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- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rough-and-tumble American actor Dick Wessel had a fierce-looking scowl on a bulldog of a mug. That, coupled with a thick build and imposing stance, earned him appearances in countless Warner Bros. comedies and hard-boiled crime dramas throughout the late 1930s and 1940s. Although he made hundreds of films, he had few chances to show off, appearing uncredited in over half of them and in minor, fleeting roles when he did receive billing. He had roles in such "A" pictures as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Strangers on a Train (1951), but his visibility in them was practically nil.
Born Richard M. Wessel in Wisconsin in 1913, the husky-framed character began his career on stage before starting in films in the mid-'30s. Getting unbilled extra roles at first, he appeared on both sides of the moral fence over the years, playing as many brutish gangsters, henchmen and convicts as he did rough-hewn cops or streetwise characters (cabbies, mailmen, bartenders, boxers, etc.) The tough-sounding names of his characters, such as "Monk," "Beans," "Moxie" and "Chopper Kane", pretty much said it all. His best showcase--and it should have worked out better for him--was menacing, bald-pated arch-villain Harry "Cueball" Lake in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946). Here he was finally given a chance to shine but it did not lead to meatier roles.
He became a stock player for Columbia and their assembly-line of short comedy subjects, essaying a slew of burglars, thieves, wrestlers, circus strongmen and lummox husbands for The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde and others. On TV he was a rugged presence on such western series as Gunsmoke (1955), Laramie (1959), Rawhide (1959) and Bonanza (1959). Close to the end of his life and career he had a regular part as a crew member on the adventure series Riverboat (1959) with Darren McGavin. Dick's final role was released posthumously, playing a bit as a frantic garbage man in The Ugly Dachshund (1966). He had died a year earlier at his Hollywood home of a heart attack on his 52nd birthday. His wife and a daughter survived him.- Mikhail Astangov was a legendary stage actor of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow.
He was born Mikhail Fyodorovich Ruzhnikov on November 3, 1900, in Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Warsaw, Poland). His father worked for Imperial Russian railroad. In 1920 he made his acting debut in Theatrical Studio of Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. From 1923 to 1930 he worked as actor in Leningrad, Odessa, and other cities. From 1930 - 1941 he was member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre of Revolution, then was member of Theatre of Mossovet.
From 1945 to 1965 Astangov was member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as Yuri Zavadsky, Mikhail Ulyanov, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Vladimir Etush, Varvara Popova, Irina Kupchenko, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Marianna Vertinskaya, Nina Ruslanova, Nikolai Plotnikov, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Gritsenko, Nikolai Timofeyev, Nikolai Bubnov, Andrey Tutyshkin, and Aleksandr Grave, among others. His most memorable stage performances were such roles as Cyrano de Bergerac (1946), and the title role in the Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1958) directed by Boris Zakhava.
Mikhail Astangov was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1955), and was awarded the State Stalin's Prize tree times (1948, 1950, 1951) for his roles on Soviet war dramas. He died of a heart failure on April 20, 1965, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, and was laid to rest in the Convent Cemetery of Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, Russia. - Producer
- Actor
- Writer
William A. Bacher was born on 20 October 1897 in Romania. He was a producer and actor, known for Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Untamed (1955) and The Foxes of Harrow (1947). He died on 20 April 1965.- Hector Chevigny was born on 28 June 1904. He was a writer, known for You Can't Escape Forever (1942), Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) and Lux Video Theatre (1950). He died on 20 April 1965 in New York City, New York, USA.