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1-20 of 20
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
A movie-crazy kid in his native Oklahoma City, Robert Clarke decided at an early age that he wanted to be an actor, but nevertheless suffered from stage fright in his first school productions. He acted in University of Oklahoma radio plays and on stage at the University of Wisconsin before hitching a ride to California to try to break into the picture business. After screen tests at 20th Century-Fox and Columbia, Clarke landed a berth as a contract player at RKO. When RKO dropped his option three years later, he began freelancing. Clarke married Alyce King of the singing The King Sisters in 1956 and, a decade later, began appearing on TV and on tour with The King Family. His autobiography, To "B" or Not to "B": A Film Actor's Odyssey, was published in 1996.- The son of an accountant and the youngest of three boys, Ronald Egan Randell (pronounced Randall, not Ran-DELL) was born in Sydney on October 8, 1918, and began his six-decade-long career as a young teen on radio for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He promptly moved to the stage and made his debut in the 1937 production of "Quiet Wedding" with the Minerva Theatre Group. He stayed with the company for several years while appearing intermittently in war propaganda short films.
Diagnosed with tuberculosis, Ron took a necessary trip to the United States and the Mayo Clinic for treatment. While there he found some work on both the stage and in radio and earned an unbilled bit part in the film noir classic To Have and Have Not (1944). Eventually returning to his native Australia, Ron won a starring role in the biopic Pacific Adventure (1946) as aviator Charles "Smithy" Kingsford-Smith which led to a Hollywood contract and transatlantic move back to the States. He made a strong impression in the film It Had to Be You (1947) in support of Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde and went on to play both hero and villain in both leading and supporting capacities.
Randell had a short span of two runs starring as super-sleuth "Bulldog Drummond" in Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947) and Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947) and was handed a one-picture offer as the reformed title jewel thief in The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949). As a top support, he played a doctor in the melodrama The Sign of the Ram (1948) starring real-life wheelchair-bound actress Susan Peters and competed with Glenn Ford and Willard Parker over Joe Keyes in the enjoyable comedy David Atkins.
Ron's quality of pictures lessened into the early 1950's. In the U.S. he appeared in such forgettable "B" films as Make Believe Ballroom (1949), Omoo-Omoo the Shark God (1949), Tyrant of the Sea (1950), Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard (1950), Lorna Doone (1951), China Corsair (1951), The Brigand (1952), Captive Women (1952), The Mississippi Gambler (1953), Desert Sands (1955), Quincannon, Frontier Scout (1956) and The She-Creature (1956). He also played a minor role as composer Cole Porter in the musical Kiss Me Kate (1953). Maintaining a transatlantic career as well, he appeared vied with Laurence Harvey's Christopher Isherwood over Julie Harris' Sally Bowles in the British drama I Am a Camera (1955), a precursor to the musical "Cabaret." On TV, Ron was given the lead as a captain in the British war adventure series O.S.S. (1957).
Into the next decade, the actor was handed the gangster-turned-mutant lead in the sci-fi flick Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) and took on the supporting role of Lucius, the Centurion who tries to save Jesus at his trial in King of Kings (1961). On TV, he guest starred as a number of suave, sometimes shady but cultivated gents in such series as "Checkmate," "Tales of Wells Fargo," "Perry Mason," "The Outer Limits," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Farmer's Daughter," "The Wild, Wild West," "Bewitched," "Rawhide," "Bonanza," "Mission: Impossible," "The Mod Squad," "Mannix" and "The F.B.I."
As for the Broadway stage, Ron would enjoy a number of healthy successes with "The Browning Version" (1949), a revival of "Candida" (1952), "The World of Suzie Wong" (1958), "Butley" (1972), "Sherlock Holmes" (1975), "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (1976) and "Bent" (1979). He continued his stage career, in fact, well into the 1990s, including a stint with the late Tony Randall's National Actors Theater (NAT). This included playing Rowley opposite Randall's Sir Peter Teazle in "The School for Scandal" (1995) at the Lyceum Theatre.
Randell died following complications of a stroke in a Los Angeles assisted facility at age 86 on June 11, 2005. He was survived by his longtime third wife, exotic-looking actress Laya Raki, once billed as "the black-haired volcano." He had no children from his three marriages. - Boyish Lon McCallister started his career as a teenage bit actor in such wholesome, folksy tales as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and Judge Hardy's Children (1938). As an adult, he found the strength of his career riding on that same homespun sentiment.
Lon McCallister was born Herbert Alonzo McCallister, Jr. in Los Angeles on April 17, 1923, but was almost immediately called "Buddy" to those closest to him. He attended high school at Marken Professional School, a training ground for Hollywood hopefuls, and eventually managed to secure unbilled parts, starting with the plush Norma Shearer-Leslie Howard film vehicle Romeo and Juliet (1936).
Lon became close friends with the film's director, George Cukor, and attributed his biggest break to Cukor when he earned a supporting role as a pilot in Winged Victory (1944) after toiling in obscurity for nearly six years. Lon also stood out in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943), as the unassuming soldier who falls for canteen hostess Marjorie Riordan, and in the warm and winning horse-racing tale Home in Indiana (1944), opposite rising star Jeanne Crain.
Lon's WWII induction into the Army put a direct hit on his career momentum, but he managed to recover and pick up where he left off. For starters, Lon won a solid role in the melodramatic thriller The Red House (1947), starring Edward G. Robinson and Judith Anderson. The film also co-starred Allene Roberts, who became a lifelong friend.
Although he starred in the down-home comedy romance Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), along with June Haver, the movie is barely remembered today except for featuring an unbilled Marilyn Monroe rowing a canoe. Lead roles for Lon in the serviceable adventures The Story of Seabiscuit (1949) with Shirley Temple, The Big Cat (1949), The Boy from Indiana (1950) and Montana Territory (1952) also came and went.
Lon ended his film career with the "B" Korean War drama Combat Squad (1953). Some reports state he lost interest and sought satisfaction elsewhere; others claim that his perennially boyish good looks and diminutive stature hurt his adult career (although it did not seem to hurt the equally short and youthful-looking Alan Ladd). In any event, Lon quit the business in the late 1950s and pursued lucrative ventures in real estate and property investment.
Never married, Lon had an off-and-on romantic relationship with fellow actor William Eythe until Eythe's untimely death in 1957. Having been in declining health for some time, he was living in the Lake Tahoe area, where he had recently bought some property, when he died on June 11, 2005, of congestive heart failure. The 82-year-old McCallister was survived by his brother Lynn and sister Kathleen. - Evelyne Ker was born on 18 May 1936 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for To Our Loves (1983), Au théâtre ce soir (1966) and La crécelle (1974). She died on 11 June 2005 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Benjamin Rayson was born in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Pippin: His Life and Times (1982) and Cookie (1989). He died on 11 June 2005.- Actor
- Writer
Budge Threlkeld was born on 17 March 1946 in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Terror Squad (1987), Hunter (1984) and Trying Times (1987). He died on 11 June 2005 in Orlando, Florida, USA.- Ghena Dimitrova was born on 6 May 1941 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She was an actress, known for Aida (1985), Turandot (1983) and Nabucco (1991). She died on 11 June 2005 in Milan, Italy.
- Actor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Henryk Kluba was born on 9 January 1931 in Przystajnia, Wielkopolskie, Poland. He was an actor and director, known for 5 i 1/2 Bladego Józka (1970), Sowizdrzal swietokrzyski (1980) and Chudy i inni (1967). He died on 11 June 2005 in Konin, Wielkopolskie, Poland.- Del Hinkley was born on 24 July 1930 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Kojak (1973), Quincy M.E. (1976) and The Survivors (1983). He died on 11 June 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Vasco Gonçalves was born on 3 May 1921 in Sintra, Portugal. He was married to Aida Rocha Alfonso. He died on 11 June 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lillian Lux was born on 20 June 1918 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Body (2001), Law & Order (1990) and De Mike Burstyn show (1978). She was married to Pesach Burstein. She died on 11 June 2005 in New York City, New York, USA.- Napo was an actor, known for Cronos (1992), Halcones de la muerte - Espias mortales (1993) and Llamando a un ángel (2008). He died on 11 June 2005 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Cornish playwright Nick Darke was born in St Eval, near Padstow in Cornwall, England and lived most of his life in Porthcothan. His father was a local farmer and his mother was an actor. Nick attended Newquay grammar school and trained as an actor at the Rose Bruford College in Kent and at the Victoria Theatre where he acted in over 80 plays. Nick himself wrote over 25 stage plays which have been performed both within Cornwall and nationally. Most of his plays reflect Cornish society and the myths and culture of the Cornish people such as the tin mining, country-side, fishermen and the quirky nature of country living.
The Wrecking Season (2004) was his last work, which he wrote and narrated, and was a documentary charting the lives of Cornish beachcombers, of which he himself was one. He sadly passed away in 2004. His son Henry Darke and wife Jane Darke continue his legacy in film.- Dorothy Chase was born in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. She was married to Charles Chase. She died on 11 June 2005 in Claremont, California, USA.
- Pauline Hague was born on 27 June 1905 in England, UK. She was an actress, known for Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). She was married to Morton Hague. She died on 11 June 2005 in Huntington Beach, California, USA.
- Jolán Páka was born on 20 March 1920 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for A színház szerelmese (1944). She died on 11 June 2005 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Therese Bichsel was born in 1930 in Switzerland. She was an actress, known for Beresina or The Last Days of Switzerland (1999), Grenzgänge (1998) and Em Roger si Gschicht (1984). She was married to Peter Bichsel. She died on 11 June 2005 in Switzerland.
- Miroslav Krejca was born on 1 July 1931 in Jindrichúv Hradec, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for How About a Plate of Spinach? (1977), Love Between the Raindrops (1980) and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992). He died on 11 June 2005 in Prague, Czech Republic.
- Carmem Violeta was born in 1908 in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She was an actress, known for Mulher (1931), Lábios Sem beijos (1930) and Barro Humano (1929). She died on 11 June 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Budge Taylor was born in 1946. He was an actor, known for The Legend of the Golden Gun (1979). He died on 11 June 2005 in Orlando, Florida, USA.