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1-16 of 16
- Francine York was born in the small mining town of Aurora, Minnesota to her parents, Frank and Sophie Yerich. When Francine was five, her family (including her younger sister, Deanne) moved to Cleveland, where she began to write short stories and take an interest in acting. At age nine, Francine made her theatrical debut in the Hodge Grammar School production of Cinderella, playing Griselda. Initially quite upset that she did not get the starring role, Francine ended up stealing the show with her performance as the evil stepsister. Right after the show, Francine ran into the audience and told her mother that she wanted to be an actress.
When Francine was age 12, the family moved back to Aurora, where she continued to perform in class plays, as well as writing, producing, directing and starring in a three-act play called "Keen Teens or Campus Quarantine". Francine, displaying an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, charged five cents admission to the show, and the whole town turned out for the production.
While studying journalism and drama at Aurora High School, Francine worked as the feature editor of the school newspaper, Aurora Borealis, and she won all of the school's declamation contests with her dramatic readings. Additionally, she was the baton-twirling majorette for the school band, and active in the 4-H club, where she won several blue ribbons for cooking in both county and state fairs. This proved to be valuable experience for Francine later on, when she would not only host, but do all of the gourmet cooking for dinner parties for some of Hollywood's biggest names.
At age 17, Francine won the Miss Eveleth contest (Eveleth being a nearby town), and became a runner-up in the Miss Minnesota contest, which was hosted by former Miss America BeBe Shopp. For the talent portion of the Miss Minnesota pageant, Francine, who was not afraid to be less than glamorous during a performance, donned some old clothes, removed her makeup, grayed her hair, and performed a reading of a monologue called "The Day That Was That Day" by Amy Lowell, in which she played a dual role of two elderly Southern women. BeBe Shopp encouraged Francine in her theatrical ambitions, and predicted that she would end up in Hollywood very soon. At this point, however, Hollywood was still a dream for Francine, who wanted desperately to leave Minnesota and make her mark in show business.
Moving to Minneapolis, she got a job modeling sweaters for New York-based Jane Richards Sportswear and began traveling throughout the United States, ending up in San Francisco. After leaving Jane Richards, Francine began a modeling course at the House of Charm agency, which started her off on a very successful modeling career for all of the major department stores, including Macy's. Her modeling work got the attention of the producers of the Miss San Francisco beauty pageant, which she subsequently entered and was voted runner-up, but ended up taking over the title after the winner became too sick to participate. Soon after, Francine got a job as a showgirl at Bimbo's, a well-known San Francisco nightclub, which was highly disapproved of by Francine's modeling agency, but this turned out to be the right choice for Francine when she met Bimbo's headliner, singer Mary Meade French, who brought Francine to Hollywood and, later, got her signed with her first agent.
Arriving in Los Angeles, Francine once again found herself working as a showgirl at Frank Sennes' Moulin Rouge, a popular nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, where she performed in three shows a night, seven nights a week for six months. Tired of sharing a stage with elephants, pigeons and horses, she moved on to pursue her acting career and began study with famed actor/teacher Jeff Corey. While performing in Corey's class, Francine was spotted by a theatrical producer, who cast her in a play called "Whisper in God's Ear" at the Circle Theatre. During this time, the same producer gave Francine her very first movie role, starring in Secret File: Hollywood (1962), a film about the day-to-day operations of a sleazy Hollywood tabloid. The movie premiered in Francine's hometown of Aurora, which gave her the biggest thrill of her life as the whole town, the press, her family, friends, and even the high school band turned out at the airport to greet her with banners proclaiming, "Welcome Home, Francine!"
Francine's first big break came when Jerry Lewis cast her in his film It's Only Money (1962), in which she played a tantalizing sexpot, a role which brought her a tremendous amount of publicity. This led to Lewis hiring her for five more of his films, including The Nutty Professor (1963), The Patsy (1964), The Disorderly Orderly (1964), The Family Jewels (1965) and Cracking Up (1983), in which she played a fifteenth century marquise. Other notable film appearances include Bedtime Story (1964) (with Marlon Brando and David Niven), Tickle Me (1965) (with Elvis Presley), Cannon for Cordoba (1970) (with George Peppard), and science fiction cult films Curse of the Swamp Creature (1968), Mutiny in Outer Space (1965) and Space Probe Taurus (1965). Francine's most popular film was the cult classic The Doll Squad (1973), where she played Sabrina Kincaid, leader of an elite team of gorgeous female assassins who attempt to stop a diabolical madman from destroying the world with a deadly plague virus. Francine also delivered a stunning performance as Marilyn Monroe in an otherwise lackluster film, Marilyn Alive and Behind Bars (1992). (Film critic Tom Weaver has been quoted as saying that Francine's performances often rise above the low-budget films she has been cast in.) More recently, Francine played Nicolas Cage's mother-in-law in The Family Man (2000).
Francine has also had tremendous success in television, with appearances on Route 66 (1960), Hawaiian Eye (1959), 77 Sunset Strip (1958), My Favorite Martian (1963), Burke's Law (1963), Perry Mason (1957), Batman (1966), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), Lost in Space (1965), It Takes a Thief (1968), Green Acres (1965), The Wild Wild West (1965), Ironside (1967), I Dream of Jeannie (1965), Love, American Style (1969), Mannix (1967), Bewitched (1964), Adam-12 (1968), Mission: Impossible (1966), Kojak (1973), Columbo (1971), Matlock (1986), The King of Queens (1998) and Las Vegas (2003), among many others. Francine's personal favorites among her television roles include her portrayal of nineteenth century British actress Lily Langtry in the Death Valley Days (1952) episode "Picture of a Lady", and her role as the princess opposite Shirley Temple (one of Francine's childhood idols) in NBC's presentation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid". One of Francine's other favorite roles was that of high-class prostitute and blackmailer Lorraine Temple on Days of Our Lives (1965).
While Francine was enjoying great success as a film and television actress, she was also making a name for herself as a fitness/nutrition expert and gourmet cook. She made many appearances on television demonstrating her culinary skills, and many of her recipes, as well as her exercise programs, were published in national health magazines. Francine also became known as one of Hollywood's leading hostesses, cooking for such celebrities as Clint Eastwood, Rex Harrison, Vincent Price, Regis Philbin, Jean Stapleton, Neil Sedaka, James Arness, Glenn Ford and Peter Ustinov.
Francine continued to act in films and on television. Two recent television appearances include Hot in Cleveland (2010) (as British matriarch Lady Natalie), and Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures (2011) (as Aunt Bitsy). She was also quite busy working on her autobiography, something her fans are looking forward to with great interest. In 1996, she met director Vincent Sherman (Mr. Skeffington, The Adventures of Don Juan, The Young Philadelphians), and was his companion until his death in 2006. Francine never married - she once said, "Like Cinderella, I always wanted to marry the handsome prince...but they don't make glass slippers in size ten!" On January 6, 2017, Francine York died of cancer at age 80 in Van Nuys, California. - Actor
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Om Puri was an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.
Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana. His father worked on the railways and served in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.
Puri had worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States. He made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. He had collaborated with Amrish Puri as well as Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992). He had been active in cinema. He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as a victimized tribal in Aakrosh (1980) (a film in which he spoke only during flash-back sequences); Jimmy's manager in Disco Dancer (1982); a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), where he revolts against life-long social, cultural and political persecution and for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor; the leader of a cell of Sikh militants in Maachis (1996); as a tough cop again in the commercial film Gupt in 1997; and as the courageous father of a martyred soldier in Dhoop (2003). In 1999, Puri acted in a Kannada movie A.K. 47 as a strict police officer who tries to keep the city safe from the underworld - it became a huge commercial hit. Puri's acting in the movie is very memorable. He has rendered his own voice for the Kannada dialogues. In the same year, he starred in the successful British comedy film East is East, where he played a first-generation Pakistani immigrant in the north of England, struggling to come to terms with his far more westernized children. Om Puri had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough). In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, where his roles are more tuned to mass audiences than film critics. He became known internationally by starring in many British films such as My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and The Parole Officer (2001). He appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy (1992), opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf (1994) alongside Jack Nicholson; and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. In 2007, he appeared as General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. He has worked in Hindi television serials like Kakkaji Kaheen (1988) (roughly meaning "Uncle says") as a paan-chewing 'Kakkaji', which was a parody on politicians, and Mr. Yogi (1989) as a suave 'Sutradhaar' who enjoys pulling the protagonist's leg. These two serials underlined Om Puri's versatility as a comedian. He received critical acclaim for him performance in Govind Nihalani's television film Tamas (1987) based on a Hindi novel of the same name. He essayed comic roles in Hindi films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which reached a cult status, followed by Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002) and Malamaal Weekly (2006). His more recent Hindi film roles include Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Billu. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009). In 2010, he appeared in The Hangman. In 2011 he was in the Indian action movie Don 2. He had also worked in Aahat TV Series in some episodes during second season which was aired between 2004-2005 on Sony channel.- Captured when he was two years old, Tilikum was a whale who spent over three decades in captivity, trained by SeaWorld to perform tricks and stunts. Controversy began to mount around him after he was involved in the death of a trainer in 2010, with much public outcry as it was revealed that he had been involved in the deaths of two other trainers earlier in his life. This controversy became the subject of the BAFTA nominated documentary _Blackfish (2013)_, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Less than four years after the movie's release, Tilikum passed away from bacterial pneumonia on January 6, 2017.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Gary Bayer was born on 25 June 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Children of Artsakh (1999), All That Jazz (1979) and Psycho III (1986). He died on 6 January 2017 in Jerusalem, Israel.- Esther Orjuela was born on 24 April 1955 in Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela. She was an actress, known for Mujercitas (1999), Cásate y Verás (2005) and Si me miran tus ojos (2010). She was married to Gustavo Camacho. She died on 6 January 2017 in Caracas, Venezuela.
- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Joe Roman is known for The Lord of the Rings (1978), He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985) and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983). He died on 6 January 2017.- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Les Lazarowitz was born on 2 October 1941 in the USA. He is known for Tootsie (1982), Raging Bull (1980) and Saturday Night Fever (1977). He died on 6 January 2017 in Florida, USA.- Marcia Porter was born on 24 December 1932 in La Porte, Indiana. She was an actress, known for Prancer (1989). She died on 6 January 2017 in Noblesville, Indiana, USA.
- Animation Department
- Art Department
Florida D'Ambrosio was born on 4 September 1928 in Filattiera, Italy. She is known for Hercules (1997), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and The Little Mermaid (1989). She was married to Renato D'Ambrosio. She died on 6 January 2017 in Burbank, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Travis Peterson was born on 25 December 1976 in the USA. He was a director and writer, known for Lords of Dogtown (2005), Indio, USA (2004) and Salvation Mountain (2007). He was married to Emilie Hideko Halpern. He died on 6 January 2017 in La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA.- Ken Sheppard was born on 7 April 1933 in Gloucestershire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for An American Werewolf in London (1981), Attentat (1980) and The Hostages (1975). He died on 6 January 2017 in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK.
- Elizabeth Sigmund was born in the UK. Elizabeth was married to William Sigmund, David Compton and X Taylor. Elizabeth died on 6 January 2017 in Cornwall, England, UK.
- Actor
- Production Manager
Jay Stover was an actor and production manager, known for Dawn of the Dead (1978). He was married to Daisy. He died on 6 January 2017 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.- Make-Up Department
- Actress
- Costume Designer
Leighann Brokaw was born on 1 October 1985 in Hopewell, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress and costume designer, known for Gut (2012), The Bucks County Massacre (2010) and Nar-co-lap-sy (2009). She was married to David Ottaunick. She died on 6 January 2017 in Hamilton, New Jersey, USA.- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
Martti Utriainen was born on 2 June 1939 in Turku, Finland. Martti was a director and writer, known for Kivimies (1964), Hermoprässi (1963) and Hailuodosta Haapasaareen (1964). Martti died on 6 January 2017 in Espoo, Finland.- Ricardo Piglia was born on 24 November 1941 in Adrogué, Almirante Brown, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer, known for El astillero (2000), Foolish Heart (1998) and Cops (1997). He died on 6 January 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.