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1-50 of 117
- Producer
- Actor
- Production Manager
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. His father was the mayor of Santiago. The 1933 revolution led by Fulgencio Batista had landed his father in jail and stripped the family of its wealth, property and power. His father was released because of the intercession of U.S. officials who believed him to be neutral during the revolt. The family fled to Miami, Florida. One of Desi's first jobs in America consisted of cleaning canary cages. However, after forming his own small band of musicians, he was hired by Xavier Cugat, the "king" of Latin music.
Desi soon left Cugat, formed his own Latin band, and literally launched the conga craze in America. He was cast in the Broadway play "Too Many Girls" and then brought to Hollywood to make the film version of the play. It was on the set of Too Many Girls (1940) that he and Lucille Ball met. They soon married and approximately 10 years later formed Desilu Productions and began the I Love Lucy (1951) shows. Desi and Lucille had two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.. At the end of the I Love Lucy (1951) run, which included The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957), the two divorced. Desi later wrote an autobiography entitled "A Book." In 1986 he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on December 2, 1986 at age 69.- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Born Luana Margo Anderson on 12 May, 1938, Luana Anders began her career as a bike messenger at MGM, along with fellow actors, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight and future film producers George Edwards, and Fred Roos. She convinced Nicholson to join her in her improv class with legendary teacher and veteran character actor Jeff Corey. Luana began in such B-films as Reform School Girl (1957) (alongside her lifelong friend Sally Kellerman) and Life Begins at 17 (1958), in which she costarred with actor (and future producer) Mark Damon.
Luan also worked with Damon in Roger Corman's The Young Racers (1963). The sound man on The Young Racers (1963) asked her if she wanted to star in his first directing effort. The sound man was Francis Ford Coppola, and Anders played the conniving and duplicitous Louise Haloran, in Coppola's debut feature, Dementia 13 (1963).
She played Vincent Price's sister, Catherine Medina in Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1961).
Anders acted opposite Charles Grodin, in Sex and the College Girl (1964). Luana appeared in 3 films for director Curtis Harrington; ingenue Ellen Sands, in Night Tide (1961), a cameo as a party guest in Games (1967), and repressed librarian Louise in the perverse The Killing Kind (1973).
Anders achieved cult status as groovy hippie commune dweller Lisa in Easy Rider (1969). Robert Altman frequently credited Luana with getting his career started. She appeared as a streetwalker Sandy Dennis picks up in Altman's That Cold Day in the Park (1969).
Friend Jack Nicholson made a point of seeing and commenting on the movie during the Cannes film festival where Easy Rider (1969) won the Palme D'or; the subsequent publicity gave Altman the notoriety to launch his career.
She frequently acted in films with good friend Nicholson; she was especially memorable as a Buddhist chanting party girl in The Last Detail (1973). Luana was terrorized by a deranged Mickey Rooney on an abandoned studio back-lot in the unreleased gonzo oddity The Manipulator (1971) and starred in Robert Downey Sr.'s Greaser's Palace (1972).
Anders appeared in Shampoo (1975), a film reportedly based on her romance with hairdresser Richard Alcala; the picture was written by her friend and fellow Corey classmate Robert Towne.
She had a recurring part on the daytime soap opera, Santa Barbara (1984).
Amongst the series Luana appeared on, are Hunter (1984), Ben Casey (1961) and The Rifleman (1958).
Anders co-wrote the comedy Limit Up (1989), and was uncredited in scripting the action/adventure romp Fire on the Amazon (1993), which was Sandra Bullock's debut film for Corman. She appeared in a number of movies with collaborator Richard Martini, including You Can't Hurry Love (1988), about which Variety declared, "It's about time we see the great Luana Anders back on the screen".
She was a member of the improvisational comedy stage group, The Committee.
A lifelong Buddhist and supporter of the American chapter of Soka Gakkai International, Luana Anders died on July 21, 1996.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dubbed "The Sweetest Girl in Pictures", Mary Brian started life as Louise Byrdie Datzler. She was born in Corsicana, Texas, and went to high school in Dallas. Her widowed mother had big plans for young Louise and took her to California in 1923, with the intention of getting her into the film business. After several unsuccessful attempts, a bathing beauty competition in Long Beach resulted in a second-prize letter of introduction to Herbert Brenon at Paramount and the girl with the dark brown curls and blue/gray eyes wound up being screen-tested for the role of Wendy in Peter Pan (1924), co-starring Betty Bronson and Esther Ralston (with whom she would form lifelong friendships). She not only got the part but a five-year contract with Paramount (1925-30) and a new name.
In 1926 she became one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, which further enhanced her popularity. During the next few years she played ornamental leads and second leads as adolescent heroines, co-eds and ingénues. Many of those early silent features no longer exist today (Paris at Midnight (1926), among others), though surviving reels of some, like The Air Mail (1925), can still be accessed at the Library of Congress. Mary effortlessly made the transition from silents to talkies, co-starring with Gary Cooper as a feisty schoolmarm on the frontier in The Virginian (1929). One of her biggest hits was as Gwen Cavendish in the urbane comedy The Royal Family of Broadway (1930), with Ina Claire and Fredric March. A thinly disguised caricature of the private lives of the Barrymore dynasty, it hit the mark to the extent that Ethel Barrymore even threatened to sue Paramount. Mary acted three times opposite W.C. Fields, first as his daughter in Running Wild (1927), later reprising her role for The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934) (the third was Two Flaming Youths (1927), another lost film).
Signing up for another four-year contract, Mary was one of the all-star cast in the musical Paramount on Parade (1930) and then was given another good part in the first talkie version of The Front Page (1931). However, she was dropped from her contract (alongside her more illustrious colleagues Fay Wray and Jean Arthur) when Paramount began to forsake innocence and charm in favor of glamour and sophistication. From 1932 Mary freelanced and also performed occasionally in vaudeville at the Palace Theater. Arguably her last good picture was the romantic comedy Hard to Handle (1933), with James Cagney as a grifter (hilariously promoting grapefruit diets, spoofing his infamous scene with Mae Clarke in The Public Enemy (1931)). In 1936 Mary went to England, where she co-starred opposite Cary Grant in The Amazing Adventure (1936). She then made several pictures for Poverty Row companies such as Majestic and Monogram, including the low-budget potboiler I Escaped from the Gestapo (1943).
Mary's motion picture career faded after 1937 and she turned towards the stage. In 1940 she went on tour with "Three after Three" , alongside Simone Simon and Mitzi Green and later entertained American troops in the South Pacific as part of the USO. In the 1950's, she enjoyed a brief resurgence on television as the mother of a "Gidget"-type teen in the syndicated sitcom Meet Corliss Archer (1954). After the death of her second husband, the film editor George Tomasini, Mary spent her retirement fulfilling a lifelong passion for portrait painting.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Tim Considine was born on 31 December 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for My Three Sons (1960), Patton (1970) and Executive Suite (1954). He was married to Willett Helen Hunt and Charlotte Stewart. He died on 3 March 2022 in Mar Vista, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nan Peterson was born on 7 July 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Hideous Sun Demon (1958), Shotgun Wedding (1963) and The Twilight Zone (1959). She was married to Dr. James Clifford Doyle and James Edwin Moore. She died on 15 August 2023 in Corona del Mar, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
Alec Musser joined the cast of All My Children (1970) in July 2005, playing the role of Del Henry. He won this role after emerging the winner of the second season of the SOAPnet original series I Wanna Be a Soap Star (2004).
Musser was born in New York City but grew up in New Jersey and other places. He graduated from the University of San Diego. Musser had a passion for sports and was an avid athlete. After college, he worked with the professional ski patrol at Mammoth Mountain, which is a ski resort in North America that is located in the eastern Sierra Mountains. When he was not working during the off-season, he worked as a lifeguard. During his third season, he was discovered by a modeling agent, which led to his first modeling job with Abercrombie and Fitch. He modeled for Gianfranco Ferre, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Speedo and Target.
While modeling, Musser started booking national commercials. It was at this time that he auditioned for I Wanna Be a Soap Star (2004), which landed him the role that brought him back to live in New York City.
Alec died 13 Jan 2024 of a self- inflicted gunshot wound.- Director
- Writer
- Animation Department
Born in Kwilcz, Poland, Walerian Borowczyk trained as a painter and lithographer, winning Poland's National Prize in 1953. He began his film career as a film poster designer, then started making short animated films in the late 1950s. Moving to France in the early 1960s, he gained a reputation as a leading animator before switching to live-action features, which have become increasingly controversial due to their explicitly erotic and sensational content.- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
Starting as a cel washer, Chuck Jones worked his way up to animator and then director at the animation division of Warner Bros. He is famous for creating such beloved cartoon characters as Wile E. Coyote, Henery Hawk, Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Ralph Wolf, Road Runner, Sam Sheepdog, Sniffles, and many others, as well as adding to the development of Warner favorites such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and countless others.
His most famous cartoons tend to have been created with writer Michael Maltese. Jones' autobiography, published by Simon & Schuster "Chuck Amuck"--a pun on his Daffy Duck short Duck Amuck (1953)--gives a very amusing account of his life. It is liberally sprinkled with hundreds of cartoons with some color plates.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Itziar Castro was born on 14 February 1977 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was an actress and producer, known for Killing God (2017), [REC] 3: Genesis (2012) and Pieles (2017). She died on 8 December 2023 in Lloret de Mar, Girona, Catalunya, Spain.- Kane Richmond was born on 23 December 1906 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Lost City (1935), Brick Bradford (1947) and Spy Smasher (1942). He was married to Marion Burns. He died on 22 March 1973 in Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, California, USA.
- Actress
- Editor
- Producer
Ruth Foster was born on 29 January 1920 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She was an actress and editor, known for Cyborg 2087 (1966), Ben Casey (1961) and Little House on the Prairie (1974). She was married to Peter James. She died on 12 May 2012 in Del Mar, California, USA.- Drue Leyton was born on 12 June 1903 in Somers, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for Charlie Chan in London (1934), Blackmailer (1936) and Alibi for Murder (1936). She was married to Jacques Terrane. She died on 8 February 1997 in Corona Del Mar, California, USA.
- Linda Lorimer was born on 14 October 1936 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Batman (1966) and The Rounders (1966). She died on 28 June 1974 in Rio Del Mar, California, USA.
- Don Kennedy was born on 3 September 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Stunt Man (1980), You Are There (1953) and Bat Masterson (1958). He died on 3 April 2013 in Del Mar, California, USA.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Alexandre Dumas fils was born on 27 July 1824 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Traviata '53 (1953), Camille (1921) and Zorro: New Orleans (2020). He was married to Henriette Régnier de la Briére and Baroness Nadejda "Nadine" (von Knorring) Naryschkine. He died on 27 November 1895 in Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, France.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Silvia Solar was born on 20 March 1940 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Danger!! Death Ray (1967), Agente Sigma 3 - Missione Goldwather (1967) and Cannibal Terror (1980). She was married to Rogelio Madrid. She died on 17 May 2011 in Lloret de Mar, Spain.- Brick Huston was born on 25 October 1936 in Davidson, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for Mannix (1967), The Streets of San Francisco (1972) and Police Story (1973). He was married to Lynne Marta. He died on 20 August 2018 in Corona Del Mar, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Jean Topart was born on 13 April 1922 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Fantastic Planet (1973), Cold Sweat (1970) and Clash of Steel (1962). He died on 29 December 2012 in Port-Marly, Yvelines, France.- Mary McAllister was born on 27 May 1909 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for On Trial (1917), The Devil's Skipper (1928) and The Midnight Watch (1927). She died on 1 May 1991 in Del Mar, California, USA.
- Alberto Olmedo was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, on August 24, 1933. He began to work from 6 years old (at a greengrocer's shop); he had a very hard childhood. Olmedo or "El negro" - this way his family and friends were saying to him, not have time to dream of being an actor. He had to study and help his single mother.
But at the age of 14, Olmedo began to work as tap dancing in the theatre (La Comedia de Rosario), as rented public; his mission was to initiate the plaudits when the people was indifferent. The "Negro" remained fascinated with this universe, and began to frequent clubs and to work as imitator (Lola Flores, Miguel de Molina, between others), small roles in comedies, and some steps of dance.
With twenty years old, Olmedo moved to Buenos Aires, and he obtained employment in Channel 7 as Camera Director. On TV, Olmedo created a very dear personage, the Capital Piluso, and from this moment his reputation grew, turning in a TV star.
Then came "No toca botón" and tons of extraordinary personages like "El Manosanta", "Rogelio Roldán", "Grotovsky and Stalisnavsky", "Chiquito Reyes", and many other, that led to theatre and cinema with equal success.
He died very young after falling from the ninth floor of a building, in Mar del Plata, one evening of March, 1988, leaving all the Argentinians sadder than never, and forever. - Actress
Born Christine Mae in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to Tip and Orrie Gossett and the last surviving and youngest of three children. She had two brothers, William Thomas Gossett of Birmingham, MI and Wayne I. Gossett of Rancho Santa Fe, California. Mr. and Mrs. Gossett owned and operated hotels in Oklahoma and then in Salt Lake City, Utah. A beautiful woman, aspiring to be an actress, Gossett moved with her family to Salt Lake City, and attended the University of Utah but, after moving to Hollywood, California, eventually found herself under contract to 20th Century Fox Studios where she met her future husband of 55 years and became Mrs. Leon Ames in 1938. Christine Ames became a devoted housewife to Leon and mother to Shelley in 1940 and to Leon, Jr. in 1943. The Ames family lived in Studio City, California, for well over 30 years and, in addition to the acting profession of her late husband, Leon, she served as president of their family owned car dealerships, originally coined Gossett-Ames Ford in Studio City. Leon and Chris Ames moved to Corona del Mar in 1978 where they enjoyed a warm and comfortable retirement until the death of Leon in 1993. Christine remained in their home the remainder of her life. Christine Gossett Ames passed away peacefully October 27, 2005 in Corona del Mar, California.- Bob Talmadge was born on 3 February 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was married to Escoleta (Patricia) Marie McGough. He died on 19 July 2009 in Del Mar, California, USA.
- Michael Leone was born on 29 June 1943 in New Jersey, USA. He was a producer, known for The Octagon (1980), A Force of One (1979) and I, the Jury (1982). He died on 26 June 1997 in Del Mar, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Roger Pierre was born in Le-Port Marly, France 1923. In 1946 he had made his stage debut in a cabaret and was an extra in the war drama Le Père tranquille/Mr. Orchid (1946, René Clément) starring Noël-Noël. In 1947, he worked as a presenter of commercials at Radio-Luxembourg. There he met Jean-Marc Thibault whose texts he had to read. It was the start of a long career as a comedy duo in Parisian cabarets such as le Tabou, le Caveau de la Terreur, l'Amiral, and le Moulin-Rouge. The men wrote some 3,000 sketches and songs together. They appeared in many TV shows of Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier and also co-starred in several film comedies. These films included La Vie est belle/Life is Beautiful (1956, Roger Pierre, Jean-Marc Thibault), Vive les vacances/Gimme A Break (1958, Jean-Marc Thibault) written by Thibault and Pierre, Les Motards/The Motorcycle Cops (1959, Jean Laviron) also with Francis Blanche and co-written by Thibault and Pierre, Un cheval pour deux/A Horse for Two (1961, Jean-Marc Thibault) and Faites donc plaisir aux amis/So Be Happy with Friends (1969, Francis Rigaud). Together they also appeared in supporting parts in many other film comedies such as Nous irons à Deauville/We Go to Deauville (1962, Francis Rigaud) with Louis de Funès, and Les Baratineurs/The Talkers (1965, Francis Rigaud) starring Jean Poiret. Between 1967 and 1970, Thibault and Pierre presented the TV show Les Grands Enfants/ Big Kids. From 1972 rill 1975 they made everybody in France laugh with their historical comedy shows Les maudits rois fainéants/The Damned Lazy Kings and Les z'heureux rois z'Henri/The Happy Kings Henry. Their final films together were the comedies En grandes pompes/With Great Fanfare (1974, André Teisseire) with Ginette Leclerc, and Gross Paris (1974, Gilles Grangier).
In 1976 and after 28 years together, the artistic ways of Jean-Marc Thibault and Roger Pierre parted. In the following years Pierre appeared without Thibault in Comme sur des roulettes (1976, Nina Companeez), Mon oncle d'Amérique/My American Uncle (1980, Alain Resnais) with Gérard Depardieu, and Camera d'albergo/Hotel Room (1981, Mario Monicelli) starring Vittorio Gassman and also continued to work on stage and television. During the 1980's, he participated in Jeux de 20 heures; he cooperated on the cult TV show Grosses Têtes by Philippe Bouvard and also appeared in the TV show Incroyable mais vrai! At the age of 80 he played in the TV film L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret/The childhood friend of Maigret (2003, Laurent Heynemann), with Bruno Crémer as inspector Jules Maigret. He had his final film role in Les Herbes folles/Wild Grass (2009, Alain Resnais) with Sabine Azéma. Pierre and Thibault twice reunited. In 1984 they worked together for the spectacle Nos premiers adieux at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris and again in 1990 at l'Olympia. Roger Pierre, died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 86.- Mr Salah M. Hassanein was born in 1921 in Egypt. He attended the British School, Alexandria, and the London School of Economics, Cairo. He came to the United States in 1945, where he served in the U.S. Armed forces from 1945 to 1947. He joined Skouras Theatres Corporation as an usher in 1947, and became President in 1961. Subsequently, and until 1987, Salah M. Hassanein was appointed Executive Vice president, a member of the Board of Directors of the United Artists Communications and President of United Artists Eastern Theatres. In 1987, he was appointed President of Warner Brothers International Theatres and was entrusted with the task of building a network of multiplex theatres in Europe, Japan and Australia on behalf of Warner Brothers. In July of 1994, he assumed the Presidency of The Todd-AO Corporation, which he occupied until June of 2000. Currently, he is President of SMH Entertainment, Chairman of the Board of PointSource Technology and a member of the Board of Directors of SeeBeyond. He is Chairman of the Board of Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, past Chairman of the Board and President of Variety Clubs International, Honorary Chairman of the Will Rogers Memorial Fund, past Chairman and President of the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers, a member of the New York State Motion Picture and Television Advisory Board, an advisory board member of the National Bank of New York City, past member of the Board of Television & Film Committee of the United States Information Agency, a trustee of the North Shore Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y. and a member of the Board of Aging in America, Inc. He is also currently Chairman of the Variety International Lifeline Program. Mr Hassanein currently resides in San Diego and lives with British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.