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Mike Flanagan is a prolific writer, director, and editor of feature films and television, and founder of Red Room Pictures. Flanagan entered into an exclusive overall deal with Amazon Studios in 2023 for television projects (after a similar exclusive deal with Netflix lasted from 2018-2022), and has produced feature films for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Netflix, among others. Flanagan is best known for his work in horror films and television series, which has attracted the praise of critics for his focus on character and lack of reliance on jump scares. Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, and William Friedkin, among others, have praised him.

Flanagan was born in Salem, Massachusetts to Timothy and Laura Flanagan. The family relocated frequently, as Timothy was in the U.S. Coast Guard, and finally settled in Bowie, Maryland. As a child, he would shoot and edit short movies on VHS. This continued as he attended Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland, where he was active in the theatre department and the president of the Student Government Association. A graduate of Towson University's Electronic Media and Film department, Mike moved to Los Angeles in 2003 and began working as an editor of sketch comedy shows, reality television, documentary programming and commercials before his Kickstarter-funded breakout feature Absentia (2011) launched his filmmaking career.

Flanagan's films, all of which he directed, wrote, and edited, include Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), Before I Wake (2016), Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Gerald's Game (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019), and The Life of Chuck (2024). He also created, directed, and served as showrunner on the series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), the teen horror series The Midnight Club (2022) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).

Flanagan has been nominated for dozens of awards for writing, directing and editing, and was presented with the Visionary Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 2022. He is an active member of the Producers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America West, Motion Picture Editors Guild, and Screen Actors Guild.

Flanagan lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Kate Siegel, whom he married in 2016. They have a son and a daughter together, as well as a son from Flanagan's previous relationship with Absentia actress Courtney Bell. He has been sober since 2018, and frequently uses his work to explore themes of addiction, recovery, and empathy.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts. Played on the Stanford golf team during his freshman year. A journeyman actor in the '90s and stopped acting as a career in 2000. Partner in an Investment Advisory Group at a brokerage house in Los Angeles. Auditioning for The Office (2005) was a fluke. Hats off to Allison Jones, the show's casting director, for coming up with the idea. Buckley's grateful and having fun with it.

Along with Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, and Dax Shepard, he was part of a short-lived sketch comedy group 'House of Floyd,' which grew out of their work at The Groundlings. Was Reba McEntire's fella in two of her music videos: 'Rather Ride Around With You' and 'What If It's You.' Played in the U.S. Amateur many years ago. Married to Nancy Banks, an acting teacher/coach. They have two sons.

Instantly recognizable American character actor with bulbous nose and heavily lined face, who could convey integrity or menace to equal effect. He first came to prominence on radio as (Captain) Starr of Space (1953), using ray guns to combat Martians and alien queens. Beginning in 1953, Larch accumulated an impressive resume of TV series credits, spanning almost the entire spectrum of the best western, crime and science-fiction shows the 1950's and 60's had to offer. His authoritarian personality and demeanor generally typecast him as police officers, military men, attorneys and politicians. Quite a few of these turned out to be either corrupt or outright villains. Point in case, his performance as a tough hood in The Phenix City Story (1955), described by Bosley Crowther as "stinging" in "hard malevolence" (New York Times, September 3, 1955).

At his best, Larch was the nervous Mr. Fremont, father to the eminently dangerous Anthony (Bill Mumy) in the classic entry into The Twilight Zone (1959), 'It's a Good Life'. In The Invaders (1967) episode 'Genesis', he was again excellent as police officer Greg Lucather, at first skeptical, but subsequently swayed by irrefutable evidence to help in David Vincent's quest. On the big screen, he is perhaps best remembered as Harry Callahan's Chief of Police in the original Dirty Harry (1971).

Mark Slade was born in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1956, he enrolled at the Worcester Academy, intending to make a career of his great interest and hobby, cartooning. However, after filling in at the last minute for a sick classmate in a play entitled "The Male Animal", he founds himself smitten with the stage-bug and decided to become an actor, instead.

Success didn't come to Mark overnight, but a combination of talent and hard work (not to mention youthful good-looks) resulted in appearances in numerous films and TV productions, including the role of the perpetually sea-sick "Radioman Patrick Hollis" in the series, The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965). After that came the part that Mark is probably best known for to this day - the role of the handsome, young, blue-eyed cowboy in the Western series The High Chaparral (1967), where his outstanding portrayal of "Billy Blue Cannon" contributed greatly to the popularity and success of that series. He himself became extremely popular the world over, appearing on the covers (and in the pages) of numerous magazines, and receiving huge quantities of fan mail from around the world. He was the recipient of various acting awards (Otto, Bambi, Fabulous 201, Belgian Viewers and Western Heritage Award) and was even made an honorary life member of the Navajo Indian tribe, for his great and sympathetic interest in the lives of Native Americans. After The High Chaparral (1967), he continues to appear in many series and film roles, but he also developed his writing and directing skills - the script of Cliffy (1975) episode, which he wrote and in which he portrayed the title role, received general critical acclaim, three national awards, and a commendation from the White House.

Mark has returned to his "first love", and today works out of his own art studio, where, surrounded by an artistic family, he creates beautiful works that reveal a great sense of humor, rare sensitivity and a deep knowledge of the human nature.

Al Ruscio was born on 2 June 1924 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Showgirls (1995), The Phantom (1996) and The Godfather Part III (1990). He was married to Kate Williamson. He died on 12 November 2013 in Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA.

In the 1930s, 1940s, and especially the 1950s, if a director wanted a short, fat actor to play a windy storekeeper or a raucous conventioneer, he might well cast Dick Elliott. He was one of those actors who, whenever he appeared on screen, often for less than a minute, the audience would think, "Oh, it's that guy." Yet few would ever know his name.

Elliott was certainly short, probably not much more than five foot four. And he was certainly fat. His belly was large and round, so he looked a bit like a huge ball with arms and legs. One imagined him soft and pink, and always happy. A Hobbit, perhaps. Santa Claus without the whiskers. And like another short, fat actor, Eugene Pallette, Elliott had a distinctive voice. Not the bullfrog basso that rumbled out of Pallette's gullet, but higher-pitched, whiny, or honey-smooth as the role demanded, with an "sh" in place of a lot of "s" sounds.

Elliott appeared in over 240 films. He was most often cast as judges, mayors, newspaper reporters, policemen, and blowhards, usually one who can't stop talking except when he'd burst into a loud laugh that bordered on a cackle.

As was the case with many character actors who never became featured players, not much record remains of his personal life. He was born Richard Damon Elliott on April 30, 1886, in Salem, Massachusetts. His gravestone says he was a loving husband and father. And we know he began performing in stock in 1931 and was on stage for nearly thirty years before his film debut, including appearing in the long-running hit, "Abie's Irish Rose." Other than that, we have only his film and television appearances to go on, and I'll mention some highlights.

His first movie was Central Airport (1933), and he was Ned Buntline in Annie Oakley (1935) with Barbara Stanwyck in 1935. He was perfect for the role of Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner (1940), was amusing as the Judge in Christmas in Connecticut (1945), again starring Stanwyck, and made the most of his small role as a Whiskey Drummer in The Dude Goes West (1948) with Eddie Albert. Many film fans remember him best for another small role, as the man on the porch in the holiday perennial It's a Wonderful Life (1946), who tells James Stewart to stop jabbering and go ahead and kiss Donna Reed. Often his role in a film was so small his character didn't even have a name, and was sometimes listed in the cast simply as "Fat Man." He did have a good part in the under appreciated film Park Row (1952). His last film role was in Go, Johnny, Go! (1959).

The advent of television opened up a whole new world of roles. An unending stream of weekly comedies, dramas, and even variety shows needed performers. Some featured character actors like Gene Lockhart and Cecil Kellaway might star in an episode of an anthology series. Actors who had little screen time in films became invaluable featured players, and a few even attained the Holy Grail of being a series regular, Elliott among them. In the fifties he appeared in dozens and dozens of TV shows, including Dick Tracy (1950), in which he had a recurring role as Chief Murphy, My Little Margie (1952), Adventures of Superman (1952), I Love Lucy (1951), I Married Joan (1952), in which his character was called "Fatso," December Bride (1954), and Rawhide (1959). One of his best roles was in the episode The Rain Wagon (1955), in which he played Osgood Falstaff, the Shakespeare-quoting rainmaker who is secretly a bank robber. It was rare for Elliott to play a villain, but he pulls it off, making his eyes look devious and sinister -- a cuddly fat man, but don't turn your back on him. At the other extreme, he often played Santa Claus on Christmas episodes of the Jimmy Durante, Red Skelton, and Jack Benny shows.

To many people, Elliott will always be remembered as Mayor Pike in The Andy Griffith Show (1960) Sadly, Elliott died during the second season of the show, on December 22, 1961, in Burbank, California.

Dick Elliott was one of those character actors who were almost anonymous, though they lit up the screen in short roles. Fortunately, because of "It's a Wonderful Life" every Christmas and "The Andy Griffith Show" in frequent reruns, his fans can still delight in the little fat man.

Michael MacRae was born on 16 March 1949 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for Battlefield Earth (2000), Summer School (1987) and Masterminds (1997). He has been married to Bonnie Bedelia since 1995.

Mariana Tosca is an actor, producer and social activist. She serves on the Advisory Council (along with Dr. Jane Goodall) of Save the Chimps, the world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary which is home to hundreds of chimpanzees retired from the NASA space program, bio-medical research and the entertainment & pet trades. Past Advisory Boards: *TheTenDollarClub.org, a nonprofit organization which funded poverty alleviation projects in developing countries. *DreamCatcher Wild Horse & Burro Sanctuary, which returned wild and/or previously adopted horses back to their natural environment. *Rex & Friends Foundation, a nonprofit group which provided music education and music therapy to people who are blind or living with autism. *Elephant Voices, an organization dedicated to the protection of elephants in the wild. She founded the Los Angeles Homeless Coalition, which offered shelter, relief and skills training to the homeless population there. She served on the Advisory Board and volunteered teaching Drama at the Academy of Music for the Blind, and was on the Advisory Board of Born Free USA. She studied Acting at the American Conservatory Theatre, sat on the Board of Directors of the Alliance Repertory Company and Theatre East. She has also served as a campaign advisor for candidates for Governor, Attorney General, State Senate and State Assembly in California, New York, Oregon and Montana.

Ben Bornstein is a New York City based practical FX and prosthetic makeup artist working in the film and television business for over 20 years. A Massachusetts native, Bornstein cut his teeth in Los Angeles, learning and working on numerous high profile projects before setting his sights back on the East Coast.

The state of the art, 2,500 square foot studio is conveniently located a block from Broadway Stages and under two miles from Steiner and Silvercup Studios. Specializing in creature effects, trauma, surgical and character make-ups, Bornstein's creations have been featured in over a hundred projects from major film productions to mainstream television series for FOX, HBO and Apple TV.

With an A-list roster of artists and technicians at his Greenpoint studio, Bornstein can manage, problem solve and execute your vision under fast deadlines in an increasingly demanding industry.

Kyle Cooper has produced and directed hundreds of main title and visual effects sequences across a wide spectrum of film and broadcast mediums. Cooper received his MFA from Yale School of Art, where he studied independently with renowned American modernist Paul Rand. In his third year at Yale, Cooper was awarded the Mohawk Paper Traveling Fellowship to complete thesis research at the Sergei Eisenstein Kabinet in the then Soviet Union. Cooper was creative director at R/Greenberg Associates from 1988 to 1996. He founded and named Imaginary Forces in 1996 and went on to found Prologue Films, in 2003. Details magazine credits Cooper with "almost single-handedly revitalizing the main title sequence as an art form". Los Angeles magazine calls him the "Da Vinci of main titles." He is "one of the top 50 biggest and best thinkers from the last 20 years of advertising and consumer culture," according to Creativity magazine. "Not since Saul Bass' legendary preludes...have credits attracted such attention," proclaims Wired magazine. Cooper is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and holds the title of honorary Royal Designer for Industry from the Royal Society of Arts in London. He has seven Emmy nominations and two wins and was the recipient of the lifetime achievement medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, recognizing him for designing title sequences for film and television with a bold and unexpected style, conjuring emotional responses through his captivating use of narrative.

Lisa Hammer is a writer, director, producer, editor, actress and singer/composer. She is best recognized as the voice of Triana Orpheus on the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros, as well as for her extensive music career as a singer-songwriter. She has directed the independent feature films Pox and Pus$bucket, and the CMJ Film Festival winner The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch which she co-directed with James Merendino (SLC Punk). She has worked as an editor on Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2, Montauk (with Molly Ringwald), Out of Order (With Brooke Shields), Before Someone Gets Hurt, Great Kills, The History of Steampunk: a documentary, POX: the movie and TV show, The Sisters Plotz (with Eve Plumb) and dozens of shorts, music videos, commercials and editorial videos. Lisa has collaborated with Ben Edlund (The Tick, Firefly, Angel, Supernatural) and Doc Hammer (The Venture Bros) on multiple projects. She created The Pox Show starring H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Jon Benjamin Has a Van), Jonathan Katz (Dr. Katz), and Arden Myrin (Orange Is the New Black, Inside Amy Schumer). Lisa directed and produced two award-winning weekly NY cable TV shows and has worked with such notables as, Clayne Crawford (Jericho, Swimfan), Lisa D'Amato (America's Next Top Model), Jimmy Duval (Donnie Darko, SLC Punk!), Courtney Love (Hole), and Russell Sams (The Rules of Attraction), to name a few. Lisa has also directed such names as: Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch), Allen Lewis Rickman (Boardwalk Empire, A Serious Man), Yelena Shmulenson (Boardwalk Empire, A Serious Man, OITNB) and Aryn Cole (All My Children). The Sisters Plotz premiered at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and Anthology Film Archives in NY. Lisa's films have won awards from the CMJ Film Festival, Telly Awards, Hugo Awards, It Came From Kuchar Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Canada International Screenplay Festival, Ontario Film Festival, Antimatter, Indieworks, two from New York Press, and many more. She has had one-woman shows at the Olympia Film Festival, Perth International Film Festival, and the Duolun Art Museum in Shanghai, China. Her original series Maybe Sunshine is available on Seeka TV (ROKU). Her latest endeavors include: Cinemtaographer/actor and co-writer of James Merendino's Great Kills, producer and editor for Levi Wilson's Luke and Emma and a Gas station on Franklin Avenue, her award-winning music video Hunted: Werewolves of the Astral Plane, executive producer of Montauk, starring Molly Ringwald, an award-winning screenplay Ghostapus and on-set and assistant editor for Out of Order starring Brendan Routh and Brooke Shields. Her film Empire of Ache was acquired for the Getty Museum's feminist film collection, curated by Miranda July.

Acting credits include: The Venture Bros, Great Kills, 90 Days of Games, Bull, Sex and the City, The Networker, Monster Hunt, The Sisters Plotz, Beneath the Black Moon, Maybe Sunshine, The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch, Washington Heights, Frankenstein and the Monster from Blood Cove, Venus ATTACKS!, Mary Knows Best, Distraction, Sex and the City, Terror Lab, GoDaddy commercial: Related, Pox, Pus$bucket, Rub, Period Piece and an extensive theatre repertoire.

She was also lead singer of the gothic rock bands Mors Syphilitica, The N.C.S. and Requiem In White. An avid singer and composer, she has CD releases on Projekt Records and an indie band, Radiana, with indie guitarist/composer Steven Deal (Chopper/Bleached Black) and The Terror Twins: Bloody Ballads with brother James Merendino. Her music has been used in films such as Alucard, Montauk, Until Someone Gets Hurt, Punk's Dead, Beneath the Black Moon, Idle Worship, and Pox. The music from her band Radiana is featured in the original series Maybe Sunshine, directed by husband Levi Wilson.

Matt Leslie was born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Matt is a writer and director, known for Summer of 84 (2018), Straight Outta Compton (2015) and Ride Along (2014).

Jonathan Melo was born on 13 January 1992 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Jonathan is an actor, known for Strange World (2022), American Horror Story (2011) and Blue Bloods (2010).

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that town. Hawthorne entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, and graduated in 1825. He published his first work in 1828, the novel Fanshawe; he later tried to suppress it, feeling that it was not equal to the standard of his later work. He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The following year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment as consul took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to Concord in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children. Much of Hawthorne's writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral metaphors with an anti-Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.

Frances Raymond was born on 24 May 1869 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for Fools for Luck (1917), The Last of the Duanes (1919) and California Straight Ahead (1925). She was married to David Henderson (stage producer). She died on 18 June 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Charlotte Fullerton was born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. She is known for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010), Cowboy Creed (2012) and The Fairly OddParents (2001). She was previously married to Dwayne McDuffie.

Aidan Hupper was born on 28 April 2004 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for The Provider and Fatal Family Feuds (2023).

Self-proclaimed World's #1 Failure Ben Currier is the host of the ironically successful "Failure Guy" podcast. His podcast has a global reach that Spotify-owned Chartable ranks higher than 99.8% of all Podcasts. Ben discusses the most challenging moments his guests have endured and the failures they encountered on their journey towards achieving success.

Ben spent the last 15 years in corporate America financially forecasting billions of dollars across multiple industries. He is an extremely talented Excel guru, 4-time Microsoft MVP Award Winner, and creator of one of the six Best Online Excel Classes per Investopedia. His Excel training has over 25 million minutes of listening time, and he has helped millions with his online Excel training.

Despite these successes, Ben has been fired from every job he's had after graduating college. This has inspired him to investigate how to get better at dealing with failure, rather than avoiding facing the reality of his problems. He has worked hard to turn his setbacks into success and inspires others across the country through his hit podcast and public speaking engagements.

Ben has interviewed many big names such as Carole Baskin, William Hung, Vinnie Potestivo, Steve D. Sims, Barbara Barna Abel, and many more.

Rose Tapley was born on June 30, 1881 in Salem, Massachusetts. She was primarily a stage actress when, in 1912, she was picked to play Queen Victoria in The Victoria Cross (1912). She was 31, an age that some producers would have bypassed an actress, but she was a seasoned performer so she made it rather easily. Rose was kept busy with forty more films in 1912 and many more in the years ahead. In 1931, at the age of 50, she played Princess Sophya in Resurrection (1931). On February 23, 1956 at the age of 75, she died in Woodland Hills, California.

Seth Moulton was born on 24 October 1978 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. He has been married to Elizabeth Anne Naiman Boardman since 22 September 2017. They have two children.

Gordon Russell was born on 15 August 1929 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for One Life to Live (1968), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and House of Dark Shadows (1970). He died on 19 January 1981 in New York City, New York, USA.

Rita Stanwood was born on 15 January 1888 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935), The Ghost Breaker (1914) and The Deserter (1916). She was married to H.B. Warner. She died on 15 November 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Shirley White was born on 20 September 1923 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Born and Bred (2002), Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952) and Reunion in Reno (1951). She was married to Robert Nathan and Wallace McClintock White Jr.. She died on 12 August 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Nancy Lanza was born on 6 September 1960 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. She was married to Peter Lanza. She died on 14 December 2012 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, USA.

Anthony J. Mangini is an International Cinematography Guild Local 600 Director of Photography based out of Los Angeles California. Anthony earned his M.F.A from USC's School of Cinematic Arts and is an ASC Vision Mentee. Anthony works all over the world shooting everything from feature films and documentaries to commercials and music videos.