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- Actress
- Director
Melissa Roxburgh is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012), as Ensign Syl in the 2016 film Star Trek Beyond, as Olivia Tanis in The Marine 4: Moving Target., and as Michaela Stone in the NBC/Netflix science fiction drama series Manifest.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Fionnula Flanagan was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. From an early age she grew up speaking both English and Irish on a daily basis. Her parents weren't native Irish speakers but wanted Fionnula and her four siblings to learn the language. Her mother used to say, "A nation without a language is a nation without a soul". Fionnula has said she will be forever grateful to them for that. She was educated at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin and in Switzerland. She moved to Los Angeles in 1968 and lives with her husband, psychiatrist Dr. Garrett O'Connor, in Beverly Hills. Of her enormous body of work, including stage, television and film, she might be most well-known for James Joyce's Women (1985), in which she plays six different women who had a profound influence on James Joyce's life. Besides giving an award-winning performance, she also wrote, adapted and produced the piece for the stage, and subsequently as a feature film. She believes Joyce is the most important writer in the English language, most notably for "Ulysses", "Finnegan's Wake" and "The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man". When she was growing up she thought the much lauded author was a good friend of her parents, because they were always saying, "Joyce said this, Joyce said that". When she was finally old enough to read Joyce for herself, the characters were like old friends.- Actress
- Producer
Emmanuelle Chriqui was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Moroccan Jewish immigrants, Liliane (Benisty) and Albert Chriqui. Her family moved to Toronto when she was two years old. At the age of 10, Chriqui appeared in a McDonald's commercial. She moved to Vancouver, guest-starring in series such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990), Forever Knight (1992), Once a Thief (1996) and PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996). Her first Hollywood role was in Detroit Rock City (1999). Her breakout performance came in 2000's Snow Day (2000), in which she played the foxy "Claire Bonner." She appeared in rock band Hinder's "Lips of an Angel" music video in 2006. Emmanuelle later starred in several films and was nominated for a DVD Exclusive Award as Best Actress for her performance in 100 Girls (2000). She also starred in the movie, Adam and Eve (2005), opposite Cameron Douglas. Chriqui increased her visibility by playing "Sloan" on the HBO hit show, Entourage (2004), and by starring opposite Adam Sandler in You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008). She reprise her role as Sloan in Entourage (2015).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family escaped The Troubles by moving to Reading, Berkshire, England. At 23, Branagh joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he took on starring roles in "Henry V" and "Romeo and Juliet". He soon found the RSC too large and impersonal and formed his own, the Renaissance Theatre Company, which now counts Prince Charles as one of its royal patrons. At 29, he directed Henry V (1989), where he also co-starred with his then-wife, Emma Thompson. The film brought him Best Actor and Best Director Oscar nominations. In 1993, he brought Shakespeare to mainstream audiences again with his hit adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which featured an all-star cast that included, among others, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves. At 30, he published his autobiography and, at 34, he directed and starred as "Victor Frankenstein" in the big-budget adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein (1994), with Robert De Niro as the monster himself. In 1996, Branagh wrote, directed and starred in a lavish adaptation of Hamlet (1996). His superb film acting work also includes a wide range of roles such as in Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Valkyrie (2008) and his stunning portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011), where once again he offered a great performance that was also nominated for an Academy Award.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Raised on Chicago's South Side by his single mother, Jean, a house cleaner, Duncan grew up resisting drugs and alcohol, instead concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but his mother wouldn't let him, afraid that he would get hurt. He then turned to acting and dreamed of becoming a famous actor.
After graduating from high school and attending community college, he worked digging ditches at People's Gas Company in Chicago. When he quit his job and headed to Hollywood, he landed small roles while working as a bodyguard. Duncan's role in the movie Armageddon (1998) led to his breakthrough performance in The Green Mile (1999), when his Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis called director Frank Darabont, suggesting Duncan for the part of convict John Coffey. He landed the role and won critical acclaim as well as many other Awards and Nominations, including an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
After suffering a heart attack on July 13, 2012, he was taken to a Los Angeles hospital, in which his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth tried to save his life with CPR. Unfortunately, on September 3, 2012, Michael Clarke Duncan died at age 54 from respiratory failure.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Slender, strikingly beautiful strawberry blonde Anne Gwynne arrived in Hollywood a typical starry-eyed model looking to for top stardom. Not quite achieving her goal, she did become one of Universal Studio's favorite and revered cover girls while earning notoriety as one of cinema's finest screamers in 40's "B" horror films. She was able to extend her talents to include adventure stories, westerns, film noir and musical comedies before retiring in 1959.
The hazel-eyed beauty was born Marguerite Gwynne Trice in Waco, Texas, on December 18, 1918, the daughter of Pearl (née Guinn) and Jefferson Benjamin Trice, a clothing manufacturer. The family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when she was still a child. Following high school graduation, she studied drama at Stephens College. Accompanying her father to Los Angeles, she stayed and found work in a number of local community productions. She also supplemented her income as a swimsuit model for Catalina. A Universal studio talent agent happened to catch her in one of her theatre endeavors and the 20-year-old was tested and signed up in 1939.
Appearing in a few starlet bit parts as chorus girls or nurse types, Anne quickly earned her first female lead that same year with the western Oklahoma Frontier (1939) opposite cowboy star Johnny Mack Brown and continued on as a gorgeous co-star/second lead for such handsome leading men as Richard Arlen in Man from Montreal (1939); Robert Stack in Men of Texas (1942); she is best remembered, however, as a decorative lure for the monstrous antics of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney Jr., among others, in such movie chillers as Black Friday (1940), The Black Cat (1941), The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942), Weird Woman (1944), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Murder in the Blue Room (1944).
Anne certainly had the looks and talent but not the luck, seldom rising above second-string film fare. She nevertheless proved quite popular with the servicemen as a WWII wall pin-up and, as with many other lovely actresses, found TV and commercials to be viable mediums for her as her film career waned. She, in fact, co-starred in TV's first filmed series, the noirish crime series Public Prosecutor (1947) as D.A. John Howard's legal secretary and guested on such action-filled 50's programs as "Ramar of the Jungle," "Death Valley Days" and "Northwest Passage."
Later sporadic appearances on film included The Blazing Sun (1950), Call of the Klondike (1950) and Breakdown (1952), the last-mentioned effort executive produced by her husband Max M. Gilford. She returned to the horror film fold once more as the star of the quickly dismissed, "poverty row" cult programmer Teenage Monster (1957). Here Anne plays a caring mother whose home is hit by a meteor. This results in the death of her husband and the monstrous mutation of her son. She tries to shield her boy from outside forces to save him. After a decade of retirement, Anne returned to make a brief, matronly appearance in the film Adam at Six A.M. (1970).
Married to Gilford in 1945, the pair had two children. Daughter/actress Gwynne Gilford is married to actor Robert Pine. Her grandson is actor Chris Pine. Anne's health began to deteriorate in the '90s; a widow by this time, she was moved to the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, California, where she died of complications from a stroke on March 31, 2003.- Patrick John Flueger was born on 10 December 1983 in Red Wing, Minnesota, USA. He is an actor, known for Chicago P.D. (2014), Footloose (2011) and The 4400 (2004).
- Actress
- Producer
Susan Dey was born on 10 December 1952 in Pekin, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Partridge Family (1970), L.A. Law (1986) and Skyjacked (1972). She has been married to Bernard Sofronski since 20 February 1988. She was previously married to Leonard Hirshan.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Shane Gillis is a stand-up comic based out of New York City, recently named an "Up-Next" Comic at Comedy Central's 2019 Clusterfest in San Francisco and a "New Face" at Just For Laughs in Montreal. Winner of Philly's Funniest at Helium Comedy Club in 2016, Shane is a regular guest on Sirius XM and Faction Talk Radio's The Bonfire. He's also one half of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast. Shane has written for Comedy Central's Delco Proper and starred in and wrote for the Dweck Show, Tires Etc, and New Muscle.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Director
Teyana Taylor is an American singer, actress, dancer, choreographer, director, and model. In 2005, Taylor signed a record deal with American musician Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint, before making her first national appearance on MTV's My Super Sweet 16. In 2012, she signed to Ye's GOOD Music label through Def Jam, after asking for her release from Star Trak. As an aspiring songwriter, Taylor has worked with and written records for artists such as Usher, Chris Brown, and Omarion. Taylor has appeared on runways during Fashion Week and has also landed high-profile features, such as on Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. She stars in the VH1 reality television show Teyana and Iman (2018), alongside her husband, NBA player Iman Shumpert.- Michael Earl Schoeffling is an American former actor and model, known for playing the role of Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, Al Carver in Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, Kuch in Vision Quest, and Joe in Mermaids. Schoeffling was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and raised in South Jersey. He graduated from Cherokee High School in New Jersey, and majored in Liberal Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. In the mid-1980s he began modeling for GQ, and photographer Bruce Weber paid for his acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Manhattan.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
FYI: I've written my own BIO. To be honest it felt more sincere than pretending like I hired some journalist to do a ton of research and come up with a non biased presentation. So here it goes.
Nia Peeples- What others have said: is an American actress, singer, dancer. For more than 30 years Nia has graced the screen with her talent and intelligence, her fearlessness and compassion, and her beauty. (Why thank you) Most known for her roles in the hit TV series Fame, Walker Texas Ranger, and Pretty Little Liars as well as her jaunt through the music industry with her number 1 record Trouble and the 3 music shows she hosted in that era, Nia is one of the first multi-racial performers to cross all genres and all platforms helping to lay the groundwork for bridging the gap between ethnic performers and leading roles in Hollywood.
Recently, with her son well on his music path, her daughter heading off to college, and her 4th marriage ending, Nia sold everything and went on "walk about" to realign with her greater purpose. After three years of wandering, Nia has returned with one book under her belt, The Little Apple Tree, and is in the middle of writing her second, "Confessions of a Serial Monogamist, Journey Through the Men I loved to the Me I Love, for which she interviewed all her significant others.
Nia's passion is empowering women and students. She is also a keynote speaker, works very closely with My Saint My Hero creating and launching empowering lines of jewelry, and continues to perform live.
(2018) Nia currently lives in Topanga, CA when she's not fasting at an ashram or studying quantum physics and sacred geometry:)- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman, also known as Raven, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, executive producer, and director. She began her career as actress, appearing as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show (1984) and Nicole Lee on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992). She starred as Raven Baxter on the television series That's So Raven (2003), for which she was nominated for numerous accolades.
In music, Pearman released her debut studio album at the age of seven, Here's to New Dreams (1993), which saw the moderate commercial success. Her subsequent studio albums, Undeniable (1999), This Is My Time (2004), and Raven-Symoné (2008) saw some commercial success on the Billboard 200 chart. She also contributed vocals to several soundtracks from her Disney projects, including The Cheetah Girls (2003), That's So Raven (2003), and The Cheetah Girls 2 (2005), several of which were certified platinum and gold.
In 2011, she starred in the lead role on the sitcom State of Georgia (2011). She also joined the panel of the ABC daytime talk show The View (1997) from 2015 to 2016. Since 2017, Pearman has reprized her role as Raven Baxter on Raven's Home (2017), for which she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming.- Actor
- Production Designer
- Soundtrack
Born in Japan, Makoto Iwamatsu was living there with his grandparents while his parents studied art in the United States, when Japan and the U.S. went to war in 1941. His parents remained in the U.S., working for the Office of War Information, and, at the cessation of the conflict, were granted U.S. residency by Congress. "Mako", as he became known, joined his parents in New York and studied architecture.
He entered the U.S. Army in the early 1950s and acted in shows for military personnel, discovering a talent and love for the theatre. He abandoned his plans to become an architect and instead enrolled at the famed Pasadena Community Playhouse. Following his studies there, he appeared in many stage productions and on television. In 1966, he won an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his first film role, as the coolie "Po-Han" in The Sand Pebbles (1966). He worked steadily in feature films since.
He appeared on Broadway in the leading role in Stephen Sondheim's "Pacific Overtures", and co-founded and served as artistic director for the highly-acclaimed East-West Players theatre company in Los Angeles.
Following a long battle with cancer, Mako passed away on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife, Shizuko Hoshi (who co-starred in episodes of M*A*S*H (1972)) as well, and his children and grandchildren.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Arden Myrin was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017), Shameless (2011) and Insatiable (2018). She was previously married to Dan Martin.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born on December 10, 1978. Summer Joy Phoenix is the fifth and youngest child of Arlyn Phoenix and John Bottom, a carpenter. Summer was raised in Southern California, but spent her teen years in Central Florida, where she was born. She is an active supporter of numerous charities and activist groups, mainly concerning the environment, animal rights and vegetarianism. Summer has also appeared in many print ads in Europe.
Summer was married to actor Casey Affleck. She filed for divorce in July 2017.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Xavier Samuel was born on 10 December 1983 in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. He is an actor, known for Blonde (2022), Fury (2014) and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010).- Alicia von Rittberg, born on December 10, 1993 in Munich, made her debut in front of the camera at the age of six in the popular TV-show "Dingsda," in which small children had to explain different everyday concepts. But her real acting career began only a few years later: in 2006 she appeared in a series of the crime series "The Old One," followed by supporting roles in the television games Die Lawine (2007) and Die Sache mit dem Glück (2008). Alicia von Rittberg became known to a wider audience through the seven-part film series Meine wunderbare Familie (2008); In it she played the 13-year-old daughter of the main character. In the film biography Romy (2009), she played Romy Schneider in her teens. Shortly thereafter, she was seen in No Sky Over Whales (2009) as the daughter of Veronica Ferres played main character. Other supporting roles she had in the cinema comedy Eine ganz heiße Nummer (2011), in A Deal with Adele (2012) and in Christian Petzold's GDR drama Barbara (2012). A major role played by Rittberg as a humiliated Heimkind in the drama Und alle haben geschwiegen (2012). In 2013, she received the Günter Rohrbach Film Prize and the Young Talent Award at the Bavarian Television Prize for this performance. Positive reviews also got the TV play The Lost Daughter (2013), about a woman who is suddenly confronted after 16 years with her daughter once released for adoption. Rittberg also belonged to the family history ensemble On the Road with Elsa (2014) and the historical thriller The Midwife (2014). The latter role earned her the New Faces Award for Best Newcomer Actress. Rittberg had a small but significant role in the American second world war movie Fury (2014) starring Brad Pitt. She played in it a young German, who must host an American tank crew. Easier stuff was the romantic comedy Das Romeo-Prinzip (2015), which showed her as a shy student. Director Sönke Wortmann cast Alicia von Rittberg in a starring role in his acclaimed mini-series Charité (2017) as a combative and ambitious nurse. Another American production was the miniseries Genius (2017) on the life of Albert Einstein, in which played by Rittberg Anna Winteler, the daughter of the scientist Jost Winteler. In the same year she was an ambitious elite student to the ensemble of Alain Gsponer's Godless Youth (2017), a dystopian future after Ödön von Horvath's novel of the same name.
In addition to acting, Alicia von Rittberg studies economics in Friedrichshafen. - Actor
- Soundtrack
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.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Amanda Anka was born on 10 December 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Lost Highway (1997) and Taxi (2004). She has been married to Jason Bateman since 3 July 2001. They have two children.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Hilary Shepard was born and raised in New York City. In the late 1980s, Hilary, who has also sometimes been credited under her married name Hilary Shepard-Turner, was a lead singer and percussionist in the short-lived all-girl group the American Girls.
When that group disbanded, she turned to acting. Appearing in numerous motion pictures and television series, Shepard is known for playing the evil pirate queen Divatox in "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie," and after a maternity leave, during the latter half of "Power Rangers Turbo," replacing Carol Hoyt. She also had two roles on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine": the Benzite ensign Hoya and Lauren, one of the genetically enhanced humans, and played Zena in the film "Scanner Cop."
Shepard and actress Daryl Hannah co-created two board games, "Love It or Hate It" and "LIEbrary," the latter having been previewed by Hannah on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in December of 2005.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dan Blocker is one of the true television immortals, having played Hoss Cartwright -- the heart and soul of Bonanza (1959) -- for 13 seasons, before his untimely death in 1972 at the age of 43. "Bonanza" was the most popular TV series of the 1960s, ranked #1 for three straight seasons (1964-65 through 1966-67) and spending a then-unprecedented nine seasons in the Top 5. After Blocker's death, "Bonanza" -- still in the Top 20 with Hoss after being #8 the previous year -- didn't last another entire season.
The character of Hoss was conceived as a stereotype: The Gentle Giant. The 6'4", 300 lbs. Blocker filled Hoss's cowboy boots and ten-gallon hat admirably but brought something extra to the role, a warmth and empathy that helped ground the show. Personal accounts of Blocker testify to the fact that the man was gregarious and friendly to everyone. He brought that upbeat personality to the character of Hoss.
Hoss originally had been conceived as dull-witted, but ironically, Blocker's professional acting career was assured after he moved his family to California so he could pursue a PhD at U.C.L.A. A native of West Texas, he reportedly was discovered while making a call in a phone booth while outfitted in Western garb, including a straw cowboy hat, his standard dress being a native son of Texas, soon after arriving in California. Even after being cast in "Bonanza", he intended to complete his PhD, but the great success of the series made that impossible, due to the workload of 30+ episodes per year necessitating a 7AM-9PM work schedule five days a week.
Donny Dany Blocker made his debut on December 10, 1928 in De Kalb, Texas, weighing in at 14 lbs. He reportedly was the biggest baby ever born in Bowie County. By the age of 12, he already was 6' tall and weighed 200 lbs. (Towards the end of "Bonanza", he reportedly had ballooned past his stated weight of 300 to as much as 365 lbs.) A "TV Guide" story after his death reported that back in Texas, the young Dan once lifted a car off of a man after it slid off a jack and pinned him under the auto. "My daddy used to say that I was too big to ride and too little to hitch a wagon to," Blocker said, "no good for a damn thing".
His father, Ora Blocker, a poor Texas farmer, was hurt by the Great Depression that began the year after Dan's birth. Ora Blocker lost the farm and later went into the grocery business. He moved his family to O'Donnell, which is just south of Lubbock, where he ran a grocery store. His "no good" son went to the Texas Military Institute, and in 1946 started his undergraduate work at Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, Texas), where he played football. It was there he fell in love with acting when he was recruited by a girlfriend to play a role in campus production of Arsenic and Old Lace as they needed a strong man to lift the bodies that the spinster aunts had dispatched up from the cellar.
After graduating in 1950 with a degree in English, Blocker went east where he did repertory work in Boston. A 1960 "TV Guide" article says that he appeared on Broadway in the 1950-51 production of King Lear, which starred Louis Calhern. The draft soon ended his apprenticeship, and he served in the Army in the Korean War, making sergeant. After being demobilized in 1952, he attended attended Sul Ross State Teacher's College (Alpine, Texas), earning a master's degree in dramatic arts. He taught English and drama at a Sonora, Texas high school before moving to Carlsbad, New Mexico, where he taught sixth grade. He then moved his family to California, where he again taught school while preparing for his PhD studies.
Blocker picked up bit parts in television, making his debut as a bartender in The Sheriff of Cochise (1956). His career rise was steady and rapid, and he appeared on many Westerns, including Gunsmoke (1955), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), The Rifleman (1958), and Maverick (1957). He claimed his turn as Hognose Hughes on "Maverick", the comic Western starring James Garner, was the seminal role of his career. As Hoss, Blocker would often star in light-hearted episodes on "Bonanza". He was cast in the recurring role of "Tiny" Carl Budinger in the short lived Western series, Cimarron City (1958). Its cancellation after one season made him available for "Bonanza", which was "Cimarron City" creator David Dortort's next project. He had previously appeared on Dortort's Western series, The Restless Gun (1957).
"Bonanza" debuted in September 1959, shot in color, and R.C.A. made color TV sets and saw the program as a good advertisement for its wares. The company sponsored the first two seasons of the show, and the sponsorship and R.C.A.'s ownership of N.B.C. was likely why it wasn't cancelled after its shaky first season, when it placed #45 in the ratings for the 1959-60 season. The following year, it cracked the top 20 at #17, but it wasn't until it was shifted to Sundays at 9PM in the 1961-62 season that it became a ratings phenomenon, coming in at #2. It was the first of nine straight seasons in the top 5. Once "Bonanza" was ensconced as America's favorite Western, Blocker and his three co-stars, Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Michael Landon were paid an extremely handsome salary that eventually rose to approximately $10,000 per episode each by the time Roberts quit after the sixth season, its first at #1.
Commenting on Roberts' departure, Landon said, "After he left we took one leaf out of the dining room table and we all made more money because we split the take three ways instead of four." Salary, royalties from Bonanza-related merchandise, and business ventures (Blocker started the Bonanza Steak House chain in 1963), and an eventual $1-million payout from NBC to buy out the residual rights of each of the three remaining stars made them all rich. "Bonanza" made Blocker a very wealthy man, but more importantly, it made him a television immortal. The series continues to be re-run in syndication 40 years after Hoss exited the stage.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Scrappy, plucky-looking Kentucky-born Tommy Kirk, who was born on December 10, 1941, became synonymous with everything clean and fun that Disney Entertainment prescribed to in the late 1950s and very early 1960s. One of four sons born to a mechanic, Louie, and legal secretary, Lucy, the Kirk family, in search of better job prospects, moved from Louisville to Downey, California while Tommy was still an infant. The boy's interest in acting was ignited at the age of 13 years when he (instead of older brother Joe) was cast in a minor role in a production of Will Rogers Jr. and Bobby Driscoll in a production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" at the Pasadena Playhouse. Discovered by a Hollywood agent who saw him and signed him up, Tommy went on to appear in two other Pasadena theatre plays, Portrait in Black" and "Barefoot in Athens" and on TV ("Lux Video Theatre, "Frontier," "Big Town," "Gunsmoke" and "The Loretta Young Show") and film (Down Liberty Road (1956) and The Peacemaker (1956)). It was an episode of "Matinee Theatre" that brought the freshly-scrubbed All-American kid to the attention of mogul Walt Disney who quickly signed him to a long-term contract.
In 1955, the lad became a member of the The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) TV series and won a legion of young fans as the brush-cut haired, irrepressibly inquisitive young sleuth Joe Hardy in two "Hardy Boys" serials ("The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure," "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm") with Tim Considine, another young promising Disney staple, playing older brother Frank. With time Tommy became a prime juvenile Disney hero and ideal mischief maker for many of the studio's full-length comedy and drama classics, earning nationwide teen idol status for his exuberant work in Old Yeller (1957), The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), The Absent Minded Professor (1961), Babes in Toyland (1961), Bon Voyage! (1962), Moon Pilot (1962), Son of Flubber (1962) and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964).
In 1963 the bubble completely burst when the Disney factory found out 21-year-old Tommy was in a relationship with an underage boy. He was also arrested on Christmas Eve in 1964 when a party he was attending was raided and busted for marijuana use. Although charges were dropped, it was too late. Fired from his role in the John Wayne western The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as a result, the Disney studio, out of protection, was forced to release him from his contract, but not after rehiring him one more time to complete a "Merlin Jones" movie sequel entitled The Monkey's Uncle (1965)).
Tommy found very mild restitution after signing with AIP (American International Pictures) and appearing in such popular teen-oriented flicks as Pajama Party (1964), co-starring fellow Disney cohort Annette Funicello, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). He also began appearing on the musical stage as Harold Hill in "The Music Man," Riff in "West Side Story" and as the lead in "Tovarich." He also was lent out to do a lead in the mediocre cult sci-fi Embassy Picture Village of the Giants (1965). After leaving AIP, things got progressively worse for Tommy with a lead role in Trans American Film's It's a Bikini World (1967) -- by this time, beach party films were no longer trendy. Bargain basement fare such as Unkissed Bride (1966)_ (aka Mother Goose a Go-Go), UA's Track of Thunder (1967), Catalina Caper (1967) Mars Needs Women (1968), in which he played a Martian, and Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967) (aka Psycho a Go-Go) pretty much spelled as a leading man. Practically blacklisted by an industry that deemed "outed" gay actors "box office poison," he returned to the musical theatre in his home state of Kentucky with such shows as "Anything Goes" (as Moonface Martin), "Hello, Dolly!" (as Horace Vandergelder), "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (as Marcus Lycus) and "Little Mary Sunshine" (as General Fairfax).
Following roles in the low budget 70s films Ride the Hot Wind (1973) and the unreleased My Name Is Legend (1975) as well as an isolated TV part on a 1972 episode of "The Streets of San Francisco," Tommy disappeared from the limelight. His life went into a seemingly irreversible tailspin. Depressed and angry, he sought solace in drugs and nearly died from an acute overdose at one point. For health reasons he felt the need to completely abandon his career and slowly moved himself forward as a recovering addict. On a very positive note, he was able to build a very successful carpet and upholstery cleaning company for himself ("Tommy Kirk's Carpet and Upholstery) in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. It stayed open for business for well over two decades.
After some time away, Tommy showed up again in Hollywood, glimpsed in a few dismissible low-budgeters here and there, including Streets of Death (1988), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Little Miss Magic (1998), Billy Frankenstein (1998), Club Dead (2000) and, his last to date, The Education of a Vampire (2001). He appeared in several documentary interviews for the DVD releases of some of his best known films and TV shows, and occasionally at film festivals and nostalgia convention/memorabilia fests. He lived in Las Vegas.- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Colicos was born on 10 December 1928 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Changeling (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was married to Mona McHenry. He died on 6 March 2000 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio and television. One of his best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason (1957). Collins was born in Sacramento, California, to Lillie Bidwell and William C. Collins, a newspaper drama editor. He started acting on stage at the age of 14. In the mid 1930s, now an established stage and radio actor, Collins began working with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre (Welles himself called Collins "the finest actor I've ever worked with"), leading to some of his most memorable roles. Having already appeared on radio with Welles in "The Shadow" (a regular as Commissioner Weston) and in Welles' serial adaptation of "Les Miserables" from 1937, Collins became a regular on "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" program; through the run of the series, he played many roles in literary adaptations, from Squire Livesey from "Treasure Island" and Dr. Watson in "Sherlock Holmes" to Mr. Pickwick in an adaptation of "The Pickwick Papers". Collins' best known (albeit uncredited) work on this series, however, was in the infamous "The War of the Worlds" broadcast, playing three roles, including Mr. Wilmuth (on whose farm the Martian craft lands) and the newscaster who describes the destruction of New York. Along with other Mercury Theatre players, Collins made his first notable screen appearance in Citizen Kane (1941), as ruthless Boss Jim Gettys. He would also play key roles in Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Touch of Evil (1958). Collins appeared in over 90 films in all, including Leave Her to Heaven (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Crack-Up (1946), A Double Life (1947), two entries in the "Ma and Pa Kettle" series (as in-law Benjamin Parker), and The Desert Song (1953), in which he played the non-singing role of Kathryn Grayson's father. He displayed comic ability in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) and The Man from Colorado (1948). He may be best remembered for his work on television. He was also a regular as John Merriweather on the television version of The Halls of Ivy (1954) starring Ronald Colman.- Kristine was raised on a small self-sufficient farm in upstate New York. As a young girl, she took ballet and studied voice. At 14, she began modeling for Macy's. During her freshman year of high school, Kristine auditioned for and won the part of Marta in the musical The Sound Of Music. The following summer, the now-famous Mac-Haydn Theatre opened in DeBell's hometown, featuring The Sound Of Music as its last show of its season. Kristine auditioned for the part of Marta again, however producers felt her voice was too mature and cast her as the naughty postulant. This was the beginning of a fruitful four performance seasons with The Mac-Haydn Theatre. After graduation from high school and a year at Berkeley College studying Fashion Merchandising, Kristine began modeling for Ford Models in NYC. She later moved into acting and is known for starring in an X-rated film version of Alice in Wonderland . She was on the April 1976 cover of Playboy, photographed by Suze Randall, and appeared in the Helmut Newton pictorial, "200 Motels, or How I Spent My Summer Vacation"( August, 1976), from which 11 original prints were sold at auctions of Playboy archives by Butterfields in 2002 for $21,075 and three by Christies in December 2003 for $26,290. Kristine starred in a number of motion pictures including Meatballs (Bill Murray's first film and Ivan Reitman's directorial debut), Blood Brothers (Richard Gere's first film, directed by Robert Mulligan), and The Big Brawl (Jackie Chan's first American film). Kristine also starred in a number of television pilots throughout the early 1980's, and enjoyed many guest-star appearances in episodic television and movies of the week, including Night Court, and the award-winning soap opera The Young & The Restless. DeBell left the film and television industry in the mid-1980's to raise her children on a thoroughbred farm in upstate New York. Her passion for theater brought her back to the stage, and she began starring in many regional theater productions. One of her most memorable performances was as Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Since moving back to Los Angeles in 2008, she has enjoyed steady work as a film and television actress.
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Tommy Rettig was a successful child actor in 1954 when he was chosen out of a field of 500 to play Jeff Miller in the TV series Lassie (1954), which premiered on September 12, 1954, making him the first boy who tagged after Lassie during the famous collie's 20 years on the CBS television network. He was with the show for four years, after which Lassie acquired a whole new family. As an adult, he was a photographer, tool salesman, computer programmer, and health club manager.
Rettig was born in Queens, New York City, the only child of Rosemary (Nibali) and Elias Rettig, a Lockheed aircraft-parts inspector. His father was of Russian Jewish descent, and his mother was of Italian heritage. Tommy began his career at age five, after he was spotted by an acting coach who lived in the family's apartment building. After touring with Mary Martin in Annie Get Your Gun, he landed roles in movies beginning age nine, making 17 films in total, among them River of No Return (1954), starring Marilyn Monroe, and perhaps most memorably as the boy with the vivid imagination in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953). At 12, he was cast as Jeff Miller. He bonded strongly with his canine costar--who, like the whole line of Lassies, was male--and even took him home on weekends (the family had moved West in 1949). That stopped when Lassie became confused about whether to obey his trainer or Rettig.
He was busted in the '70s for marijuana possession and cocaine smuggling (The latter charge was overturned), and was also a long time advocate for the legalization of marijuana. After graduating from L.A.'s University High in 1958 and marrying 15-year-old Darlene Portwood, he tried to get back into acting, without much success. In the early '80s, having tried selling tools and managing a health club, he founded an est-like motivation program. But it wasn't until he sat down at a computer to compile a mailing list that he finally found himself
At Ashton-Tate, Tom was one of the designers of dBASE III and wrote the essential reference book on it. He built the first add-on library for Clipper, pioneering the public domain tools that make all our jobs easier. Tom wrote articles for Data Based Advisor, appeared on FoxPro Advisor satellite TV conferences, and spoke at many developer events including the FoxPro DevCons. Tom Rettig's Help and Tom Rettig's FoxPro Handbook taught the intricacies of FoxPro. Tom's ability as a programmer was legendary - he was a guru with a Hollywood-famous name. Yet he was one of the most friendly, accessible people you'd hope to meet.
Followinig his death from a heart attack at the age of fifty-four, his ashes were spread on the ocean off Marina del Rey, California, from the boat LaSea, with one of Lassie's descendants present to say goodbye.- Actress
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KiKi Layne was born on 10 December 1991 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Native Son (2019) and The Old Guard (2020).- Actor
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Enrique Castillo was nominated for a SAG Award for his stand-out role in Showtime's wicked series "Weeds" where he plays the lethal Cesar. He guest starred on the CBS hit show "NCIS" and "Outlaw" opposite Jimmy Smits; and on the HBO series "Enlightened". Most recently starred in the in the film "Kill The Dictator" which broke box office records in the Dominican Republic. His in a gut wrenching performance in Fanny Veliz's indie film "Homebound" has earned critical acclaim. He recent guest starred in TNT "Major Crimes" in June of 2014.
Enrique is most recognized for his film role of Montana in Taylor Hackford "Blood In Blood Out" where he played the inspirational (albeit terrifying) leader of the Mexican prison gang. When the film was released, The New York Times singled out Mr. Castillos's performance in their review. "Mr. Chapa, Mr. Bratt and Mr. Borrego are excellent, as are the members of the large supporting cast, notably Enrique Castillo, who appears as the leader of San Quentin's Chicanos." In Japan a film critic said of his performance of Montana "He plays the role with the wisdom of Torquemada and strength of a Sandinista warrior"
An accomplished actor/writer/director, Enrique began his career with Luis Valdez's Teatro Campesino in 1969. As part of the Teatro, Enrique participated in workshops with English theater director Peter Brook's theater group which included now Academy Award winner Helen Mirren. In the early 70's Enrique traveled with the Teatro to Paris when they represented the U.S. at the World Theater Festival. In 1978 Enrique made the move to Hollywood and was cast in the hit play "Zoot Suit", also created and directed by Luis Valdez, where he played the lead role of Henry Reyna opposite Edward James Olmos. Since then he has appeared in over 50 television shows and feature films, working with such notable film directors as Tony Scott, ("Déjà Vu") Taylor Hackford, ("Blood In-Blood Out") Stephen Frears ("The Hi-Lo Country") Wim Wenders ("The End of Violence") Gregory Nava ("My Family" and "El Norte") Oliver Stone ("Nixon") and Tim Burton ("Mars Attacks").
Mr. Castillo was one of the founding member of The Latino Theater Company in the mid 80's, where he starred in a variety of the company's productions and was also was a writer on two of the company's plays, Stone Wedding and the multi-award-winning play August 29.
In the mid 90's Enrique adapted and directed the award-winning play "The Last Angry Brown Hat", written by Alfredo Ramos which toured to rave reviews for over four years. He then wrote and directed "Veteranos: A Legacy of Valor", a theater piece honoring the military contributions by Latinos in America's defense which had two national tours to standing ovations and much critical acclaim. Veteranos was awarded a special recognition by the Hispanic Congressional Caucus at and received the prestigious Imagen Award for Best Live Theatrical Production in Los Angeles, CA.
Enrique has also written various screenplays including "Yo Solo" (I Alone), "The Cobra", "Valley of The Dead", "Deerdancer" and the screen version of The Last Angry Brown Hat. Valley of The Dead, the crime suspense thriller has been recently optioned by Concrete Images.
Enrique He is also Executive Producer of HOLA! LA the only English-language TV talk show hosted by Latinas airing on CBS2/KCAL9.- Actor
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Rambunctious British leading man (contrary to popular belief, he was of Scottish ancestry, not Irish) and later character actor primarily in American films, Victor McLaglen was a vital presence in a number of great motion pictures, especially those of director John Ford. McLaglen (pronounced Muh-clog-len, not Mack-loff-len) was the son of the Right Reverend Andrew McLaglen, a Protestant clergyman who was at one time Bishop of Claremont in South Africa. The young McLaglen, eldest of eight brothers, attempted to serve in the Boer War by joining the Life Guards, though his father secured his release. The adventuresome young man traveled to Canada where he did farm labor and then directed his pugnacious nature into professional prizefighting. He toured in circuses, vaudeville shows, and Wild West shows, often as a fighter challenging all comers. His tours took him to the US, Australia (where he joined in the gold rush) and South Africa. In 1909 he was the first fighter to box newly-crowned heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, whom he fought in a six-round exhibition match in Vancouver (as an exhibition fight, it had no decision). When the First World War broke out, McLaglen joined the Irish Fusiliers and soldiered in the Middle East, eventually serving as Provost Marshal (head of Military Police) for the city of Baghdad. After the war he attempted to resume a boxing career, but was given a substantial acting role in The Call of the Road (1920) and was well received. He became a popular leading man in British silent films, and within a few years was offered the lead in an American film, The Beloved Brute (1924). He quickly became a most popular star of dramas as well as action films, playing tough or suave with equal ease. With the coming of sound, his ability to be persuasively debonair diminished by reason of his native speech patterns, but his popularity increased, particularly when cast by Ford as the tragic Gypo Nolan in The Informer (1935), for which McLaglen won the Best Actor Oscar. He continued to play heroes, villains and simple-minded thugs into the 1940s, when Ford gave his career a new impetus with a number of lovably roguish Irish parts in such films as She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and The Quiet Man (1952). The latter film won McLaglen another Oscar nomination, the first time a Best Actor winner had been nominated subsequently in the Supporting category. McLaglen formed a semi-militaristic riding and polo club, the Light Horse Brigade, and a similarly arrayed precision motorcycle team, the Victor McLaglen Motorcycle Corps, both of which led to conclusions that he had fascist sympathies and was forming his own private army. McLaglen denied espousing the far right-wing sentiments that were often attributed to him. He continued to act in films into his 70s and died, from congestive heart failure, not long after appearing in a film directed by his son, Andrew V. McLaglen.- Writer
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Robert King was born on 10 December 1959 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Good Wife (2009), Evil (2019) and The Good Fight (2017). He is married to Michelle King.- Actress
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Tisha Sterling was born on 10 December 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Coogan's Bluff (1968), Village of the Giants (1965) and The Whales of August (1987). She was previously married to Lal Baum.- Actress
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Susanna Reid is an award-winning English television presenter. She is best-known for fronting two long-running morning TV shows, Breakfast (2000) (2006-2013) and "Good Morning Britain" (2014-date).
She also appeared as a celebrity contestant on the 2013 series of "Strictly Come Dancing", finishing runner-up to Abbey Clancy.
In 2019, she took part in the annual "Soccer Aid" charity campaign as England's assistant manager, but she was defeated by her GMB co-presenter, Piers Morgan, who was co-managing the World XI team.
Aside from her TV journalism, Reid is also newspaper columnist for the Daily Mail.- Kyliegh Curran stepped into the spotlight, starring opposite Ewan McGregor in Warner Bros.' gripping supernatural thriller, "Doctor Sleep." The film, which was released November 8th 2019, is directed by Mike Flanagan from his own screenplay based upon Stephen King's best-selling novel.
"Doctor Sleep" continues the story of Danny Torrance, 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in the classic "The Shining." Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has fought to find some semblance of peace. At the heart of the story is Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the "shine." Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.
Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra's innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before - at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.
Next for Kyliegh is a starring role in Disney Channel's upcoming "Sulphur Springs," a live-action, time travel mystery series that takes place in a haunted hotel. She portrays 'Harper,' a bright-eyed, mystery obsessed teen whose classmate 'Griffin' has just moved into a hotel rumored to be haunted by a girl who went missing decades ago. Together, they discover a secret portal that allows them to travel back in time to investigate the unsolved mystery. Production is set to begin in early 2020 in New Orleans.
Kyliegh was born in Miami, FL on December 10, 2005 to Traci-Liegh Johnson and Shannon Curran. She is the granddaughter of esteemed writer and Professor Emeritus, Dr. Whittington B. Johnson. She began her professional acting career at the age of seven, performing diverse roles in regional theatre productions for The Miracle Theatre/Actor's Playhouse in Coral Gables, FL.
At ten years old, Kyliegh landed a coveted role on Broadway, starring in the principal role of Young Nala in Disney's award-winning musical "The Lion King." In 2017, Kyliegh appeared in the independent film, "I Can I Will I Did," in the role of Lily opposite Selenis Leyva and Mike Faist. The film won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Asian American International Film Festival.
A triple threat, Kyliegh loves to sing, dance and act, and she also enjoys writing. She is a passionate young advocate and looks forward to aligning with organizations that support early literacy and storytelling in schools, as well as animal causes. Her varied interests range from studying foreign languages, to baking and gardening, to knitting and crocheting. Additionally, Kyliegh is vegan and is environmentally conscious.
Follow her journey on Instagram @kylieghcurran. - Actress
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She was the archetypal brassy, bosomy, Brooklynesque blonde with a highly distinctive scratchy voice. Barbara Nichols started life as Barbara Marie Nickerauer in Queens, New York on December 10, 1928, and grew up on Long Island. Graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School, she changed her reddish-brown hair to platinum blonde and worked as a post-war model and burlesque dancer. As a beauty contestant, she won the "Miss Long Island" title as well as the dubious crowns of "Miss Dill Pickle", "Miss Mink of 1953" and "Miss Welder of 1953", and also became a GI pin-up favorite. She began to draw early attention on stage (particularly in the musical "Pal Joey") and in television drama.
Barbara found herself stealing focus in small, wisecracking roles, managing at times to draw both humor and pathos out of her characters -- sometimes simultaneously. She seemed consigned to play strippers, gold-diggers, barflies, gun molls and other floozy types, but Barbara made the best of her stereotype, taking full advantage of the not-so-bad films that came her way. While most of them, of course, emphasized her physical endowments, she could also be very, very funny when given a decent script. By far the best of her work came out in one year: Pal Joey (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and The Pajama Game (1957). By the decade's end, though, her film career had allowed down, and she turned more and more to television, appearing on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Adam-12 (1968), The Twilight Zone (1959) (the classic "Twenty-Two" episode), The Untouchables (1959) and Batman (1966), to name a few.
Barbara landed only one regular series role in her career, the very short-lived situation comedy Love That Jill (1958) starring husband-and-wife team Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling. Barbara played a model named "Ginger". She also co-starred on Broadway with George Gobel and Sam Levene in the musical "Let It Ride" in 1961 and played roles in a few low-budget movies from time to time, including the campy prison drama House of Women (1962) and the science fiction film The Human Duplicators (1965) starring George Nader and Richard Kiel, who played "Jaws" in the James Bond film series.
A serious Long Island car accident in July 1957 led to the loss of her spleen, and another serious car accident in Southern California in the 1960s led to a torn liver. Complications would set in over a decade later and she was forced to slow down her career. Barbara eventually developed a life-threatening liver disease and her health deteriorated. In summer 1976, she was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where she went into a coma. She awoke for a few days just before Labor Day, but sank back shortly after. She died at age 47 of liver failure on October 5 and was survived by her parents, George and Julia Nickerauer. She was interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York.- Actress
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In addition to being Miss New Orleans in 1931, Dorothy Lamour worked as a Chicago elevator operator; band vocalist for her first husband, band leader Herbie Kaye; and radio performer. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play female Tarzan-Crusoe-Gauguin-girl-with make-up parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a strange combination of adventure, slapstick, ad-libs and Hollywood inside jokes. Of these she said, "I was the happiest and highest-paid straight woman in the business." As she aged, however, the quality of her films dropped. Among her serious films were Johnny Apollo (1940) and A Medal for Benny (1945).- Actor
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Teddy Wilson was born on 10 December 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Good Times (1974), Blood In, Blood Out (1993) and Life Stinks (1991). He was married to Joan Pringle. He died on 21 July 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Stella Keitel was born on 10 December 1985 in the USA. She is an actress, known for Goodfellas (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).
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Given his elaborate expertise in the martial arts especially the ancient form called Kalaripayattu (which he's trained in since he was all of 4 years old), Vidyut has committed himself to creating a platform for action and stunts in world cinema. His first Bollywood outing Force (a remake of the Tamil film Kaaka Kaaka) alongside John Abraham gave audiences a sneak peek into the kind of action they can expect from Vidyut. It earned him a clean sweep at the awards that year with him winning all the awards for Most Promising Debut for 2012.
He subsequently played noteworthy roles in the Telugu films Shakti and Oosaravelli, both starring NTR. In 2012, Jammwal made his debut in Tamil cinema with Billa II, alongside Ajith Kumar. For his role, he received tremendous critical appreciation and was lauded immensely for his action sequences. Post Billa II, he has worked in blockbuster Tamil films like Thuppakki, alongside actor Vijay and Anjaan alongside actor Suriya. Vidyut's performance in Thuppaki earned him a fan following and an award for Best Actor in a Negative Role at SIIMA Awards.
Soon after, he was seen In his next Hindi film Commando, where he showcased some realistic combat based action, all performed and designed by him. With just the trailer launch, Vidyut created quite a stir and amassed over a million hits within a week of the trailer launch.
Although the film received a mixed critical reception, Jammwal and his action earned phenomenal reviews. Noted critic Taran Adarsh mentioned in his review that: "Commando clearly belongs to Vidyut and the liberty of watching him crushing everything and everyone in sight leaves you tongue-tied. By doing the stunts without a body double or cables, he fits into the definition of India's Next Gen action hero without a hitch. He's a fine actor too, although it's the action that takes precedence over histrionics here. Commando was also showcased internationally at the Fantasia Film Fest in Montreal followed by a screening at the Fantastic Fest in Texas in 2013. He received great feedback from international media and well known action directors, calling him India's answer to Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa.
In addition to earning the title of India's New Age Action Hero, the Indian media also went on to tag him as one of the sexiest men they'd seen. He featured in a number of popular lists - Times Most Desirable, Fittest men with Best Bodies and People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive being just a few.
Post Commando, he was seen donning the avatar of a sharpshooter cop in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Bullett Raja and was loved for his action and his performance yet again. Vidyut followed up his on screen magic of Bullett Raja with the sequel of his action franchise Commando and then Milan Luthria's Baadshaho. Known for his gritty and edgy cinematic style, director Tigmanshu Dhulia went on to cast him once again for his next directorial venture: Yaara, a remake of the French film Les Lyonnais, where Vidyut will be seen in an entirely interesting retro avatar playing the character that ages from 21 to 50. Yaara is set to release early in 2018.
Vidyut is all set to kick start working on his most exciting project - Junglee directed by American filmmaker Chuck Russell - a name responsible for films like The Scorpion King and The Mask among many others. The film is going to be helmed entirely on Vidyut's shoulders with a solid focus on showcasing absolutely path-breaking action sequences without cables or body doubles - Vidyut's specialty. He and his very own team of stunt men are said be designing and choreographing all his action sequences for this film.- Actor
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Daniel Betts was born in 1971 in Cuckfield, West Sussex, England. He trained under Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes at the Drama Centre, London, graduating in 1993. His varied career has included many roles on the British and International stage, as well as TV and film work including Fury (2014), and the upcoming Brad Pitt films War Machine (2016) and Allied (2016).- Actress
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Beth Lacke was born on 10 December 1974 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Mr. 3000 (2004), Frequency (2016) and Happy Hour (2006).- Writer
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Though almost completely unknown, this man was one of the originators of a highly popular and groundbreaking new form of comedy and satire.
After working on the Harvard Lampoon as an undergraduate, Douglas C. Kenney co-founded the National Lampoon magazine and the National Lampoon Radio Hour.
Kenney had originally collaborated at Harvard with friend, Henry Beard, and founded the National Lampoon, where the two pooled their talents and created a radical new humor magazine. Humor that was sophomoric, rebellious, off-color, vulgar and just plain laceratingly funny.
The Lampoon's humor was considered radical. Not only was the magazine an all-time best seller - particularly the infamous cover of the gun pointed at the family pet: "If you don't buy this magazine, we'll kill this dog". Kenney had broadened his comic touch all over. He and other members of the Lampoon had written books - the most popular being the "1964 High School Yearbook Parody" in 1974 (co-edited by P.J. O'Rourke). Written like a real yearbook and spoofing all the things that make them almost embarrassing and funny in their own right, Kenney and his cohorts had certainly written a little masterpiece.
Another best-selling classic of his was the cult favorite "Bored of the Rings", a humorous little take on Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary best-seller. The book was a best-seller and thanks to the release of Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning live-action adaptation of the novel trilogy, the book got another printing. Kenney's legacy was living on.
Another piece of his was "Mrs. Agnew's Diary", that roasted the Nixon administration.- Actress
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Tara Subkoff was born on 10 December 1972 in Westport, Connecticut, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for #Horror (2015), The Cell (2000) and The Killer Inside Me (2010). She has been married to Urs Fischer since 24 October 2014. They have one child.- Actor
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Born in Washington, raised in Asia. Half-Taiwanese, half-white.
Graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for performance studies, with three years of conservatory training from the Atlantic Theater Company, one year at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (London), a final year focusing on film & television performance with the StoneStreet Studio, and additional training in improvisation at UCB (NYC).
Trained in voice acting under the indomitable Jay Snyder (Dan Green) at Edge Studio (NYC), and represented by the amazing team at Dean Panaro Talent (LA).- Hal Baylor was born on 10 December 1918 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Big Jim McLain (1952), Evel Knievel (1971) and Emergency! (1972). He died on 5 January 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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A true sunny delight, actress Jean Byron will be fondly remembered for her three-season-long role as vivacious "Natalie Lane", the grounding mom of "identical cousin" Patty Duke on The Patty Duke Show (1963), the one who was always around to help teenage Patty regroup when "a hot dog made her lose control". Jean was born with the unlikely marquee name of Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1925. Musically inclined, she was a teen singer on radio before even graduating from high school. Her family subsequently moved to California which only spurred on Jean's interest in show business. Apprenticing on the local stage and continuing to work on radio, she earned her first contract with Columbia Pictures and chose the more adaptable name of Jean Byron for billing purposes.
Her movie career began uneventfully in 1952, co-starring with Johnny Weissmuller, in Voodoo Tiger (1952), one of a series of "Jungle Jim" adventure programmers. Uninspired roles, opposite a radioactive creature in The Magnetic Monster (1953) and as a handmaiden to Rhonda Fleming's "Cleopatra" in Serpent of the Nile (1953), had her wisely leaning towards TV as a more viable medium. Not only did she appear on the top TV shows of the day, but seemed to have an affinity for westerns, finding a steady stream of work on such programs as Yancy Derringer (1958), Fury (1955), My Friend Flicka (1955), Cheyenne (1955) and Laramie (1959) to her credit. The wholesome-looking blonde with the lovely, peaches-and-cream complexion also became a mild household fixture as an on-camera spokeswoman for such products as Revlon and Lux soap. At one time, she was known as "The Lux Girl". She earned a couple of recurring roles on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959) comedy before solidifying her status on The Patty Duke Show (1963) from 1963 to 1966.
Following the series' demise, Jean was seen less and less, glimpsed here and there on late 60s and 70s TV. She also appeared on the dinner theater circuit and in musical stage shows, portraying "Mama Rose" in one production of "Gypsy". Retiring in the 1980s, she moved with her aged mother to Mobile, Alabama in the late 1980s to be closer to extended family. Her final appearance was a happy occasion with a nostalgic TV-movie reunion show that brought her back in touch with former cast members Patty Duke and TV husband William Schallert, among others, in 1999. The reunion took 33 years in the making, one for the TV record books. At one time, she was briefly married to handsome actor Michael Ansara, she had no children and never remarried. Jean died at age 80 after developing an infection following surgery for a hip replacement. She was buried in Mobile Memorial Gardens.- Writer
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Greg Giraldo was born on 10 December 1965 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Common Law (1996), Z Rock (2008) and Greg Giraldo: Midlife Vices (2009). He was married to MaryAnne McAlpin-Giraldo. He died on 29 September 2010 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.- Actor
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James was born in Yokohama and raised in rural Yamagata, Japan. He moved to the U.S. after high school and earned a BA in literature from Wheaton College and an MFA in acting and directing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
James is based in NYC, working as an actor, director, translator, and writer. Many fans know him as Robert Minoru from Marvel's Runaways. He has originated many roles on and off Broadway, including Sarah Ruhl's The Oldest Boy, Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out (2003 Tony Award for Best Play), A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, John Guare's A Few Stout Individuals, and Julia Cho's Durango. His credits also include characters in world-premiere stage adaptations of literary classics, such as Yunioshi in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway and Toru in Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at the Edinburgh Int'l Festival and the Singapore Arts Festival.
For the stage, he has directed My Friend Has Come for the Asian American Writers Workshop, Dancing with the Bird at the Japan Society in New York, "Clippy and Ms. U" for Ma-Yi Studios, and Ready or Not and It's a Jungle Out There for the 52nd Street Project Playmaking series. He made his filmmaking debut in '11 with Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty, which won Best Feature in the DIY film competition at Northside Festival, a trendsetter art festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
James was the conceiver of the theater benefit "SHINSAI: Theaters for Japan" which took place on March 11, 2012, the one-year anniversary of the disasters in Japan, with participation from nearly 100 theaters, internationally. He also collaborates frequently with Japanese artists, translating award winning contemporary Japanese plays and subtitling major Japanese studio films.
James is also a martial artist with black belts in judo and aikido.- Peter Michael Goetz was born on 10 December 1941 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Father of the Bride Part II (1995), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) and My Girl (1991). He has been married to Constance Fleurat since 11 June 1966. They have two children.
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Gregg Berger Bio
Gregg Berger Voice / Actor Transformers, The Garfield Show, Spaced Invaders, More! Gregg Berger is an American Voice / Actor, who is Internationally known for his iconic roles as GRIMLOCK in G1Transformers and Transformers Fall of Cybertron, and the eagerly anticipated Power of the Primes, as Odie, Squeak, Harry and others from the Garfield franchise, Spirit from G.I. Joe, Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter from Spider-Man:The Animated Series, Agent Kay from the Men in Black Series, Sir Jecht from Final Fantasy, Eeyore from Kingdom Hearts 2, The Pain from Metal Gear Solid 3, The Gromble from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and many more including, Star Wars: The Clone Wars as Droid General Kalani, Resident Evil: Raccoon City as Harley, Guild Wars 2 as Conrad and Duggadoo, Dishonored as Street Speaker and Halo Wars as Cutter. On camera, he had leading roles in the classic comedy Police Academy: Mission To Moscow and the Sci Fi Comedy cult classic Spaced Invaders as well as three pilots for CBS. As an animation voice-over talent, it's been a dog's life for Gregg Berger and that's just the way he likes it. He has been the voice of Odie the dog on Garfield since Odie has had an animated voice. He's also Squeak the Mouse, Harry the AlleyCat, Herman the Mailman and others on The Garfield Show on Cartoon Network. He also doesn't usually think of himself as a pig, but he sure enjoys playing one on TV. He is the voice of Orson Pig on U.S. Acres... as well as the voice of Cornfed Pig on Duckman. Gregg Berger is also the voice of Niles Crane's talking cockatiel 'Baby' on Frasier, and Barry The Parrot on Hot In Cleveland, The Gromble on Nickelodeon's Ahhh!!! Real Monsters! Eeyore in Kingdom Hearts2 and many of Disney Character Voices' Winnie The Pooh projects, Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio on Fox's Spiderman, Agent Kay in Men In Black, and Bill Licking on The Angry Beavers. He has careened through the galaxy as A.B. Sitter on Fantastic Max and has even had a blind date with Judy Jetson as Curly Quasar on The Jetsons, in addition to berating his favorite employee as Mr. Pinkley on Cathy. Of course, he also continues to guest star in various and sundry episodes of a great many other current animated series.
Gregg Berger's Interactive Game credits include, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Rise of the Dark Spark as GRIMLOCK (and Lockdown in RotDS)), Resident Evil: Raccoon City as Harley, Guild Wars 2 as Conrad and Duggadoo, Final Fantasy X and X-2 as Sir Jecht, Metal Gear Solid 3 as ThePain, Dishonored as Street Speaker, Halo Wars as Cutter, Spiderman Web of Shadows as Kingpin, X Men Origins:Wolverine as Fred Dukes aka The Blob, Brutal Legend as Ratgut, Star Wars: Episode One Racer and Star Wars: Phantom Menace, as PloKoon, DarthMaul, Wan Sandage, CyYunga, Kingdom Hearts2 as Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh/Eeyore Interactives, Curse of Monkey Island as Cutthroat Bill, Small Soldiers as Archer, Spyro as Hunter, ViewtifulJoe as Capt.Blue, Call of Duty, Legend of Kain as Turel, Gabriel Knight as Abbe Arnaud, WackyRacers.and many more. Search Gregg Berger at www.imdb.com for his complete credits. On stage he has appeared in Repertory Theater, Stock and Touring Productions across the country and has been directed by John Cassavetes, Davey Marlin-Jones, William Woodman, Robert Woodruff, Martin Charnin and more. Gregg Berger is the author of Think Globally... Act VOCALLY! And Voice Virtue and is the reader of the Audiobook. It is available on iTunes and Audible.com. For many years he has been associated with Famous Fone Friends, making calls in requested animated character voices to children in Pediatric Hospitals. Facebook: greggberger