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1-15 of 15
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was born on June 21, 1921, in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Her father was a United States Army lieutenant and her mother had been a student of drama and an actress with a traveling troupe.
Once Mr. Russell was mustered out of the service, the family took up residence in Canada but moved to California when he found employment there.
The family was well-to-do and although Jane was the only girl among four brothers, her mother saw to it that she took piano lessons. In addition to music, Jane was interested in drama much as her mother had been and participated in high school stage productions.
Upon graduation, Jane took a job as a receptionist for a doctor who specialized in foot disorders. Although she had originally planned on being a designer, her father died, and she had to go to work to help the family.
Jane modeled on the side and was very much sought-after especially because of her figure.
She managed to save enough money to go to drama school, with the urging of her mother. She was signed by Howard Hughes for his production of The Outlaw (1943) in 1941, the film that was to make Jane famous. The film was not a classic by any means but was geared through its marketing to show off Jane's ample physical assets rather than acting abilities. Although the film was made in 1941, it was not released until two years later and then only on a limited basis due to the way the film portrayed Jane's assets. It was hard for the flick to pass the censorship board. Finally, the film gained general release in 1946. The film was a smash at the box office.
Jane did not make another film until 1945 when she played Joan Kenwood in Young Widow (1946). She had signed a seven-year contract with Hughes, and it seemed the only films he would put her in were those that displayed Jane in a very flattering light due to her body. Films such as His Kind of Woman (1951) and The Las Vegas Story (1952) did nothing to highlight her true acting abilities. The pinnacle of her career was in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Dorothy Shaw, with Marilyn Monroe. This film showed Jane's comedic side very well. Jane did continue to make films throughout the 1950s, but the films were at times not up to par, particularly with Jane's talents being wasted in forgettable movies to show off her sexy side. Films such as Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955) and The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) did do Jane's justice and were able to show exactly the fine actress she was.
After The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957) (a flop), Jane took a hiatus from films, to dabble a little in television, returning in 1964 to film Fate Is the Hunter (1964). Unfortunately, the roles were not there anymore as Jane appeared in only four pictures during the entire decade of the 1960s. Her last film of the decade was The Born Losers (1967). After three more years away from the big screen, she returned to make one last film called Darker Than Amber (1970).
Her last major appearance before the public was in the 1970s when Jane was a spokesperson for Playtex bras.
Had Jane not been wasted during the Hughes years, she could have been a bigger actress than what she was allowed to show.
Jane Russell died at age 89 of respiratory failure on February 28, 2011, in Santa Maria, California.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Over the course of a five-decade career, she starred in nearly 150 films. She is a three-time César Award winner (1977, 1996, 2002), a two-time Molière Award winner, a BAFTA nominee, and a recipient of several international prizes including the Volpi Cup (Best actress) at the 1965 Venice Film Festival for Three Rooms in Manhattan.
Born in 1931, she was raised by her single mother, a midwife from Normandy. After studying to become a midwife like her mother, she enrolled at the prestigious Conservatoire de la rue Blanche in Paris. After graduating in 1954 with the "First Prize in Modern and Classical Comedy", she joined the Comédie Française, where she was a resident actor from 1954-57.
In 1955, she began her film career, making her film debut in Treize à table (1955), but it was with theatre that she started to attract the attention of critics. Her performance in Jean Cocteau's play La Machine à écrire in 1956 was admired by the author who called her "The finest dramatic temperament of the Postwar period"
In 1956 she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as best up-and-coming young actress but only with Luchino Visconti's epic Rocco and His Brothers (1960), she was able to draw the public's attention to her. In 1962, she married Italian actor Renato Salvatori. Travelling back and forth between two film careers in France and Italy, Girardot also worked with renown Italian directors, including Marco Ferreri in the scandalous The Ape Woman (1964).
Famously ignored by French New Wave directors (with the exception of Claude Lelouch), Girardot found her glory in popular cinema alongside more established and traditional directors such as Jean Delannoy, Michel Boisrond, André Cayatte, Gilles Grangier, or André Hunebelle.
By the end of the 1960s, she had become a movie star and a box-office magnet in France with such films as Vice and Virtue (1963); Live for Life (1967); Love Is a Funny Thing (1969); and Death of Love (1970), the fact-based tale of a middle-aged teacher whose affair with a much younger student made her the object of bourgeoisie ridicule. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, and remains Girardot's biggest box office hit in France.
Throughout the 1970s, Girardot came back and forth between drama and comedy, proving herself an adept comedienne in such successful comedies as Claude Zidi's La zizanie (1978), Michel Audiard's _Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause! (1970)_ and Philippe de Broca's Dear Inspector (1977). She also played the mother of upcoming stars like Isabelle Adjani in the hit teen movie The Slap (1974), and Isabelle Huppert in the drama Docteur Françoise Gailland (1976).
The 1980s were less kind, as her film career floundered and parts dwindled. However, Girardot had a major comeback on the big screen playing a peasant wife in Claude Lelouch's Les Misérables (1995).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Nick LaTour was born on 1 August 1928 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for Jingle All the Way (1996), Don Juan DeMarco (1994) and Cold Dog Soup (1990). He died on 28 February 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Actor, dancer, singer, and dance choreographer Jay Curtis Crimp was born on April 9, 1951 in Ellensburg, Washington. The son of Frank and Kay Crimp, Crimp attended public schools in Ellensburg and graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1969. Jay developed a passion for both the theatre and the arts by performing in many plays throughout his years in high school. Following graduation from high school, Crimp went on to attend Central Washington University for three years before transferring to the University of Washington. Jay eventually left the University of Washington and moved to New York City where he was cast as a dancer for the stage tour of "Applause" in 1973. Crimp subsequently moved to Hollywood, California in the late 1970's. Moreover, during a fifteen year period Jay participated in many summer stock theatre productions in places ranging from Columbus, Ohio to Madrid, Spain. Among the plays Crimp either starred in and/or choreographed are "Godspell, " "Grease" (he also appears as a dancer in the 1978 film), "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Hello Dolly," "Oliver," "The Sound of Music," and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." In addition, Jay also worked as an extra and stand-in on a handful of movies and TV shows as well as worked as a camera coordinator/blocker for situation comedies and founded a troupe called A Chorus Line of Care which raised money for AIDS victims. He died at his home at age 59 on February 28, 2011.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Joaquín Blanco was born on 21 June 1938 in Almeria, Spain. He was an actor and director, known for Hell of the Living Dead (1980) and Trampa para una esposa (1991). He died on 28 February 2011 in Barcelona, Spain.- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Producer
Edward Stephenson was born on 9 February 1917 in Algona, Iowa, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Soap (1977), The Andy Williams Show (1962) and The Golden Girls (1985). He was married to Maria. He died on 28 February 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Ellen Brugger was born on 21 March 1939. She was an actress, known for Fernfahrer (1963), Chronik der Familie Nägele (1968) and Versetzung (1968). She died on 28 February 2011 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
- Andreas Bisowski was born on 24 July 1973 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany. He was an actor, known for The Country Doctor (1987), Alle zusammen - Jeder für sich (1996) and Hab mich lieb! (2004). He died on 28 February 2011 in Berlin, Germany.
- Carlo Bixio was born on 18 December 1941 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was a producer, known for Lo zio d'America 2 (2006), Tutti pazzi per amore (2008) and Lo zio d'America (2002). He died on 28 February 2011 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
- Alejandro Holst was an actor, known for Tiro de gracia (1969). He died on 28 February 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Wally Yonamine was born on 24 June 1925 in Olowalu, Territory of Hawaii, USA. He was married to Jane Iwashita. He died on 28 February 2011 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
- Peter J. Gomes was born on 22 May 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 28 February 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- Doyald Young was born on 12 September 1926 in Holliday, Texas, USA. He is known for The 22nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards (1987) and Doyald Young, Logotype Designer (2010). He died on 28 February 2011 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.
- Director
- Animation Department
- Producer
Luminita Cazacu was born on 14 March 1940 in Bucuresti, Romania. Luminita was a director and producer, known for Calatoriile lui Pin-Pin (1990) and Robinson Crusoe (1974). Luminita died on 28 February 2011 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.- Costume Designer
- Production Designer
Andrzej Majewski was born on 15 June 1936 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was a costume designer and production designer, known for Pharaoh (1966) and Czerwony plaszcz (1962). He died on 28 February 2011 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.