Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 101
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ian Somerhalder was born and raised in the small southern town of Covington, Louisiana. His mother, Edna (née Israel), is a massage therapist, and his father, Robert Somerhalder, is a building contractor. He has Cajun (French), English, and Scots-Irish ancestry. Boating, swimming, fishing and training horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, as did the school drama club and performing with the local theater group. With his mother's encouragement, at age 10, he began a modeling career that took him to New York each summer. By junior high, he opted to put modeling on the back burner and focus more on sports and school. A few years later, when the opportunity to model in Europe arose, Somerhalder grabbed it, embarking on an enriching path of work, travel and study that took him to cities, including Paris, Milan and London. At 17, he began studying acting in New York and, by 19, had committed himself to the craft, working with preeminent acting coach William Esper. His fate was sealed while working as an extra in a club scene in the feature film, Black & White (1999). A talent manager visiting a client on the set spotted Somerhalder in a crowd scene of 400 and immediately signed him for representation. He was cast later for the drama Changing Hearts (2002) directed by Martin Guigui. Happy to be anchored in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writing and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding.- Actor
- Soundtrack
American leading man of the 1940s and 1950s, Dana Andrews was born Carver Dana Andrews on New Years Day 1909 on a farmstead outside Collins, Covington County, Mississippi. One of thirteen children, including fellow actor Steve Forrest, he was a son of Annis (Speed) and Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister.
Andrews studied business administration at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Texas, but took a bookkeeping job with Gulf Oil in 1929, aged 20, prior to graduating. In 1931, he hitchhiked to California, hoping to get work as an actor. He drove a school bus, dug ditches, picked oranges, worked as a stock boy, and pumped gas while trying without luck to break into the movies. His employer at a Van Nuys gas station believed in him and agreed to invest in him, asking to be repaid if and when Andrews made it as an actor. Andrews studied opera and also entered the Pasadena Community Playhouse, the famed theatre company and drama school. He appeared in scores of plays there in the 1930s, becoming a favorite of the company. He played opposite future star Robert Preston in a play about composers Gilbert and Sullivan, and soon thereafter was offered a contract by Samuel Goldwyn.
It was two years before Goldwyn and 20th Century-Fox (to whom Goldwyn had sold half of Andrews' contract) put him in a film, but the roles, though secondary, were mostly in top-quality pictures such as The Westerner (1940) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1942). A starring role in the hit Laura (1944), followed by one in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), made him a star, but no later film quite lived up to the quality of these. During his career, he had worked with with such directors as Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, William A. Wellman, Jean Renoir, and Elia Kazan.
Andrews slipped into a steady stream of unremarkable films in which he gave sturdy performances, until age and other interests resulted in fewer appearances. In addition, his increasing alcoholism caused him to lose the confidence of some producers. Andrews took steps to curb his addiction and in his later years was an outspoken member of the National Council on Alcoholism, who decried public refusal to face the problem. He was probably the first actor to do a public service announcement about alcoholism (in 1972 for the U.S. Department of Transportation), and did public speaking tours. Andrews was one of the first to speak out against the degradation of the acting profession, particularly actresses doing nude scenes just to get a role.
Andrews was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1963, serving until 1965. He retired from films in the 1960s and made, he said, more money from real estate than he ever did in movies. Yet he and his second wife, actress Mary Todd, lived quietly in a modest home in Studio City, California. Andrews suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years and spent his final days in a nursing facility. He died of congestive heart failure and pneumonia in 1992, aged 83.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Isaac Hayes, the second-born child of Eula and Isaac Hayes Sr., was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade Sr. The child of a poor family, he grew up picking cotton in Covington, Tennessee. He dropped out of high school, but later his former high-school teachers to get his diploma, which he earned when he was 21. Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, The Bar-Kays, and Booker T. Jones (later of Booker T. & the M.G.s fame) were some of the "Memphis Sound" musical luminaries Hayes worked with during his early years as a budding musician and vocalist. He was a multi-talented composer, singer, and arranger who played the piano, vibraphone, and saxophone equally well. In 1971 he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture for the "Theme from Shaft" (1970) and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for Shaft (1971).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Hayley Holmes is originally from Covington, Indiana where she enjoyed singing, dancing, and acting as a child. Hayley performed in several local theater productions including Annie, Wizard of Oz, and Into the Woods, and won several dance competitions including Miss Showbiz, First Overall at Nationals and Broadway Bound. As a teenager, Hayley moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. She appeared in several guest starring roles on hit Nickelodeon and Disney Channel TV series including Good Luck Charlie, Victorious, and Hannah Montana. Most recently, Hayley appeared as Drama Girl, a reoccurring guest star role, on the critically-acclaimed TV series Better Call Saul.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Una Merkel began her movie career as stand-in for Lillian Gish in the movie The Wind (1928). After that, she performed on Broadway before she returned to movies for the D.W. Griffith film Abraham Lincoln (1930). In her early years, before gaining a few pounds, she looked like Lillian Gish, but after Abraham Lincoln (1930) her comic potential was discovered. She mostly played supporting roles as the heroine's no-nonsense friend, but with her broad Southern accent and her peroxide blond hair, she gave one of her best performances as a wisecracking but not-so-bright chorus girl in 42nd Street (1933). Perhaps she is best remembered for her hair-pulling fight with Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again (1939). In 1962, she was nominated for the Academy Award as best supporting actress in Summer and Smoke (1961).- Ellia English was born the middle of nine children to a Baptist Minister (Rev. Calvin English) and a Domestic worker (Ella Mae English) in Covington Georgia.
After graduating high school early, Ellia attended Clark College in Atlanta, majoring in music. She later transferred to Georgia State University, where she studied speech and drama, and soon became an ensemble player at the prestigious Alliance Theatre, where she became thoroughly dedicated to a professional life of acting and singing. The next step was to travel to New York City, where auditions were plenty and the hustle was challenging. Yet and still with a song in her heart and dreams in her eyes, Ellia courageously left her native Georgia, heading for New York. Becoming the first member of her family to travel so far, to such a big city, all alone.
After starring in several Theatrical productions On and Off Broadway, such as "Haarlem Nocturne", "Ain't Misbehavin", "Downhearted Blues" (The Bessie Smith Story), "Cotton Club Gala", "Dreamgirls", "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", "Colored Museum", "Romeo and Juliet", "Spunk", "Showboat", "Barnum", "Nunsense", "One Mo Time", to name a few, and singing with the New York Community Choir as one of their solo artists; Ellia also landed the role of Sheila on the television pilot production of "Fame".
Ellia became a series regular (as Helen King) on "The Jamie Foxx Show". Beginning September 9, 2007 Ellia can be seen as a series regular (as Auntie Rae) on Larry David's"Curb Your Enthusiasm", on HBO. Some of her other television credits include: "Martin", "Empty Nest", "Sinbad", "The Five Mrs Buchanans", "Love & War", "Get Smart", and "Thea". She was also featured in the made for television movies, "The Innocent", "Based On an Untrue Story" and "The Barefoot Executive". On the silver screen Ellia was featured in "Good Luck Chuck", Wildcats"," "Woman Thou Art Loosed", "Sidewalk Stories", "Rain Without Thunder" and the soon to be released "Semi-Pro".
Ellia continues to enjoy a professional life of Acting and Singing. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Kirsten Day is an American Actress best known for voicing Skipper Roberts in Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, Constance Von Nuvelle in Nintendo's Fire Emblem Three Houses, and characters of all ages throughout video games and cartoons.
Notably, she voiced Skipper Roberts in 'Skipper's Big Babysitting Adventure,' Mattel's 1st animated feature starring Barbie's younger sister, Skipper. She also teaches voiceover at Sound On Studio, an online voiceover studio owned by she and her husband. She also wrote, directed, and produced the award winning Web Series #MarriedLife.
Kirsten was born in Covington, Ky and raised in a small town in Southern Indiana. After graduating from Ball State University with a BS in Musical Theatre and Acting, she moved to New York City to begin her professional acting career. She originated the role of Alicia in Nickelodeon's 1st National Tour "Go Diego Go, Live!" and also traveled the country as Junie B. Jones in TheatreWorks USA's National Tour "The Life and Times of Junie B!" After 4 national tours, and working in NYC for 10 years, she moved to Los Angeles to continue acting in television, film, and voiceover.
Kirsten and her Husband, Emmy Award winning sound engineer Steve Bucino, own a home in Reseda, CA. Together, they have 2 children and a NYC rescue cat named Suge Day.- Beau Hart is an actor known for Twisted Metal (2023), American Underdog (2021), Doom Patrol (2019) and The Ravine (2021). Other projects include Apple+ TV series Amber Brown (2022) and feature films Southern Gospel (2023) and Rumble Through the Dark (2023.).
Born and raised in the New Orleans area of Louisiana, Beau has been surrounded by a unique mix of people and culture for his entire life. This exposure has assisted in his ability to take on many diverse and in depth character roles. In addition to these noteworthy experiences, he has been professionally trained since he was 5 years old. Not only is Beau a major recurring guest star, Stanley, in the Apple TV+ series, Amber Brown, but he also plays Young Kurt Warner in "American Underdog" alongside fellow Louisiana actor, Zachary Levi. Earlier this year, he wrapped "Southern Gospel" along with Max Ehrich and "Rumble Through The Dark" with Aaron Eckhart.
Since his first booking as Young Boone in "Scream Queens" at 5 years old, Beau has worked with award-winning directors such as Keoni Waxman, Graham & Parker Phillips, the Erwin Brothers and Bonnie Hunt. In addition to working under these talented directors, Beau has also been training in acting at Creating U Academy since day one, as well as participating in several workshops and receiving private coaching from Cheryl Faye. - Actor
- Additional Crew
Anthony is New Orleans native with Creole and Cajun roots and has appeared in over 70 Film and Television roles as well as National Commercials. He is of French, Spanish, German, Cuban, Mexican, African American and European Jewish ancestry. Anthony began his career as a model then turned to theatre landing the role of Jack in a 1995 Actors Equity production of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. His very first film role was as Billy opposite Halle Berry in her Oscar Winning performance for Best Actress in the 1999 Film Monster's Ball. Anthony also writes and performs Stand Up Comedy winning multiple Stand Up comedy competitions and is considered one of the top 5 funniest comics in the gulf south region.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Robert L. Surtees began his working life as a portrait photographer and retoucher, before becoming camera assistant at Universal in 1927. He spent a lengthy apprenticeship (15 years) working under such experienced cinematographers as Hal Mohr, Joseph Ruttenberg and Gregg Toland. Between 1929 and 1930, he was seconded to the Universal studios in Berlin, subsequently spending the remainder of the decade at First National, Warner Brothers and Pathe. He settled at MGM in 1943 (remaining under contract until 1962), and soon developed a reputation as one of Hollywood's foremost lighting cameramen.
In keeping with the glamorous, lavish look of MGM product of the time, Surtees typically employed high-key lighting. This particularly suited big budget colour epics, like Quo Vadis (1951) and Ben-Hur (1959) (filmed in the large screen Camera 65 process with anamorphic lenses, which greatly enhanced colour definition and sharpness); expansive outdoor musicals like Oklahoma! (1955) (the first picture shot in 70 mm Todd-AO ultra wide- screen format); or lush, romantic period drama like Raintree County (1957). Forever at the cutting edge of technological innovation, Surtees was an extremely versatile craftsman. He excelled at every genre and photographic process, superb at shooting sweeping scenery (for example, his Technicolor lensing of King Solomon's Mines (1950)on location in Africa), or bringing the best out of his close-ups. An undoubted high point in his career would have to be the 9-minute chariot race from "Ben-Hur".
Surtees received the first of his 16 Oscar nominations for Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) (when the studio system was at its peak), and his last - some 33 years later - for The Turning Point (1977). Testimony to his ageless endurance was being picked by director Peter Bogdanovich to shoot The Last Picture Show (1971). In the same nostalgic vein, his work on The Sting (1973), photographed in subtle sepia tones (the film was deemed by the Library of Congress as 'aesthetically significant'), contributed greatly to its winning 7 Academy Awards.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Devlin is an actor best known for his endearingly oddball energy and his dynamic and powerful performances across stage and screen. He is also known as the sensationally entertaining host of the comedy podcast Faux Real on Wilder Entertainment having welcomed guests across the industry and pop culture including Patrick Brammall, Nova Miller, Vir Das, Britney Young, Shadi Petosky, Caroline Kepnes, Tiffany and Simmi Singh.
Devlin was born on December 10 (year undisclosed) in Covington, KY. He studied theatre at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville just over the river from St. Louis, MO where he worked on hundreds of set from 2005 to 2011. In 2012, he transitioned to Los Angeles where he quickly began appearing in a number of series across NBC, ABC, FOX, HBO, Showtime, and FX.
Besides working professionally as an actor since 2005, he can be seen on stage as a standup at venues throughout Los Angeles including the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and Flappers. He is also a talented voiceover actor having voiced an array of characters across TV, film, and streaming.
He resides in Los Angeles where he is continually making his mark in the industry as an actor, producer, comedian, host, and voiceover talent.- Actress
- Writer
Jessica Heap was born on 4 March 1983 in Covington, Louisiana, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Battle Los Angeles (2011), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) and Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal (2008).- Tall (6'1"), tough, and burly actor, extra, and baseball player Hank Robinson was born Henry Ford Robinson on March 27, 1923 in Covington, Tennessee. Robinson grew up on a sharecropper farm in rural Tennessee and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hank spent thirteen seasons playing in the minor leagues in such places as Hollywood, Denver, Gladewater, Yakima, Little Rock, Saginaw, Lake Charles, Galveston, and Laredo. Robinson worked as a security guard at MGM before embarking on a career as an extra in the mid-1960's. Hank frequently popped up as cowboys on various Western TV shows and made often uncredited cameo appearances in a handful of movies. Not surprisingly, Robinson in the latter part of his acting career landed occasional credited roles both in film and on television alike in which he was cast to type as a baseball umpire. Moreover, Hank also scouted and coached young baseball players in both California and Nevada as well as was an avid golfer. Robinson died at age 89 on April 7, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was survived at the time of his death by his wife Mildred, daughters Carin and Debra, son Robbie, and three grandchildren.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Chonda Pierce was born on 4 March 1960 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Roll with It (2023), All Saints (2017) and Home to Harmony. She was previously married to David Pierce.- Born and raised in Washington state. They started their career singing at church and performing in community theater with their mother. They landed roles like "Annie" and "Oliver". One summer, while in middle school, they went down to LA and took part in an acting summer camp. While there, they signed with an agent and booked a small roll in "Akeelah and the Bee". They were hooked. After a few years of going back and forth, they made the permanent move to Los Angeles.
Corina suffers from a chronic illness. Standing or walking for long periods of time can result in them relying on a wheelchair, walker or cane. - Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Durward Kirby was born on 24 August 1911 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Musical Shipmates (1946), The Garry Moore Show (1958) and The Garry Moore Show (1950). He was married to Mary Paxton Young. He died on 15 March 2000 in Fort Myers, Florida, USA.- Producer
- Additional Crew
Dana Brunetti is an American media executive, film producer and entrepreneur. He is Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Cavalry Media.
Brunetti has produced multiple award winning films, including "The Social Network," a screenplay adaptation written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher that received eight Oscar® nominations; "Captain Phillips," which picked up six Oscar® nominations; the box office phenomenon, "Fifty Shades of Grey," which grossed over $560 million worldwide; as well as the trilogy's follow ups, "Fifty Shades Darker" ($377M) and "Fifty Shades Freed" ($370M). He won a Golden Globe for "The Social Network," amongst many other awards, including The National Board of Review and The Critics' Choice Award. Brunetti's other credits as a producer include "21," "Fanboys," HBO's "Bernard & Doris," starring Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon, which received 10 Emmy nominations, as well as the 2017 limited TV series, "Manhunt: Unabomber" for Discovery Channel.
As the architect of several groundbreaking deals, he helped secure the mega deal with Netflix to produce the political thriller "House of Cards" as part of their new slate of original programming. Brunetti serves as executive producer for the show, which released its 6th and final season in 2018, and has garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and awards.
Building on an award-winning career as a producer and co-founder of Trigger Street Productions, he was one of Hollywood's youngest studio presidents while at Relativity Media's Motion Picture and Television Group, where he oversaw the company's creative content and product.
Also an innovator in social networking, Brunetti launched an online social networking and file-sharing platform for feedback and exposure of undiscovered writing and filmmaking talent in 2002, and set up an eight-year Anheuser-Busch sponsorship, which was the brewing company's longest sponsorship deal ever outside of sports. In 2012, he and Jameson Irish Whiskey launched Jameson First Shot, a short-film competition for up-and-coming filmmakers.- Ginger Drysdale was born on 10 October 1939 in Covington, Georgia, USA. She is an actress, known for Hawaiian Eye (1959), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952) and The Donna Reed Show (1958). She was previously married to Don Drysdale.
- Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart was born on 23 May 1910 in Covington, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor, known for Last Frontier Uprising (1947), Heldorado (1946) and No Greater Sin (1941). He was married to Elrene Catherine Stein and Pamela Blake. He died on 29 May 1949 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Charles Eggleston was born on 16 July 1882 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Lights Out (1946), Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) and Escape (1950). He died on 31 October 1958 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Composer
- Actor
- Writer
Adrian Belew caught the public attention for the first time around 1977 when he played guitar with Frank Zappa, David Bowie or the Talking Heads. He began his solo career in 1981 as singer, guitarist, drummer, lyricist, composer and producer of his own records. Since then he has released 15 of them while still lending his talents as guest musician on the records of, among others, Tori Amos, David Byrne, Garland Jeffreys, Laurie Anderson, Joan Armatrading, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Jean-Michel Jarre, Robert Palmer, Cyndi Lauper, Mike Oldfield, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, the B52's, Nine Inch Nails, the Yellow Magic Orchestra, William Shatner, Porcupine Tree or Ryuichi Sakamoto. 1981 is also the year that saw the beginning of his stint as front man for the band King Crimson. He toured and recorded 6 studio albums with them. Their last release was issued in 2003. He also recorded and appeared on stage with the Adrian Belew Trio, the ProjecKts and the Bears.- Editor
- Actress
Four-time Oscar nominee Dorothy Spencer was one of the versatile stalwarts of the Hollywood studio system. She began her career as a cutter with Fox and subsequently enjoyed a close collaboration with the independent producer Walter Wanger at Paramount (1936) and United Artists (1937-41). Her longest career spell was at 20th Century Fox, from 1943 to 1963, during which time her assignments ranged from war/action movies and gothic thrillers to large-scale Biblical epics shot in CinemaScope.
Testimony to the high level of competence and consistency of her work can be found in the frequency of her associations with prominent directors: Tay Garnett (Stand-In (1937), Trade Winds (1938), Eternally Yours (1939)); John Ford (Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), What Price Glory (1952)); Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not to Be (1942), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Cluny Brown (1946)); Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Cleopatra (1963)); Edward Dmytryk (Broken Lance (1954), The Left Hand of God (1955), The Young Lions (1958)); Henry Hathaway (Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), North to Alaska (1960), Circus World (1964)); and Mark Robson (Von Ryan's Express (1965), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Earthquake (1974)).
Spencer was at her best working on action subjects, her cutting instrumental to augmenting the director's work in creating or sustaining the desired level of suspense. Arguably, the most difficult task of her lengthy career was having to pare down the 70,000 feet of film shot for the epic production of "Cleopatra" to 'a mere' 22,000 feet. Spencer retired in 1979. Though the Oscar ultimately eluded her, she was awarded an American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award in 1989. She was also presented with a 'Golden Scissors Award' for her outstanding work on the disaster epic "Earthquake".- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Producer
Clay Chamberlin was born on 9 September 1980 in Covington, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Looper (2012), Contraband (2012) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Mitch English was born on 2 October 1969 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Singles Ward (2002), Good Morning San Diego (1994) and Day of Defense (2003). He has been married to Liza Boone since 19 February 2023. He was previously married to Raquel Carter.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Lee Roy Reams was born on 23 August 1942 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for Sweet Charity (1969), 42nd Street (1986) and Great Performances (1971).