the world. Today, Caren lives in Palm Springs, has taught dancing and attends both western film festivals and "Wizard of Oz" reunions when she can.

Warm, charming leading lady of 1940s films, Jacqueline White was under contract to both MGM (which wasted her in mostly unbilled bits) and then RKO, where she appeared in two classics--Crossfire (1947) and The Narrow Margin (1952). RKO used her as a second lead in A pictures and leading roles in Bs.

She retired in 1950 upon her marriage to Bruce Anderson and they relocated to Wyoming, where her husband started an oil business. When she returned to Los Angeles for the birth of her first child, she was spotted in the RKO commissary visiting friends by director Richard Fleischer and producer Stanley Rubin, who offered her a co-starring role in "The Narrow Margin". The film, widely acknowledged to be one of the classics of "film noir", sat on the RKO shelf for two years while studio boss Howard Hughes considered whether to extensively edit it or re-shoot it as an "A" with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Eventually, selected scenes were reshot and added in December 1951, nearly a year after the film had originally wrapped--she was flown out from her home in Casper, Wyoming, for these added scenes--and the film was, thankfully, spared any more of Hughes' "improvements". It was released mostly intact due to director Fleischer's striking a deal with Hughes to release the picture without further changes in return for Fleischer's reshooting the end of His Kind of Woman (1951).

Long retired from the film industry, Jacqueline has recently begun appearing at film festivals and conventions.

Ray Anthony (real name Raymond Antonini) was born in Bentleyville, PA, on Jan. 20, 1922. His family moved to Cleveland, where he spent most of his early life. There he studied trumpet with his father. From 1940-1941 he played in Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and was discharged in 1946. He also played in the Jimmy Dorsey and Al Donahue bands before forming his own band in the Midwest. He was a summer replacement for Perry Como on both CBS and NBC. Anthony recorded for Capitol Records for 19 years and later ran another record company, Wood Records, for nine years. He was once married to actress Mamie Van Doren. His biggest hits were the themes from Dragnet (1951) and Peter Gunn (1958), along with being one of the top big bands of the post-WW2 era.

With the outbreak of war Vincent left his job with the Australian General Electric Company and became a pilot with the Australian Air Force in England. He returned to Australia and his old job in 1945 but couldn't settle. He tried amateur dramatics but his dialect was a mixture of Australian, Cockney, due to his stay in London, and Canadian with having mixed with Canadian forces. To correct his accent he had elocution lessons which resulted in him marrying his teacher, Doreen, and them having a daughter, Catherine. With his diction corrected he wrote letters asking for auditions. One of these was to the Rank Organisation who replied asking him to call and see them if he was in the neighbourhood. He got a job as a stoker on a cargo ship but the journey took six months instead of the expected six weeks. Undaunted tough he presented himself at Ranks offices where impressed with his enthusiasm they gave him a job as stand in for Donald Houston in an underwater fight with an octopus in the film The Blue Lagoon. He then won a scholarship to RADA from where he went into rep working his way up to juvenile lead in Rain Before Seven, Barnett's Folly and Nitro. He got a few bit parts in films before moving into slightly larger parts in such as A Town Like Alice, Robbery Under Arms,and Danger Within. He moved back to Australia in the 70's appearing in various TV series and films such as Breaker Morant, Phar Lap and Muriel's Wedding

Gallic Actress Anne Vernon, who was born Edith Antoinette Alexandrine Vignaud in Saint-Denis, France, in January 1924, is not well known outside of Europe. Following graduation from the Paris Ecole des Beaux Arts, she found work as a model and apprenticed with an advertising designer. Developing an interest in acting, she subsequently toured with a French theatre group before embarking on a movie career. Glamorous leading lady roles came her way beginning in 1948, particularly in light post-war romantic souffles and farcical comedies where she sweetly played ingénues both English-speaking (Warning to Wantons (1949)) and non-English speaking (Edward and Caroline (1951)). Capable of tense dramatic roles as well, she made only one Hollywood film during her career, playing second femme lead in the film noir Shakedown (1950) with Howard Duff and Peggy Dow.

Audiences might recognize her from the British films Terror on a Train (1953) [aka Terror on a Train] as a bomb defuser Glenn Ford's wife, and the mild comedy The Love Lottery (1954), as part of a love triangle with David Niven and Peggy Cummins. For the most part, however, Anne stayed on French/Italian soil appearing opposite such dashing leading men as Daniel Gélin, Vittorio Gassman and Jean Marais. In the 1960s she matured into chic, maternal roles, most noticeably as Catherine Deneuve's cautious, concerned mother in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) [The Umbrellas of Cherbourg]. Surprisingly, she also had a role in the notorious soft-core lesbian flick Therese and Isabelle (1968). Following some TV work in the early 1970s, she gently phased out her career.

Though character actress Priscilla Pointer may be better known as the mother of Amy Irving, she has enjoyed a major stage, film and TV career herself for over four decades. The New York-born performer was trained on the stage and appeared in several tours and Broadway shows, including "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Country Wife" and "The Condemned of Altona". Many of these were under the direction of husband Jules Irving, a former actor, whom she married in 1947. Together, they co-founded the San Francisco Actor's Workshop along with Herbert Blau and Beatrice Manley. Forsaking her career for a time to raise her children, Pointer returned full time and, at the age of 40+, decided to set her sights on film and TV. She seemed to be everywhere in the 1970s and 1980s as somebody's mom, both brittle and resilient. She also proved to be dependable as a stern, no-nonsense teacher, doctor or judge. She played the mother of daughter Amy Irving in the cult shocker Carrie (1976), Diane Keaton in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Sean Penn in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) and Kyle MacLachlan in Blue Velvet (1986). On the nighttime soap hit Dallas (1978), she played mom to Victoria Principal's character. In 1979, her husband Jules passed away and, two years later, she married actor Robert Symonds. They have appeared together quite frequently on stage, including the plays "Voices" and "The Road to Mecca".

Actress and producer Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924 on Newark, New Jersey. She is known for starring in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). Her film career also includes roles in Raintree County (1957), Exodus (1960), The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), Grand Prix (1966), Nothing in Common (1986), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), Superman Returns (2006) and Winter's Tale (2014).

Saint made her feature film debut in On the Waterfront (1954), starring Marlon Brando and directed by Elia Kazan - a performance for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was a major success and launched her movie career. She starred in the pioneering drug-addiction drama A Hatful of Rain (1957) with Don Murray and Anthony Franciosa. She also starred in lavish the Civil War epic Raintree County (1957) with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.

Director Alfred Hitchcock surprised many by choosing Saint over dozens of other candidates for the femme fatale role in what was to become a suspense classic North by Northwest (1959) with Cary Grant and James Mason. Written by Ernest Lehman, the film updated and expanded upon the director's early "wrong man" spy adventures of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, including The 39 Steps (1935), Young and Innocent (1937), and Saboteur (1942). North by Northwest (1959) became a box-office success and an influence on spy films for decades.

Maria Riva was born on 13 December 1924 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress and writer, known for Scrooged (1988), The Scarlet Empress (1934) and Target (1958).

Gene Shalit was born on 25 March 1926 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Live from Lincoln Center (1976), Masterpiece Mystery (1980) and SpongeBob SquarePants (1999).

Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, to Hazel Victoria (McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman. His younger brother was entertainer Jerry Van Dyke. His ancestry includes English, Dutch, Scottish, German and Swiss-German. Although he had small roles beforehand, Van Dyke was launched to stardom in the musical "Bye-Bye Birdie" (1960), for which he won a Tony Award, and, then, later in the movie based on that play, Bye Bye Birdie (1963). He has starred in a number of films through the years including Mary Poppins (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Fitzwilly (1967), as well as a number of successful television series which won him no less than four Emmy Awards and three made-for-CBS movies. After separating from his wife, Margie Willett, in the 1970s, Dick later became involved with Michelle Triola. Margie and Dick had four children born during the first ten years of their marriage: Barry Van Dyke, Carrie Beth Van Dyke, Christian Van Dyke and Stacy Van Dyke, all of whom are now in their sixties and seventies, and married themselves. He has seven grandchildren, including Shane Van Dyke, Carey Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke and Taryn Van Dyke (Barry's children) and family members often appear with him on Diagnosis Murder (1993).

Born in New York City on June 25, 1925, the daughter of actors Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart, June Lockhart made her professional debut at age eight in a Metropolitan Opera production of "Peter Ibbetson", playing Mimsey in the dream sequence. In the mid-1930s, the Lockharts relocated to California, where father Gene enjoyed a long career as one of the screen's great character actors. June made her screen debut in MGM's version of A Christmas Carol (1938), playing--appropriately enough the daughter of stars Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart. June appeared in a dozen or more movies before 1947, when she made her Broadway bow playing the ingénue in the comedy "For Love or Money" with John Loder. She got a standing ovation on opening night; one critic compared her debut to the first big hits of Helen Hayes and Margaret Sullavan. The overnight toast of Broadway, she went on to win a Tony Award, the Donaldson Award, the Theatre World Award and the Associated Press citation for Woman of the Year for Drama for her work in that play. On television, she has co-starred in popular series like Lassie (1954) and Lost in Space (1965).

Academy Award-winner Lee Grant was born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal on October 31, 1925 in Manhattan, New York City, to Witia (Haskell), a teacher and model, and Abraham Rosenthal, an educator and realtor. Her father was of Romanian Jewish descent, and her mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Lee made her stage debut at age 4 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, playing the abducted princess in "L'Orocolo". After graduating from high school, she won a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where she studied acting with Sanford Meisner. When she was a teenager Grant established herself as a formidable Broadway talent when she won The Critics' Circle Award for her portrayal of the shoplifter in "Detective Story". She reprised the role in the film version (Detective Story (1951), a performance that garnered her the Cannes Film Festival Citation for Best Actress as well as her first Academy Award Nomination. Immediately following her screen debut, however, Lee became a victim of the McCarthy-era blacklists in which actors, writers, directors, etc., were persecuted for supposedly "Communist" or "progressive" political beliefs, whether they had them or not. Except for an occasional role, she did not work in film or television for 12 years. In 1965 Lee re-started her acting career in the TV series Peyton Place (1964), for which she won an Emmy Award as Stella Chernak, and she later garnered her first Academy Award for Shampoo (1975), also receiving Academy Award nominations for The Landlord (1970) and Voyage of the Damned (1976). Since 1980 Lee has been concentrating on her directorial career, which began as part of the Women's Project at The Americal Film Institute (AFI); her adaptation of August Strindberg's, "Stronger, The" was consequently selected as one of the 10 best films ever produced for AFI. In 1987 she received an Academy Award for the HBO documentary, Down and Out in America (1985) and directed Nobody's Child (1986) for CBS, for which she received the Directors Guild Award. In 1983 she received the Congressional Arts Caucus Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting and Independent Filmmaking. Subsequently, Women in Film paid tribute to her in 1989, with its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Both the New York City Council and the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors have recognized Ms. Grant for the contribution her films have made to the fight against domestic violence.

Brunette, green-eyed Louise Marie Odette Bourdin-Perrier was born in Néris-les-Bains, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeast-central France. Her brother, Roland Bourdin, became a noted playwright, the first administrator of the Orchestre de Paris, as well as a co-founder of the Ensemble orchestral de Paris.

Leaving school at the age of sixteen, Lise learned typing and shorthand in preparation for her move to Paris where she found work at a radio station. Before long, her good looks got her noticed for a position as a saleswoman for the couturier Pierre Balmain. Lise rapidly progressed from there to becoming a top fashion model, featured in magazines like Harper's Bazaar, Marie-Claire and Noir et Blanc. Between 1946 and 1950, she was the most photographed model in France. In addition, Lise featured in two articles in Life magazine, a fact of which she was immensely proud, later saying "Few French women have had two pages in Life. There was Bardot, Moreau and me." During a subsequent sojourn to the United States, she was 'discovered' on the catwalk, while showcasing French couture, by producers David L. Loew and Charles Einfeld. Two years later, she was back in New York as a model, but now at a base salary of $25 an hour.

Lise had just a brief fling with the stage, but soon commanded leads in post-war French cinema, beginning with Léonide Moguy's social-realist drama Children of Love (1953). She was also featured alongside Sophia Loren in The River Girl (1954), then played a nice princess in an episode of Sherlock Holmes (1954) and an evil one in the adventure film The River of Three Junks (1957). On the international scene, she was a 'Madame X' in Billy Wilder's romantic Gary Cooper-Audrey Hepburn comedy Love in the Afternoon (1957), filmed on location in Paris. Her final picture was the dour Van Johnson war film The Last Blitzkrieg (1959) , in which Lise's presence was, at best, perfunctory. After that, she quit the acting profession, declaring "I told myself that I would never have the career I deserved, so I stopped."

Lise Bourdin was formerly married to Brazilian industrialist Roberto Seabra. From 1974, she was in a relationship with the French politician Raymond Marcellin (1914-2004), a former Interior Minister of France under the presidency of Charles de Gaulle.

Glamorous, shapely Parisienne Brigitte Auber briefly flirted with international fame as Danielle Foussard in Alfred Hitchcock's romantic thriller To Catch a Thief (1955). As a member of a gang of jewel thieves, she vied with heroine Grace Kelly for the affections of debonair cat burglar Cary Grant. The story goes, that, while filming a particularly perilous rooftop scene which had Brigitte fearing an accidental fall and possible death, she spotted a quartet of Catholic priests and was said to have quipped "Mon Dieu! You Americans think of everything!"

Brigitte (born Marie-Claire Cahen de Labzac) was the daughter of a man of letters and expert on the writings of Balzac, Robert Cahen, who had adopted the nom-de-plume Robert Cahen de Labzac ('Labzac', of course, being an anagram of Balzac). Initially wanting to become a dancer, young Brigitte instead turned to dramatics and began acting on screen from the age of 21. After early bit parts, her first leading role was opposite Daniel Gélin and Nicole Courcel in Jacques Becker's charming comedy Rendezvous in July (1949), set in post-war Paris. After that, she had back-to-back starring turns in Vendetta en Camargue (1950) (a rural comedy about a girl inheriting a farm house and facing larceny from some of the locals and resentment from others), Julien Duvivier's episodic melodrama Under the Paris Sky (1951),L'amour toujours l'amour (1952) (which was made for teen consumption) and Femmes de Paris (1953), a musical comedy. Hitch then picked her for the coveted role of Danielle in To Catch a Thief. In appearance, she certainly fitted the director's known predilection for cool blondes. However, Hitch thought Brigitte's French accent as too pronounced to cast her in his next picture, The Trouble with Harry (1955).

By the mid-60s, Brigitte worked intermittently on both the big and the small screen, mostly in comedies or crime dramas. She had one more supporting role in an English-language production, appearing as an attendant to Queen Anne (played by Anne Parillaud) in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

Born 8 May 1926, the younger brother of actor Lord Richard Attenborough. He never expressed a wish to act and, instead, studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, graduating in 1947, the year he began his two years National Service in the Royal Navy. In 1952, he joined BBC Television at Alexandra Palace and, in 1954, began his famous "Zoo Quest" series. When not "Zoo Questing", he presented political broadcasts, archaeological quizzes, short stories, gardening and religious programmes.

1964 saw the start of BBC2, Britain's third TV channel, with Michael Peacock as its Controller. A year later, Peacock was promoted to BBC1 and Attenborough became Controller of BBC2. As such, he was responsible for the introduction of colour television into Britain, and also for bringing Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) to the world.

In 1969, he was appointed Director of Programmes with editorial responsibility for both the BBC's television networks. Eight years behind a desk was too much for him, and he resigned in 1973 to return to programme making. First came "Eastwards with Attenborough", a natural history series set in South East Asia, then The Tribal Eye (1975) , examining tribal art. In 1979, he wrote and presented all 13 parts of Life on Earth (1979) (then the most ambitious series ever produced by the BBC Natural History Unit). This became a trilogy, with The Living Planet (1984) and The Trials of Life (1990).

His services to television were recognised in 1985, and he was knighted to become Sir David Attenborough. The two shorter series, "The First Eden" and "Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives" were fitted around 1993's spectacular Life in the Freezer (1993), a celebration of Antarctica and 1995's epic The Private Life of Plants (1995), which he wrote and presented. Filming the beautiful birds of paradise for Attenborough in Paradise (1996) in 1996 fulfilled a lifelong ambition, putting him near his favourite bird. Entering his seventies, he narrated the award-winning Wildlife Specials (1995), marking 40 years of the BBC Natural History Unit. But, he was not slowing down, as he completed the epic 10-part series for the BBC, The Life of Birds (1998) along with writing and presenting the three-part series State of the Planet (2000) as well as The Life of Mammals (2002). Once broadcast, he began planning his next projects.

He has received honorary degrees from many universities across the world, and is patron or supporter of many charitable organisations, including acting as Patron of the World Land Trust, which buys rain forest and other lands to preserve them and the animals that live there.

William Daniels is an American actor, born in Brooklyn, New York City. He was born in 1927, to bricklayer David Daniels and his wife Irene.

Daniels was a member of the singing Daniels family in Brooklyn. He made his television debut in 1943 at the age of 16, as part of a variety act. That same year, Daniels made his Broadway debut in the comedy play "Life With Father" (1939) by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Until the 1960s, Daniels was primarily a theatrical actor, with a few guest star roles in television. For his role in the play "The Zoo Story" (1958) by Edward Albee, Daniels received an Obie Award.

Daniels made his film debut in 1963, at the age of 36. He debuted in the Cold War-themed thriller "Ladybug Ladybug" (1963), where he played school principal Mr. Calkins. His next film role was the comedy-drama film "A Thousand Clowns" (1965), where he played child welfare worker Albert Amundson. Daniels had a supporting role in "The Graduate" (1967), playing the father of protagonist Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman).

Daniels found his first major television role in the superhero comedy "Captain Nice" (1967). He played police chemist Carter Nash, who could transform into the superhero Captain Nice by drinking a super serum. In both identities, Nash was a mild-mannered mama's boy, who was pressured into a crime-fighting career by his mother (played by Alice Ghostley). He was clumsy as a hero, and had a crippling fear of heights. The series lasted only 15 episodes

In the 1970s, Daniel's most prominent role was that of John Adams in the film adaptation of "1776" (1972). He also played John Quincy Adams in the historical television series "The Adams Chronicles" (1976). He had a regular role in the sitcom "The Nancy Walker Show" (1976) as Lt. Commander Kenneth Kitteridge of the United States Navy. Kenneth was the loving husband of protagonist Nancy Kitteridge (played by Nancy Walker). The series lasted for 13 episodes.

In the crime drama series "Knight Rider" (1982-1986), Daniels voiced KITT, an artificially intelligent electronic computer module in the body of a robotic automobile. The series lasted for 90 episodes. The series was very popular in its time, and has had a large number of sequels and spin-offs.

Daniels also played surgeon Dr. Mark Craig in the medical drama "St. Elsewhere" (1982-1988). The setting was St. Eligius Hospital, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston. The series lasted for 137 episodes and garnered 62 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Daniels played KITT again in the television film "Knight Rider 2000" (1991). He had a prominent role in the sitcom "Boy Meets World" (1993-2000) as teacher George Feeny, a strict but loving mentor to protagonist Cory Matthews (played by Ben Savage). The series lasted for 158 episodes, and Feeny was one of Daniel's most recognizable roles.

Daniels guest starred as KITT in two episodes of the animated sitcom "The Simpsons" (1989-). The episodes were "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" (1998) and "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Daniels also voiced a Hospital Ship in the episode "Critical Care" (2000) of the science fiction series "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001).

In the 2000s, Daniels provided voice roles for animated television series, such as "Kim Possible" and "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy". His most prominent role in the 2010s was that of George Feeny again, who appeared in 5 episodes of the sitcom series "Girl Meets World" (2014-2017). It was a sequel series to "Boy Meets World" , featuring the life of Cory Matthews as a teacher and father.

By 2020, Daniels was 92 years old, one of the oldest living actors.

Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in WWII, and afterwards got a job playing the drums at nightclubs in the Catskills. Brooks eventually started a comedy act and also worked in radio and as Master Entertainer at Grossinger's Resort before going to television.

He was a writer for, Your Show of Shows (1950) Caesar's Hour (1954) and wrote the Broadway show Shinbone Alley. He also worked in the creation of The 2000 Year Old Man (1975) and Get Smart (1965) before embarking on a highly successful film career in writing, acting, producing and directing.

Brooks is famous for the spoofs of different film genres that he made such as Blazing Saddles (1974), History of the World: Part I (1981), Silent Movie (1976), Young Frankenstein (1974), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), High Anxiety (1977), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), and Spaceballs (1987).

Mirtha Legrand was born on 23 February 1927 in Villa Cañás, Santa Fe Province, Argentina. She is an actress, known for La pequeña señora de Pérez (1944), The Chairwoman (2012) and Cinco besos (1946). She was previously married to Daniel Tinayre.

A gentle redhead with a peaches and cream complexion, Marilyn Betty Erskine had a notably early start in show biz, perhaps encouraged by her father Robert, who presided over the New York City Credit Bureau. By the age of three, Marilyn was active on the airwaves at a Buffalo radio station. Between 1948 and 1960, she featured on numerous nationwide radio shows, including The Cavalcade of America, Radio City Playhouse and Let's Pretend. She had extensive theatrical experience from the age of eleven, appearing on and off-Broadway in plays like The Primrose Path, Our Town and The Linden Tree. In later years, she recalled an incident while performing in The Shining Hour, which starred Jane Cowl and had Marilyn playing the role of ingénue: "I was supposed to trip lightly down a flight of stairs and get on with the dialogue. But-on the top stair I tripped and fell the whole flight right into the arms of Miss Cowl. Personally, I think mine was an entrance that never has been topped!"

Marilyn began acting on the screen in 1949, though films offered her little more than small supporting roles. A possible highlight may have been the part of Eddie Cantor 's wife Ida in The Eddie Cantor Story (1953). She fared rather better on television where she managed to amass an impressive resume in anthology drama appearances between 1953 and 1962. She also had a recurring role in the short-lived CBS sitcom The Tom Ewell Show (1960) as the star's wife Fran. Towards the close of her career, Marilyn had featured roles in Perry Mason (1957) and Ironside (1967), both starring Raymond Burr.

Marilyn's first husband (for all of two months) was the distinguished director and producer Stanley Kramer. She was subsequently married for five years to a Dr. Samuel Eugene Neikrug. Her third husband, Charles William Curland, was a senior partner in the Los Angeles insurance firm of Curland, Moss & Meltzer. They had two children. Curland died in 2012.

Lisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress. She started her career as a teenager, performing in Kunqu theatrical productions, a traditional style of Chinese opera. The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) ended with a Communist victory. While the new regime financially subsidized China's theaters for most of the 1950s, it started withdrawing its support by the end of the decade and shut them down during the 1960s. Lu migrated to the United States by the late 1950s, in search of more career opportunities.

In 1960, Lu had her first notable film role as Madame Su-Mei Hung, the widow of a Chinese officer, in The Mountain Road (1960), set during World War II. She joins an American unit in an anti-Japanese mission in the Pacific War, and engages in a brief romance with their leader Major Baldwin (played by James Stewart). The relationship ends when Baldwin burns down an entire Chinese village, and creates thousands of casualties among the innocent civilians he treats as collateral damage. The conflict between the two lovers is based on Baldwin's idea that the end (his mission) sanctifies the means, and on her disagreement with his indiscriminate killings.

In 1961, she played the character of Chinese slave girl Su Ling, in an episode of Bonanza (1959). In 1962, she appeared in the Western film Rider on a Dead Horse (1962) and in the crime-drama Womanhunt (1962). She had a hand-full of television appearances for the rest of the decade. In the late 1960s, Lu found more work in Hong Kong films, most notably The 14 Amazons (1972), in which she played the semi-legendary She Saihua, a female general in the army of Emperor Taizong of Song (who reigned from 976-997).

In 1973, Lu appeared in the American horror film Terror in the Wax Museum (1973). In 1975, she starred in The Empress Dowager (1975) as the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908, reign as regent 1861-1908). The film depicts the relationship between the powerful regent and her puppet ruler, the Guangxu Emperor (1871-1908, reigned 1875-1908). She reprised her role in the sequel, The Last Tempest (1976).

In 1977, she had a supporting part in the dystopian science fiction film, Demon Seed (1977), in which the computer Proteus imprisons and forcibly impregnates its creator's wife (played by Julie Christie), in an effort to create a human host for its prodigious sentience. In 1979, Lu had a supporting role in Saint Jack (1979). The film depicts the efforts of small-time pimp Jack Flowers (played by Ben Gazzara) to create a lucrative brothel in Singapore, while defying the control of the local organized crime syndicate.

In 1981, Lu played a nun in Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder (1982), set in the Vietnam War, which depicts a cynical and selfish soldier. When a promise to an old friend causes him to offer volunteer service in a local orphanage, the soldier starts caring about people other than himself. The following year, she narrated the documentary film Sewing Woman (1982), about the life of an immigrant worker, Zem Ping Dong, in San Francisco. In 1986, she had a small role in the adventure film Tai-Pan (1986), set in the aftermath of the First Opium War (1839-1842), and depicting a powerful trader and opium smuggler in 1840s Hong Kong. The film was an adaptation of the 1966 novel "Tai-Pan" by James Clavell. It was both a critical and box-office flop.

In 1987, Lu played Empress Dowager Cixi for a third time, in The Last Emperor (1987). Early in the film, the dying Cixi chooses Puyi (1906-67, reigned 1908-12) as the new emperor of the Qing dynasty, despite him being underage and being outranked in the succession order by his father and several uncles. The film covers the consequences of this deathbed decision. In 1988, Lu had a small role in the mini-series Noble House (1988). The series was based on a 1981 novel by Clavell, and served as a sequel to Tai-Pan (1986), although set in 1980s Hong Kong. It features the descendants of the merchant princes of the 19th century, and the efforts of centuries-old companies to adapt and survive in a changing world.

In 1993, Lu appeared in the generational-saga film The Joy Luck Club (1993), which features the lives of a group of Chinese women, from their childhoods in China to old age in the United States, and their relationships with their Chinese-American daughters. She played the mother of General Shi Yan-sheng in Temptation of a Monk (1993), set in 7th century China. After several years of playing mostly bit parts, Lu played a supporting role in the comedy-drama The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (2006) as the gossipy neighbor of protagonist Ye Rutang (Siqin Gaowa). Lu continued played small roles for the rest of the 2000s.

In 2010, she had a substantial role in the drama film Apart Together (2010) as the aging "widow" Qiao Yu-e, whose husband disappeared in 1949 during the final phase of the Chinese Civil War. Qiao was pregnant at the time. Decades later, her missing husband turns up alive, returning from self-exile abroad. He tries to reconcile with a wife who barely remembers him, and with their son, who has never met him. In 2012, Lu appeared in the romantic drama Dangerous Liaisons (2012) as Du Ruixue, the matriarch of a dysfunctional family. In 2018, aged 91, Lu appeared in the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018) as Shang Su Yi, matriarch of a wealthy and influential Singaporean family.

Rosemary Harris is an English actress. She has won 4 Drama Desk Awards, and nominated 9 times for Tony Awards. In 1966, she won the "Tony Award for Best Actress" for her role as Eleanor of Aquitaine in "The Lion in Winter". In films, she is better known for portraying May Reilly Parker in the "Spider-Man" film trilogy (2002-2007). Her character Aunt May is Spider-Man/Peter Parker's paternal aunt-in-law and surrogate mother.

In 1927, Harris was born in Ashby, Suffolk, a former civil parish in East Suffolk. Her parents were Stafford Berkeley Harris and his wife Enid Maude Frances Campion. Her father served in the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the Harris family relocated to the locations of his military assignments. For some time, Stafford served in British India. So Harris spend part of her childhood there.

Harris attended various convent schools. When she reached adulthood, she decided to follow an acting career. She made her theatrical debut in 1948, at Eastburn. She appeared for a few years in English repertory theatre, though she had no formal training as an actor. She joined Anthony Cundell's theatrical company, which was headquartered at Penzance, Cornwall.

From 1951 to 1952, Harris received her formal acting education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She made her debut in the New York stage in 1951, performing in "Climate of Eden" by Moss Hart (1904-1961). Shortly after, she made her West End debut in London. In 1954, Harris made her film debut in "Beau Brummell".

For several years, Harris appeared in classical theatre productions of the Bristol Old Vic, a British theatre company headquartered in Bristol, South West England. She later started performing for the Old Vic, the company's London-based parent company. In 1963, Harris performed at the opening production of the then-new National Theatre Company (later known as the Royal National Theatre), a theatrical company founded that year by Laurence Olivier (1907-1989). In that performance, Harris played Ophelia in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. Her co-star in the role of Hamlet was Peter O'Toole (1932-2013). The performance received positive reviews, with a theatre critic commenting that Harris was "the most real and touching Ophelia".

From 1959 to 1967, Harris performed in Broadway for the Association of Producing Artist (APA). APA was a production company established by her then-husband Ellis Rabb (1930-1998), Her best known role in this period was playing the historical queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) in "Lion in Winter", the role for which she won the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress.

In 1967, Harris and Rabb received a divorce, and she consequently stopped performing for the APA. The company did not long survive Harris' departure, disbanding in 1969. Also in 1967, Harris was wed to her second husband, the fiction writer John Ehle (1925-2018). Ehle specialized in works set the Appalachian Mountains, and has been nicknamed "the father of Appalachian literature". They jointly raised a daughter, the actress Jennifer Ehle (1969-).

Harris gained a high-profile television role in the 1970s, playing protagonist George Sand (1804-1876) in the BBC television serial "Notorious Woman" (1974). The series lasted for a single season and 7 episodes. The well-received series was broadcast in the United States from 1975 to 1976. For this role, Harris won the 1976 "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie".

In 1978, Harris appeared in the role of Berta Palitz Weiss in the American television miniseries "Holocaust". Her character was the mother of a large Jewish family during the Holocaust. The miniseries was the first American television production focusing on the Holocaust, and was considered controversial for allegedly trivializing the historical tragedy. Harris' role was critically well-received, and she won the 1978 "Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama".

In the 1980s, Harris' only major appearance in a television production was her role as Mrs Ramsay in the television film "To the Lighthouse". The film was an adaptation of a 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), and focused on the life of the Ramsay family at their summer home on the Isle of Skye.

In the 1990s, Harris co-starred with her daughter Jennifer Ehle in the television series "The Camomile Lawn" (1992). Ehle played the young adult version of the character Calypso, while Harris played the elderly version of the character.

In 1994, Harris had a high-profile film role in the historical drama "Tom & Viv", which dramatized the problematic relationship between the poet Thomas Stearns "T.S." Eliot (1888-1965) and his first wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot (1888-1947), Harris played the role of Vivienne's mother, Rose Robinson Haigh-Wood. For this role, Harris was nominated for the 1994 "Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress". The Award was instead won by rival actress Dianne Wiest (1946-).

Later, Harris again co-starred with Jennifer Ehle in the historical drama film "Sunshine" (1999). They played young and elderly versions of the character Valerie Sonnenschein. The film follows depicts the history of Hungary from the late 19th century to the 1950s, through the life experiences of a Hungarian Jewish family.

Harris gained the high-profile role of May Reilly Parker in the comic book adaptation "Spider-Man" (2002). The film was a box office hit, earning about 822 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Harris was introduced to a much wider audience than before. She resumed her role in the sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Harris continued her theatrical career in the 2010s. Her last high-profile role in the decade was the role of Mrs. Higgins in a Broadway revival of "My Fair Lady". She appeared in the role from 2018 to 2019.

In 2021 was 93-years-old. She has never officially retired, though she no longer appears frequently in films. She has become one of the longest-lived actors of her era.

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).

The charming, witty, and immeasurably talented Estelle Parsons was born November 20, 1927 in Lynn, Massachusetts, to Elinor and Eben Parsons. She attended the Oak Grove School for Girls in Maine, and later graduated from Connecticut College in 1949. She worked as a singer with a band before she became the first Women's Editor on Today (1952). She left the program in 1955. her claim to fame was her Oscar-winning performance as Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The following year, she garnered an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Rachel, Rachel (1968). On television, she is best remembered as Beverly Lorraine Harris, Roseanne and Jackie's zany, manipulative and pretentious mother on Roseanne (1988). In 2003, her character was honored with a TV Land Award for Favorite Classic TV In-Law.

Doc Severinsen was born on 7 July 1927 in Arlington, Oregon, USA. He is an actor, known for Nude on the Moon (1961), Sharky's Machine (1981) and Cheers (1982).

A veritable everyman of stage and screen, both big and small, but relatively unfamiliar to American audiences, Michael Craig is of Scots heritage, born in India to a father on military assignment. When he was three, the family returned to England, but by his eleventh year, they moved on to Canada - where he undoubtedly acquired his North American accent. He left school for the Merchant Navy at 16, but finally returned to England and the lure of the theater. By 1947, he debuted on stage and, in 1953, Sir Peter Hall gave him his first lead stage role. In the meantime, he was trying his hand at extra work and had speaking roles by 1954. This eventually led to discovery by Rank Films and a list of lead movie roles into the early 1960s. When his 7-year contract with that company expired, he was optioned by Columbia Pictures and his Hollywood career commenced. Yet his American work is perhaps only modestly remembered in two films, ironically co-American productions with the UK, Mysterious Island (1961), and Australia, the Disney TV installment, Ride a Wild Pony (1975).

By the mid-1970s, Craig's TV and film work was heavily concentrated in Australia (where he still resides) and composed a depth or roles, both comedic and dramatic, that has included memorable and solid character pieces as he has matured in age. As a screen writer, he has written for and created several British TV series. And he has never been far from the stage, remaining a familiar face in both London and New York theater.