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Mickey Rourke was born Phillip Andre Rourke, Jr. on September 16, 1952, in Schenectady, New York, the son of Annette Elizabeth (Cameron) and Philip Andre Rourke. His father was of Irish and German descent, and his mother was of mostly English and French-Canadian ancestry. When he was six years old, his parents divorced. A year later, his mother married Eugene Addis, a Miami Beach police officer, and moved to Miami Shores, Florida. After graduating from Horace Mann Junior High School, Rourke's family moved to a house located on 47th Street and Prairie Avenue in Miami Beach. In 1969 Rourke attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he played second-string first baseman under coach Skip Bertman. He also acted in a school play, "The Serpent," directed by legendary "Teacher To The Stars" Jay W. Jensen.

In 1971 he graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School, and after working for a short time as a bus boy at the famed Forge Restaurant on Miami Beach, Rourke moved back to New York to seek out a career in acting.

Rourke's teenage years were more aimed toward sports more than acting. He took up self-defense training at the Boys Club of Miami. It was there he learned boxing skills and decided on an amateur career. At the age of 12, Rourke won his first boxing match as an 118-pound bantamweight, defeating Javier Villanueva. Some of his early matches were fought as Andre Rourke. He continued his boxing training at the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach, soon joining the Police Athletic League boxing program. In 1969 Rourke, now weighing 140 pounds, sparred with former World Welterweight champion Luis Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the number one-rated middleweight boxer in the world and was training for his match with world champion Nino Benvenuti. Rourke claims to have received a concussion in this sparring match.

In 1971, at the Florida Golden Gloves, Rourke received another concussion from a boxing match. Doctors told him to take a year off and rest. In 1972 Rourke knocked out Ron Robinson in 18 seconds and John Carver in 39 seconds. On Aug. 20, 1973, Rourke knocked out 'Sherman "Big Train"' Bergman' in 31 seconds. Shortly after, Rourke decided to retire from amateur boxing.

From 1964 to 1973, Rourke compiled an amateur boxing record of 27 wins (17 by knockout) and 3 defeats. At one point, he reportedly scored 12 consecutive first-round knockouts. As an amateur, Rourke had been friendly with pro-boxer Tommy Torino. When Rourke decided to return to boxing as a professional in 1991, Torino promoted some of Rourke's fights. Rourke was trained by former pro-boxer Freddie Roach at Miami Beach's 5th Street Gym and the Outlaw Boxing Club Gym in Los Angeles. He made $250 for his pro debut, but by the end of his second year of boxing, he had earned a million dollars. In June 1994, Rourke appeared on the cover of World Boxing Magazine. He sparred with world champions James Toney, John David Jackson, and Tommy Morrison.

Rourke wished to have 16 professional fights and then fight for a world title. However, he retired in 1994 after eight bouts and never got his desired title fight. His boxing career resulted in severe facial injuries that required a number of operations to repair his damaged face. Rourke went back to acting but worked in relative obscurity until he won a Golden Globe Award for his role as Randy "The Ram" Robinson in The Wrestler (2008). He was nominated for Best Actor, as well, but lost.

Ato Essandoh was born on 29 July 1972 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Jason Bourne (2016), Garden State (2004) and Blood Diamond (2006).

Deborah Gaye Van Valkenburgh is a Schenectady, New York-born Los Angeles-based actress, singer, artist, and writer working in all manner of media. She graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, with a BFA in Painting & Drawing. As a teen in Upstate New York she performed in coffee houses with the folk band Spur Of The Moment. During college she sang locally in a duo popularly known as "The Myrtle Avenue Watermelon".

She made her professional debut on Broadway in the revival of the musical "Hair". This was swiftly followed by a memorable performance as "Mercy" in Walter Hill's cult classic film The Warriors (1979), then for five years as "Jackie Rush" on the hit TV sitcom Too Close for Comfort (1980) as one of the daughters of a couple played by Ted Knight and Nancy Dussault.

She has since appeared in a wide array of stages across the country performing in such notable venues as TOSOS, Geva Theatre Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, San Diego REP, The Old Globe Theatre, South Coast REP, The Blank Theatre Company, The Matrix, The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, LATC, Arizona Theatre Company and Portland Center Stage. Acclaimed Productions include Amy and David Sedaris's The Book Of Liz, Steve Martin's Picasso At The Lapin Agile, Ruby's Bucket O'Blood (world premiere), The Beauty Queen Of Leenane, Dancing At Lughnasa, Burn This, The Goat, Company, Tamara, The Heidi Chronicles, Pump Boys & Dinettes, and Livin' Dolls.

She continued her musical escapades in the early 1990s as a featured vocalist for Peter Tork: A Likely Story and acoustic band DB House at a variety of legendary clubs like The Roxy, At My Place and Coconut Teaszer. She completed work on Shirlyn Wong's short film Love's Routine (2013), which starred Willem Dafoe.

Emmy Award-winning actress Jessica Collins is known for a variety of dramatic and comedic roles in film and television including Catch Me If You Can, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Tru Calling. She is an American actress of Italian, Irish, French, Polish and English ancestry, and was born in Schenectady, New York. At 18, she moved to New York City to pursue an acting career, landing work right away in national commercials and television and would later study at the prestigious Royal National Theatre in London. Jessica is also professional chef, graduating with highest honors from the acclaimed cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu. She has been married to writer/director Michael Cooney since May 4th, 2016. They have one daughter, Jemma Kate Collins Cooney.

Harold Gould earned a Ph.D. in theater and taught speech and drama at Cornell University.

Pursuing off-Broadway work in the 1950s, he decided to practice what he preached and became a full-time professional actor in the 1960s.

He appeared in hundreds of TV programs during his distinguished performing career, usually playing a father, grandfather, or other varieties of authority figures.

Patricia was raised in Westport, Connecticut and Louisville, Kentucky. Studied acting at Indiana and Temple Universities after being encouraged by her high-school drama teacher. She finished College with a B.A. degree in theater and immediately started acting in major regional and off-Broadway productions. Back in New York, where she was born, she worked in numerous daytime soaps, commercials and theatrical events. She received a nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Award for her part in the long-running play "The Foreigner". She starred on Broadway in Larry Shue's "The Nerd" and together with her husband, Daniel Gerroll, in "Betrayal" at the Berkshire Theater.

A bright child, John Sayles began reading novels before age 9. A Williams College grad in 1972, he shunned a corporate career to work various blue-collar jobs, moving to east Boston to take a factory job. He wrote stories and submitted them to various magazines, and the Atlantic Monthly gave him the idea of publishing them in a novel--thus "Pride of the Bimbos" (1975) was born.

In the late 1970s he worked for renowned low-budget producer Roger Corman as a screenwriter. He saved much of the money he earned from that job, got some friends together and made Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) in 25 days. Altough it was a hit, he had trouble obtaining financing for the films he wanted to make because he would not give up his right of final cut. Baby It's You (1983) was Sayles' only film made under studio control.

In 1983 the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship granted him a tax-free income of $32,000 a year for 5 years. That stipend and money he earned for writing such films as The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) and Breaking In (1989) enabled him to make the kinds of films he wanted to make. Lone Star (1996) placed Sayles in the ranks of top American filmmakers. In it and his other films, a broadly appealing social consciousness emerges, showing Sayles to be concerned with what's going on with regional cultures, national values and what living in the US is like today.

Sayles and Maggie Renzi, whom he met during college, have lived together since the 1970s, splitting their time between a Hoboken, NJ, house and a farm in upstate New York. They have no plans to marry.

Ann B. Davis made her debut in show business at age 6 earning $2.00 in a puppet show. At the University of Michigan, Ann planned to study medicine but got the acting bug from her brother who was the lead dancer in the national company of "Oklahoma" for over a year. Ann then spent six years in little theaters, stock companies, touring musicals, and such until she got her break as "Schultzie", the secretary on "The Bob Cummings Show." Before Hollywood, Ann spent a summer at the Cain Park Theater and, during a year at the Erie Playhouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, she studied everything about show production and played dozens of roles ranging from teenagers to characters over 60. In 1949, she arrived at Porterville, California and spent three years at the Barn theater.

She then moved down the coast to Monterey, where she appeared at the Wharf theater. From there she decided to try Hollywood. Anne has also played many parts on stage including "The Women", "Twelfth Night", "Dark Of The Moon", and others. Her mother, Marguerite Scott Davis, appeared with professional stock companies for over thirty years.

Alex Sgambati was raised between New York, North Carolina, and California. She is of Greek and Italian descent; her mother is a Greek immigrant who came to the United States through Belgium. Sgambati is an actress and producer whose work spans theater, television, and film, with a particular focus on female-driven storytelling.

Born in Schenectady, New York, Leslie Silva was raised primarily in Saratoga, New York, but also lived in Connecticut, Iowa and Georgia, moving frequently because her father worked as a nuclear engineer. She attended the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and received a BFA from the School of Drama there, and an MFA from the Juilliard School in New York.

She made her professional stage debut in a 1995 Shakespeare Theater production of "Macbeth" in Washington, DC, and starred in Sam Shepard's one-act play "Chicago", for New York's Signature Theater, in 1996. She appeared Off-Broadway in "Edmond" and starred as Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. She has also worked in theater with Anna Deavere Smith, Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory and made her feature-film debut with a brief role as a process server in the romantic comedy Fools Rush In (1997).

Her wide eyes, expressive features and commanding presence make for an enviable appeal, and helped her land a regular role as Dr. Helen Reynolds on the hit NBC drama Providence (1999), less than four years after her professional stage debut. As a tough and uncompromising medico, Silva offered impressive work, her skillful portrayal nuanced enough to keep the character from treading into the two-dimensional stereotype of the hard-nosed and ambitious African-American woman all too familiar on contemporary television.

Her previous television credits include guest appearances on the CBS sitcom Cosby (1996) in 1997 and as a nun on a 1998 two-part episode of NBC's police drama Homicide: Life on the Street (1993).

Gabriella Pizzolo was born on 10 March 2003 in Schenectady, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for BrainDead (2016), Stranger Things (2016) and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022).

Sheree Zampino was born on 16 November 1967 in Schenectady, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Our Journey (2001), Games People Play (2019) and When the Time Comes (2000). She was previously married to Terrell Fletcher and Will Smith.

David Wilcock was born on 8 March 1973 in Rotterdam, Schenectady County, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Recall (2017), Wisdom Teachings (2013) and The Cosmic Secret (2019). He was previously married to Elizabeth Wilcock.

Clifton "Bobby" Young gained notoriety as a child actor playing "Bonedust" during Our Gang's sound transition period. Of all the graduates of Our Gang (with the exception of Jackie Cooper and, arguably, Dickie Moore), Clifton had the greatest shot at adult stardom - at least as far as strong character roles were concerned. With his Kirk Douglas cleft chin, Clifton was active in several top-drawer postwar pictures: Dark Passage (1947), especially memorable as a weaselly blackmailer who picks up escaped convict Humphrey Bogart, Pursued (1947), directed by Raoul Walsh, Possessed (1947), and Blood on the Moon (1948). He was also a semi-regular in Warner Bros.' popular "Joe McDoakes" comedy shorts and played a bad guy in two 'Roy Rogers' Republic oaters. Clifton hit a rough personal period in 1951 and had moved into a hotel after a painful divorce, where he died smoking in bed.

Shannon Plumb's cinematic studies of life's various roles and characters explore the complexities embedded in the ordinary and extraordinary. From the humble persona of a new mother to iconic figures from the silver screen, Plumb portrays these characters with zest and humor. Inspired by the curious spirit of slapstick comedy and the physical humor of silent film legends such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, Plumb employs a low-fi aesthetic by using Super-8 film, stationary camera shots, long takes and hand-made props and costumes. Plumb is a one-woman show starring as all characters and acting as the creative force behind her films. The low quality production of the films and her elastic expressiveness as an actress adds to the charm of her work and pushes it beyond its obvious predecessors and influences. She wrote, directed, and starred in her first narrative feature,"Towheads" (2013) and is now in pre-production for her second narrative feature "The Narcissist".

Born on June 18, 1955 and raised in Schenectady, New York, Kevin Burns developed his love for television and films at an early age. He also displayed a unique and impressive talent for mimicry and drawing cartoons and caricature. It was this love for drawing that helped attract the attention of his childhood idol, Fred Gwynne (of "Munsters" TV fame). After viewing samples of Burns' early work, Gwynne began a correspondence that helped fuel the young boy's enthusiasm and confidence.

In 1972, Burns received a National Scholastic award for art and by his Senior year in high school, was already working as a free lance commercial artist. His client list included IBM, General Electric and Warren Publications.

After graduating from Niskayuna High School in 1973, Burns attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. There, he majored in both History and English Literature. Burns also served as president of one of the college's fraternities (Delta Phi).

Graduating from Hamilton with honors in 1977, Burns eagerly enrolled in the graduate film program at Boston University's College of Communication. In 1981, he earned a Masters Degree with the completion of his first film, I Remember Barbra (1981), a humorous and slightly irreverent documentary short which profiled Barbra Streisand's native Brooklyn. The film was a critical hit, and earned numerous awards - including a Documentary Achievement Award for Student Filmmaking from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Armed with a "Student Oscar", Burns made the rounds at the Hollywood studios. Within a year he was signed by the William Morris Agency and had two projects optioned and in development. Nevertheless, the fledgling filmmaker opted to remain in Boston, where he taught courses in undergraduate and graduate film production at both Boston University and Emerson College.

In 1987, Burns was appointed Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Film Production at Boston University. He was also the Director of the Boston University Film Unit (which he had been heading since 1981), a student staffed production company that serviced non-profit and public service clients.

After the sudden death of his father in 1988, Burns decided the time had come to seek his fortune in Los Angeles. Within weeks of leaving Boston, he was offered a management position in the Creative Services department of 20th Century Fox Domestic Television (now, Twentieth Television). Moving to Beverly Hills, he spent the next four years writing, producing and directing hundreds of sales marketing videos and on-air promos for the studio.

In 1993, Burns co-founded Foxstar Productions, a TV Movie production unit at 20th Century Fox Television. As Senior Vice President of Production, Burns served as the co-executive producer on the first three of what became a highly successful series of five 'Alien Nation' MOWs (all directed by Kenneth Johnson).

Seeking to broaden Foxstar's client base and revenue potential, Burns formed Van Ness Films, Inc. in October, 1994. As Executive Producer for all Van Ness programs (as well as occasional writer and director), Burns' client list soon included A&E (Biography (1987)), AMC, The Sci-Fi Channel, Fox Family Channel and USA Network. Within three years, Van Ness became one of the premier producers of television for cable, contributing nearly 65 hours of programming per year.

In 1999, Burns retired from his executive position at Foxstar (then, a subsidiary of Fox Television Studios) in order to form Prometheus Entertainment. As President of Prometheus, Burns continued to work closely with Foxstar and broadened its production slate to include both reality and scripted programming.

Also in 1999, Burns formed Synthesis Entertainment with producer 'Jon Jashni' in an effort to administrate and develop television and film franchises based on the works of acclaimed film and television producer, 'Irwin Allen' (e.g., 'Lost in Space', 'The Land of the Giants', and 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea').

In 2002, Burns and Jashni executive produced a Fox Network pilot for a new The Time Tunnel (2006) series. The team also developed a two hour TV Movie/back door pilot for a new "Lost in Space" series, based on an original story by Burns. In 2006, Burns and Jashni served as Executive Producers, along with Sheila Allen (I), of 'Poseidon' (2006) directed by 'Wolfgang Petersen'.

In August of 2002, Burns received an Emmy Award as Executive Producer of A&E's Biography (1987) series. (He has, to date, personally supervised more than 150 episodes of the critically-acclaimed series.)

In recent years, Burns has continued to produce high-profile documentaries for television, including "Empire of Dreams: the Story of the Star Wars Trilogy" (2004), 'Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman' (2006), 'Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed'(2007) (which earned three Emmy nominations), 'The Valkyrie Legacy' (2008), and 'Ancient Aliens'(2009).

His recent series include, Animal Icons (2004), Hollywood Science (2006), The Girls Next Door (2005) and Kendra (2009)

Warren Munson was born on 30 November 1933 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Executive Decision (1996) and Intrepid (2000).

Ranald MacDougall was born on 10 March 1915 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Mildred Pierce (1945), The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). He was married to Nanette Fabray and Lucille Margaret Brophy. He died on 12 December 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Jason Furlani was born in Schenectady, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for American Gangster (2007), The Instigators (2024) and Man on a Ledge (2012).

Novelist John Dudley Ball was born in Schenectady, NY, in 1911, the son of a scientist. He grew up in Milwaukee, WI, and attended Wisconsin's Carroll College. After graduation he worked as a staff writer specializing in science for "Fortune" magazine, then went to work for the "Brooklyn Eagle" newspaper as a feature writer and music critic, and held a variety of jobs in the publishing and broadcasting industries. A prolific novelist, his best-known work would have to be "In the Heat of the Night" (1965), which was turned into both a successful film (In the Heat of the Night (1967)) and a successful TV series (In the Heat of the Night (1988).

He died in Encino, CA, in October of 1988.

Shari DeBenedetti was born in Schenectady, New York, USA.

Born upstate New York to a set of French/Ukrainian parents, Michelle was hailed a performer just seconds after leaving the womb. Although the Doctors initial prediction of being a born singer never came to fruition, it was a future in the arts that indeed was her calling. Childhood living room performance extravaganzas were commonly dressed, directed and performed in most houses up and down the block by Michelle. Eventually her creativity stretched into tap & ballet classes, then modeling jobs evolved into competing in beauty pageants where she won literally hundreds of regional to national titles. Meeting her first acting agent at the Miss New York Teen U.S.A contest, at age 14, the acting seed was planted. At 18 she moved to New York City. The same day she completed a 4 year theatrical BFA, she shot her first film scene with director James L. Brooks. That scene is unfortunately missing from the film, but she loves James all the same for the opportunity. After graduating from the Atlantic Theater Companies 2 year program, a new bi-coastal agent came into the picture bringing Michelle to Los Angeles. She helped start the short lived "Short Fuse Theater Company" here, continues to study, work hard, play harder, travel tons, and live life to the fullest!

Jack Briggs was born on 1 August 1920 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Ladies' Day (1943), Joan of Paris (1942) and Parachute Battalion (1941). He was married to Ginger Rogers. He died on 22 August 1998.

Maria Brink was born on 17 December 1977 in Schenectady, New York, USA. She is an actress and director, known for In This Moment: Roots (2017), In This Moment: Oh Lord (2017) and In This Moment: Black Wedding (2018).

John Philip Dayton was born on 13 May 1947 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He is an assistant director and actor, known for A Christmas Memory (1997), One Christmas (1994) and This Can't Be Love (1994).