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1-23 of 23
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Robbie Coltrane, one of Britain's most popular comedians who was head of debating society at school and won prizes for his art, is now a film star who played in two James Bond films and in the "Harry Potter" franchise.
Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. His mother, Jean Ross (Howie), was a teacher and pianist. His father, Ian Baxter McMillan, was a general surgeon who also worked for police pathology. Young Robbie was fond of art, music, films and cars. He was a voracious reader of his dad's books on medicine and crime. At age 12 he made his acting debut on stage at Glenalmond College, delivering rants from "Henry V". At that time he was fascinated with Marlon Brando and Orson Welles.
He attended Glasgow Art School, majoring in drawing, painting and film, then studied art at Edinburgh's Moray House College of Education for a year. In 1973 he made a documentary titled "Young Mental Health", which was voted Film Of The Year by the Scottish Education Council. At that time Robbie took the name Coltrane, due to his love of jazz, and began a career of a stand-up comedian at night clubs, at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as an actor with Edinburgh's renowned Traverse Theatre.
In 1980 Coltrane made his debut on television as "Border Guard" in BBC's mini-series The Lost Tribe (1980), then made his big screen debut as a limousine driver in Death Watch (1980). In 1981 he appeared in his first leading role as Detective Fritz Langley in Subway Riders (1981), by famed underground director Amos Poe.
He became a well-known face through appearances in The Comic Strip series, then in Alfresco (1983) and Comic Strip movies The Supergrass (1985) and The Pope Must Diet (1991), among other films. At that time Coltrane had a drinking problem, downing as much as a bottle of whiskey a day. In 1986 he flew to a clinic in Mexico and was treated for obesity. In 1987 his partner for 15 years, Robin Paine, left him for good, leaving her portrait in Coltrane's barn.
In 1988 Coltrane met then 18-year-old Rhona Gemmell in a pub. They married and had a son, Spencer, and a daughter, Alice. His career took off during the early 1990s with the leading role as Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, a forensic psychologist, in the popular TV series Cracker (1993).
He made such a good performance as Valentin Zukovsky, a KGB man turned St. Petersburg mafia lord, in GoldenEye (1995) the producers called him back for the same character in The World Is Not Enough (1999). Then Coltrane hit another lucrative franchise; he was personally selected by J.K. Rowling as her choice to play half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the 'Harry Potter' films.
In early 1990s Coltrane wrote an autobiography, "Coltrane in a Cadillac", and also starred in the eponymous TV series, Coltrane in a Cadillac (1993), in which he indulges his passion for vintage cars and tells with great humor about his 4000-mile journey across America from Los Angeles to New York. In 2003 he separated from his wife. His interests outside of his acting profession had been reading books, and rebuilding and collecting vintage cars. Robbie Coltrane resided in a converted farmhouse in Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Ted White was born on 25 January 1926 in Krebs, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Starman (1984), Romancing the Stone (1984) and Escape from New York (1981). He was married to Jerilyn White. He died on 14 October 2022 in California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Ralf Wolter was born on 26 November 1926 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Cabaret (1972), One, Two, Three (1961) and Hannibal Brooks (1969). He was married to Edith. He died on 14 October 2022 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Joilet Harris was an actress, known for 12 Monkeys (1995), Animal Factory (2000) and The Wire (2002). She died on 14 October 2022 in the USA.
- Born in New York City's Spanish Harlem, Izzy Ruiz was born to act. He moved to the south Bronx at the age of 5, where he spent most of his life since. Izzy has experienced so much in life, that others would find unbearable or unrealistic. From seeing a man shot in the head when he was 6 years old to seeing a bus run over another child's head when he was 8 years old. He has experienced hundreds of other life and death situations during his life time, and plans on telling his story in the future in screen and stage plays.
Izzy was born to Puerto Rican Parents who grounded him with good and positive moral values in the midst of a time when it seemed hell had come to earth. Izzy survived the south Bronx during the late 1960s through the 1980s, when New York City was at its worse. Slum lords were burning the Bronx down, gangs were common and drugs were as common as candy. His guardian angels included some of the most notorious gangs of that time, the Savage Nomads, the Savage Immortals, and the Savage Skulls; they also included some of New York City's Finest, the NYPD. You see Izzy's father owned bodegas, or grocery stores. At the bodegas both the good and bad congregated, and were befriended by his father. In return they made sure that Izzy was watched on the streets. In fact when he wanted to join one of these gangs, they, the gangs, prohibited him from even thinking about it. The police on the other hand made sure that he stayed straight, when they caught Izzy doing things he should not be doing, the police would take him directly to his father who served serious punishment. Many other stories will be told in the future. Izzy's story is a cross between "A Bronx Tale" and " Stand By Me".
Izzy attended catholic school until the seventh grade and then the NYC public school system. When he graduated to high school he attended five different schools including his junior year in Puerto Rico. After that he went to Ithaca College for 4 semesters and then Baruch College for 2 semesters. While in Ithaca he majored in business administration, and he got his first taste of acting. He acted in two stage plays and one student film. After 3 years of college he was recruited to work at Hitachi America. There he discovered that business is not what he wanted to do for life. He then took various state and federal exams that included, the NYPD, New York State Troopers, FBI, and DEA. He passed all exams and was called. Being bilingual opened many doors for him, but it was also a negative for him because most agencies wanted him to leave New York City to other Spanish speaking areas. Izzy decided on the NYPD, because he was not leaving the city he loves. There is where he found what he believed was his real calling.
Izzy became a police officer and did street time, or patrol, for 3 years. After that he became an undercover in the narcotics division. He was assigned to the Queens TNT unit. He was not welcomed there with open arms do to the fact that he was not what they expected. They were excited they were getting a Puerto Rican, but when he arrived they were disappointed because he was "white". They were expecting a person of color, and Izzy is as white as white can be,in skin color. They told him that after his 90 day probation he would be going back to patrol. They believed that he was not going to do well, considering the neighborhoods were black and Colombian. To cut to the chase Izzy proved them wrong. Not only was he able to buy drugs from anyone, he was the number 2 man with the most buys and positive results in the unit. He then went on to work in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. He was awarded the Medal Of Valor for a shooting incident where his life was on the line. He then continued his undercover work at the Department Of Investigation Squad, where he went undercover as a white collar business man, business owner, city inspectors, welfare recipient and many other undercover assignments involving white collar crime as well as organized crime. He has been an undercover Detective for 15 of his 20 years as a police officer. He is good at what he does, and it all made sense when he first took his acting classes. You see without him knowing all that time Izzy was pretending to be someone else, truthfully. He would become that assignment fully, whether it was a junkie or a business man he did well, where he made others believe it.
One day while at a police function he met an actor he recognized from the HBO series OZ. It was just a passing meet but in the following months their paths crossed again at a friend's party and there he learned that this actor was a retired cop. This cop was David Zayas. Izzy asked Zayas how he got into acting and Zayas stated that there was an acting school near the police academy and he walked in and took some classes and it began there. He vested out after 15 years as a police officer because he was very successful as an actor. Zayas informed Izzy that if he was interested he should look into the school. The school was the William Esper Studio.
That was the beginning. Izzy found the school and studied under William Esper himself. He completed the professional two year course and the one year Masters program. He has also taken other courses that include script analysis, stage combat, and auditioning techniques to name a few.
This is where he discovered that all the time he was an undercover, and the reason he was so good at it was because he loved what he was doing. What he was doing was acting. While taking acting classes he realized that for most of his life all he did was act. While he hung out with the gangs he acted like them, when around the police he acted like them. Izzy found that he can adapt to any environment because he truly believes at that moment that he is that person he is portraying, and the acting classes helped him even more. By giving him an understanding of what he was doing. So yes Izzy did find his calling while in the NYPD, but it was not completely identified until his teacher, William Esper, opened his mind.
Izzy retired from the NYPD in 2008 and is now focusing all his energy on acting. He invites you to stay tuned, he will do his best to entertain you. - Producer
- Additional Crew
- Location Management
Erik Crone was born on 22 November 1946 in Denmark. He was a producer, known for Hamsun (1996), Adam's Apples (2005) and Den russiske sangerinde (1993). He was married to Nina Crone. He died on 14 October 2022 in Denmark.- Stephen Landis was born on 8 August 1948 in Glendale, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Magnum, P.I. (1980), The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) and Save Me (1994). He was married to Jill Marie Landis. He died on 14 October 2022 in Long Beach, California, USA.
- Joseph McKay was an actor, known for Down and Derby (2005). He died on 14 October 2022 in the USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Julien Vrebos was born on 31 May 1947 in Elsene, Belgium. He was a director and writer, known for Le bal masqué (1998), The Emperor's Wife (2003) and Recht in de ogen (2009). He died on 14 October 2022 in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, Belgium.- Eugenio Hernandez Espinosa was born on 15 November 1936 in Havana, Cuba. He was a writer and actor, known for ¡Patakín! quiere decir ¡fábula! (1985), The Useless Death of My Pal, Manolo (1989) and María Antonia (1990). He died on 14 October 2022 in Havana, Cuba.
- Art Department
- Set Decorator
J. Edward Hudson was born on 12 July 1955 in Baldwin County, Georgia, USA. J. Edward was a set decorator, known for The Adventures of Ociee Nash (2002), Summer of My German Soldier (1978) and ABC Weekend Specials (1977). J. Edward died on 14 October 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.- Production Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Timothy O'Brien was born on 8 March 1929 in Shillong, Assam, India. He was a production designer and costume designer, known for Night Must Fall (1964), Confess, Killer (1957) and Hour of Mystery (1957). He was married to Jenny Jones. He died on 14 October 2022 in the UK.- Lino Farias was born in 1970 in São Miguel, Azores, Portugal. He was an actor, known for Jonah Lives (2015). He was married to Kayla L. Pavao. He died on 14 October 2022 in Somerset, Massachusetts, USA.
- Jack Philpot was born on 26 May 1938 in New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Cutting Loose (1980), CHiPs (1977) and Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980). He died on 14 October 2022 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Mariana Nicolesco died on 14 October 2022 in Romania.
- Étienne Gaboury was born on 24 April 1930 in Swan Lake, Manitoba, Canada. He was married to Claire Breton. He died on 14 October 2022 in Manitoba, Canada.
- Svetlana Bless was born on 4 November 1942. She was an actress, known for Isa pamaciba milesana (1982), Teatris (1978) and Atcereties vai aizmirst (1982). She died on 14 October 2022 in Latvia.
- Stanislav Kropilák was born on 10 June 1955 in Kremnica, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He died on 14 October 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Howard Johnson was born on 24 August 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica. Howard was a producer and director, known for Deep Roots Music (1983), Black Faith (1990) and Black Hollywood (1984). Howard was married to Barbara Stoddard. Howard died on 14 October 2022 in the UK.- Producer
- Director
- Editor
Adam Clapham was a producer and director, known for Man Alive (1965), The Village by the Sea (1991) and In at the Deep End (1982). He died on 14 October 2022 in the UK.- Art Department
John R. Smyrl was born on 23 January 1955 in Kannapolis, North Carolina, USA. John R. is known for The Hunger Games (2012). John R. died on 14 October 2022 in Columbus, North Carolina, USA.- Alexandros Nikolaidis was born on 17 October 1979 in Thessaloniki, Greece. He died on 14 October 2022 in Athens, Greece.
- Animation Department
Chiappori was born on 27 August 1943 in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. Chiappori died on 14 October 2022 in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy.