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1-6 of 6
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Detroit-born Stirling Silliphant (born Sterling Dale Silliphant) was the son of a Canadian immigrant. The family moved to California when he was about two. He grew up in Glendale and graduated from the University of Southern California in 1938. During World War II he was an army lieutenant, and after his discharge in 1946 he got a job with the Walt Disney Studios in the Publicity Department. Shortly afterward he relocated to New York City to take a job as Publicity Director for 20th Century-Fox. In 1953 he moved back to Hollywood with the goal of becoming a writer/producer, and managed to obtain financing for his first film project, The Joe Louis Story (1953), a project he produced but did not write. A few more film jobs followed, and in 1955 he heard that Disney was coming up with a new TV series for children. He personally went to Walt Disney himself with some ideas on what kinds of stories should be featured on the show. Walt liked his ideas and hired him to write and produce a segment of the show, The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), that would showcase different types of careers that children might be interested in when they got older, to be called "What I Went to Be". THe first entry in the series, "Airline Pilot and Airline Hostess", was received well by adults and critics, but unfortunately kids weren't all that thrilled about it. There were to be further entries in the series, but Silliphant and Disney clashed over the lukewarm reception given the first entry, resulting in Disney's firing him and canceling the series altogether.
His dismissal from Disney didn't hurt Silliphant's career, however. He went on to write well-received episodes for many different series, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and Perry Mason (1957), and helped to create the hit series Route 66 (1960) and Naked City (1958), writing most of the episodes for "Route 66" and acting as Executive Story Editor for "Naked City". He didn't restrict himself to television, however. He authored more than 50 books, wrote numerous screenplays (winning the Oscar for In the Heat of the Night (1967)) for directors such as Sam Peckinpah (The Killer Elite (1975)) and Clint Eastwood (The Enforcer (1976) and penned a string of well received made-for-television movies, such as Pearl (1978) and Fly Away Home (1981).
Silliphant married Tiana Du Long in 1974 and they had one child. In the 1980s he moved his family to Thailand, all the while continuing to write mini-series and made-for-TV films.
He died of prostate cancer in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1996.- Suzie Shapiro Wilson was born in 1953. Suzie and Mike Wilson got married in 1976. Together, they had five children: Daniel Ben Wilson, Jon Wilson, Joel Wilson, Mara Wilson, and Anna Wilson. One day, while she was in the shower, Suzie discovered a lump in her breast. On March 10, 1995, Suzie was diagnosed with breast cancer. The cancer was in Stage 4 when the doctors found it. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Suzie Wilson lost her battle with breast cancer on April 26, 1996 while Mara was filming Matilda (1996). Mara bravely finished the movie, which was dedicated to Suzie.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Guido Leontini was born on 21 March 1927 in Catania, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for Tough Guys (1974), Il marchese di Roccaverdina (1972) and The Valachi Papers (1972). He died on 26 April 1996 in Catania, Sicily, Italy.- Milt Gaston was born on 27 January 1896 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA. He died on 26 April 1996 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA.
- Aleksandra Matveeva was born on 17 February 1912 in Revel, Revel governorate, Russian Empire. She was an actress, known for The Great Beginning (1940), The New Teacher (1939) and City of Youth (1938). She died on 26 April 1996 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Miles Shepard was born on 5 June 1914. He was an actor, known for Arson for Hire (1959), Journey to Freedom (1957) and National Velvet (1960). He died on 26 April 1996.