Deaths: February 2
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- Actor
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Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport to Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in high school theatrics, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in 1989.
He made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991) as Phil Hoffman, and his first role in a major release came the next year in My New Gun (1992). While he had supporting roles in some other major productions like Scent of a Woman (1992) and Twister (1996), his breakthrough role came in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997).
He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Flawless (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), Almost Famous (2000) and State and Main (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Red Dragon (2002), Cold Mountain (2003) and Mission: Impossible III (2006).
Hoffman was also quite active on the stage. On Broadway, he has earned two Tony nominations, as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West" and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill (I)'s "Long Day's Journey into Night". His other acting credits in the New York theater include "The Seagull" (directed by Mike Nichols for The New York Shakespeare Festival), "Defying Gravity", "The Merchant of Venice" (directed by Peter Sellars), "Shopping and F*@%ing" and "The Author's Voice" (Drama Desk nomination).
He was the Co-Artistic Director of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York, for which he directed "Our Lady of 121st Street" by Stephen Adly Guirgis. He also directed "In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings" and "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Guirgis for LAByrinth, and "The Glory of Living" by Rebecca Gilman at the Manhattan Class Company.
Hoffman consolidated his reputation as one of the finest actors under the age of 40 with his turn in the title role of Capote (2005), for which he won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award as Best Actor. In 2006, he was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for the same role.
On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in an apartment in Greenwich village, New York. Investigators found Hoffman with a syringe in his arm and two open envelopes of heroin next to him. Mr. Hoffman was long known to struggle with addiction. In 2006, he said in an interview with "60 Minutes" that he had given up drugs and alcohol many years earlier, when he was age 22. In 2013, he checked into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days after a reliance on prescription pills resulted in his briefly turning again to heroin.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Attractive Hollywood leading man (and sometime villain) from the late 30s until his death following surgery, Alan Curtis (Harry Ueberroth) was born 24 July 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in that area and in the early 1930s became a model, appearing in many magazine and newspaper advertisements. His looks did not go unnoticed in Hollywood, and he soon found himself in the movie business. He became a leading man, and was very popular in the 1940s, appearing in at least 26 movies. He died of complications of surgery on 2 February 1953 in New York City and is buried in the Ueberroth family plot in Evanston, Illinois.- Alistair MacLean was born on 28 April 1922 in Daviot, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Puppet on a Chain (1970). He was married to Mary Marcelle Georgius and Gisela Heinrichsen. He died on 2 February 1987 in Munich, Germany.
- Amitabh Dayal was born in 1970 in Chattisgarh, India. He was an actor, known for Kagaar: Life on the Edge (2003), Rangdari (2012) and Dhuaan (2013). He was married to Mrunalini Patil Dayall. He died on 2 February 2022 in Mumbai, India.
- Composer
- Producer
- Actor
Andrew Brough is known for BIKE - Save My Life (1996), Bike -Tears Were Blue (1997) and Straightjacket Fits: Down in Splendour (1990).- Autherine Lucy was born on 5 October 1929 in Shiloh, Alabama, USA. She was married to Hugh Lawrence Foster. She died on 2 February 2022 in Lipscomb, Alabama, USA.
- Barbara Euphan Todd was born on 9 January 1890 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Worzel Gummidge (2019), Worzel Gummidge (1979) and Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective (1953). She was married to John Graham Bower. She died on 2 February 1976.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Born in London's East End, Barry's career began when he won a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 15. Upon graduation, he followed with successful stage runs in London's West End and in theatrical productions throughout the United Kingdom, and appeared on the BBC's earliest live television broadcasts in the late 1930s. Barry relocated to Canada in the early 1950s, working in live theatre, on CBC Radio, and in the premiere CBC-TV broadcasts. While a staple in many of the anthology and dramatic series of the 1950s and 1960s, he is probably best known in North America for his TV roles as "Lt. Philip Gerard" in The Fugitive (1963) and as "Prof. Victor Bergman" in Space: 1999 (1975). A journalist once determined that Barry had played more than 3,000 roles on the stage, screen, and radio in a career spanning eight decades.- Bernard Ebbers was born on 27 August 1941 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was married to Kristie Webb, Linda Pigott and Linda Pigott . He died on 2 February 2020 in Brookhaven, Mississipi, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bert Parks was born on 30 December 1914 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Freshman (1990), The Bionic Woman (1976) and Burke's Law (1963). He was married to Annette Liebman. He died on 2 February 1992 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Bill Sims was born on 23 June 1949 in Marion, Ohio, USA. He was married to Karen Wilson. He died on 2 February 2019 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Birgitte Federspiel was born on 6 September 1925 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Babette's Feast (1987), A Stranger Knocks (1959) and Gøngehøvdingen (1961). She was married to Freddy Koch, Henning Ahrensborg and Jens Østerholm. She died on 2 February 2005 in Odense, Denmark.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Bob Elliott was born on 26 March 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Quick Change (1990), Cabin Boy (1994) and Get a Life (1990). He was married to Virginia Lee Peppers and Jane Frances Underwood. He died on 2 February 2016 in Cundy's Harbor, Maine, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Along with fellow actors Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price, Boris Karloff is recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema, and the actor most closely identified with the general public's perception of the "Monster" from the classic Mary Shelley novel "Frankenstein". William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell, London, England, UK, the son of Edward John Pratt Jr., the Deputy Commissioner of Customs Salt and Opium, Northern Division, Indian Salt Revenue Service, and his third wife, Eliza Sarah Millard.
He was educated at London University in anticipation that he would pursue a diplomatic career; however, he emigrated to Canada in 1909, joined a touring company based out of Ontario and adopted the stage name of "Boris Karloff." He toured back and forth across the U.S. for over 10 years in a variety of low-budget theater shows and eventually ended up in Hollywood, reportedly with very little money to his name. Needing cash to support himself, Karloff secured occasional acting work in the fledgling silent film industry in such pictures as The Deadlier Sex (1920), Omar the Tentmaker (1922), Dynamite Dan (1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927), in addition to a handful of serials (the majority of which, sadly, have not survived). Karloff supplemented his meager film income by working as a truck driver in Los Angeles, which allowed him enough time off to continue to pursue acting roles.
His big break came in 1931 when he was cast as "the Monster" in the Universal production of Frankenstein (1931), directed by James Whale, one of the studio's few remaining auteur directors. The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?". The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. He quickly appeared in several other sinister roles, including Scarface (1932) (filmed before Frankenstein (1931)), the black-humored The Old Dark House (1932), as the namesake Chinese villain of the Sax Rohmer Dr. Fu Manchu novels in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), as undead Im-Ho-Tep in The Mummy (1932) and the misguided Prof. Morlant in The Ghoul (1933). He thoroughly enjoyed his role as a religious fanatic in John Ford's The Lost Patrol (1934), although contemporary critics described it as a textbook example of overacting.
He donned the signature make-up, neck bolts and asphalt spreader's boots again to play the Frankenstein Monster twice, in the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (1939). Karloff, on loan to Fox, appeared in one of the best of the Warner Oland Charlie Chan films, Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), before beginning his own short-lived Mr. Wong detective series. He was a wrongly condemned doctor in Devil's Island (1938), shaven-headed executioner "Mord the Merciless" in Tower of London (1939), another misguided scientist in The Ape (1940), a crazed scientist surrounded by monsters, vampires and werewolves in House of Frankenstein (1944), a murderous cabman in The Body Snatcher (1945) and a Greek general fighting vampirism in the Val Lewton thriller Isle of the Dead (1945).
While Karloff continued appearing in a plethora of films, many of them were not up to the standards of his previous efforts, including appearances in two of the hokey Bud Abbott and Lou Costello monster films (he had appeared with them in an earlier, superior film, Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1949), of which theater owners often added his name to the marquee), the low point of the Universal-International horror film cycle. During the 1950s he was a regular guest on many high-profile TV shows, including The Milton Berle Show (1948), Tales of Tomorrow (1951), The Veil (1958), The Donald O'Connor Show (1954), The Red Skelton Hour (1951) and The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956), to name a few, and he appeared in a mixed bag of films, including Sabaka (1954) and Voodoo Island (1957). On Broadway, he appeared as the murderous Brewster brother in the hit "Arsenic and Old Lace" (his role, or rather the absence of him in it, was amusingly parodied in the 1944 film version) and a decade later he enjoyed a long run in "Peter Pan," perfectly cast as "Captain Hook."
His career experienced something of a revival in the 1960s thanks to hosting the TV anthology series Thriller (1960) and indie director Roger Corman, with Karloff contributing wonderful performances in The Raven (1963), The Terror (1963), the ultra-eerie Black Sabbath (1963) and the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Die, Monster, Die! (1965). Karloff's last great role was as an aging horror film star on the brink of retirement confronting a modern-day sniper in the Peter Bogdanovich film Targets (1968). In 1970, he played the blind sculptor Franz Badulescu in Cauldron of Blood (1968), written, produced, and directed by Edward Mann, who had also come to the art of film from stage theater. His TV career was capped off by achieving Christmas immortality as the narrator of Chuck Jones's perennial animated favorite, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). Four low-budget Mexican-produced horror films starring an ailing Karloff were released in the two years after his death; however, they do no justice to this actor. In retrospect, he never took himself too seriously as an actor and had a tendency to downplay his acting accomplishments. Renowned as a refined, kind and warm-hearted gentleman, with a sincere affection for children and their welfare, Karloff passed away on February 2, 1969 from pneumonia. Respectful of his Indian roots and in true Hindu fashion, he was cremated at Guildford Crematorium, Godalming, Surrey, England, UK, where he is commemorated by a plaque in Plot 2 of the Garden of Remembrance.- Actor
- Producer
One of the finest teamsters in Hollywood screen history, Osborne handled the reins for horse-drawn coaches and wagons in countless westerns and historical photoplays from the early 20's through late 50's. And with his weathered, rumpled look, his Texas drawl and his nasal twang, he was often called upon to portray a seedy outlaw in any of those same westerns.- Actress
- Writer
Carol Emshwiller was born on 12 April 1921 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Family Focus (1976) and Carol (1970). She was married to Ed Emshwiller. She died on 2 February 2019 in Durham, North Carolina, USA.- Cathie Merchant was born on 15 November 1945 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for 77 Sunset Strip (1958), The Untouchables (1959) and The Bob Cummings Show (1961). She died on 2 February 2013 in the USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
This old codger film favorite, born in 1869 (some reports say 1875), got into the entertainment field at an early age, first as a circus performer (aerialist and trapeze artist). When acting sparked his interest, he worked in a series of stock companies while writing stage plays that he himself could star in. He married actress Anna Chance around the turn of the century, and they remained a devoted couple until her death 47 years later. They had no children. Charley came into his own in films at the ripe old age of 60 as the ultimate humorous, toothless character in a range of films with rustic settings. Notable movies include The Petrified Forest (1936) with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart, The Good Earth (1937) with Paul Muni and Luise Rainer, and They Died with Their Boots On (1941) with Errol Flynn. However, his best-remembered parts were as huggable Uncle Henry in the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), ornery Grandpa Joad, who refused to leave the homestead in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen whodunits that ran from 1940 through 1942, and the amiable ne'er-do-well Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941). A soft, humorous presence who seemed frail around the edges, he was a thorough delight, his folksy presence gracing over 100 films. He died in 1956.- Writer
- Producer
Chris Kyle was born on 8 April 1974 in Odessa, Texas, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for American Sniper (2014), Stars Earn Stripes (2012) and Sons of Guns (2011). He was married to Taya Kyle. He died on 2 February 2013 in Glen Rose, Texas, USA.- Claire Clouzot was born on 2 August 1933 in Paris, France. She was a director, known for L'homme fragile (1981), Rémy Duval, 28 place des Vosges (1986) and Ciné regards (1978). She died on 2 February 2020 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Balding, quietly spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the essential physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of his lengthy career, he relished playing the obsessed, the paranoid and the purely evil. Even the Van Helsing-like psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween (1978) franchise seems only marginally more balanced than his prey. An actor of great intensity, Pleasence excelled on stage as Shakespearean villains. He was an unrelenting prosecutor in Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos" and made his theatrical reputation in the title role of the seedy, scheming tramp in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (1960). On screen, he gave a perfectly plausible interpretation of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was a convincingly devious Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), disturbing in his portrayal of the crazed, bloodthirsty preacher Quint in Will Penny (1967); and as sexually depraved, alcohol-sodden 'Doc' Tydon in the brilliant Aussie outback drama Wake in Fright (1971). And, of course, he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). These are some of the films, for which we may remember Pleasence, but there was a great deal more to this fabulous, multi-faceted actor.
Donald Henry Pleasence was born on October 5, 1919 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, to Alice (Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence. His family worked on the railway. His grandfather had been a signal man and both his brother and father were station masters. When Donald failed to get a scholarship at RADA, he joined the family occupation working as a clerk at his father's station before becoming station master at Swinton, Yorkshire. While there, he wrote letters to theatre companies, eventually being accepted by one on the island of Jersey in Spring 1939 as an assistant stage manager. On the eve of World War II, he made his theatrical debut in "Wuthering Heights". In 1942, he played Curio in "Twelfth Night", but his career was then interrupted by military service in the RAF. He was shot down over France, incarcerated and tortured in a German POW camp. Once repatriated, Donald returned to the stage in Peter Brook's 1946 London production of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Alec Guinness although he missed the opening due to measles, followed by a stint on Broadway with Laurence Olivier's touring company in "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". Upon his return to England, he won critical plaudits for his performance in "Hobson's Choice". In 1952, Donald began his screen career, rather unobtrusively, in small parts. He was only really noticed once having found his métier as dastardly, sneaky Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). It took several more years, until international recognition came his way: first, through the filmed adaptation of The Guest (1963), and, secondly, with his blind forger in The Great Escape (1963), a role he imbued with added conviction due to his own wartime experience.
Some of his best acting Donald reserved for the small screen. In 1962, the producer of The Twilight Zone (1959), Buck Houghton, brought Donald to the United States ("damn the expense"!) to guest star in the third-season episode "The Changing of the Guard". He was given a mere five days to immerse himself in the part of a gentle school teacher, Professor Ellis Fowler, who, on the eve of Christmas is forcibly retired after fifty-one years of teaching. Devastated, and believing himself a failure who has made no mark on the world, he is about to commit suicide when the school's bell summons him to his classroom. There, he is confronted by the spirits of deceased students who beg him to consider that his lessons have indeed had fundamental effects on their lives, even leading to acts of great heroism. Upon hearing this, Fowler is now content to graciously accept his retirement. Managing to avoid maudlin sentimentality, Donald's performance was intuitive and, arguably, one of the most poignant ever accomplished in a thirty-minute television episode. Once again, against type, he was equally delightful as the mild-mannered Reverend Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles (1982).
Whether eccentric, sinister or given to pathos, Donald Pleasence was always great value for money and his performances have rarely failed to engage.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Eduardo Coutinho was born on 11 May 1933 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. He was a director and writer, known for Edifício Master (2002), Santo Forte (1999) and Babilônia 2000 (1999). He was married to Maria das Dores de Oliveira. He died on 2 February 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- Edward was educated at South Shields Grammar Tech1958 -65, Manchester University 1967 -1970 BA Hons 1970 and is the chair of the Northern Electric Arts Awards, On the board of Northern Stage Co .,Royal Overseas League, British Actors Equity, Directors Guild of Great Britain. He appeared in the television series When the Boat Comes In and Rockcliffes Babies
- Production Designer
- Costume Designer
- Art Director
Ezio Frigerio was born on 16 July 1930 in Erba, Italy. He was a production designer and costume designer, known for Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), 1900 (1976) and The Horseman on the Roof (1995). He was married to Franca Squarciapino. He died on 2 February 2022 in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third son of Harriet Catherine (Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman. His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of Irish and German ancestry.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest and most powerful studio in Hollywood when Gene Kelly arrived in town in 1941. He came direct from the hit 1940 original Broadway production of "Pal Joey" and planned to return to the Broadway stage after making the one film required by his contract. His first picture for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. What kept Kelly in Hollywood were "the kindred creative spirits" he found behind the scenes at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The talent pool was especially large during World War II, when Hollywood was a refuge for many musicians and others in the performing arts of Europe who were forced to flee the Nazis. After the war, a new generation was coming of age. Those who saw An American in Paris (1951) would try to make real life as romantic as the reel life they saw portrayed in that musical, and the first time they saw Paris, they were seeing again in memory the seventeen-minute ballet sequence set to the title song written by George Gershwin and choreographed by Kelly. The sequence cost a half million dollars (U.S.) to make in 1951 dollars. Another Kelly musical of the era, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry. Kelly was in the same league as Fred Astaire, but instead of a top hat and tails Kelly wore work clothes that went with his masculine, athletic dance style.
Gene Kelly died at age 83 of complications from two strokes on February 2, 1996 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.- Composer
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Ivan Kral was born in 1948 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to a musician mother and journalist father.
The award-winning composer, filmmaker and musician knew his calling early. By the age of five, when he wrote his first song, he could sing, play guitar, piano and violin. At 16, he reached Czechoslovakia's Top 10 Hit Parade with Pierot, his own composition recorded with his band, Saze.
Ivan's family fled to New York just ahead of the Soviet Union closure of the Czech border in 1968. They settled in New York City, where his father, Dr. Karel Kral, was already a translator at the United Nations. While at the UN, Dr. Kral earned Czech government wrath over his criticism of the expected Soviet invasion.
Ivan, then 18 years old, adapted to his new country less readily than his older brother Pavel, 23. He stayed in the family's apartment on 81st Street, struggling to learn English - with the help of Daffy Duck cartoons - and hoping to return to Czechoslovakia and his rock 'n' roll celebrity.
Eventually, he attended Geneseo College in upstate New York, earning a degree in French literature. He paid for his education with a series of menial jobs, most notably working the midnight shift at Birds Eye Foods, where he donned a hazmat suit before jumping into 9-foot tall steel containers to remove leftover CoolWhip.
It was all a prelude to his life as a proto-punk, singer-songwriter and film chronicler of a musical era that still resounds today. Ivan wore eyeliner and satin onstage during the early 70s glitter glam rock phase. In 1974, he played guitar with Debbie Harry in Blondie. In 1975, he joined the seminal Patti Smith Group transforming them from poetry to rock and roll. The band recorded numerous tunes written by Kral with Smith, including debut album Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter and Wave.Rock journalist Dave Thompson quotes Patti: "Ivan fit in perfectly, because all of us were slightly offbeat, and felt somehow alienated from the mainstream of society, and of course, Ivan being a true alien fit in well with us. The greatest thing he had to struggle with, as we toured around the country and various parts of the world, was being stateless. Ivan was a part of what we were as a group."
Ivan and Mick Ronson, from Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, collaborated, though the band never materialized. He joined Iggy Pop at Rockfield Studios in Wales and remained his collaborator on two albums and four tours. Frequently, he filmed his musician friends in 8mm and 16mm. CBGBs and Max's Kansas City footage selections were edited with no wave filmmaker Amos Poe, resulting in The Blank Generation film -- hailed as the historical document of the punk revolution - featuring the Ramones, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Television, Patti Smith Group, Wayne County, Heartbreakers and more.
He shared the occasional New York stage with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale from The Velvet Underground, Noel Redding from Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Spector and Chris Spedding. His collaboration with Babys singer, John Waite, resulted in many songs, including the hit, Every Step of the Way. His new band, Eastern Bloc, produced one album, but disbanded after Polygram folded.
In 1982, Ivan composed the music score for the Barry Levinson film, "Diner". He wrote scores for underground films like Subway Riders, Unmade Beds and The Foreigner.
He stopped touring and moved to Seattle until his return to Prague in 1992. During this time, his music was recorded by many, including David Bowie, U2, Simple Minds, and France's Telephone. Ivan now secured status as an independent writer and record producer.
From CBGB's to the mailroom of ABKCo's Beatles, where his duties included driving John Lennon and Yoko Ono's psychedelic Rolls Royce and watching underground films over dinner with Allen Klein. Ivan was in bands that shared billing with Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss, Journey and Tom Petty.
A living national treasure in today's Czech Republic, he has 10 solo albums on Universal and BMG. He's a prolific writer and producer of major Czech talent. Ivan has been a guest at Prague Castle, and former President Vaclav Havel has attended his concerts.
Ivan's awards include Czech Grammys for his 1994 solo album, Nostalgia. He was awarded Grammys for Rock Producer of the Year in 1995 and 1998. Nominations include the Oscar-equivalent Cesky Lev for his 2001 Cabriolet film score. He and Patti Smith's song, Dancing Barefoot, entered #323 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1995, Mojo Magazine ranked Horses the 10th Greatest Album of All Time.
In 2007, he performed his own tribute song, Wasn't It Great, at the Bowery Ballroom memorial for the late CBGB founder, Hilly Kristal.
He continues to work globally from his Ann Arbor, Michigan home studio. In 2009, Ivan was songwriter/vocalist/musician for the soundtrack of the Japanese animated TV show, Yozakura Quartet 3.- Jean Martin was born on 6 March 1922 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for The Battle of Algiers (1966), The Day of the Jackal (1973) and My Name Is Nobody (1973). He died on 2 February 2009 in Paris, France.
- Jessie Royce Landis was called "an international star" in her New York Times obituary. She was 20 when she made her stage debut at the Playhouse in Chicago as the young countess in "The Highwayman". Soon she was on Broadway. In 1950 she went to London for "Larger Than Life", a dramatization of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, "Theatre". There she received an award for the best performance of the year. The following year in London she had the prima donna role (a singing part) in "And So To Bed". In 1954, she published her autobiography, "You Won't Be So Pretty". Then in the mid-1950s her film career took off after she was Grace Kelly's mother in To Catch a Thief (1955) and Cary Grant's mother in North by Northwest (1959). Although she claimed to have been born the same year as Grant, she was actually more than seven years older.
- Joel Fluellen was born on 1 December 1907 in Monroe, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Porgy and Bess (1959), The Chase (1966) and A Raisin in the Sun (1961). He died on 2 February 1990 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
His father Geoffrey Kerr (b. 25 Jan 1895, London; d. 1971) and mother June Walker (b. 14 June 1904, New York City; d. 1966) were successful Broadway and, occasionally, film actors. He went into theatre as soon as he graduated from Harvard. He had an important role in the stage play "Bernadine" in 1952, and achieved real recognition for the sensitive lead part of Tom Robinson Lee in the 1953 stage production of "Tea and Sympathy", a role he recreated in the 1956 film version. Audiences found him touching in the tragic-hero role of Lieutenant Joe Cable in the 1958 musical South Pacific (1958). He became a practicing attorney but also made rare film/TV appearances.- Johnny Lee Davenport was born on 24 July 1950 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Fugitive (1993), U.S. Marshals (1998) and Ted (2012). He died on 2 February 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- Juanita Ayos was born on 31 March 1922 in Italy. She died on 2 February 2017 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
K. Viswanath was born on 19 February 1930 in Peddapulivarru, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a writer and director, known for Sagara Sangamam (1983), Sutradhaarulu (1990) and Sruthilayalu (1987). He was married to Kasinadhuni Jayalakshmi. He died on 2 February 2023 in Hyderabad, India.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Lanny Poffo was born on 28 December 1954 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was an actor and producer, known for WWF Championship Wrestling (1972), Summerslam (1989) and Saturday Night's Main Event (1985). He was married to Sally. He died on 2 February 2023 in the USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gray was known in the film business as a dependable "player" and to the public as a doting son. Throughout his Hollywood career he lived with his parents or his mother until his marriage in 1935. Built the home he shared with his parents, Henry and Mamie Gray. Henry died in 1932, Larry continued to share a home with his mother until Dolores Del Rio introduced him to Maria Luisa Figueroa and a "romance blossomed into an engagement." (Los Angeles Times. August 8, 1935)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lovelady Powell was born on 9 May 1930 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Dark Shadows (1966), The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970). She died on 2 February 2020 in Long Island, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
Michael Thomas Bernard Hoare was born in India in 1919 to Irish parents. He spent his childhood in India, but was sent to England for his schooling, first at Margate College. When World War II broke out, he joined the British army and served in the London Irish Rifles. He attended officer training school, and upon graduation was posted to the Royal Armored Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the Pacific theater, and took part in the Battle of Kohima in India in 1944, which resulted in a stinging defeat for the Japanese. After further service in Burma, he was demobbed and left the army.
After the war he continued his education in London, and eventually became an accountant. In 1948, now married and with a child, he decided that his family's fortunes would be better in South Africa. He, his wife, and their son, Chris, moved to Durban. Hoare started a safari business, taking tourists across the Kalahari Desert to the Okavongo Delta. In 1961, the Congo in Africa was granted independence by Belgium, and the mineral-rich province of Katanga decided to secede from the new country and declared its own independence. Hoare was contacted by Katanga leader Moise Tshombe for help, as the central Congolese government had decided to forcibly bring Katanga back into the Congo and the United Nations had backed them up. Katanga had no army to speak of, just some local native police. Hoare accepted Tshombe's offer and gathered a group of ex-soldiers to train the Katangese.
In 1964, the Congo was wracked by a rebellion by a particularly savage movement called the Simbas, who rampaged throughout the country, burning villages, raping and murdering civilians in particularly horrific and brutal fashion, in addition to often cannibalizing victims and prisoners. The Congolese government forces were terrified of them and could not, or would not, fight them. Tshombe again asked Hoare for aid, and he responded by raising a mercenary force of veteran soldiers--both African and European--called 5 Commando to put down the rebellion and destroy the Simbas. In little more than a year he and his men had taken Stanleyville from the Simbas, freed hundreds of hostages they had taken and had pretty much pushed the rebels out of the country -- he had once been called "Mad Bloodhound Hoare" by an East German broadcaster because of his reputation for not only defeating his enemies but hunting them down and wiping them out afterwards.
By the time he had completed his mission and retired at the end of 1965, his success at accomplishing with relatively few men what other military organizations could not had made him the most famous mercenary leader in the world. He had single-handedly changed the image of mercenaries from brutal, drunken, disreputable and corrupt thugs to efficient, well-trained and effective military units. He himself came across as articulate, well-spoken and professional, an almost stereotypical British officer and gentleman. In 1978 he was hired as a technical adviser on the film The Wild Geese (1978), starring Richard Burton (who played a character largely based on Hoare) and Richard Harris, about a mercenary hired to rescue a respected African leader from a murderous renegade general who had overthrown and imprisoned him and was set to execute him. The film was a major success, spawned several sequels and brought Hoare back into the spotlight again.
In 1981 he was in the news once more when he and a band of ex-soldiers were recruited for a coup against a dictatorial regime in the Seychelles, a small island country in the Indian Ocean. The coup failed, however, and he and his men wee forced to hijack a plane in order to escape. They landed in South Africa, where they were promptly arrested. Hoare was sentenced to ten years in prison, but was released in 1985 after having served almost three years. Mike Hoare died in Durban, South Africa in 2020, aged 100.Mad Mike Hoare- Actor
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Marcel Bozzuffi was born on 28 October 1929 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France. He was an actor and director, known for The French Connection (1971), Z (1969) and Maigret voit rouge (1963). He was married to Françoise Fabian. He died on 1 February 1988 in Paris, France.- Actress
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Margaret John was born on 14 December 1926 in Swansea, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Run Fatboy Run (2007), Game of Thrones (2011) and High Hopes (2002). She was married to Ben Thomas. She died on 2 February 2011 in Swansea, Wales, UK.- Melvyn Weiss was born on 1 August 1935 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He died on 2 February 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
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Monica Vitti was born on 3 November 1931 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress and writer, known for L'Avventura (1960), Red Desert (1964) and L'Eclisse (1962). She was married to Roberto Russo. She died on 2 February 2022 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
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Ole Thestrup was born on 12 March 1948 in Nibe, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Flickering Lights (2000), Adam's Apples (2005) and Ronal the Barbarian (2011). He was married to Hanne Marie Knudsen. He died on 2 February 2018 in Tuse Næs, Denmark.- Actor
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Ramesh Deo was born on 30-01-1926 in Kolhapur in the state of Maharashtra, India. He is an Indian Film Actor, Film Director, Television Actor, Television Director & Television Producer. His debut came in the form of a cameo in the 1951 Marathi film Paatlaachi Por. Ramesh Deo started his film career in the Marathi movie Andhala Magto Ek Dola (1956), directed by Raja Paranjape. He started off as a villain. His first Hindi film was Rajshree Production's Aarti (1962). In his long career, he has provided able support to stars like Amitabh Bachchan (Anand), Rajesh Khanna (Aap Ki Kasam), Shatrughan Sinha (Mere Apne) and many more.
In January 2013, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). he worked in Nivdung, a Marathi serial in the year 2006.- Visual Effects
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Visual effects wizard Robert Campbell Blalack was a co-founder of Industrial Light & Magic, a division of the production company Lucasfilm. His reputation as a leading pioneer in the field of CGI rests on his collaboration with John Dykstra in designing/supervising the ILM VistaVision Photographic Optical Composite and Rotoscope Animation blue screen production pipeline (notably employed to achieve the glowing lightsaber effect) first seen in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). For his contribution, the Panamanian-born shared the 1978 Academy Award, adding to this accolade six years later with a Primetime Emmy for his special effects work on the apocalyptic TV movie The Day After (1983). Earlier, in 1980, Blalack had been in charge of visual effects for Carl Sagan's groundbreaking documentary series Cosmos (1980).
Robert Blalack graduated with a B.A. in English Literature/Theater Arts from Pomona College and subsequently completed film studies at the California Institute of the Arts. By the time Blalack met Dykstra in 1974 he had already produced several experimental short films and headed his own company (Praxis Film Works, headquartered in North Hollywood). Under the Praxis umbrella, he also directed numerous commercials integrating live action with computer generated effects. His later film work included the 'cat vision' optics in Paul Schrader's remake of Cat People (1982), as well as special visual effects for The Last Dragon (1985) and Timestalkers (1987).
Later becoming active as an instructor in multi-media, Blalack gave lectures and attended conferences at universities and film schools in Europe and in Asia. He died from cancer in Paris on February 2 2022, aged 73.- Was an only child, Rondo Hatton was born to Stewart and Emily Hatton in Hagerstown, Maryland. The family moved to Tampa, Florida, in 1912, when he was a high-school senior, and his father joined a family-owned business there. Rondo was apparently popular and a good athlete, especially in football.
After leaving high school, Rondo joined the Florida National Guard to pursue a military career. Rondo first saw battle in the Mexican border war and then in France in World War I. There, he was exposed to poison gas, was hospitalized with lung injury, and was subsequently medically discharged from service and consigned to a pension.
Returning to Tampa, he took employment as a reporter for the Tampa Tribune, where he worked until 1936 when he moved to Hollywood.
Sometime after his exposure to the poison gas, Rondo began to develop acromegaly, a slowly progressive medical condition, which brings after a person has matured physically, and reached their adult height.
Acromegaly (a disorder of the pituitary gland) causes deformation of bones in the head, hands and feet, and internal and external soft tissues. The body resumes production of growth hormone, but as the bone structure can no longer continue symmetric growth (as in giantism). According to all available sources, Rondo's acromegaly was a result of the poison gas he'd been exposed to, though it is almost always caused by a tumor on the pituitary.
In any event, Rondo's increasing disfigurement is thought to have led to his first divorce and certainly was responsible for his being noticed by director Henry King. who was shooting a movie, Hell Harbor (1930), near Tampa. Reporter Hatton was covering the filming, and King offered him a role.
Hatton continued his work as a reporter, until after his second marriage in 1934; in 1936, he and his new, more faithful wife moved to Hollywood. Thereafter, Hatton appears to have subsisted primarily on bit parts or extra roles, with an occasional role substantial enough to earn him cast acknowledgment, until being cast for the role of the "Hoxton Creeper" in Universal's The Pearl of Death (1944). Universal thereafter attempted to promote Hatton to horror film stardom because of his acromegalic appearance, including a burgeoning series about a spine-breaking maniac called "The Creeper."
Around Christmas, 1945, Rondo suffered a mild heart attack. (weakness, along with diabetes and blindness being common complications of acromegaly) and, seemingly recovered. But approximately one month later, Rondo suffered a major heart attack, which proved fatal.
Rondo's body was returned to Tampa for burial. In 1988, filmmaker Fred Olen Ray extensively researched Hatton's life, producing the sensitive article "Rondo Hatton: Monster Man" (referenced below), giving this man the graceful memorial he deserved. - Actor
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Sanford Meisner is one of the most respected and influential acting teachers of the 20th century. Meisner, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg are generally regarded as America's three greatest acting teachers. Founding member of The Group Theatre, 1931-1941. Began teaching at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in 1935; head of the acting program 1936-1958 & 1964-1990. Head of Twentieth Century-Fox Talent Program 1959-1961. Developed what is known as "The Meisner Technique," influenced by "The Stanislavsky System." His students include Academy Award winners Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones, Grace Kelly, Edmond O'Brien, Jo Van Fleet, Joanne Woodward, Gregory Peck, Joel Grey, Lee Grant, Diane Keaton, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen and Robert Duvall, as well as directors Bob Fosse and Sydney Pollack. Author of "Sanford Meisner on Acting" (with Dennis Longwell). Subject of the documentary Sanford Meisner: The Theatre's Best Kept Secret (1990), directed by Kent Paul.- Sebastian Banaszczyk was born on 24 February 1975 in Swidnica, Dolnoslaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Television Theater (1953), Pierwsza milosc (2004) and Fala zbrodni (2003). He died on 2 February 2022.
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Along with fellow Sex Pistol member, Johnny Rotten, lanky, sneering, pock faced Sid epitomised the punk movement born in the mid 1970s in working class England. Sid Vicious (real name John Beverly) wasn't an original member of the Pistols, but rather joined the band after original bassist, Glen Matlock dropped out after personality clashes with lead singer Rotten. On stage, Sid (often stripped to the waist) would incite the audience to get wilder and more frenzied, and his infamous antics included spitting and spraying beer into the audience. The British establishment despised the Pistols with a passion, and Sid was viewed as a crude, foul mouthed hoodlum corrupting English youth with his unclean image. Unfortunately for a naive Sid, he fell into the company of alleged drug user, Nancy Spungen, and his world spiralled out of control leading to the break up of the Pistols (their last show being in San Francisco), and Sid's lame attempts to kick start his own solo career, which included a demented cover of the popular Frank Sinatra song "My Way", accompanied by a violent video clip. Vicious and Spungen took up residency in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in early 1978, however their self destructive personalities meant a tragedy was fast approaching, and on October 12th 1978, Spungen was found dead in their hotel room from stab wounds. Vicious was charged by police with Spungen's murder and released on bail, pending trial. However, only four months later in February 1979, Vicious himself was found dead of a heroin overdose. Sid was dead at aged 21. His will requested his ashes be poured over Nancy's grave at the King David Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Along with Janis Joplin, Brian Jones & Jimi Hendrix, Sid had assured himself a place in rock and roll history, as another iconic music figure dead at a young age.- Solomon Perel was born on 21 April 1925 in Peine, Germany. He was a writer, known for Europa Europa (1990), Marina, Mabuse und Morituri - 70 Jahre Deutscher Nachkriegsfilm im Spiegel der CCC (2017) and NDR Talk Show (1979). He was married to Dvora Morezky. . He died on 2 February 2023 in Givatayim, Israel.
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Stewart Stern was born on 22 March 1922 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Rachel, Rachel (1968) and Sybil (1976). He was married to Marilee Stiles Stern. He died on 2 February 2015 in Seattle, Washington, USA.- Vanna Urbino was born on 18 March 1929 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. She was an actress, known for Jules and Jim (1962), La chatte (1958) and On ne triche pas avec la vie (1949). She died on 2 February 2023 in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France.
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Wendy Barrie was born in Hong Kong to an English-Irish father and a Russian Jewish mother. Her dad was the distinguished King's Counsel F.C. Jenkins which ensured that the family was well off. Wendy received her education at a convent school in England and a finishing school in Switzerland. After working in beauty parlors for a brief period she set her sights on the stage and made her first foray into acting at the London Savoy Theatre in "Wonder Bar" (1930). Two years later, she was "discovered" by producer Alexander Korda while lunching at the Savoy Grill. Having successfully auditioned for the part she was famously cast as Jane Seymour, the third of the six wives at the center of The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), starring Charles Laughton. Hollywood soon beckoned and Wendy left England for America in 1934. During the next decade and a bit, she found regular employment at Paramount (1935), Universal (1936-38) and RKO (1938-42). A blonde, vivacious lass with a certain innocent charm and an instinctive acting ability, she tended to play mostly ingenue roles in minor films and often rose above her material. This led to her being given a grittier role in the social drama Dead End (1937) and Wendy's career henceforth alternated between supporting roles in bigger pictures and leads in B-movies.
From the late 1930s her parts became more varied, ranging from a gangster's moll in the crime melodrama I Am the Law (1938) to a plane crash victim in Five Came Back (1939) and Richard Greene's love interest in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), with Basil Rathbone as "Sherlock Holmes". By the 1940s, Wendy's star began to fade. This was in no small part due to the bad publicity generated by her real-life role as mistress of notorious underworld figure Bugsy Siegel. As her pickings became ever slimmer she found herself relegated to perfunctory leads in various entries of "The Saint" and "Falcon" series at RKO. After appearing in a string of other decidedly mediocre productions she decided to embark on what turned out to be a successful new career as television host of her own pioneering talk show, Picture This (1948) (1948-50). Her relaxed, informal style brought her great popularity and plaudits from television critics like Jack Gould of the New York Times. Wendy's other claim to fame was as one of the first celebrities to make television commercials, famously with Revlon on 'The $64,000 Question'. During the 1960s, she also broadcast her own radio interview show from the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. She was actively involved in various charities and was known to attend as guest speaker at philanthropic functions, freely giving of her time without remuneration. In the mid '70s, Wendy suffered a stroke which affected her mental state and she spent the last years of her life at a nursing home in Englewood, New Jersey, where she died in February 1978, aged 65.- Actor
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Willard Waterman was born on 29 August 1914 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Auntie Mame (1958), The Apartment (1960) and Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958). He was married to Mary Anna Theleen. He died on 2 February 1995 in Burlingame, California, USA.- William Davis was born on 6 March 1933 in Hanover, Germany. He was married to Sylvette Jouclas. He died on 2 February 2019 in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France.