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- Brunette French actress of Russian or Polish ancestry. A former model, she got her big break in films courtesy of an affair with the notorious womanizing mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, who cast her as a member of the French Resistance in The Longest Day (1962). She played seven roles of diverse ethnicity in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), but thereafter pretty much faded from the scene.
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Born in Seattle, Frances Farmer studied drama at the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1935, she went to Hollywood where she secured a seven-year contract with Paramount. In 1943, she was wrongfully declared mentally incompetent and committed by her parents to a series of asylums and public mental hospitals, leading to a false rumor that she received a lobotomy. After seven years she was released, and spent some of the remaining years of her life tending the parents who had committed her and taking odd jobs. She appeared on This Is Your Life (1950), and then her own TV show, Frances Farmer Presents (1958) for six years. She died of cancer in 1970.- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Peter Spellos was born on 1 March 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for City of Angels (1998), Men in Black II (2002) and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). He was married to Linda Hautala. He died on 19 November 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Shari Robinson was born on 5 November 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for You're My Everything (1949), Peter Gunn (1958) and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950). She was married to Walter McMannis VIII . She died on 18 May 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Tiffany Leigh Smith was born on 31 October 1979 in Greenfield, Indiana, USA. Tiffany Leigh died on 2 January 1987 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Ryan White was born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1971. A hemophiliac, Ryan regularly needed injections of blood products to survive. In 1985 at the age of 13, it was discovered that Ryan contracted the AIDS virus, sometime during the previous year, from tainted blood. His case got national attention when his school expelled him when they learned about his disease. Not wanting to lie down and die that easily, Ryan and his parents took the school to court, where they won the right for him to return to class. As a result of Ryan's courage and outspokenness to take on his own school board, be became one of the USA's most visible spokesperson on the AIDS crisis. During 1985-1989, he appeared at schools and AIDS fundraisers throughout the country and gave moving testimony before the President's Commission on AIDS. He was befriended by many celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Elton John, Phil Donahue and Elizabeth Taylor, AIDS activists themselves. Despite overwhelming international attention, Ryan never lost his sense of priorities with his schoolwork or life in general. AIDS finally claimed Ryan's life on April 8, 1990 at the age of 18.
- Sylvia Likens was born on 3 January 1949 in Lebanon, Indiana, USA. She died on 26 October 1965 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Gloria Dorson was born on 25 May 1931 in the USA. She was an actress, known for Total Recall (1990), Hoosiers (1986) and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1997). She was married to Richard M. Dorson. She died on 19 January 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Keith Schrader attended The University of Cincinnati, Ohio with undergraduate studies in Radio and Television, 1966 and 1967, and has performed on stage in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Man of LaMancha and The King and I. He has appeared on telelvision in Crimestoppers (robber, murder victim), Crazy Crimes, Crazy Criminals (police detective), Angel Street (policeman) and three episodes of The Untouchables (reporter, street person, chauffeur).
He appeared in several films as either a bit part player or an extra. Some of his works were Ferris Bueller's Day Off (crowd member), Harper Valley P.T.A. (crowd member), Eight Men Out (1988) (umpire), Rage in Harlem (policeman), A League of their Own (umpire), Hoffa (1992) (teamster), Sleepless in Seattle (architect), Rudy (1993)(reporter), Hudsucker Proxy (businessman), With Honors (lawyer), The Fugitive (hotel security guard), Natural Born Killers (member of the press), Roommates (fan), Blue Chips (alumnus), Best of the Best 3 (crowd member), Crocodile Shoes (chauffeur) and Richie Rich (policeman). He was a master of talking his way into getting film roles and being seen on camera. He was devoted to his craft and will forever be a part of films which he loved so much.- Music Artist
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Wes Montgomery was born on 6 March 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was a music artist, known for Anything Else (2003), Husbands and Wives (1992) and Black Mass (2015). He was married to Serene. He died on 15 June 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Ivan Rogers was born on September 20, 1954, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is one of the three sons of Paul B. Rogers, an independent building contractor, and Ola M. Rogers, a professional secretary. He attended Pike High School in Indianapolis, graduating in 1972. Immediately after graduation he attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, on a music scholarship as a percussion major. While there he began studying karate in his spare time, eventually achieving the level of second-degree black belt. Academic life began to pale compared to performing professionally, so he left the university to go on the road and play music. He traveled extensively with various bands until he tired of the night life and living out of a suitcase. It was then he decided to leave the music business and further pursue his interest in karate. He began fighting (kickboxing) professionally and rose to the status of world-rated light-heavyweight. After one of his bouts Rogers was approached by an executive from a video disc company and asked to write, produce and star in an educational video disc teaching basic karate and self-defense. He accepted the offer and completed the project, which proved to be successful for both Rogers and the company. Rogers followed the disc with a similar program for the videotape market, and it, too, was successful. Rogers, now infatuated with the entire creative filmmaking process, decided to accept a new challenge: writing a dramatic script for a feature film, as opposed to writing an educational script for video. Though he had many ideas for stories, he realized putting them into the correct format on paper required more knowledge than he had at the time, so he began to read everything he could lay his hands on about writing scripts for feature films. He enjoyed the process of scriptwriting and decided to seek and live more of the "writer's life". He moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he managed a youth center, taught karate and wrote. In 1984 Rogers completed his first feature-length script, entitled "The Pivot". He entered it in an international scriptwriting contest sponsored by Writer's Digest magazine. The results were very favorable. Out of thousands of contestants, his script placed in the top 70, which was designated as the Winner's category. This further motivated him to pursue scriptwriting as a career. He began to miss his involvement in karate and the "fight game" in general, however, so he began promoting kickboxing bouts in the islands. During one of his promotions he was approached by a health club owner and asked to teach karate and train fighters at the health club. After he learned more about the health and fitness business, he decided to buy into the club and become a part owner. he helped build the Atlantis Health and Fitness Center into one of the largest health, fitness and professional karate training centers in the South Pacific. Word of Rogers' success spread to Los Angeles, where Maui native Mike Stone heard of Rogers and his work. On a visit back to Maui, Stone arranged to meet with Rogers and subsequently learned of his aspirations and writing abilities. Stone, who had experience in the filmmaking business on both sides of the camera, shared his knowledge and experience with Rogers and urged him to move to Los Angeles to further his film career. Rogers took Stone's advice, and when he arrived in Los Angeles the two collaborated on a script entitled "The Angkor Rescue", which was later retitled and filmed as Tigershark (1987). Funding was put together and Stone starred in the film with John Quade, with Emmett Alston as director. The movie was shot in the Philippines and distributed worldwide by Manson International. With one screenwriting credit to his name, Rogers had the good fortune to meet screenwriter James R. Silke and, under Silke's tutelage, Rogers further honed his screenwriting skills. He then began to shop his properties to various producers in Los Angeles. It was this experience that made Rogers aware of how little control writers in general, and he in particular, had over his projects and his future in the film industry. He knew the solution to his problem was to produce the films himself. While in a meeting with Stone, Rogers made the acquaintance of producer and production manager Robert E. Waters. A subsequent conversation with Waters in which Rogers restated his ideas and eventual goals reinforced his belief that producing his own films was in fact a necessity. Waters shared all he knew about the process of making a feature film with Rogers, who in turn combined his own writing skills and all that Waters taught him about filmmaking to make a movie of his own. Rogers wrote an action feature script entitled "No Way Out" (eventually filmed under the title One Way Out (1987) due to a title dispute with 20th Century-Fox). Rogers put together a promotional package to raise funds to produce the film. In an attempt to arouse interest in that package, Rogers approached several Hollywood stars about participating in the project, and--in another lesson learned--realized he was not interested in working with prima donna agents and/or talent. It was not until he met producer/director/actor Fred Williamson that Rogers considered starring in the film himself. As Williamson had long worn many hats simultaneously in his various film projects, Rogers felt he could duplicate the same feat. Though Williamson strongly encouraged Rogers to move forward with the project and star in it, he also cautioned Rogers that such an undertaking can be a tremendous "strain on the brain". Taking that advice to heart, Rogers hired director Paul Kyriazi to helm the picture, with Rogers producing and starring. After being schooled on the basics of acting for the movie camera by Williamson and Kyriazi, and with funding in place, Rogers returned to his hometown of Indianapolis to shoot his first feature film. Once there, he received great cooperation from the city and state governments, the Indianapolis police and fire departments and tremendous support from family and friends. Kyriazi shot the film in three weeks. The picture was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival and Market in May of 1987 and not only did Rogers receive a positive review from film industry trade paper "Variety", but the movie went on to achieve great commercial success internationally. Having been accepted by international audiences, Rogers followed with another action film that he wrote, produced and starred in, entitled Two Wrongs Make a Right (1987). Unfortunately, he learned from this picture that not everyone in "the business" is honest or necessarily sincere. He found himself in a legal dispute over revenues from pre-sales of the film, as well as distribution rights for overseas territories. This delayed the completion of the picture by an entire year. Rogers quickly learned the value of knowing the intricacies of distribution and doing business in the international marketplace. After resolving the legal issues, Rogers completed the film and not only distributed it himself, but began acquiring the rights to films from other producers throughout the world and provided the same service to them. Rogers, still making his own films, was approached by a Welsh production company while attending a film market, and asked to star in a Canadian/UK co-production entitled Slow Burn (1989). He accepted the offer and the picture was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. It starred Rogers, William Smith and Anthony James and was directed by John Eyres. The movie was released internationally and was quite successful. Eyres and Rogers met yet again in Milan, Italy, where Eyres, now acting in the capacity of executive producer, requested Rogers star with Terence Ford and Paris Jefferson in another action film, The Runner (1992). Rogers accepted. The film was shot in Wales and England under British director Chris Jones. Once again, the movie was released worldwide and did great business. Producer/actor Ronald L. Marchini approached Rogers and requested he co-star with Marchini and Joe Estevez in a military action film. Rogers traveled to the exotic jungles of Los Banos in the Philippines to shoot Karate Raider (1995). Unfortunately, while performing one of his own stunts with pyrotechnics, Rogers broke his left arm. Though he finished the film, he started looking more closely at his status as an "international action film star". Though Rogers continued to receive offers from producers around the world to participate in independently made action films, he began to tire of the genre. He was looking for a new challenge. It was then that he was contacted by German film distributors Gerhard P. Huck and Jurgen Zitzmann to get involved in a co-production with them. The film was entitled Caged Women II (1996), a sequel to an Italian production made some years before. Rogers' job was to co-produce, write and direct the movie. The challenge he was looking for had now presented itself--he would be directing for the first time. Rogers enlisted the aid of Swedish businessman Kjell Larsson and shot the film, which utilized a host of beautiful models from Penthouse and Playboy magazines, in Indianapolis and Palm Coast, Florida. Now, having momentarily made the departure from action films and the "action film star" label, Rogers embarked on a journey that would promote growth in his career. He started looking at offers to participate in movies other than those in the action and/or exploitation genres. Today Rogers is active acting in, producing and distributing feature films all over the world. He also conducts seminars and workshops on the creative and business aspects of film making.- Booth Tarkington was born on 29 July 1869 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was a writer, known for The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Presenting Lily Mars (1943) and Cameo Kirby (1914). He was married to Laurel Louise Fletcher and Susanah Robinson. He died on 19 May 1946 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Sammy Terry was a television horror host based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The role was originated by Robert "Bob" Carter in 1962, and Carter's son Mark Carter took over the role from his father in 2010. Bob Carter (1929-2013) was a television personality who appeared mostly on Indianapolis local television station WTTV, regularly during the 1960s and 1970s, and sporadically through the late 1980s. The format of Carter's show as Sammy Terry, Nightmare Theater, usually involved the showing of two films. During the commercial breaks, Carter, in character as Sammy Terry (a pun based on the word "cemetery"), would engage in camp banter with the audience and his floating rubber spider, "George". This banter often included some commentary on the films being shown, which included classic films as well as many less-than-stellar productions common to the horror film era of the 1930s through the early 1960s. Carter died on June 30, 2013.
- Actor
- Composer
- Director
Jack Rooney was born in Hammond, Indiana. The son of an Indiana Ironworker, Jack grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and after completing military service in the US Army, Jack returned to Terre Haute and attended Indiana State University, majoring in Philosophy and English. In 1976 Jack entered Graduate School at Northern Arizona University, majoring in English/Creative writing and American Literature. After completing Graduate studies, Jack returned to Indiana to begin his present career in filmmaking. To date, Jack has worked on and appeared in more than twenty feature films, at first as a crewmember and bit part player in large productions, such as, "Natural Born Killers", "The Negotiator", "I Love Trouble", "Blue Chips", "Rudy", and the highly rated television series, "The Untouchables". Armed with this extensive educational background and work experience, Jack quickly moved up the ladder of showbusiness to Writer/Director/Actor, and has starred in and directed a number of feature motion pictures, including "Deadly Discovery", "Our Burden Is Light", and the classic film, "Pushed Too Far" starring the late Claude Akins. Jack presently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.- Wil Dewitt was born on 2 April 1921. He was an actor, known for Hoosiers (1986). He died on 2 January 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the US. He was born in North Bend, Ohio, on August 20, 1833. He came from a family which had a long history in politics--his grandfather William Henry Harrison was a former US President, his father was a Congressman and he had cousins who were congressmen, governors and mayors.
He was educated at Farmers College and Miami University in Ohio, graduating from the university in 1862. He was admitted to the bar in 1864 and began a law practice in Indianapolis, Indiana, but soon became involved in Republican politics. He held some minor party and appointed offices, During the Civil War he organized an army unit, the 70th Indiana Infantry, which he commanded as a colonel. The unit was posted to mostly garrison duty in Kentucky and Tennessee, and in 1864 it was attached to the forces of Gen. William T. Sherman in Georgia.
After the war he returned to Indiana and got even more involved in state politics, becoming a driving force in what became known as the Radical Republican movement. He ran in the Republican primary for the gubernatorial nomination in 1872, but was unsuccessful. In 1876 he finally got the nomination, but lost the election. In 1880 he headed the Indiana delegation to the Republican convention and was a major factor in securing the presidential nomination for James A. Garfield, who won the election. He was offered a cabinet post but turned it down in favor of being the party's nominee for Senator, and won the election. As a senator he was a strong advocate for civil-service reform and helped in the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. He lost his bid for re-election that year, but in 1888 secured the Republican nomination for President. He ran against Democrat Grover Cleveland, and although Cleveland won the popular vote, Harrison received more votes in the electoral college, therefore winning the presidency.
As President, Harrison's most notable accomplishments occurred in foreign affairs, and he sponsored the first Pan-American Conference in 1889 between the US and Latin America. On the domestic front, his administration secured passage of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was popular with the public, but it also passed the highly unpopular McKinley Tariff Act and the even more unpopular Sherman Silver Purchase Act. A major scandal occurred in the Veterans Bureau--later to become the Veterans Administration--during Harrison's presidency; it had been very strictly run during Cleveland's term, but Harrison loosened oversight of it and soon the extravagant expenditures lavished by the bureau's top management on themselves and their cronies shocked the public and forced the resignation of the bureau's pension commissioner. In the 1890 elections the Democratic party took control of Congress. Public dissatisfaction with Harrison's administration led to his defeat by former president Cleveland in the 1892 elections, after which Harrison returned to Indianapolis and resumed his law practice. He wrote several articles for local newspapers and eventually published two books, "This Country of Ours" (1897), a collection of his writings; and a memoir, "Views of an ex-President" (1901).
He died in Indianapolis on March 13, 1901. - Legendary coach of the Indianapolis Crispus Attucks Tigers, notable in Hoosier basketball history as the first state champions from the state's largest city, and the first all-black school to earn Indiana's most coveted high school team championship. Crowe's Oscar Robertson-led Tigers won Indiana state titles in 1955 and 1956 (immediately following the "Milan Miracle" of 1954). Crowe was known not only for his prowess on the basketball sidelines, but for the life virtues he instilled in his players. He remained active in the Indianapolis community for years in a number of civic and state endeavors, including several terms in the Indiana House of Representatives.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
J.J. Johnson was born on 22 January 1924 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was a composer, known for Shaft (1971), Sea of Love (1989) and Cleopatra Jones (1973). He was married to Carolyn and Vivian. He died on 4 February 2001 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Melvin Edmonds was born on 2 November 1953 in Indiana, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Soul Food (1997), After 7: 'Till You Do Me Right (1995) and After 7: Heat of the Moment (1989). He died on 18 May 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Melvin Simon started his career as one of the head executives at Columbia Pictures. In 1967 he founded a joint venture and independent motion picture and television company, AVCO Embassy Pictures, as a sister company to Columbia. Simon was the head executive producer and president for AVCO Embassy and produced a number of films through the 1970s and 1980s. Upon the collapse of AVCO Embassy in 1982, Simon sold it to television producer Norman Lear and Lear changed the name to Embassy Entertainment. Simon now works as one of the head associates for Columbia Pictures.- Composer
- Sound Department
- Soundtrack
In his teenage years, John played alto saxophone. He transferred into Somerville High School, Somerville NJ from Indianapolis at the start of his senior year in 1964 (to graduate in June of 1965). He signed up for the school jazz band on his own, without an invitation from the school's music director, Mr. Claude Shappell. By tradition, only student musicians who had been invited into the jazz band by Mr. Shappell signed up for it. The first day of practice, John was a new face to everyone. Mr. Shappell immediately spotted John and explained to him that the jazz band was for the "more accomplished" musicians in the school and asked if John would describe his experience. To which John most sincerely replied "Well, I've been on the Steve Allen show twice". None of the other students there could make that claim. John soon showed the band members why he had been on national TV twice.
John was the main reason the Somerville High School jazz band made a record that year. His playing was exemplary. During the recording in New York City, the piano player for Al Hirt happened to be in the sound booth. While the band was recording "Harlem Nocturn" (an alto sax solo), the piano player was heard to comment "That kid sounds like Phil Woods". That comment was quite appropriate. John had been taking lessons from Phil Woods in Solebury, PA, a small town just outside New Hope, PA, about 45 minutes south of Somerville.
John dabbled with piano during high school, but his main instrument was alto sax. He returned to piano and then accordion in his later years as a professional musician.- Bob Jenkins was born on 4 September 1947 in Richmond, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), ESPN Speedworld (1979) and Kart Racer (2003). He was married to Pamela Benton. He died on 9 August 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
John D. Craig was born on 10 November 1935 in Brazil, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Eight Men Out (1988) and The F.B.I. (1965). He died on 20 November 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
John McGarr was born on 25 September 1964 in Queens, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Mondo Holocausto!, House of the Wolf Man (2009) and Mad Monster. He died on 26 March 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.- Tricia Nordman was born on 19 September 1974. She died on 24 October 2000 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.