Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man (1982)

Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, to journalist Barbara Johnson (née Barbara Pitney Lamb) and writer/professor F.D. Reeve (Franklin D'Olier Reeve). He came from an upper-class family; his paternal grandfather was CEO of Prudential Financial, and one of his maternal great-grandfathers was Supreme Court Associate Justice Mahlon Pitney.

When Reeve was four, his parents divorced. His mother moved him and his brother Benjamin to Princeton, New Jersey, and married an investment banker a few years later. After graduating from high school, Reeve studied at Cornell University while at the same time working as a professional actor. In his final year at Cornell, he was one of two students selected (Robin Williams was the other) to study at New York's famous Juilliard School, under the renowned John Houseman. Although Christopher is best known for his role as Superman (1978), a role which he played with both charisma and grace, his acting career spans a much larger ground. Paralyzed after a horse riding accident, he died suddenly at age 52 after several years of living and working with his severe disability.

Nicholas Hammond was born on 15th May, 1950, in Washington DC. His parents, Col. Thomas W. Hammond and actress Eileen Bennett, married since 1945, already had one son, David (born in Paris in 1946).

When Nicholas was 6 years old, the family moved to Europe. In 1959, his mother took him to see the musical "My Fair Lady" (with Julie Andrews) on stage in London. After seeing this show, Nicholas decided he wanted to be an actor. The family returned to the US when Nicholas was 10 years old. He landed his first part (a small role in movie Lord of the Flies (1963) shortly after that. Nicholas appeared on Broadway and on television before he landed the role of Friedrich in the hit movie The Sound of Music (1965).

Nicholas made a visit to Australia in the mid 1980s but also did some acting while he was there. After a year, he realized he liked living in Australia and decided to stay. He lives in Sydney where he works as an actor, screenwriter, and director.

Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Ann Lydia Elizabeth (Gray) and Eugene Ezra Hackman, who operated a newspaper printing press. He is of Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry, partly by way of Canada, where his mother was born. After several moves, his family settled in Danville, Illinois. Gene grew up in a broken home, which he left at the age of sixteen for a hitch with the US Marines.

Moving to New York after being discharged, he worked in a number of menial jobs before studying journalism and television production on the G.I. Bill at the University of Illinois. Hackman would be over 30 years old when he finally decided to take his chance at acting by enrolling at the Pasadena Playhouse. Legend says that Hackman and friend Dustin Hoffman were voted "least likely to succeed."

Hackman next moved back to New York, where he worked in summer stock and off-Broadway. In 1964 he was cast as the young suitor in the Broadway play "Any Wednesday." This role would lead to him being cast in the small role of Norman in Lilith (1964), starring Warren Beatty. When Beatty was casting for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), he cast Hackman as Buck Barrow, Clyde Barrow's brother. That role earned Hackman a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, an award for which he would again be nominated in I Never Sang for My Father (1970). In 1972 he won the Oscar for his role as Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection (1971). At 40 years old Hackman was a Hollywood star whose work would rise to new heights with Night Moves (1975) and Bite the Bullet (1975), or fall to new depths with The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Eureka (1983). Hackman is a versatile actor who can play comedy (the blind man in Young Frankenstein (1974)) or villainy (the evil Lex Luthor in Superman (1978)). He is the doctor who puts his work above people in Extreme Measures (1996) and the captain on the edge of nuclear destruction in Crimson Tide (1995). After initially turning down the role of Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992), Hackman finally accepted it, as its different slant on the western interested him. For his performance he won the Oscar and Golden Globe and decided that he wasn't tired of westerns after all. He has since appeared in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Wyatt Earp (1994), and The Quick and the Dead (1995).

Pat Hingle (real name: Martin Patterson Hingle) was born in Miami, Florida, the son of a building contractor. His parents divorced when Hingle was still in his infancy (he never knew his father) and his mother supported the family by teaching school in Denver. She then began to travel (with her son in tow) in search of more lucrative work; by age 13 Hingle had lived in a dozen cities. The future Tony Award nominee made his "acting debut" in the third grade, playing a carrot in a school play ("At that time it didn't seem like much of a way to make a living!", he recalled). Hingle attended high school in Texas and in 1941 entered the University of Texas, majoring in advertising. After serving in the Navy during WW II, he went back to the university and got involved with the drama department as a way to meet girls. With his wife Alyce (whom he first met at the university), Hingle moved to New York and began to get jobs on the stage and on TV. The apex of his stage career was "J.B." by poet Archibald Macleish, with Hingle in the title role as a 20th-century Job. It was during the run of "J.B." that Hingle took an accidental plunge down the elevator shaft of his New York apartment building, sustaining near-fatal injuries in the 54-foot fall. He was near death for two weeks (and lost the little finger of his left hand); his recovery took more than a year. In more recent years, Hingle has played Commissioner Gordon in the "Batman" movies.

Just prior to his death, he resided in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, with his wife, Julia.

Margot Kidder was born Margaret Ruth Kidder in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, to Jocelyn Mary "Jill" (Wilson), a history teacher from British Columbia, and Kendall Kidder, a New Mexico-born mining engineer and explosives expert. Margot was a delightful child who took pride in everything she did. At an early age, she became aware of the great emotions she felt towards expressing herself, and caught the acting bug. As a child, she wrote in a diary that she wanted to become a movie star, and that one day it would happen, but she had to overcome something else first. She was aware that she was constantly facing mood swings, but didn't know why. At odd times, she would try to kill herself - the first time was at age 14 - but the next day she would be just fine. Her father's hectic schedule and moving around so much didn't help matters, either, causing her to attend 11 schools in 12 years. Finally, in an attempt to help Margot with her troubles, her parents sent" her to a boarding school, where she took part in school plays, such as Romeo and Juliet", in which she played the lead.

After graduation, Margot moved to Los Angeles to start a film career. She found herself dealing with a lot of prejudice, and hotheads, but later found solace with a Canadian agent. This was when she got her first acting job, in the Norman Jewison film Gaily, Gaily (1969). This led to another starring role in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970), in which she co-starred with Gene Wilder. After some harsh words from the film's director, Margot temporarily left films to study acting in New York, doing television work to pay her bills, but when the money ran out, she decided it was time to make a second try at acting. When she arrived in Hollywood she met up at a screen test with actress Jennifer Salt, resulting in a friendship that still stands strong today. Margot and Jennifer moved into a lofty beach house and befriended other, then unknown, struggling filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg and Susan Sarandon, among others. Late nights would see the hot, happening youngsters up until all hours talking around a fire about how they were all going to change the film industry. It was crazy living and within the Christmas season, Margot had become involved with De Palma, and as a Christmas present he gave her the script to his upcoming film Sisters (1972). Margot and Salt both had the leads in the film, and it was a huge critical success.

The film made branded Margot as a major talent, and in the following years she starred in a string of critically acclaimed pictures, such as Black Christmas (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), 92 in the Shade (1975) - directed by Thomas McGuane, who was also her husband for a brief period - and a somewhat prophetic tale of self-resurrection, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975).

After three years of being a housewife, looking after her daughter Maggie and not working, Margot decided it was time to let her emotions take control and get back into acting. Once her marriage to McGuane was over, she eyed a script that would change her life forever. Her new agent referred her to a little-known director named Richard Donner. He was going to be directing a film called Superman (1978), and she auditioned for and secured the leading female role of Lois Lane. That film and Superman II (1980) filmed simultaneously. After the success of "Superman" she took on more intense roles, such as The Amityville Horror (1979) and Willie & Phil (1980). After that, Margot starred in numerous films, television and theater work throughout the 1980s, including Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). When the 1990s erupted with the Gulf War, Margot found herself becoming involved in politics. She made a stir in the biz when she spoke out against the military for their actions in Kuwait. She also appeared in a cameo in Donner's Maverick (1994).

In 1996, as she was preparing to write her autobiography, she began to become more and more paranoid. When her computer became infected with a virus, this gave her paranoia full rein, and she sank into bipolar disorder. She panicked, and the resulting psychological problems she created for herself resulted in her fantasizing that her first husband was going to kill her, so she left her home and faked her death, physically altering her appearance in the process. After an intervention took place, she got back on her feet and started the mental wellness campaign. Since then, she resumed her career in film, television, and theatre, including appearing in a Canadian stage production of "The Vagina Monologues", and in films like The Clown at Midnight (1998).

Margot died on May 13, 2018, in Livingston, Montana.

Naturally brunette/blue-eyed beauty Amy Davis Irving was born in Palo Alto, California. She is the youngest of three children, and the daughter of influential theatrical/television director and producer Jules Irving, and actress Priscilla Pointer. Her father was of Russian Jewish descent, and her mother's ancestry includes English, Scots-Irish, Welsh, Jewish, and German.

Amy was brought up in the world of theater. She was put on stage from the time she was nine-months-old, her father was the director and her mother was the actress, they didn't want baby sitters for their children, so if she wasn't performing, she would stay in the wardrobe department or her mother used to put her in the second row center where she could watch her. And, before she was 10-years-old, she had already worked in several plays. At a young age, Amy Irving was trained at the American Conservatory Theater and Britain's London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (L.A.M.A.D.A.). She made her off-Broadway debut at the age of 17 and, from that moment to date, she received critical acclaim, appearing in such plays as: "Heartbreak House" (1983), "The Road to Mecca" (1988), "Broken Glass" (1994), "The Three Sisters" (1997), "The Guys" (2002), "Ghosts" (2002) and "Celadine" (2004), among others.

In 1976, Amy made her film debut, playing "Sue Snell", one of her most unforgettable characters in Stephen King's Carrie (1976), a classic in the horror genre, taken to the big screen by director Brian De Palma. For the next few years, Irving continued working in important films, The Fury (1978), also directed by De Palma, Voices (1979) and The Competition (1980). Later, in 1983, she gave a fine performance as "Hadass", in Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983); earning an Oscar nomination. Two of her best opportunities arrived in the late 80s, when she played "Anna Anderson" in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) and "Isabelle Grossman" in the romantic comedy, Crossing Delancey (1988); she received a Golden Globe nomination for each movie.

Amy was married to director Steven Spielberg from 1985 to 1989 and she has a son with him, Max Spielberg. And, in 1990, after her divorce, she met Brazilian director Bruno Barreto while they were working on A Show of Force (1990). They wed a few years later and they have a son (Gabriel). In 1997, Irving made a guest appearance on Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1997) and, in 1999, she came back in the sequel of Carrie (1976), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999).

Unfortunately, her film opportunities narrowed in the 90s. However, in the year 2000, she surprised the whole world again when she performed as "Mary Ann Simpson", a very funny and sensual, at the same time, English teacher in the film, Bossa Nova (2000). She managed to capture this peculiar character very well. After this romantic comedy, Amy had a great opportunity, playing "Barbara Wakefield", Michael Douglas' wife in Traffic (2000), the film was a huge success and she won an Actor Award, shared with the rest of the cast. Then, this beautiful and talented actress continued working in remarkable films such as 13 Conversations About One Thing (2001), with her Carrie (1976) co-star, Sissy Spacek, in the Walt Disney production, Tuck Everlasting (2002) and in the horror film, Hide and Seek (2005), along with Robert De Niro. Recently, she had an important part as "Emily Sloane" in the very-known show, Alias (2001).

In addition to her talents as an actress, she is a great dancer and also showed off her vocal talents, singing in films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Rumpelstiltskin (1987) and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991).

Nowadays, Amy Irving continues working on stage in Broadway productions and spends most of her time with her friends and family, especially with her two children.

Jackie Cooper was born John Cooper in Los Angeles, California, to Mabel Leonard, an Italian-American stage pianist, and John Cooper. Through his mother, he was the nephew of actress Julie Leonard, screenwriter Jack Leonard, and (by marriage) director Norman Taurog. Jackie served with the Navy in the South Pacific toward the end of World War II. Then, quietly and without publicity or fanfare, compiled one of the most distinguished peacetime military careers of anyone in his profession. In 1961, as his weekly TV series Hennesey (1959) was enhancing naval recruiting efforts, accepted a commission as a line officer in the Naval Reserve with duties in recruitment, training films, and public relations. Holder of a multi-engine pilot license, he later co-piloted jet planes for the Navy, which made him an Honorary Aviator authorized to wear wings of gold-at the time only the third so honored in naval aviation history. By 1976 he had attained the rank of captain, and was in uniform aboard the carrier USS Constellation for the Bicentennial celebration on July 4. In 1980 the Navy proposed a period of active duty at the Pentagon that would have resulted in a promotion to rear admiral, bringing him even with Air Force Reserve Brigadier General James Stewart. Fresh on the heels of a second directing Emmy, he felt his absence would impact achieving a long-held goal of directing motion pictures, and reluctantly declined. (The opportunity in films never materialized.) Holds Letters of Commendation from six secretaries of the Navy. Was honorary chairman of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation and a charter member of VIVA, the effort to return POW-MIAs from Vietnam. Upon retirement in 1982, he was decorated with the Legion of Merit by Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr.. Other than Stewart, no performer in his industry has achieved a higher uniformed rank in the U.S. military. (Glenn Ford was also a Naval Reserve captain, and director and Captain John Ford was awarded honorary flag rank upon his 1951 retirement from the Naval Reserve).

Marc McClure was born on 31 March 1957 in San Mateo, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Back to the Future (1985), Superman (1978) and Apollo 13 (1995). He has been married to Carol Courson Cowley since 16 August 1985. They have one child.

Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Hélène (Gougeon), a secretary from a French-Canadian family, and Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer who advised prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Aykroyd attended Carleton University in 1969, where he majored in Criminology and Sociology, but he dropped out before completing his degree. He worked as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and managed an after-hours speakeasy, Club 505, in Toronto for several years. He worked with Second City Stage Troupe in Toronto and started his acting career at Carleton University with Sock'n'Buskin, the campus theater/drama club. Married to Donna Dixon since 1983, they have three daughters. His parents are named Peter and Lorraine and his brother Peter Aykroyd is a psychic researcher. Dan received an honorary Doctorate from Carleton University in 1994 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998.

Burly, handsome and rugged character actor John Crawford appeared in over 200 movies and TV shows combined in a career that spanned over 40 years, usually cast as tough and/or villainous characters.

Crawford was born Cleve Richardson on September 13, 1920, in Colfax, Washington. He was discovered by a Warner Bros. scout while attending the University of Washington's School of Drama. Although he failed his screen test, Crawford nonetheless joined RKO as a laborer. He then got a job building sets at Circle Theater in Los Angeles, and eventually persuaded the producers to cast him in some of their plays. He was soon signed to Columbia Pictures to act in secondary roles in westerns. In the late 1950s he graduated to bigger parts in such films as Orders to Kill (1958), The Key (1958) and Hell Is a City (1960), all of which were made in the UK. Crawford returned to America in the early 1960s and began a prolific career in both movies and TV series, up until 1986. His most memorable film roles include the ill-fated chief engineer in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), the hearty Tom Iverson in Night Moves (1975), the bumbling mayor of San Francisco in The Enforcer (1976), hard-nosed police chief Buzz Cavanaugh in Outlaw Blues (1977) and amiable old mine hand Brian Deerling in The Boogens (1981). John had recurring parts as Sheriff Ep Bridges in The Waltons (1972) and Capt. Parks on Police Woman (1974). Among the many TV shows he made guest appearances in are The Lone Ranger (1949), Adventures of Superman (1952), I Spy (1965), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Untouchables (1959), Wagon Train (1957), The Fugitive (1963), Star Trek (1966), Lost in Space (1965), Bonanza (1959), Hogan's Heroes (1965), Mission: Impossible (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), The Bionic Woman (1976), Dallas (1978) and Dynasty (1981). Crawford died at age 90 following complications from a stroke on September 21, 2010, in Thousand Oaks, California. He's survived by his ex-wife Ann Wakefield, four daughters and two grandchildren.

A prolific character actor of imposing presence, Robert F. Simon drifted into acting via the Cleveland Playhouse, hoping that this would cure his natural propensity for shyness. After training at the Actor's Studio in New York he had a ten year run on Broadway (1942-52) in which he cut his teeth--both as actor and as stage manager--on anything from drama to musical comedy. In a roundabout way, he was even able to fulfill his original career goal of becoming a traveling salesman: as understudy to the great Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman".

Robert started in films in 1950, but over the years came often to be typecast in stereotypical roles of benevolent authoritarianism or grouchy executive stress. At times he drew unkind reviews from the critics. He was considerably better served by the small screen, where, for some 35 years, he became a familiar face as generals, police captains, doctors, journalists and attorneys. We may remember him most fondly as George Armstrong Custer's disapproving superior, General Alfred Terry, in Custer (1967); as the sympathetic, long-suffering father of Darrin Stephens in Bewitched (1964); or as Maynard M. Mitchell, one of the wackiest of generals ever to have served in the Korean War (or any other war), in M*A*S*H (1972).

Chip Fields was born on 5 August 1951 in the USA. She is a director and actress, known for The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), Menace II Society (1993) and Blue Collar (1978). She has been married to Erv Hurd since 20 August 1994. She was previously married to John Randolph.

Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally, James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. At an early age, he started to take dramatic lessons to calm himself down. It appeared to work as he has since starred in many films over a 40-year period, beginning with the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). For several movie fans, he is probably best known for his role as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy (due to his contribution for the voice of the role, as the man in the Darth Vader suit was David Prowse, whose voice was dubbed because of his British West Country accent). In his brilliant course of memorable performances, among others, he has also appeared on the animated series The Simpsons (1989) three times and played Mufasa both in The Lion King (1994) and The Lion King (2019), while he returned too as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).

Handsome, leanly built American actor who notched up guest appearances in dozens of popular US TV shows, including Mannix (1967), McCloud (1970), Emergency! (1972) and Magnum, P.I. (1980). However, he's better known to cult films fans for his portrayal of character "Matthew Johnson" in the successful blaxploitation films Cleopatra Jones (1973) and the sequel Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975).

Popwell additionally co-starred alongside screen icon Clint Eastwood in five films, starting off as "Wonderful Digby" in Coogan's Bluff (1968). The next four occasions were entries in the highly popular "Dirty Harry" films, firstly as the wounded bank robber at the receiving end of Eastwood's now legendary, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech in the opening minutes of Dirty Harry (1971). He was back as a sadistic pimp who murders a greedy call girl with a can of drain cleaner and is later executed by a vigilante motorcycle cop in Magnum Force (1973), and he was still on the wrong side of the law as a "Black Power" activist named "Big Ed" Mustapha in The Enforcer (1976). For his final appearance alongside Eastwood, Popwell was on the right side of Clint for once as a fellow detective in Sudden Impact (1983).

Popwell passed away on April 9, 1999, from complications arising after major surgery.

Lloyd Haynes was born on 19 October 1934 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Room 222 (1969), Star Trek (1966) and Good Guys Wear Black (1978). He was married to Carolyn Yvonne Giorella, Saundra Lee Madariaga and Alice Elizabeth Ellis. He died on 31 December 1986 in Coronado, California, USA.

As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar nominations (five wins), twenty-odd Gold and Platinum Records, and a slew of Emmy (two wins), Golden Globe (three wins), Grammy (25 wins), National Board of Review (including a Career Achievement Award), Saturn (six wins), American Film Institute (including a Lifetime Achievement Award) and BAFTA (seven wins) citations, along with honorary doctorate degrees numbering in the teens, Williams is undoubtedly one of the most respected composers for Cinema. He's led countless national and international orchestras, most notably as the nineteenth conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980-1993, helming three Pops tours of the US and Japan during his tenure. He currently serves as the Pop's Conductor Laureate. Also to his credit is a parallel career as an author of serious, and some not-so-serious, concert works - performed by the likes of Mstislav Rostropovich, André Previn, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, Leonard Slatkin, James Ingram, Dale Clevenger, and Joshua Bell. Of particular interests are his Essay for Strings, a jazzy Prelude & Fugue, the multimedia presentation American Journey (aka The Unfinished Journey (1999)), a Sinfonietta for Winds, a song cycle featuring poems by Rita Dove, concerti for flute, violin, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, cello, bassoon and horn, fanfares for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a song co-written with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for the Special Olympics! But such a list probably warrants a more detailed background...

Born in Floral Park, New York on February 8, 1932, John Towner Williams discovered music almost immediately, due in no small measure to being the son of a percussionist for CBS Radio and the Raymond Scott Quintet. After moving to Los Angeles in 1948, the young pianist and leader of his own jazz band started experimenting with arranging tunes; at age 15, he determined he was going to become a concert pianist; at 19, he premiered his first original composition, a piano sonata.

He attended both UCLA and the Los Angeles City College, studying orchestration under MGM musical associate Robert Van Eps and being privately tutored by composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, until conducting for the first time during three years with the U.S. Air Force. His return to the states brought him to Julliard, where renowned piano pedagogue Madame Rosina Lhevinne helped Williams hone his performance skills. He played in jazz clubs to pay his way; still, she encouraged him to focus on composing. So it was back to L.A., with the future maestro ready to break into the Hollywood scene.

Williams found work with the Hollywood studios as a piano player, eventually accompanying such fare such as the TV series Peter Gunn (1958), South Pacific (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), as well as forming a surprising friendship with Bernard Herrmann. At age 24, "Johnny Williams" became a staff arranger at Columbia and then at 20th Century-Fox, orchestrating for Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, and other Golden Age notables. In the field of popular music, he performed and arranged for the likes of Vic Damone, Doris Day, and Mahalia Jackson... all while courting actress/singer Barbara Ruick, who became his wife until her death in 1974. John & Barbara had three children; their daughter is now a doctor, and their two sons, Joseph Williams and Mark Towner Williams, are rock musicians.

The orchestrating gigs led to serious composing jobs for television, notably Alcoa Premiere (1961), Checkmate (1960), Gilligan's Island (1964), Lost in Space (1965), Land of the Giants (1968), and his Emmy-winning scores for Heidi (1968) and Jane Eyre (1970). Daddy-O (1958) and Because They're Young (1960) brought his original music to the big theatres, but he was soon typecast doing comedies. His efforts in the genre helped guarantee his work on William Wyler's How to Steal a Million (1966), however, a major picture that immediately led to larger projects. Of course, his arrangements continued to garner attention, and he won his first Oscar for adapting Fiddler on the Roof (1971).

During the '70s, he was King of Disaster Scores with The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974). His psychological score for Images (1972) remains one of the most innovative works in soundtrack history. But his Americana - particularly The Reivers (1969) - is what caught the ear of director Steven Spielberg, then preparing for his first feature, The Sugarland Express (1974). When Spielberg reunited with Williams on Jaws (1975), they established themselves as a blockbuster team, the composer gained his first Academy Award for Original Score, and Spielberg promptly recommended Williams to a friend, George Lucas. In 1977, John Williams re-popularized the epic cinema sound of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman and other composers from the Hollywood Golden Age: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) became the best selling score-only soundtrack of all time, and spawned countless musical imitators. For the next five years, though the music in Hollywood changed, John Williams wrote big, brassy scores for big, brassy films - The Fury (1978), Superman (1978), 1941 (1979), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ... An experiment during this period, Heartbeeps (1981), flopped. There was a long-term change of pace, nonetheless, as Williams fell in love with an interior designer and married once more.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) brought about his third Oscar, and The River (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), The Accidental Tourist (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) added variety to the 1980s, as he returned to television with work on Amazing Stories (1985) and themes for NBC, including NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas (1970). The '80s also brought the only exceptions to the composer's collaboration with Steven Spielberg - others scored both Spielberg's segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and The Color Purple (1985).

Intending to retire, the composer's output became sporadic during the 1990s, particularly after the exciting Jurassic Park (1993) and the masterful, Oscar-winning Schindler's List (1993). This lighter workload, coupled with a number of hilarious references on The Simpsons (1989) actually seemed to renew interest in his music. Two Home Alone films (1990, 1992), JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), Sleepers (1996), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Angela's Ashes (1999), and a return to familiar territory with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) recalled his creative diversity of the '70s.

In this millennium, the artist shows no interest in slowing down. His relationships with Spielberg and Lucas continue in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), the remaining Star Wars prequels (2002, 2005), Minority Report (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), and a promised fourth Indiana Jones film. There is a more focused effort on concert works, as well, including a theme for the new Walt Disney Concert Hall and a rumored light opera. But one certain highlight is his musical magic for the world of Harry Potter (2001, 2002, 2004, etc.), which he also arranged into a concert suite geared toward teaching children about the symphony orchestra. His music remains on the whistling lips of people around the globe, in the concert halls, on the promenades, in album collections, sports arenas, and parades, and, this writer hopes, touching some place in ourselves. So keep those ears ready wherever you go, 'cause you will likely hear a bit of John Williams on your way.

Ilya Salkind was born in Mexico City, and grew up in the world of motion pictures. At the age of one, Ilya was photographed sitting on the lap of Zsa Zsa Gabor. His grandfather, Michael Salkind, was one of the pioneers of silent films and produced The Joyless Street (1925) (aka "The Joyless Street"), featuring then relative unknown Greta Garbo in her first major role. Afterwards, Michael and his son, Alexander Salkind, were responsible for many successful films of artistic achievement, including Orson Welles's The Trial (1962) (aka "The Trial"). Ilya then took the reins and became the third generation of successful filmmakers. Ilya has worked in Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, New York and Los Angeles. He speaks fluent French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English.

At a young age, Ilya started his career as a producer and has accumulated a stunning filmography. Ilya produced, with his father and grandfather, the tremendous worldwide box office hits The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), which was the first time in the industry a film and its sequel were shot simultaneously. Ilya was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on The Three Musketeers (1973).

Ilya then went on to initiate the blockbuster "Superman" franchise, one of the most successful in film history. The Academy Award-winning Superman (1978) also has the distinction of being the first major Comic Book film adaptation ever made. Under Ilya's supervision, this film and its first two sequels became worldwide blockbusters. Superman II (1980) was awarded the Best Science Fiction Film of the year by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Ilya's venture into television, Superboy (1988) (1988-1992), also proved successful, lasting four seasons for a total of 100 episodes. The show was recognized by the Young Artist Awards as one of the Best Family Series on television. After producing the $50 million Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) with Marlon Brando, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Georges Corraface, in the role of Christopher Columbus, Ilya and wife Jane Chaplin (daughter of Charles Chaplin and granddaughter of Eugene O'Neill) settled down in Orlando, Florida and took a sabbatical to raise their two young sons. The celebrity couple amicably parted ways at the end of 1999.

Ilya, now based in LA and having formed The Ilya Salkind Company, Inc., is completing the company's first film, Born to be Great (2010), recently shot in Egypt and Greece about the young Alexander the Great. The film has already seemingly launched the careers of four of its previously unknown stars. Sam Heughan ("Young Alexander") was signed by the prestigious agency ICM, Paul Telfer ("Hephaestion") was chosen from out of 200 candidates to play the title role in the $25 million miniseries "Hercules," Lauren Cohan ("Leto") is starring alongside Heath Ledger in "Casanova" and Louis Tamone ("Thessaly") is now a regular on the successful British television show Hollyoaks. Ilya Salkind has a reputation for discovering new talent throughout his career, including Christopher Reeve (Superman), Helen Slater (Supergirl), and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Benicio Del Toro (Christopher Columbus: The Discovery starring Marlon Brando). Alexander the Great from Macedonia is geared for a 2006 summer release and aimed toward a teen audience.

The Ilya Salkind Company is actively in pre-production on the mega-film "The Abominable Snowman." The legend of the "Abominable Snowman" has been in the public consciousness for centuries and is one of the greatest unresolved mysteries in the world. Ilya said, "I envision "The Abominable Snowman" to follow in the blockbuster franchise tradition of "Superman" and "The Three Musketeers". With today's seemingly unlimited technologies in filmmaking, the time is right. We are assembling the best creative team available in the world to capture on the screen this mythical and extraordinary being in its awe-inspiring magnificence". Ilya also returns to the visionary work of Jules Verne (his very first film with his father was based on Verne's "Light at the Edge of the World", starring Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner) with the major motion picture event The Nautilus, part of a diverse slate of film and television projects with international appeal actively being developed by the company.

Alexander Salkind is the legendary film producer. His father, Michael Salkind, was also a well-known, successful film producer. Also known as Alex Salkind, he was the father of Ilya Salkind. They were partners for decades, teaming up on the hits The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), and taking credit for producing the first "comic book movie" with the blockbuster Superman (1978), which they followed with Superman II (1980) and Superman III (1983).

Together, the Salkinds are possibly one of the most successful father/son producing teams in motion picture history.

Pierre Spengler started in the industry in 1964 on the film Paris Secret and went on working as an assistant director, assistant editor and a production assistant on such major films as The Madwoman of Chaillot starring Katharine Hepburn (1968), LE MANS starring Steve Mc Queen (1969) and The Light at the Edge of the World staring Kirk Douglas (1970).

He went on to production responsibilities within the Salkind Organisation and soon was in charge of producing all of their films including the globally successful The Three Musketeers, the Four Musketeers, Superman I, Superman Ii, Superman Iii and Santa Claus.

Since 1986, he has been independent and has produced such motion pictures as The Return of the Musketeers and Underground (Golden Palm in Cannes 1995) and co-produced more than 20 films out of the United Kingdom including Unleashed starring Jet Li and Morgan Freeman, Guy Ritchie's REVOLVER starring Jason Statham, and 7 Seconds starring Wesley Snipes.

In addition to his activities in the United Kingdom, he co-founded in 2000 the production company Cadenza Films in the Netherlands, which produced Snapshots, Tirza and Suskind and currently Orestes based on Aeschylus classic tragedy to be directed by Rudolf Van den Berg.

In the recent past, in addition to his regular production activities he has been involved in the development of a number of films based upon the prestigious Humanoids graphic novel catalogue. Due for production are BOUNCER based on the comic book series by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Francois Boucq, to be directed by Floria Sigismondi, LEGION based on the comic series by Fabien Nury and John Cassaday, screenplay by Richard Stanley directed by Nacho Cerda, and a feature film based upon the comic book The Zombies That Ate the World to be directed by Sundance sensation the Candian trio RKSS.

Other projects in development include Sebastian X currently being scripted by Bill Marsilli (Deja Cu) and directed by Martin Campbell (Zorro, Casino Royale) to be produced with Gale Ann Hurd (Walking Dead, Terminator) and Voltage Pictures (Hurt Locker, Dallas Buyer's Club).

At the recent Beijing film festival, a co-production agreement was signed between Humanoids and Chinese group Jetavana Capital Co., Ltd. for the production with Pierre Spengler of a slate of films based on Humanoids catalogue starting with METAL by Butch Guice, Jerrold Brown and Paul Alexander and SEED by Alex Cruz and Marc Riou.

Other projects currently in development include an Untitled Tony Kaye Project to be directed by legendary director Tony Kaye (American History X), TRIPTYCH a thriller based on a screenplay by Alejandro Jodorowsky and to be directed by Malcolm Venville (44 Inch Chest, Henry's Crime), CHELTENHAM a comedy based on an original screenplay by Piers Ashworth.

Pierre Spengler is married to Tatjana Sauka Spengler, a scientist, and they have a daughter, Neretva, born in 2008. They live in Oxford, United Kingdom. Through his previous marriage to Agnes L'Helgoualch he is the father of Oona Spengler a documentary filmmaker and Erwan Spengler a veterinarian.

Robert Daley was an assistant director and producer, known for Dirty Harry (1971), Real Genius (1985) and The Gauntlet (1977). He was married to Valerie. He died on 2 July 2016 in Ventura, California, USA.

Daniel R. Goodman was born on 25 April 1921. Daniel R. was a producer, known for The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1979) and Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978). Daniel R. was married to Carol. Daniel R. died on 16 February 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Chuck Fries graduated from Ohio State University, where he also received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. After serving in various production and administrative capacities in the entertainment industry, he became vice-president in charge of production for Screen Gems, the Columbia Pictures Television arm and subsequently became Vice President in charge of feature film produotion/administration for the parent company where he worked with the top producers and directors in the industry. As executive vice president in charge of production for Metromedia Producers Corporation, Fries assumed the production reins and produced and/or supervised some thirty movies for television, nine television series, and five theatrical films. Though in 1974, he founded Alpine Productions. He eventually later become Charles Fries Productions in the November of the year. Fries is considered the "godfather" of the television movie. Known for producing many issue-oriented movies for television, Fries programs include: "Small Sacrifices" starring Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, "The Neon Empire", a three-hour epic saga starring Ray Sharkey, Martin Landau and Gary Busey; "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean", starring Suzanne Pleshette and Lloyd Bridges; "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury starring Rock Hudson, and "Woman on the Ledge" with Deidre Hall and "Deadly Web" with Gigi Rice and Ed Marinaro. Theatrical motion pictures produced under the Fries banner include Paul Schraeder's The Cat People, a Universal release starring Natassja Kinski, and Malcolm McDowell; Out of Bounds, a Fries production starring Anthony Michael Hall, released by Columbia Pictures; Thrashin' distributed by New Line Cinema Corporation: Flowers in the Attic, a highly successful co-production with New World; and Troop Beverly Hills, starring Sheliy Long and Craig T. Nelson for Weintraub Entertainment- His most recent production, Screamers is a major Sci-Fi film starring Peter Weller. Fries has been and continues to be integrally involved in the entertainment industry at large. At the American Film Institute he is a member of its Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. He established the Charles W. Fries Producer of the Year Award at the institute to encourage quality television programming. Recipients of the award are Dan Curtis, Edgar J. Scherick, Roger Gimbel, Suzanne de Passe and Stan Margulies. The Ava and Charles Fries Foundation also established the Charles W Fries Library at the AFI in Los Angeles. The library is intended to be a collection of groundbreaking, historically significant material and will include scripts. production records and video copies of each film. Fries is currently a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he serves as Secretary of the Foundation; the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and he is a member of the Board Of Directors of the Producer's Guild of America. He is also active at the Center Theatre Group through an association with a constituent group, Center Theate Group Affiliates. Fries is a former Chairman, having served for five terms, and presently on sabbatical from the Steering Committee of the Caucus of Producers, Writers and Directors, and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly opposite Mann's Chinese Theater.

Tom Mankiewicz was born on 1 June 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Ladyhawke (1985), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). He died on 31 July 2010 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Gail Morgan Hickman was born in 1952. Gail Morgan is a producer and writer, known for The Sentinel (1996), The Flash (1990) and The Enforcer (1976).

Jerry Siegel was born in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1931, he met and befriended his future partner, Joe Shuster, when the latter moved from his birthplace in Canada. Siegel and Shuster were both avid science fiction fans, publishing a fanzine in the mid-1920s. It was during this period that they read Philip Wylie's book, "Gladiator", about a mysterious character with superpowers and invulnerability. They created a strip for their fanzine (Shuster drawing, Siegel writing) featuring a super-powered villian, but later made him into a hero. In 1936, they tried, unsuccessfully, to turn it into a daily comic strip. About the same time, both young men got a job working for DC-National (now DC Comics), working on such titles as Doctor Occult, Slam Bradley, and Radio Squad. Siegel also created and worked on the Spectre In 1939, DC editor Sheldon Meyer decided to give the two young men a chance, and published their character Superman a new comic title, "Action Comics". Superman was an almost imediate hit, spawning his own eponymous title within a year, then going on to be featured in virtually every type of media.

Siegel and Shuster continued working on Superman for many years, but became increasingly resentful of the profits that DC-National made off their character (because of the practice at the time, the creators had signed away all rights to the character to the publisher). In 1946, Shuster and Siegel sued DC for a share of the rights to Superman (their lawyer was Albert Zugsmith). The case dragged on until 1948, when the two men settled for royalties only on the Superboy character. They were also required to sign away any future claims to the Superman character.

Shuster left the comic field, while Seigel left DC to become comics editor at Ziff-Davis Publications during the 1950s. Without his long-time partner, however, Siegel found the creative spark to be missing, and gradually lost work. Finally, Siegel's wife went to DC's publisher and told them, "Do you really want to read the headline "Superman Creator Starves to Death'?", and asked for the comic publisher to give him uncredited work.

Siegel wrote many Superman stories in the 1960s, including many about Superman's home planet Krypton. In 1964, however, DC once again let Siegel go. He moved to Los Angeles, where he became a virtual recluse. In 1975, after the Superman movie raised new interest in the character, the two men once again sued DC for recognition and royalties. DC, with much prodding from publisher/editor Carmine Infantino, re-instated Siegel and Shuster's name on the masthead as creators, and awarded the two men an annual stipend of $35,000. Finally receiving the recognition he deserved, Siegel became recognized as one of the pioneers of the comics industries. In 1999, his heirs' finally won their court case with DC and received 50% ownership and control of Superman.